Really Uncomfortable Things

Hard things are kind of funny aren’t they? When you can’t do them, they’re really hard. And then, after working and practicing and trying and failing and falling… one day you can do the hard thing.

Not to say it gets easier, necessarily. It just gets more familiar. I think a lot of hard things stay hard, we just get used to what we need to do to get through them. Like heartbreak and loss, like doing your own taxes or getting a group of people to decide where to meet for dinner.

When I first came to yoga I could barely lower myself to the ground from plank with any sense of control… or dignity. Passing through chaturanga? Forget about it! But, since I was totally hooked on the whole yoga thing, I kept coming back to classes and before I knew it my push ups were cleaner, and eventually chaturanga became a familiar part of the practice.

And then, a few more years into my practice, my teacher began bringing us through more advanced transitions – like this one.

Going from chaturanga to up-dog and then back through chaturanga to plank and then to down dog… yea I know, I get a little dizzy and green just typing all that out.

I fell the first time I tried it. It hurt like crap the next couple times. But I “stuck it in my back pocket” if you will and kept trying it out on days when I felt a bit strong.

One day though, it finally worked. My muscles and my brain still scream at me “WHY DO YOU HATE US?” every time I do it… but I know it’s helping me get stronger and that the challenge helps me grow in this practice.

So let’s play with it together, eh? And then this week you can just go and leave me a bunch of comments asking why I hate you (I don’t) to make you do this (I didn’t – remember how this is your practice and you can modify any time you like?) and why doesn’t it work perfectly for you (it doesn’t have to). Then share this with all of your friends to torture *ahem* challenge and intrigue them. And after, to celebrate, you can do your taxes together. Or… maybe that would be the time to determine what you should do for dinner together. Anyways, watch this, do this, enjoy!

Cheers, yo!

-*- Namaste -*-

April