When I was a kid, I could never do a head stand unless I was leaning up against a wall. I also never learned to do the splits completely despite being a cheerleader.
This was OK with me. I accepted my limitations, and I never went swimming without doing a headstand in the water. OK, it was cheating, but I loved that I could do something that I tried so hard to do.
One of my favorite moves as a kid was the bicycle. This involved stretching out on my back, sticking my feet up in the air so most of my weight was supported by my shoulders. I would place my hands in the small of my back and with my feet up in the air, I would start to pedal an imaginary bicycle.
I loved this move. I have no idea why. I just liked the way it made me contort my body.
Yesterday, I learned that my body does not contort as easily as it used to. I was working out and trying some yoga moves. One of the options offered by my Wii Fit was the shoulder stand.
When I saw the option, I remembered my favorite bicycle moves from when I was a child, and I figured the shoulder stand would be a breeze.
It wasn’t. I was not able to get my feet up in the air. In fact, I broke out in a sweat just from being flat with my legs at a 90 degree angle to the rest of my body. Of course, I was holding this position for 60 seconds, but still…. it was pitiful.
There are some exercise moves that make me think “Yes, I am so GOOD.” But right now the shoulder stand makes me realize exactly how far away I am from my goals.
I might not be able to do it today, but I know that there is a shoulder stand in my future. Baby steps.
In the meantime, if you want to find out if you can do the shoulder stand, you can find an explanation of how to do this move at this link http://www.yoga-made-ez.com/Yoga_Shoulder_Stand.html
(This site is also where I found the image of the shoulder stand that I use in this post.)
