Kickstand

Sometimes, you just need to take a step back...

 

Mountain Pose (variation)

Talk about your slice of Thanksgiving humble pie! This pose never made any sense to me until recently.  Honestly, it never made sense to my body what I was trying to make it do. I would consistently attempt it with little success...unless you consider a good ole face plant a success. ;) The level of frustration has been pretty ridiculous.  So much for leaving my ego at the door. 

The way the pose is supposed to work is:

-From downward facing dog, bend your right knee and place the inside of your leg/knee on your right tricep.

-Bend your arms until they are at a 90 degree angle (elbows over wrists). This creates a tabletop for you.

-Using your core, lift your left leg off the ground.  You can add on by lifting both feet into the sky.

-All while keeping your chin off the ground.

-Slowly bring your feet back to the mat and vinyasa to downward facing dog and do the other leg!

It turns out that "Mountain Pose" is a more local term for this gem of a pose.  It wasn't until I stumbled across an awesome variation of it on Instagram that I realized that you could use your chin as a kickstand to create a building block variation...which would lead to the name of this pose being Chinstand. Go figure. Turns out that using your chin as a helper is just as fun as attempting to not face plant without it.

All is took was one small adjustment to realize that this goal is possible.  I just need to take the correct steps in learning how to get there.

What a great segway into utilizing kickstands in our lives...

This year has been an amazing one. Not because it was full of blessings, which it has been overflowing with, but because it was full of trials and obstacles that had to be faced head on in order to overcome.  It's pretty easy to say with confidence that looking back, it was all worth it.  Funny how those obstacles weren't funny at all during the midst of them...

I had all but given up on the dream of ever becoming certified in yoga.  My insecurities, finances and lack of hours in a day prevented me from seeing what was possible if I just gave up my worries. What do you know? As soon as I stopped fretting, BOOM, everything fell into place (see previous post).  The crazy part is...once I was able to do teacher training, I was still afraid of failing.  I had held on to this dream so tightly that I had convinced myself it wasn't possible. I just knew I wouldn't be good enough (whatever that means) and that I would be a disappointment.  Something was going to happen and I wouldn't be able to finish my training. Like I said, looking back it seems silly, and at the time, it felt terrifying.  All this money, all these dreams, all this time and effort...what if I fail? Maybe if I quit, I won't be able to disappoint myself.  Boy, am I glad I was surrounded by awesome people and leaders who would not let me give up on myself!

So what if there is an obstacle in your path?  That means someone thinks you're strong enough to handle it, and maybe, you're supposed to learn life lessons through taking a few kickstands while waiting for the full expression. For me, one day I will be able to reach my toes to my head (possibly a multiple year plan) and I will be able to do "Mountain Climber" without using my chin.  Bring it.

Don't weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not  your own. Instead, make your relationship with Me your primary concern. Talk with Me about whatever is on your mind, seeking My perspective on the situation.  Rather than trying to fix everything that comes to your attention, ask Me to show you what is truly important. Jesus Calling

Namaste, God Bless & War Eagle!
Kristen

Chinstand in action!