It's Not a Competition!

I love to tell people "I"m always up for a challenge!"  When it's suitable for me to say that is.  And I truly am a person that is always up for a challenge, perhaps it is the competitiveness in me that makes it so or maybe it's the fact that I love the feeling of persevering through something difficult and coming out in the end with the proud feeling that I didn't stand down, which in a sense would make me masochistic- but lets leave that subject for another blog entirely.

I took a Vinyasa Flow class just recently, and found the Yogi's teaching style to be more geared towards toning and balance rather than relaxation or flexibility as some other classes are.  This particular practice proved to be the most difficult yoga practice I've had since starting, and of course "I'm always up for a challenge!"  There were a lot of tiring toning exercises and difficult balancing postures I had to Child Pose my way through but "I'm always up for a challenge!"  So naturally, if there is a pose that I even think I can possibly do- I try.

"Reverse Prayer Pose" the Yogi instructor announced, the students stood in mountain posture and took the  Reverse Prayer Pose, as did I.

In the midst of putting myself into the Reverse Prayer Pose I felt an instant burning and then a blast of pain go through my shoulders which had me doubled over holding my shoulders in an instant.  I quietly walked out of the classroom as best as I could without giving way to the embarrassment that I could not even do a Reverse Prayer.  I sat myself down on the bench in the women's dressing room, my hearing was going out, my vision darkening, nausea took hold of me and still my shoulders were in pain.  I put my head between my legs and breathed it out.

For 5-minutes I sat in the dressing room taking my time to have my shoulders feel better and myself as well.  The thought about not going back to practice crossed my mind, the pain had been excruciating but thankfully it was gone now.  I got up and went back into the practice.

The lesson I learned that day was, it is great to want to overcome a challenge, however one must know their limits.  While some forms of yoga can be easy for others it can very well be hard for some.  I've heard a Yogi say in class once, "don't push yourself too hard, do what you can", I believe that day I pushed myself too hard, in my quest to face a challenge I became competitive with myself and my abilities.  

And so I leave here saying to you what once the wise Yogi said, "don't push yourself too hard, do what you can" after all, it's not a competition.