Beyond the comfort zone

Teaching this old dog new tricks has never been daunting before, I'm always game for a new challenge. But as I near my 6,285th dog year, I realise that I have never tried yoga before! Roping in a few colleagues (also first timers), we set off for our first class. My sister inherited co-ordination (she is an amazing ballroom dancer), whereas I have seven left feet. Beached whale, roly poly, you name it and I was it. I have never been able to touch my toes (arms too short, my spine doesn't bend that way, whatever other excuse I could come up with), but to have to swing my legs up to the sky, then gracefully touch my toes to the floor unnaturally North of me while the ship is rocking East to West? Suffice to say that although I will be returning next week, I do hope that the clumsy toddler act will be a little more refined by the time I have to hoist my feet above my head again!

As much as I love trying something new, I am very sentimental about my former life lately. I have always believed in only moving forward - don't go back to backwards. Like childbirth, one tends to forget the pain and anxiety, and only recall the joy. In a way that's good,that's what reminiscing should be. But the reality is that much of the battle was tucked away deeply, and occasional unlocking of that vault is therapeutic. It helps me to re-pack that box more neatly, with reminders of why it was buried. Taking the best out of bad situations is a survival tactic. You always want what you thought was great until you remember the ratio: great vs awful. I hope that the longer I live, the more the balance of that ratio will be swung in my favour.

None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so why are we worrying today? Worry only when it happens, otherwise you will have worried twice! Yoga may not have come naturally to me, but at least I am trying. Going beyond my comfort zone is the only sure fire way of learning, by trial and error, what and where I am supposed to be at this point in my life. So the challenge is set: on the 25th anniversary of my 19th birthday, I will start a year long quest to try one new experience each day. No excuses, just goals! Forcing myself beyond my comfort zone for my own good :)