Juneathon day 10: well, I certainly won't do *that* again

It's Wednesday so that must make it a yoga day. But London tube employees have gone on strike, so while I do respect their right to strike (though honestly, pay raises for less hours? in this economy? I wish.) I also knew I would be undertaking a cycle commute today.

Last night was spent fixing a vegan-brunch-for-dinner (which deserves and shall have it's own separate post) and finally getting the rack put on my bike. I get up a little late this morning but head to yoga anyway. Definitely a nice ride at this time of day (pre-7am): streets are quiet, traffic is light, etc. I have never ridden to this yoga studio before, and I miss the mark completely and have to stop in Piccadilly Circus and cheat with the phone-map. Finally I get there and am ready to start practice at 7:30 - a half hour later than normal. Monday there were tons of new people in class but they seem to have gone, as it's just the regulars again. Hard to say, though, maybe those new people will become regulars once the strike is over.

I do my 5 sun salutation As and only 3 Bs because I'm already warm from the bike ride and also because I'm late. I get up to Prasarita Padottanasana and Brett comes over to help me. 'Set your feet wider,' he says. 'No, wider. Wider.' And then he's holding my hips and I'm leaning forward, forward, forward, and there's nothing to catch me, but I've got my head about 3 inches from the ground. Wow. I've always wondered how people get their heads on the ground; I always thought I'd just never be that flexible, but suddenly I can see it. My ankle is burning where I broke it once - clearly still not that strong. When I'm finished with the pose we talk for a while about letting the breath take you into the pose and remembering to lean forward over your toes instead of backwards over your heels, and then he decides I'm ready to add the beginning of the Primary Series, utthita hasta padangusthasana (there are actually 4 parts, one leg holding your toe standing up, one leg holding your toe nose to knee, one leg holding your toe out to the side, one leg that holds itself up).

Then I hop back on my bike and go the rest of the way to work. Unfortunately having gone to yoga puts me in central London at rush hour, and even though there are loads of other bikers around (more than I ever remember) there are also loads of people who don't normally drive and aren't used to watching out for cyclists. One guy yells at me because he's stopped at a light really close to the edge of the lane and my handlebar touches his mirror ever so gently as I go past. Really? In the fight between car and bike, mister, your hatchback will win. Again I'm kind of turned around having started from a part of London I normally try to avoid on my bike and it takes me an hour ten just to get to work and it's already 9:30 so I scramble through a shower and into my office only 15 minutes late in the end, and then one of my coworkers asks me if I've swum to work.

I've got to ride home again so I'm pre-emptively giving myself an extra credit for today's Juneathon.

Juneathons: 10/10 (+2 extra credit)