Enjoying my handstand journey

Fear for me is seriousness. What I’m afraid mostly is needle or anything involving medical procedures. And it has been my yearly struggle to prepare myself for my laboratory test during our Annual Physical Exam. When it’s my turn to have my blood drawn, I always remind the Medical Technologist prior to the test that I’m afraid of needles so he/ she will be aware of my condition. I might be shaking inside the room. That’s life anyway! Fear doesn’t cause so much pain. I mean, I’m thankful that it’s manageable though. I have to face it or else fear will control my life.

In yoga, my fear is when I encounter difficult poses. It sometimes stops me from moving to a deeper level of my practice. Emotions are destructive but I’ve just observed my fearful thoughts and what I usually do is to enjoy the moment while doing the pose until my fear subside. In addition, I have found a very supportive network of yogis in our little community at Purple Bee Shop & Cafe. We have created a positive atmosphere where each of us has managed to beat stress to live a healthier life.

We had a power class today with our very own teacher-mentor Lou. She was preparing our body to do handstand. I was thinking that my arms were not strong enough to do such challenging pose. That there are still many practices to be done before I can perform handstand. I know it needs focus and a lot of courage.

Teacher Lou was building strength in our upper body – our arms and shoulders so that it can hold our body weight when we turned upside down. We had series of alignment, shoulder opening, planking and downward facing dog. It was a stiff practice yet we did it with fun.

With proper preparation, I was amazed how my body has surprised me. First, I moved into downward facing dog. I was terribly scared when I kicked up. I shouted as much as I wanted to calm my mind. My teacher was beside me to provide guidance. This is the advantage of having a teacher-mentor who fights for your negative thoughts. She held my legs above closer to the wall and from there it was like my body inherent strength. I didn’t feel the weight of my own body. It’s overwhelming that I’ve achieved my intention of today’s practice.

After our class, we rewarded ourselves with this healthy food. Vegetable Salad. A fundamental to staying young and healthy living. These yogis are all conversationalists, too. We oftentimes engage ourselves in productive talks with funny punchlines. I find them easy to connect with and able to appreciate their individual personality. Though we have our own struggle when it comes to handstand or other hard poses, nevertheless we only have one common goal and that is to nourish our bodies, minds and souls. Namaste.🙏