Force vs Flow
I recently started with a personal trainer, a treat to myself. I never had one before. It might seem a little silly to some people; after all, I am a fitness instructor and have trained other people. But, I've never been able to do a pull-up and I wanted to kick up my strength a notch. That is my real goal - to be able to crank out some pull-ups on door lintels (top part of the door frame).
My personal trainer and I play with yoga after our weight lifting session. He comes to my classes and knows where I want to progress in the poses, so we are good partners. I was working with him on handstands today. To practice, you place both hands on the floor with your feet down and your body in an upside down V-shape. Then you lift one left up. Gently bending both knees slightly, the practice work is in kicking the top leg up until the bottom foot starts to lift off the floor. The ultimate handstand is a graceful controlled lift to an upside down vertical position. My trainer is a very strong guy and tried to muscle it up on the first one, knocking the wall with his feet. We both laughed as he dropped his feet back to the floor. On his second attempt he let it flow and was able to lift up without torturing the wall. It looked, and felt (he said), so much better.
Where are you "pushing" when you need to ease up and let things come to you?
Relax, breathe, know that you've taken all the right steps to get to this place and let it flow - onward and upward.
