I got up this morning at 4:50 am after spending most of the night coughing, a dry small cough that I thought was probably the recirculated air in the hotel. I threw on clothes, waited for the car (who knew getting a car from the valet at 5am could take so long) and then proceeded to get lost not once but three times trying to find the highway to get into Seattle. Usually I rely on MapQuest but, trying to be hip, I used Google Maps and, wouldn't you know, it was all wierd and I couldn't follow the directions. I finally found my way by staring at the map. Even getting to David's it had me going down some wierd street. Needless to say, I got to practice way later than I wanted to and picked up the corner spot like last time. One of the things I really like about David's is how hot and humid it is in that room.... I think it's the hottest studio I've been in so far. Our studio gets hot but that one gets rock solid hot. David came in around the time I was doing Prasaritas... at first he didn't know who I was but then he even remembered my name. I told him how The Daughter really likes his CD and runs around singing songs from it... he seemed to enjoy that story.

My friend JumpsThruSomeday came in sometime later... and then mat space got TIGHT.... and I mean tight. We get tight at Tim's sometimes but I've never been, not even with Guruji here, in mat space as tight as it was today. Perhaps it was because I was right next to the wall, I don't know but, literally, I couldn't do Tithibasana transitions... well I did the lift part but there was no way I could move my feet back. I also couldn't do Parsva Dhanurasana... I simply couldn't do it.... I tried to roll and then wiggle so I was right on my mat but, folks, that's no easy feat once you are all the way over. The only thing I find strange is that the whole back of the room is "open" for closing sequences... I considered moving back there to do the rest of my second series poses but figured that wouldn't be kosher so I just flailed through with my long limbs with little grace and a bit distracted. I had watched David do the adjustment in everyone who did Kapotasana and I was a bit freaked... you see, he makes them do it with their hands by their ears I guess... trying to grab the heels on the way down... no hands down first and walking it in... so I was a bit scared... and then, as it turned out, I really wanted to try it, but David never saw me and so I just did it on my own... and was surprised that I didn't feel a crank in my back (duh no one was pushing me) and I could grab up on the sides of my feet about where Tim usually gets me.

What was fascinating to me, however, was backbends. I was doing/feeling pretty good... stood up, dropped back..stood up...dropped back. I played with one dropback where I put my hands on my thighs and walked them down then put them on the ground and then David was there helping me up. When I asked if he lowered to the head for 5 breaths he told me not to go to my head today... interesting... neither certified teacher "lets" me do dropbacks for long. I must be doing something I don't see or feel... or maybe it's just energy... or maybe it's my ego when I think about it ;)

As the day progressed, my throat hurt worse and worse and worse... if it wasn't such a hassle to go get my car from valet (and have to pay each time) I'd try to go get some homepathics from Whole Foods... as it is, I'm taking GSE and Airborne.... and a lot of cough drops... this SUCKS... really SUCKS.... I slept a few hours... did some more backbends downstairs (warmed up first)... and now I'm gonna eat soup and salad and hopefully get some sleep. I was gonna drive in to Seattle and practice in the morning but I'm debating what will make me worse or better at this point.... so my deal with myself is, if I sleep well, I'll go. If I don't... I'll sleep in.

Cirque Du Soleil though... Wednesday night.. am excited... hope to feel better.