Balance

Day 41, Hour 36 of 120 Hours of Yoga


A few days ago I attended a yoga class and it seemed like I was falling out of every single balancing pose before I even got into it. Toppling Tree, Standing Tree, Dancer's, Eagle .. every single pose that required me to balance at all, I felt shaky and weak, and needed to reset multiple times.  Even poses where I had both feet on the ground, but required a squat - or especially a squat and twist - were difficult, and I felt like I could easily topple over.

This morning I was in class and had the exact opposite experience. My balancing poses felt strong, and many of them I was able to get into and hold for the entire count without falling-out or having to reset once. It's not that I'm significantly stronger or that my stabilizing/balancing muscles are that much more refined today than they were a few days ago. I'm finding that yoga, like any practice, is an experience with ebbs and flows. Two steps forward, one step back. 

I read a quote recently that went something like this: when working on some type of self-improvement, with consistent practice it takes about 10 days for you to notice any change in yourself, it takes people close to you about 30 days to notice your changes, and it takes your outer circle of people about 3 months to notice. Keep on working on yourself; keep on practicing, whatever it is. With ebbs and flows, progress is inevitable.

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