Standing on One Foot
Yoga is not my hobby. It's a necessary addiction. I do it to keep from being a cripple.
Before all my injuries, I was in excellent condition. I rock climbed, lifted twice my weight, and could outlast any twenty year old on my worst day. But then the injuries started to pile on and I wasn't able to recover this time. In less than a year, I had lost all my strength and most of my endurance. I had to do something to stop my downward slide.
I dreaded walking into that yoga studio. The experience wasn't just bad. It was embarrassing.
Let me tell you how awful I was on my first day. I could not do a single posture. Not one. Heck, I couldn't even kneel into Child's Pose, the simplest pose of all next to Corpse Pose (which hurt like hell because my spine was so misaligned).
I went to class almost every day. I'm sure the instructors thought I was a glutton for punishment because I crashed, tripped, and crumpled like a rusty old car. They were constantly correcting me. I was their favorite problem child.
Fast forward six months. I'm a different person. Calmer. Stronger. And in a lot less pain. I'm nowhere near the expert level, but I can do nearly every posture with ease.
Nobody ever corrects me anymore and I kind of miss that. But it also tells me I'm making progress.
I've spent hours practicing standing on one foot. Greg will attest that I'll be talking to him and I just go into the posture. I practice constantly, always falling out but getting right back in.
I'm still trying to do this one well. >>>>>>>>
Yoga is like a microcosm of daily life. No matter what our life's work, we're always practicing, aren't we?
What's your brass ring? What do you want to do better?
I may never master standing on one foot, but I'll never stop trying.
Before all my injuries, I was in excellent condition. I rock climbed, lifted twice my weight, and could outlast any twenty year old on my worst day. But then the injuries started to pile on and I wasn't able to recover this time. In less than a year, I had lost all my strength and most of my endurance. I had to do something to stop my downward slide.
I dreaded walking into that yoga studio. The experience wasn't just bad. It was embarrassing.
Let me tell you how awful I was on my first day. I could not do a single posture. Not one. Heck, I couldn't even kneel into Child's Pose, the simplest pose of all next to Corpse Pose (which hurt like hell because my spine was so misaligned).
I went to class almost every day. I'm sure the instructors thought I was a glutton for punishment because I crashed, tripped, and crumpled like a rusty old car. They were constantly correcting me. I was their favorite problem child.
Fast forward six months. I'm a different person. Calmer. Stronger. And in a lot less pain. I'm nowhere near the expert level, but I can do nearly every posture with ease.
Nobody ever corrects me anymore and I kind of miss that. But it also tells me I'm making progress.
I've spent hours practicing standing on one foot. Greg will attest that I'll be talking to him and I just go into the posture. I practice constantly, always falling out but getting right back in. I'm still trying to do this one well. >>>>>>>>
Yoga is like a microcosm of daily life. No matter what our life's work, we're always practicing, aren't we?
What's your brass ring? What do you want to do better?
I may never master standing on one foot, but I'll never stop trying.
Comments
I'm a yoga girl as well, and I stopped about six months ago. I'm hoping to go back soon. I've been using my Wi as well as swimming and walking) Hopefully I won't be too stiff. I can still do the lotus pose if that makes any difference. lol
Glad you are feeling better and continue to do so. :)
When I was sick over the holidays I had to lay off yoga for almost three weeks. It took me a couple of days to regain my balance.
Seriously, touching on something else - the corpse position ie realigning the spine of the floor is a wonderful and salutary experience
My problem was the piriformis, often mistaken for sciatica because it can also press against the sciatic nerve.
The Pigeon Pose helps immensely. Try it and let me know if it starts to help.
Yoga? You are something to go to class every single day!
Love the book cover for Punch List.
Good luck with Indies 4 Hire. I stopped by to read.
And Tank-- bless him. He looks content, however.
I hope to be a little like you when I finally learn to wear my grown up pants :-)
My biggest surprise was thinking it was some fru-fru transcendental thing but I really work my keester off. LOL.
Congrats on sticking with yoga. I so need to get into a regular routine like that.
Re: I hate to admit it - I'm a perfectionist
You didn't have to admit it--the rest of us already knew that. :o)
I used to be incredibly fit, having sailed and done long distance running as a teenager. One thing I've never been is flexible and have limited movement, especially in my legs. My osteopath has often suggested yoga to not only help with this but also to help with stress. I really should do it !