Day 11 - Leg extensions with Sunita

The last couple of days have been really positive - the abundance of time that I have compared to usual has meant a wonderful rekindling of my pranayama practice which has been a casualty of full-time work and not enough hours in the day to do it all. It is a practice which feeds on itself - the more you do, the more easily it flows and the less preparation you need. Just in the last few months I have really felt a tension creeping in and noticed that I wasn't breathing properly - rushing here there and everywhere and literally feeling like I didn't have time to stop and breathe. I have a particular practice of just a few asanas that for me really promote freedom in the diaphragm and luxuriously smooth, fluid breaths so I have been starting each day with this short sequence - Chair Sarvangasana, legs folded in padmasana extending knees to touch the back rest of chair (which enlivens my spine and organs of my back body which tend to be really sluggish) rolling over into padmasana in ardha halasana, followed by savasana and then seated pranayama.

The day was for backbend practice on the rooftop terrace - by the end of the week, my goal is to be in Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana with feet together and legs straight - as you see from pic, this is a work in progress. In the evening time a group of us went to Shabree on FC Road for a Thali which offers the rare treat of a choice of 2 different gluten-free chapatis, one made with sorghum and the other with a blend of flours including millet - my first chapatis since being in India. As we left the restaurant, I came within a whisker of being flattened by a motorcycle travelling at speed on the wrong side of the road, very close to the pavement - at the moment I raised my foot to step off, I briefly glanced back up the street and pulled back without a millisecond to spare. It made me realise that if any of us did have an accident that I wouldn't have a clue what to do! back home we ring 999 - what does one do in India? (When I got back home I Googled it and discovered that some states offer an emergency service dialling 108 - need to find out more!).