The Road to Chaturanga

You might not believe me when I say this, but it's true - I didn't pass the physical fitness test in grade school. Ever. The test has four parts: curl-ups (aka sit-ups), shuttle run, "sit and reach", and mile run. Except for the sit-ups, I didn't pass any of the components. I was inflexible, weak, and slow (kind of funny when you think about the crazy pretzel-shapes I get myself into now at yoga).

My fitness levels were always something I was ashamed of. All the "cool" girls at my school did sports, whereas I was considered to be a nerd. It wasn't a weight issue - I looked like a Q-tip with my frizzy hair and lanky body. But this just goes to show that a person's weight may not directly correlate with their level of physical fitness.

Even now, at the fittest I've ever been in my life, I am still seriously lacking in the upper-body strength department. And even though I'm a yogi and a rock climber, I still can't do a regular push-up. Really. I want to work towards it, though - which is why I've been working extra hard at my Chaturanga pose in yoga.

Lowering myself down ever... so... carefully... (in fact, you can see me biting my tongue in concentration!)

To do Chaturanga, you start in plank position with your arms straight. Rolling your toes forward, you slowly lower yourself until your arms are at a 90 degree angle. This is very important - it's what makes the entire pose. In addition, your arms must be hugged very tightly into your body in order to achieve the correct form.

It doesn't sound hard, but the whole point of the pose is lowering yourself slowly, with control, then hovering just inches off the ground for as long as the pose allows. From there, most teachers will guide you into upward-facing dog pose, which is a natural progression from Chaturanga.

While my Chaturanga still isn't perfect, I'm proud of all of the progress I've made. When I first started my yoga classes, I'd have to lower my knees whenever we went into the vinyasa flow... now, I'm on my hands and toes for Chaturanga like the best of them.

The best poses take time, determination, and perseverance, but if you keep going you really can do anything you put your mind to.