Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Squat!


It may not look so hard - but getting my stiff 58 year old body in this position has been a challenge. At first I could hardly bend my knees, so it was impossible. When my knees gained some strength, then is was hard to put that kind of pressure on my thighs. Once they loosened, I could get in the squat position, but had to elevate my heels with a blanket.

This morning I went into the squat position and found my body easing into it - and as I went down closer to the floor I was ready to reach for a prop for my heels, and then I noticed they went right on down to my mat. I certainly felt the stretch, but with no pain anywhere I was squatting. After 156 consecutive days of yoga, it is quite encouraging to find this aging body able to do new things.

It's interesting that I noticed in my classroom last year that as I was struggling with the "squat", children do it all the time - with no effort! I guess we grow up and then need to make our body childlike again....