Believe in yourself

It's soccer world cup. I love to see the matches. But I also love to listen to the interviews of the players. The world best soccer player (Ronaldo) said that he always believed in himself. In addition he practiced more than all the others. When his colleagues were under the shower already after a match, he still played with the ball.

Believe in yourself is such a precious hint. Doubts plaster the path. I'm glad that I didn't give up my yoga practice. I probably had too many days when I didn't practice, but perhaps these breaks were necessary. I had to avoid inflammation.

This back injury is now 2 years back. I heal in steps. My feeling is that I leaped ahead again. In the beginning of my practice I was not 100% pain free. I exercised variations of some of the standing asanas. But then the pain disappeared. Totally. I could do even supta kurmasana without much preparing asanas.
When I feel pain, it's of short duration. It fades away very quickly. After the practice I feel good. That is I can even take the steps without pain. Yep it has been that awful.

I'll keep believing that one day this back pain belongs to the past again.

What I realize. I love Ashtanga yoga. The huge weakness is that there is no didactic. One is left alone more or less. Best case is that learning of new asanas is very ineffective. Instead of mastering an asana within 6 months, it can last 10 years. Worst case is that this missing reasonable approach to very demanding asanas injures people. That's what I experienced.

This is my new topic here. How to be a good autodidact. How to learn asanas effectively. How to understand asanas.

What was possible today on the mat fulfills me with great joy. I have hope again that I can return to my former strength and flexibility. I can still progress. It will be a lonesome ride. I miss a yoga group, but by now I cannot imagine to get back to any of the groups here in Munich. In the meantime there are even choices. But I have my blog and readers and this keeps me motivated, too.