New challenges

Welcome in February! Hope everyone is enjoying the cold and snow  :)

If we talk about challenges this week, the first challenge must be going out at 6 am into -15 degrees C snowstorm. :) It's actually quite fun, you feel so proud once you walk yourself to the bus stop, and the bus arrives, and you feel like "wow, I made it, I'm in a bus :D"

So this week, was raining new challenges on me, especially the transitions between the postures. The new teacher came in this week for Mysore practice, and I must say she is really really good, meaning, gives really good pieces of advice that are easy to digest. 

So the first thing that I was challenged (and still am :) with was exit from Bujapidasana. You have to take your legs around into, what I like to call "sorta" Bakasana, and that is challenge itself. Once you get your legs there, you have to try to jump back to Chaturanga. First day I just fell on my butt, yesterday I managed to jump but I fell on my knees. Today I feel on my feet, even a little further back, so I consider it a little progress.  ;)Its so hard ! In last post I laughted on how this impossible and now I attempt to do this. Maybe one day. ;) Maybe next life.  Life is funny. 

Another challenge was to lift up after Supta Kurmasana, straighten the legs and do something like Tittibhasana for a second. I only did that once, for a very short time but I try every day. :)


This week I've been slowly "let off the leash " with backbends, until now I do them unassisted. 3 times down and three times up. At first I was really scared to drop back by myself. But the teacher did it like really slow transition from being all assisted to being not assisted, that I'm not scared now. It's also really helps to say the steps in your head, it calms the mind, and gives better grasp of what you actually doing. I always say to myself " Inhale lift up, exhale hips forward head back, bend the knees, straighten arms" and before I know, I'm down. 
What definitely doesn't help when going down by yourself is freaking out of any sorts, and saying in your head "OMG I'm falling, OMG I'm falling" :D (I tried, believe me it doesn't work). 
Then when I get up, it's a little harder for me. You have to swing to your arms, and also believe that you will get up. Another problem that the teacher pointed out was that I go too much with my head, I should relax it more. The other thing that I'm working on, is planting the feet, cause when I get up, I sometimes walk forward. 

To top of all the challenges this week, sort of put the cheery on top of this week, :D 
another teacher asked me today to to the handstand. So I tried. I managed to catch the balance by the wall, but it is really hard to kick the leg up, you have to have very strong core and stable shoulders. It was fun to try though ;)

Maybe one of the biggest challenges would be to not beat yourself up if something doesn't work today. It's sometimes like that: you try to do something new and one day it works, and the other day it doesn't. I was surprised how quickly I was able to move on if something didn't work any given day and just go forward with the practice. My dance spirit and my perfectionism would 
usually say this " Oh you cannot do it, oh you are a failure" Lalala. Bye bye, not anymore :)
To understand that it's really hard. That you don't have to be perfect, that you don't have to do everything the same each given day. The days are never the same and so the practice will never be. That's the beauty of life really, how boring would it be if every day was all the same? 

After this week I had a really good feeling. I felt grateful and peaceful, inspired, more trusting to myself, more willing to surrender to the journey and to embrace whatever it brings. :)

I hope you guys have a good week of practice! 
Enjoy!

Joanna