I’ve been practicing yoga for over 6 months now and I’m finally getting to the point where I can do some of the poses that were too challenging at the beginning.  While it’s not obvious to me the strength I’ve gained, I know that I must have to be able to balance and hold myself up on my hands for Crow Pose.  More recently (this week, actually), I’ve even managed to do some handstands against the wall, with my yoga instructors spotting me.  I’ve got to work on my core to be able to hold it myself, but I’m getting there!  It’s a great feeling, since I always thought my upper body strength would never be enough for a handstand.

Now, in both classes this week, I was able to do an assisted handstand, even coming off the wall with tonight’s.  But for my teacher guiding my hips so they’d stay stacked above me, I’d say I was doing a real handstand.  I’ll be working on getting up on my own and staying up, then doing it away from the wall.  I’d also like to try some of the crazy balance poses I’ve seen, which is sure to work my upper body and core.  The physical changes may have been gradual, but the effects are becoming noticeable now.  By the end of the year, I’ll be walking on my hands!  😛

I was really proud of myself this week for doing handstands (I even did it twice today).  The more I do them, the better I get!  Soon I’ll forget what it was like to be too weak to get up.  Won’t that be great?  Now I just have to figure out how to get some of the simpler poses right… I still can’t rotate my biceps the way I need to for Down Dog and my hyper-extended elbows don’t help the situation.  Ironic how I am advancing into harder poses, but those basic ones are still difficult.  The hopeful news is that my teachers have been practicing for years and years, so I’ve got time to get better!