Transition Tuesday

 I must say, I get a kick out of all the cool-kid witty-hashtag lingo that buzzes around social media these days. Perhaps you've noticed it too. There's #MancrushMonday #TransformationTuesday #WomanCrushWednesday #ThrowbackThursday and I believe Friday is #FlashbackFriday (which would be the same thing as throw back thursday, correct?) And in the yoga world there's #TransitionTuesday in which YOGANONYMOUS usually features some pretty cool Yogi's demonstrating some pretty un-real transitions. Most of them are out- of- this- world -hard and unattainable (for now) but every now and again I like to give them a go. 

I filmed two separate videos two days apart. My transition was going from Downward Facing Dog
 (Adho Mukha Svanasana) to handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana). The first video features the transition with knees bent. And then the second with straight legs.

I want to talk a little bit about these transitions because they are both transitions that I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS thought I would ever do. One year ago this month I began to find the slightest bit of hang-time in my handstand in the middle of the room. I could sometimes find it and sometimes (most of the time) not. This was something that I had been practicing fairly regularly for several years. Scotta (my yoga teacher) would try and try so hard to teach me how to get my hips over my shoulders and keep my front ribs in but I just never made the connection--until one day when I did. 

I'm not exactly sure what happened. But one day, after many many years of practice, I found the connection from the core to the limbs and I faced the fear that "what if I fall on my head or can't get up?" . The fear of failing was so great that it kept me from attempting handstand in the middle of the room for years. I'm not exactly sure what I was afraid of because I've had full wheel in my practice for years and I've always had a lot of upper body strength so falling on my head has never been very likely (I say all of that to reiterate the point that most of the time, our fears are mostly ill-logical and unwarranted and they mostly don't come true). But there was always the "What if's" that kept me from attempting what is now one of my most favorite postures of all.

Here's another little piece of information--on the days I don't work, I spend up to 3 hours on my mat. Yep--3 whole frickin' hours. Sometimes more and sometimes less. During the days when I do work, I still try and get at least 60 minutes in after work. This doesn't always happen but the majority of days it does.

Why am I telling you this? 

Because you don't learn transitions and postures like handstand or handstand pike and full wheel over night. You don't find the balance in a handstand after a few tries. I mean, I'm sure some people get them more quickly than others but in my experience it takes an awful lot of work before the body clicks in connection with your brain. It takes hours upon hours of try after try after try--of falling and falling and falling some more.

BUT, eventually it comes. It's just like anything else you do or you've done in your life--the amount of work you put into anything is the amount of progress you see in your life. It's true both on and off our mats. 

There are still SO SO many transitions I can't do. There are so many postures I can't even begin to figure out how to get in. But that's the beauty of yoga. You're never finished learning. There is always more. You don't get to level 3 and then boom--ballgame. Nope. You keep climbing and climbing and sometimes you fall a little in between each step up. 

But more than the physical transitions of yoga, I find the spiritual and psychological transitions in life equally difficult to achieve. The transition from anger to forgiveness; judgement to acceptance; criticism to positivity; darkness to light. The list goes on and on. I find THOSE transitions the hardest.  Just as the subtle movements and concentration that must occur to do a transition from downward facing dog to handstand, there must also be a softness and lightness in both heart and spirit and yet a fierce dedication and mental determination in order for it to happen.

I know we like to think in terms of categories or boxes because sometimes it does make life seem easier to deal with but when we examine our WHOLE life, these things--the physical things and the spiritual things can't be separated. They must be truly integrated in order for us to find that connection that we all so desperately long for. 

Yes, I want to be able to press into handstand with straight legs because I know it will feel incredible to be able to be that in control of your body and possess that amount of strength. But more than that, I want to be able to always think before I speak so I don't unintentionally hurt people. I want to give more grace to the people that annoy me. I want to be more tolerant and patient with people that move too slow. Those are the transitions I want to master in my life. And if by working on my mat 3 hours a couple of days a week might show me some results in a few more years, then by golly I gotta lot more hours to log;) It is about the journey. Because at some point along the road, you realize there is no destination.

With deep love and gratitude to all of my amazing students out there who inspire me on a daily basis, and to all of my loving friends and fans that show up for me day after day and leave me comments and "likes" on my social media--you have no idea how much your kindness touches my heart. Thank you for being you. And thank you for your continual love and support on this path.

Namaste right here on my couch for the rest of the evening:)

Jen