As stupid as it may sound, Monday this week was a pretty momentous day for me because I managed to get into a (barely passable) rendition of the Urdhva Dhanurasana (upward facing bow) Yoga pose.
So what? Firstly – are we not supposed to cultivate a level of detachment from results? And also – a pose is a pose, right?
Well, yes and no. This is not just “a pose” we are talking about, no sir, this is the mother of all sucky poses, one invented by the forces of evil, specifically to make ME suffer!
I have been trying this pose for years, and for years I have failed, brutally. I have hated every single attempt; it has been a source of frustration in every class that includes it.
So, what changed? Nothing. And everything.
Indeed, nothing much changed since last week, or last month. But, everything has changed compared to say five or six years ago.
Those, right there, are pictures of me (and my son), taken roughly ten years ago on the left, and last year on the right.
Every time I look at that picture I gasp! I can’t even recognise myself. But it has taken time and a lot of patient dedication.
As I mentioned in another post, I certainly have had, and I’m sure will continue to have, moments of frustrations where I think I am getting nowhere – that’s normal.
But I have a secret super special Yoga move that guarantees progress. That’s right, progress GUARANTEED! It’s called “rolling your mat out”.
Practice that one every day and you can’t fail!
As my wonderful teacher, Laura, says “There is no magic in Yoga, and THAT is the magic”.
We live in a culture that tends to demand everything NOW, and while most of us have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved in a short period, we also usually underestimate what can be achieved over longer periods.
It is not always a welcome message, and this is reflected in the number of diets, exercise regimes, juicing detoxes and whatnot that promise you a new you in a week or a month (often, conveniently, either in January or before the summer!).
If we see our lives as – well – lifelong, projects then perhaps we can adopt healthier perspective and scale.
I always loop back to Guruji’s favourite saying “practice, and all is coming”.