Patience and Practice are so annoying.

Yesterday a girl asked me to teach her how to headstand.  I asked if she’d ever done yoga before and she replied, “nope”. Hmm...two words came to mind, baby steps……

Today one of my closest girlfriends told me she took a workshop style class and most of the students were also teachers.  There were a lot of inversions and she wasn’t able to do them.  She was discouraged and asked me two things, 1. How do you get over comparing yourself to others? And 2. How do you get better faster? 

Growing up I played sports.  My mother – ever the supportive optimist – would cheer me on, win or lose.  My father – ever the abrasive pessimist – would tell me alllllllllll the ways I could improve.  We used to have family meetings after every game in which he would critique my performance.  It didn’t matter if we won or lost I could always do better.  In many ways I appreciated the tough love and in other ways I loathed that the words “good job” just were not in his vocabulary.

I remember many a monopoly game that went into the wee hours of the morning because neither of us would call it - let your 8 year old win? No way.  Even to this day I’m a highly competitive person, my ex boyfriend hated playing games with me and when I went to Mexico this past time with my TC I stopped communicating like a rational human being once I started losing at ping pong (I swear I could of won – just needed more time. It was a warmup I tell you!!).

I'm not sure you ever “get over” comparing yourself to others - especially if you're a competitive person such as myself, but you can change your mindset. Those people in headstand, want me to tell you what they’re thinking? “Relax the shoulders, pull belly button to navel,  squeeze the back, hips over shoulders….oh shit, am I even breathing?…..” If they think anything else – they will fall. There is no “oh look at me, I’m so much better than that girl over there in childs pose”. No, they don’t even see you. Their eyes are laser locked on one – not moving – point.  A lot of times when I go into a pose I close my eyes.  Sometimes if there's an inversion, I can do it, I just don't want too - not that day, so I go into child's pose. This isn't the crossfit games, no medals are handed out at the end of class.....so really, you just have to let that shit go....

And getting better faster? Yah…that’s the dreaded P’s: Patience and Practice.......Practice and Patience..........

So I’m going to go practice ping pong and maybe next time I play I won’t stop verbally communicating and contorting my face like a 5 year old…hmm…ok…let’s not stretch it, I promise I at least won’t throw the paddle on the table…..baby….steps.