I want to be a Florence Nightingale

I started doing yoga in October of 2016. All my yoga activities i learned on youtube. It started from just 30mins. to 45 minutes vinyasa flow with lots of chatarunga’s until i tried one inversion which is the sirsasana (supported handstand which i learned in about a week) that was in December of 2016. That got me interested to know more inversions and arm balances.One particular inversion that i thought i could learn quickly then was the Forearm stand (pincha mayurasana). At around December 2016, i began practising using the wall, and was able to achieve it then. I thought at first ,since i got to do it on the wall, then doing it in the centre of the room would have come just as easy ,but i was wrong. When i tried it, i fell on my face and felt my body is too heavy for it. So i gave up on it and proceeded to be content with knowing how to do the sirsasana, I have been doing 2-hour interval yoga daily ever since with sirsasana incorporated on the asanas. This helps improve core strength among many other health benefits. Also, i have been doing my yoga practices on the boat for 6 months now, and it has helped a lot on building balance during my practice.Along the way, i have been learning some inversions and arm balances such as (in order of progression)

• crow pose
• tripod headstand
• eka pada koundinyasana I
• eka pada koundinyasana II
• fallen angel pose
• flying pigeon pose
• eight-angled pose
• side crow pose
• ghanda bherudasana (chinstand)

On May of this year, i thought, with my daily 2-hour interval yoga, i could prolly try the handstand.So one day i tried practising the handstand and along the way of looking through tutorials for it, that day of May 17, 2017, i happened to view Kino Mcgreggor’s video on Building strength towards forearm stand, i was not optimistic then but i tried it anyway.So, i tried that 30-minute video and felt my shoulder really burning then. When it came to the part of doing the forearms stand, to my big surprise, i was able to hold it with one leg up and the other leg tucked near my chest for 3 seconds. This was at the centre of the room without the help of a wall and props. I did not want it to be just a fluke, so i persist and incorporated the shoulder strengthening everyday on my asana practice. Since then i was able to hold on my forearm stand on two feet up much longer now. The shoulder strengthening sequence worked and i have been trying to build on making my forearm stand better and stay longer since. It isn’t perfect but yoga is not about perfection, its about doing what gives you joy.Here’s a video of the practice.

https://youtu.be/R0cPwBAkoiM


My Takeaways:*Be consistent with my practice. *Do not limit my body to what i can and cannot do. *Be patient. Do not give up on my goal.*Stay safe and make safety my no.1 priority. *Listen to my body and know when to stop.*Build on my strength and flexibility gradually.*Find joy in my practice.Who knows! one day i might be able to do a handstand and incorporate scorpion pose! =PDisclaimeri do not recommend that you attempt any of these poses or yoga exercises without suitable experience and supervision. i offer no medical advice. You should consult a medical practitioner before attempting any exercise and particularly yoga, to ensure that you do not injure yourself. This is particularly important if you are overweight, pregnant, nursing, regularly taking medications, or have any existing medical conditions.