But, this past Thursday, in the midst of my Yoga practice, I decided I would reapproach the Handstand Press. In one attempt, I was able to lift all the way up to Handstand. It felt like a miracle!!! I attempted it again, and again I lifted into it. I was literally squeeling and jumping up and down with the excitement of a 5 year old, or perhaps, a 29 year old and so I called my girlfriend to share the good news with her. She always told me I would be able to do it and she was right...

We always hear Yoga teachers say, "Listen to your body." It sounds cliche, but it is true. After practicing it a few more times on Thursday, I felt my body telling me to take a rest. I also told myself I would not demonstrate the pose in any of my classes yet, until I had spent more time practicing and developing into it. I suppose my excitement was infectious, because on Friday (I didn't listen to my body and) I ended up demonstrating it in both of my classes, per the requst of the class. As I was demonstrating it, and this time not being able to lift up which I knew was going to happen since I am just beginning to develop into this pose, I knew after the third attempt that I had overdone it. The rest of the night, my left arm was tight and sore, and I worried that I had reinjured it.

Our bodies always know what is best. So, I am making a new commitment to honor my body and its guidance. I haven't practiced Handstand Press once since last Friday. My shoulder, thank goodness, felt better the next day, but I'm aware my body needs time to rest. Backing away is one of the most challenging practices in Yoga. If we overdo it, we create strain and even pain which impairs our ability to feel good in our bodies and practice regularly. This is why it is essential to rest. Even though I'm just learning Handstand Press, I don't need to practice it everyday to master it. As long as I keep practicing Yoga, this is what is important. All of the poses and the practice will eventually align me right into the place I need to be in to grow most fully. Time away from Handstand Press is giving my body a chance to rest and recuperate from this new place that not only my muscles, but my bones and every other part of myself is adjusting to and aligning with. Practicing a Handstand Press or any Yoga pose that challenges us is intense. We've been conditioned to believe we need to keep doing it, doing it, doing it..."Just do it" if we want to see results, but Yoga teaches us the exact opposite is true. Maybe what allowed me to open into a Handstand Press was that I didn't practice it at all for three months. Ah ha! We have a tendency to believe that if we're not practicing the exact pose we're working on we're not growing or opening up to it. Actually, all of the poses interconnect in Yoga. One pose leads to another and each pose is a building block to support the next pose. So, while I wasn't practicing Handstand Press, I was practicing Lolasana and really began to deepen my practice of it just a few weeks ago. Lolasana is an intense shoulder, back and core strengthener. I believe it's the practice of this pose that allowed me to grow into a Handstand Press and also another pose I've just begun to awaken to called Eka Pada Bakasana or One-Legged Crow Pose.

So keep practicing, but know, that sometimes the body needs rest to grow.