Class# 185; AYC DC Mysore Class # 35: Do. Or do not. There is no try* & a Jedi Assist

According to the Mathematician and the Artist, I didn't crawl much when I was a baby. I'm almost positive my reasoning went something like this: Why am I going to crawl around on the ground, getting myself dirty when everyone else is upright moving so much more efficiently? Walking was pretty much where it was at. They are oft and quick to regale me with the story that I stood up unassisted in the URI quad, took two steps, paused, my eyes widened and then fell to the ground. And after that, there was certainly no going back.

Of late I've been "forgetting" to work on standing from Urdhva Dhanurasana (UD) being "too tired" to attempt to stand. Yes, there's a 4" bench available to assist in standing and drop backs. I've tried it and have not gotten any closer to standing. Drop back, no problem either with or without the bench. Standing just wasn't happening. Besides, if I'm going to stand, I'm going to stand without the bench.

(I have noticed that I do have a slight proclivity to stubbornness.)

On my first UD of the day, D walks by my mat and inquires, "Are you going to stand today?"
My response, "No." I return to the floor and reset for my second UD. I go up for my second UD, and walk my hands closer into my heels. 15 breaths, I do a little rocking back and forth, return to the floor. My "final" UD, I go up walk my hands insanely close to my heels.

I see two feet enter my dristi, and they aren't mine. D, tells me "You're going to stand." I realize there is no other option as the feet disappear to my feet. As I let out a frustrated sigh, D presses two finger tips smack dab in the middle of my maunbrium (upper part of the sternum - yes I still somewhat remember anatomy from AP Bio all those years ago) and I stood up. I really stood!? Don't ask me how it happened but it did! I dropped back, his finger tips still there and back up again. D gave me some coaching on drop backs, and on my second drop back, I got a little hang time before my hands touched the floor, it was almost as if his finger tips were holding me off the floor. Crazy. From that point on, I felt like a character from a Pirandello play. Up and down, up and down.

But if I had known it would only take two finger tips!



*Yoda, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back