(wait – this for Ashley if she reads this – I did it! I did it! I did it! – a complete standing toe pose! Far cry from just trying to stay in the room six weeks ago!)
Standing toe pose is very challenging. You hold one foot on your opposite thigh, bend forward til both hands touch the floor, then sit down balancing on one foot. (see pic of Buckram doing it perfectly)
After six weeks, fighting heat and humidity, racing heart, and sheer exhaustion, today I decided to go for it. Six weeks ago I decided it would be spring before I even attempted that. Our teacher always said not to get anxious about the poses we cannot do yet. Be patient with ourselves. Move slowly each day, maybe pushing one tiny increment further each day, and one day it will just happen. It did it just that way to me today. I did not go to class planning to try that pose today. For six weeks I just stood on one leg, holding up my other one, balancing until everyone else was done. For some unknown reason, when it came time to bend over and touch the floor today, I just did. Then the teacher, knowing it was my first attempt, gave me guided instruction and down I went. I amazed myself. It felt good. Good to have something happen that I didn’t plan. Good to just lean into my body, my own strength and breath, and complete a challenge.
Maybe tomorrow don’t wake up with expectations – good or bad. Just wake up and open yourself up to the day and see where it takes you. Many times we wake up expecting a great day, only to be disappointed, setting ourselves up for failure. Or, we wake up expecting a bad day, depressing ourselves before we start. Maybe tomorrow we just wake up. Stay open. Don’t expect either way.
Another day goes by, this yoga connects me to the real world once again, and I have written.
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