Bakasana
One hour shouldn't be a big deal but I always feel ripped off on the day we start Daylight Savings time. I'm already behind before I even get out of bed.

This morning I decided to linger in bed to read since I haven't read a book in a couple of weeks. Then Bob brought me some chai and the free donut that comes with it so I ate that. So now I'm more than an hour behind and wired on sugar. Yay me.

This month is eleven years since I started taking yoga classes. Before that I noodled a bit using pictures in a book but never had anything resembling a real practice. It took me a couple years of classes before I developed a solid home practice but when we moved into this house 9 years ago and I had my own space, that's when I became more dedicated.

Yesterday I did a new yoga thing that I've never done before. From downward dog you jump your feet up and float yourself into crow pose.

This my teacher Bill demonstrating crow. There was no boulder involved in my pose. Several years ago when Bill introduced the float into crow in class and I thought it was impossible. How could you possibly land on your arms like that without falling forward on your face?

Bill's teaching philosophy goes something like: it doesn't matter if you do the pose, just have fun trying. He says to try it three times a day and maybe a week, maybe a year, maybe 10 years you'll be able to do it. This is well suited to my learning style because if I thought I had to do it all right away, I'd never have stuck with it.

Ever since my first class there have always been yoga poses, even beginner poses, that seemed impossible. I spent a great deal of time during my first three years of practice wishing I started yoga earlier so I could do these poses already.

Even now after all these years, there are always new things to learn.

With the floaty crow pose I'd practiced not three times a day, but regularly and for a long time it remained something to try but not to do. Then one day I landed my legs on my arms but my feet still touched the floor. Suddenly, this pose was a possibility in my mind. I couldn't do it yet but I could see how it was possible.

Then it was more fun to practice and I kept at it until last week I floated into it except for one toe that grazed the floor. So close. Yesterday I knew was going to be the day and on my second try I jumped, I floated and I landed on my arms. And then I kept doing it over and over with about 50% success until I rubbed half the skin off the back of my arms.

The point of me telling this whole story is I think there is a metaphor about life in there somewhere.

(Top photo is from the farmer's market last year. The bottom image used without permission from Bill.)