Handstand anyone??

There is an abundance of yoga 'selfies' involving the handstand.  It has been drip feeding into my consciousness for a while now and I have always been a bit of a handstander over the years but not a very accomplished one (sometimes during my teens and twenties they were wine induced handstands - not very sensible!) Weirdly I mainly 'handstand' in the Summer, just as I did when I was a child.  Simply because we spent so much time outdoors and it seemed natural to try and stand on my hands, knowing there was a soft grassy blanket beneath me when I inevitably fell down!!  I suppose you could say I have been a 'fair weather hand-stander'.

There seems to be an obsession with handstands on social media and at the risk of climbing on the bandwagon of handstands, I have been doing some Winter handstands indoors, mainly with the safety net of a wall behind me.  But as usual the nagging thought in my mind is 'why are you doing it?  Is it because you have seen so many yogis and yoginis flipping up in the air and showing their own practice? Is it your ego rearing it's head yet again - taunting you to practice?'  But the other part of me says 'No, I just feel great upside down, yes it's pretty tiring and seems to expend an amazing amount of energy but it gives me a feeling of strength both physically and emotionally'

There is also another feeling of flipping everything upside down, so when negative thoughts creep in a few kicks up to the wall and I have soon got myself out of my head and into my body.  There is something liberating and freeing about doing it - maybe it's because it reminds me of being a kid again.  I was never any good at team games and competitive stuff, I just didn't care enough about winning to really try - but I always loved standing on my hands and on my head and doing cartwheels.  It's probably just a way to play and have fun - so maybe I'm not really doing 'yoga' when I am doing it, but that is a discussion for another day.......I think I'll stick with it as long as I am having fun and try not to analyse my reasons for doing it!!

The first photo is me aged about 9 years and the second photo is about 30 years later!

 

 

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Whimsical Nun's Prayer(17th Century)..for grumpy times!

Yesterday I found myself in a grumpy mood, no explanation for it really.  Just felt decidedly grumpy.  Maybe I am on the slippery slope to becoming a grumpy old woman I thought - but it reminded me of a reading that my Mum gave to me and it prompted me to scrabble about amongst my yoga papers to find it.  I'm not sure who originally wrote this piece or even if it was really written in the seventeenth century.  It is just a photocopied sheet that my Mum sometimes reads out in her yoga classes and I have occasionally read in my classes.  I love the whimsical, slightly tongue in cheek tone to it, but it does deliver quite a poignant message.  Needless to say - my grumpy mood lifted, and I resolved never to turn into a grumpy old woman, maybe a slightly batty, eccentric one - but never, ever grumpy!!  Enjoy.......

"Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old.  Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.  Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.  Make me thoughtful, but not moody: helpful but not bossy.  With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details, give me wings to get to the point.  Seal my lips on my aches and pains, they are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.  I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other's pains but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-surety when my memory seems to clash with others.  Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may have been mistaken!

Keep me reasonably sweet.  I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with.....but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.  Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people and give me O'Lord the grace to tell them so!
Amen"

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