What I no longer care about
This photo is of me on the porch of my bungalow in Kauai where I was leading a yoga retreat in 2007. The pose is kapotasana, King Pigeon.
Not a single cell in my body can imagine doing it now.
I am not a naturally “flexible” person. I had been working on this pose alone in my room for months. It was hard to tell what it looked like from the outside, so I had someone take this picture. I was feeling equal parts relaxed and strong that day, and the humidity helped increase my mobility. (I remember seeing the picture and being pleasantly surprised that it somewhat resembled the magazine versions of the pose.)
It’s natural for our priorities to change. Doing this pose is no longer important to me.
When I get on my mat now and try to do poses that used to be a regular part of my practice… and I can’t do them… I am reminded of the fact that if I stop doing something, I lose the skill of doing it. Other things that come to mind for me are playing the guitar, embroidery and crochet.
I could start again and get at least some skill back. I can grow in any area, with dedicated practice.
I can also acknowledge that there are seasons in life. It’s ok to want to do kapotasana and it’s ok to not want to do kapotasana.
Tell me, what have you outgrown? Or what have you let slip that you would like to grow back into?
