When I started practicing yoga, I knew that my body was not ‘bendy’. I would watch the ‘bendy’ people with complete awe and I’ll admit it, jealousy. I thought that the more I practiced yoga, the more flexible I would become. Well, it is true to a point. What I didn’t take into consideration is that I’m not built to be a ‘bendy’ person. I would struggle with a common pose, such as pigeon. The pigeon pose would trigger pain in my knees and I never could get a good stretch. It was my nemesis for a long time. I kept trying different positions of the knee, lifting the hip up, out, down, etc., but with no luck. Finally, an intuitive teacher (maybe the tears of frustration running down my face gave me away) showed me a modification, figure 4 on my back. Eureka!! A modification! Wow, what a concept, it hadn’t occurred to me that when the instructor said ‘Listen to your body’, they actually meant you should do what your body NEEDS and not what your brain WANTS to do. This was one turning point in my practice, the acceptance that I cannot change how I am built physically, but how I need to find ways to get the most out of each posture to the best of MY body’s ability.
The hard part is, checking your ego at the door and accepting your limitations. But, don’t confuse acceptance with giving up. I might not be able to do Eka Pada Koundinyanasana right now, but I will always keep trying!
Tell me your ‘Eureka’ moments!
Namaste and Practice in Comfort,
Barbara Merrill
