“It’s all about getting back up again!”

 

So here we are at week 4, the last of a 4 part handstand series. I was really motivated to give it my all, and I felt really strong! As with all the other classes, I fell a heck of a lot…but I kept plowing on. I focused on the mind-body connection this week. Sometimes we want our body to do something, and the only thing preventing us from doing it is our mind-or thought process. We are afraid…afraid of failing, afraid of falling. It is that fear of the unknown. It is amazing how much our mind can hold us back. Sometimes we *think our body is capable of doing something when in actuality our bodies are just not trained enough to do it. I flipped back and forth between these 2 scenarios quite a bit…but somehow “met myself in the middle” I made progress. This is the first week that I actually stayed upside down for a longer period of time and started to feel comfortable being in that position! I also learned a different way to “climb” up the wall, and that boosted my confidence! I can now comfortably do something that I was very fearful of in the past.

 

This “fear of the unknown” reminded me of the fear I experienced with starting up my new blog/facebook page. Every risk we take is scary, whether it be a physical or emotional risk. New things are plain old scary.  We get used to living in a comfort zone, and sometimes we don’t want to leave it. However, by pushing our boundaries (the ones we’ve created in our mind) we can truly grow as a person. RE: blogging, it is difficult to put yourself out there. I am literally sharing a piece of my life with a whole lot of people. I’m sure many people will disagree with my opinions or philosophies, and it’s hard to feel strong.  I was shocked at the positive response I received, and all the support! I was expecting things to move slower. I have met so many amazing people in such a short time. Even though the response has been amazing, I still have that fear of falling-just like the fear of falling during a handstand. Sometimes I don’t have the answers to the questions people ask me. I am admittedly no expert. Sometimes I fear that I will fail. However, every time I hear the negative self-talk in my mind, I take a step back, regroup and pick myself up. Just like I fell quite a bit during the handstand practice, yet I did not stop trying. I know I will fall quite a bit in life, with all my life decisions. How else will I grow and become a better person? You can’t grow without some growing pains!

 

I have been practicing my handstands every single day. I climb the wall, I do push-ups, I do planks and I jump up. Each day my body is getting stronger! I am proud at the progress I made and will continue to practice so that I may easily get myself into a handstand position without any support. During this series I reached out for help, I felt low, I felt high, I felt weak, I felt strong-The most important thing is that I became more in touch with myself and how I was feeling. I made connections that were not there before, and I learned more about myself. I became a better friend with myself!

Namaste!

*thanks to my friend Melanie from Out Of Eden Photography for the pictures!