Arm balances

Today we learned arm balance poses with Stephanie Snyder. I enjoyed the class a lot. I've enjoyed all of her classes and I think she is a great teacher. I like how direct and clear she is with her instructions and opinions, also she seems to be open minded and presents different options and points of view about poses and yoga. I see myself in great contrast to her in terms of our physical strength. She has great upper body and core (abdomen) muscle strength, as well as flexibility. Going into the class today, I had very low expectations for myself in terms of what poses I would be able to do. I feel very weak in my upper body in general. I have a history of wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries or sensitivities. So I tried to do each pose, and for the most part I couldn't hold my balance very long. For example, in Bakasana (Crow Pose), I could get my feet off of the floor for 1 or 2 seconds only, and then I'd lose my balance. One time I fell forward onto my head (on the cushion of a blanket) and felt mild pain in my wrist because it bent back when I fell.

When it came time to try Eka Pada Koundinyasana, my wrist was a little sore and I said to my classmate that I was just going to watch others do that pose, and I would rest. However, my friend responded by telling me I had to try it, that there was no sitting out. Okay, so I tried it with little expectation. However, I found that pose to be a bit easier. And I got both legs off of the floor, so I was balancing my body on my upper arms, which were bent. The teacher saw me making progress and gave me some pointers to improve my pose, and I held it for several seconds (maybe 15 seconds). When I came out of the pose, some of the students applauded my efforts and I felt exhilarated and proud. It was fun. I didn't get my leg completely straight, but I did balance on my hands and that was the surprising part for me.

Tonight at home I was inspired to practice headstand and handstand. In classes I still use a wall to rest my feet against because I can't balance on my own. We practiced handstand in class today, and one student asked what does it take to do handstand in the middle of the room. The teacher suggested that one day we will just decide to do it and we will. I remember as a kid walking on my hands for brief intervals. I think if I increase my upper body strength, I'll eventually be able to do unsupported handstand. For tonight I had Bob spot me and he helped me to balance in the poses. In headstand I was able to hold it on my own for about 3 seconds. That is progress! Woo hoo.