Building up momentum This morning, I took a day off from work and did chores around the house, clearing away obstacles that had been blocking me mentally and physically. But the first thing that I did was to take in a yoga session at Thrive Yoga with Neva Ingalls. I had never taken a class from her before. She has an ecclectic style that blends dance, healing arts and yoga blended from multiple lineages and masters. She had some fun, funky stuff, like dance improvs and vocalizations (loud sighs or hahs). She even reminded me to smile while I was grimacing in Boat pose. She did a lot of work with pranayama. It drove home to me how important breathing has been to me in the whole process of breaking out of my old mental and physical habits. I tend to clamp down on my breathing when I go through stress so yoga's emphasis on breath counterbalances my tendencies. I want to turn this long weekend into a kind of yoga retreat in which I get some intensive sessions. Tomorrow afternoon, I have a two-hour session with Susan Bowen. The key is to do serious yoga for four or five days in a row. Continuity, building on top of what's already been achieved, using my own muscular fatigue to break through the resistance deep inside my hips, shoulders, core.  ¶ 10:30 PM