My two worlds of bendiness

I have these two worlds - my yoga world, and my contortion world.  They overlap so much and yet they differ so so much.

Both worlds are worlds where i bend and balance my body into extreme positions.

My contortion and handbalance world is a world of creativity, extravagant costumes and make up, taking solid foundations/moves and embellishing them with a uniqueness to make them mine.  Doing crazy positions and having the freedom to do exactly what i want to do.  Choreographing all of this to music.  Wearing lots of sparkles and make up.  And that is just the bit people see.  Behind every performance is a massive amount of time spent doing administration and a wealth of other things that enables me to be a freelance performer.  Having the best skills or acts is nothing if you don't have the abilities to promote these and do all the tedious admin to go alongside it.

My yoga world began after my contortion and handbalance world.  I entered this world of set asanas, but a world which has developed me greatly, it took me back to the foundations for flexibility and corrected bad form and technique, it made me work both sides, it continually corrects my bad habits, it continually develops me in many ways including but no way exclusively my flexibility and strength and teaches me what i missed when i taught myself.  It teaches me discipline, and has made me a healthier person in mind and in body.

I love both worlds.

When I first began Bikram Yoga...

I am sure i still do a few things that maybe in a year or two would maybe make an appearance on this list, but here are some of the crazy things i did when i first began Bikram yoga back in 2009, i grew out of them all lol :-)

Extra towel:  Concerned about getting acne spots from putting my face in the midst of my very sweaty towel I used to bring an extra little towel especially for the floor series to put my face on.  I kept this up for quite a while, even though my nice face towel also then got really sweaty and so was a bit pointless...

Blowing my body:  In the beginning days I decided it would be a lovely idea to provide my own air conditioning by blowing my body throughout class.  I would be in poses like standing separate leg stretching and blowing cool air onto my belly from my mouth.  It felt quite nice, though i'm guessing completely mucked up my breathing and dehydrated my mouth.  I did this for months and months until i grew out of it.

Pretending to do standing separate leg head to knee pose.  In my first classes when i heard the teacher say one of the benefits of the posture was that it regulated your metabolism i backed out of the posture.  I have a fast metabolism and freaked out at the fact it might regulate it/make it slower.  I did this for ages... happy to say that now i do do the posture fully, and that i am still the same weight...

Full on warm up before every class.  I used to go to evening sessions after i had done a full on 3hr handstand and bendy training session, i must have looked so bendy.  I didn't want to go without it as i felt i needed it...  Now i settle for a quick 10-20 min stretch in the yoga studio, i still appreciate a bridge and some lunges.  Tbh I would probably still love to do a full on warm up except now i go to morning sessions and i am a sleepyhead and usually get up and go straight to yoga.

There are likely more, some i probably don't even know about or can not remember, if i remember any i will update this post :-)

Yoga 'But She Was A Gymnast'

Today one of my yoga friends told me she recently stuck up for me when people were saying my practice was good because i was a gymnast.

One of my absolute hates is when i am talked about in the context of yoga with 'but she was/is a gymnast' or 'but she is a handbalancer/contortionist', and that is why she can do everything easy.

Yes apparantly because I was a gymnast as a child, then that is why i am good at yoga asana at age 31.

WRONG

I WORKED VERY VERY HARD ON MY ASANAS, SIMPLE AS THAT.  MOST OF THEM FROM WHEN I BEGAN YOGA AND COULD NOT DO THEM.

A) If you are performing the asana with correct alignment then regardless of where you are depth wise then you gain the benefits and we are all as good as each other.  Within the doors of the yoga studio i compare myself to no-one and nor should anyone else.  Yoga goes beyond the asana, there are eight limbs of yoga and asana is just one of these.

B) I couldn't do many postures/asanas when i began yoga (especially hip opening ones).  I still have many i can't do yet.  But i practice regularly and with hard work i achieve some asanas and go deeper in asanas, and achieve better alignment.  The more you practice and the wiser you practice the better you get, at anything.  I get many benefits from the asanas i do, and i want to get the benefits from doing some of the asanas that still elude me and so i physically work hard on them, and i never see things as impossible.

C) I didn't pop out my mother's womb in a handstand or a backbend, gymnastics only developed me a basic two arm handstand, a bridge, and nice splits, i couldn't do things like press handstand as a gymnast.  Yep guys, as an adult i worked my butt off on my handstands and flexibility, i was never fortunate enough when i was learning for there to be any handstand class anywhere near me, so i have mostly taught myself.  I always arranged my furniture in my bedroom so that there was a big space i could practice and train my handstands and flexibility.  I was fortunate i picked up enough knowledge through other people along the way that teaching myself was a successful feat.

D) The reason i am so strong is because I never stopped, i retained the strength i had developed as a child because i never stopped doing acrobatic type things.  You don't use it you lose it, i never stopped so i never lost it.

E) I developed a lot of my flexibility through stretching a lot by myself since i was in my late teens and early 20s.  Gymnastics helped because i knew how to stretch, but it was my own dedication that every night would work hard on some stretching.

F) What my childhood gymnastics training did do is strengthen me, both mentally and physically.  It gave me the knowledge that to get good at something you have to work hard at it, you have to dedicate yourself to it, you have to push yourself to your limits to go past them and develop.

G) I wasn't, but even if i had of been a top level gymnast, that also means someone who worked very very hard every single day in the gym for years and years, sacrificing parties/going out with friends as you have prioritised training, dedicating a childhood to a sport that requires you train a massive amount of hours a week, the tears, the blisters and calloused hands, the aches and pains.  That's what i see when i see a yogini/yogi who has a past in elite gymnastics, it isn't easy for them because they were a gymnast, they just sometimes have a bit more depth and strength in postures because they worked hard over many years and dedicated themselves to a sport, an activity, that developed certain abilities.  Don't ever be jealous of the fact someone was a gymnast, most often they still have very much to learn that the yoga world can offer them.