satisfiedI <3 myself as well today. And the reason why is simple: in our monthly 'yoga intensive' (the usual 2 hours workout, then a break for lunch, then another 4 hours of concentrating on just one or two asanas), I managed both the vrksasana and the niralamba sarvangasana! Okay, they're both pretty basic, but I've never really liked the latter before and have always been in favour of skipping it. I know I'm a wuss, but I'm not happy standing on my head or my shoulders. I don't like looking at my tummy; it was never meant to be seen upside down and up close, and I'm always afraid its very weight will shift down and snap my neck in two if I get into the posture completely. Also, I don't generally enjoy having my boobs plop down onto my face, and suffocate me. But today, strangely, this didn't seem to bother me, and before I knew it, I was upright in an upside down kind of way!
However, it was achieving vrksasana, the Tree Pose, that really made me feel good about myself. I've always had a bit of a problem with balancing poses as I have an injury to my right leg which means it isn't as strong as my left under normal circumstances; but for the last few months of course, my left hasn't been much use to me either because of the trauma to my ankle, and as a result, I've come to hate any pose that requires me to stand on one leg for any amount of time. So I tried and failed, and tried and failed and...bloody hell! I'm standing on one leg, and I'm not falling over or sideways! And a few minutes later, I'm still standing on that one leg, my other leg bent to the side, and I can stretch my arms up and up...It's a pity I had to switch to the left leg after a while. The ankle still isn't strong enough, and I fell flat on my face again. But you know, from small and inauspicious beginnings...I may be back on heels sooner than I previously thought.
A cheerful thought, that -- especially as on my way home, I saw a lovely pair of pink high-heeled strappy sandals...
