Day 34: Standing on my Hands

January 2010, I set my one and only New Year's Resolution to get into a yoga handstand all by myself. You'll also notice this was on my list of goals that I wrote in this blog. I have been working on getting into a handstand since starting yoga in 2008, fully believing that I would never be able to do it. My mind likes to believe that the wall is going to move away from me at any moment and leave me dead and flopped over on my back--or something similarly irrational.

I've gotten much, much closer to a yoga handstand recently, simply by doing it a couple times a week for the past two years now. I was so dangerously close on Thursday that I knew that the next time I practiced, I would arrive upright on my hands. On Sunday, the teacher didn't do yoga handstands in class; and while I was a little disappointed, I already had a blog post, so I didn't have to fight between two wonderful accomplishments.

Today, however, it was game time. I was determined, excited, sure that the teacher would include them in class, and most critically, I didn't have a blog post lined up, giving me extra pressure to step up to the task. I walked into class trying not to hype myself up, as I am prone to doing, and didn't want to wear my arms out with sun salutations so I took it a little easy. But my efforts were lost, because the class just wasn't pacing itself towards handstands.

After this sad realization, the remainder of the yoga class was shot and my meditative mind was anything but. I spent the rest of class thinking up "new things" that I could do cheaply at home and on limited time. It was the ultimate defeat to my personal accomplishments and to the blog.

When I got back to the apartment I saw my last hope-a beautiful open wall--perfect for executing handstands. After almost giving up again, I had a flash of brilliance, and I produced a perfect handstand ALL BY MYSELF.

Literally my first handstand I did by myself ever. Thank goodness Mark was there with my camera!!

Goal-ie

I'm a frequent visitor to the Lululemon blog. For those of you uninitiated, Lululemon is a yoga/running/dance/athletic clothing store whose impact goes beyond clothing. They make a point to serve the communities where their stores are located and have very positive, inspirational corporate values. While I can't afford a stitch of their clothing (and don't believe that their $98 racer back top will get me into a handstand any more gracefully than my Target top), I really do think that many of their mantras have a lot of value (examples: "Dance, Sing Floss and Travel!", "Mediocre is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life.").

On one particular blog recently I read about a lady writing down and achieving her dreams in New York. It just so happens that I have been meaning to do this for a long time. I wrote down my 1, 5 and 10 year goals. I came up with about six for each category and hope that these will inspire me to achieve these and add more.

One Year 

1.       Travel Internationally
2.       Join a volunteer organization (and stick with it)
3.       Run a half marathon
4.       Do a yoga handstand
5.       Do something new every day and blog about it
6.       Practice writing in an effort towards writing the book I will publish within 10 years

Five Years

1.       Move away from Atlanta
2.       Do a road trip through the American West
3.       Run a marathon
4.       Become a certified yoga teacher
5.       Find my career passion
6.       Make over $70,000 a year

Ten Years

1.       Spend a year abroad
2.       Be proficient in French
3.       Write a book and have it published
4.       Be actively involved in yoga or another physical activity
5.       Climb a mountain
6.       Start a family