Day 4/30 - Perfection

This morning, I started out thinking about perfection.  A read a little about finding the perfection of a moment, not the result.  Relishing in and learning from the moment, rather than just celebrating the victory is is a concept that's important in many areas of our lives.  As an example, I bake Christmas cookies with my sisters every year.  We talk about it for weeks and it turns into an ordeal every year. I don't even like some of the cookies we make.  Baking cookies is kind of pricey and time consuming, as well.  We do it every year because the value of the project comes from the process. We get something important from the process of talking about it, sharing recipes and passing traditions down to the next generation. If we didn't end up with a great product at the end, we'd still do it. This morning, I connected more deeply with the idea of learning from the journey by experiencing it.

Dhanurasana or bow pose is something that is usually pretty accessible for folks.  At least from my observations in various classes, it appears to be pretty accessible.  I've been practicing yoga for 6 years and I still can't do it. I can grab one leg or the other, but not both.  Over the years, I've learned to either grab my pant legs or sometimes a kind teacher will wrap a strap around my ankles.

My shoulders are excessively tight and I've always believed that this was why I can't fully express the pose. So I quickly grapple with my pant legs and get as close as I can. Then I usually suffer through the last remaining breath of the pose and wait for it to end.

This morning, I decided to try it out. I tried grabbing both legs, but didn't manage it.  Then I decided to try one leg and then the other and took the time to really stretch through each side.  By listening to my body and really feeling the pose, I learned that the problem might not be entirely in my shoulders.  When I stretched through one side, my biceps hurt...badly.  This gives me a totally new perspective to work through.

The end result hasn't changed at all.  I still can't do Dhanurasana.  But my perspective on the pose has changed dramatically.  Exploring this pose without regard to falling behind in class or feeling foolish for not being able to do it has afforded me the perspective to be open to what might actually be going on.  Yoga isn't about bending into the perfect pose.  Today it was about being open to the moment and realizing how perfect it was just because it happened.

Namaste.