Oh Yeah...Watch Me...I Can Do It Too!

This is me in Eka Pada Koundinyasana (variation) - One Legged Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya. I've never seen this pose before my morning class with Jennilee Toner. Next thing I know...The Prentender's where playing full blast and I was in this pose. Some of you might think that this is such an achievement. Really it's not. My body allows me to do poses like this. However, it's not to kind to me in poses like Virabhadrasana III. Yesterday, I was up in Astavakrasana which looks like this:
This pose is actually a lot easier than it looks. So what is my point? Two fold: 1) Everybody and every body is different. So don't look with envious eyes. 2) Self Reflection.

Self Reflection is really what I want to talk about. Too often in life, people try to one up each other. We've all had "that" friend who tells a tale that is just a little bit better than yours. There really is no room for that in yoga. DUH! But it does happen. My 200 YTT instructor, Jennifer Yarroeaks of building positive time in a pose. Some of you might know this as muscle memory. She also talks about building negative time. Being in a pose with bad form...builds negative time.

SO..."just because you can...doesn't mean you should!" - Jennifer Yarro.

You can take this to so many different applications. The first I'd like to offer is on the mat. Really listen to your body. Some days you'll be able to achieve full expression of all the poses..other's not so much. Maybe not even at all. Refuse the urge to see what the person next to you is doing. (There is a good chance she/he is doing it wrong too.) Lastly, DO NOT BUILD UP THE NEGATIVE TIME. I constantly come out of pose about 10-seconds before the teacher brings the rest of the class down. That's OK! In fact, sometimes I'll even go into Balasana - Child's Pose. Today, one of the instructors called it the "wisdom pose." Because those who are really listening to their bodies are wise. (I guess I might be one of the wisest person you all know...lol)

Take this offering off the mat. What do you do...because you can? Waste energy, gas, time, effort? This is a personal, inward question. Surely, there are many answers. I'm actually thinking about taking a month off the internets...just e-mail.

For the record...no one has farted yet!

...And the German Judge Gives a 7.5 (Not perfect because of the dismount!)

Oh...those judges! Always finding fault. In fact, they get paid to find fault. Problem is...there are a lot of non-paid judges out there finding fault...sometimes that judge is YOU...and you're finding fault with YOU!

It's a vicious world out there. Between keeping up with the Jone's and trying to stay in-touch or at least up to speed with the latest trends, its no wonder we constantly judge ourselves. This judgment often comes to our yoga mats. I've been victim of it. My favorite example is when I first met my friend Lacy who was around 8 months pregnant. She was leading a class and I was totally showing off the entire time. Towards the end she entered into Ardha Chandrasana, Half Moon Pose. I'd never seen this pose before...and figured if a pregnant lady could do it...so could I. I crashed right to the floor. I got right back up and tried it again with the same results. Mind you...I'm a big dude. When I fall...it is loud! It was a very humbling experience and a perfect example of judging!

I instantly judged Lacy as a pseudo-capable person do to the fact that she was pregnant. I knew I was a stud, since I had just returned from a trip to Iraq where I was working out 2-3 times a day. The problem is two fold. 1) Lacy is a yoga goddess who has been practicing yoga for many years, to include Ardha Chandrasana. 2) I on the other had never practiced, let alone seen this pose and was full of the "look at me" mentality.

Our yoga mats should never be a place of judgment, rather a place of self-reflection. Lacy has a great way of explaining the power of a yoga mat by calling them a place that is "home" no matter where it may be. Think about that for awhile. One of my yoga teachers here Jennilee Toner explains it best when it comes to not judging on our mats; "There is no such thing as a perfect pose, only a perfect pose for you." In radio, my friend Bill Hickman says, "There is no right or wrong in radio...only what works and doesn't work!"

Anatomically, every body is different. Every brain is different. These are simple facts. So in reality, there really is no "perfect" anything! So...my "un-trained" advice...just be the best possible YOU...you can be! -Namaste!