When You Feel Inspired?

To work toward this:

And this:

 

There poses are just a couple out of the hundreds I want to master. Actually, that's not the right word. I will likely not be able to master many before I get to an age where my body just starts giving up on me no matter how healthy I try to stay. But, I want to be able to give it a solid try, and hold the pose long enough to at least fall out of it with a huge smile on my face, or long enough to get a good picture snapped!

I started practicing yoga about a year ago, thanks to the encouragement of my athletic and soon to be a naturopathic MD friend. All she said was that "it'll be good for me" and that "you will feel great". My initial reaction was mega resistance. I was not flexible, my balance was no better than a drunk's, and I had minimal muscle strength.

One year later, I feel SIGNIFICANTLY different. Not only am I in better physical shape, and can conquer poses in a heated room I didn't come close to even just a few months ago, but my mentality has changed for the better. I am able to let thoughts go and stop myself from thinking about stupid things that take up space in my brain. It's so nice to be able to lose yourself to a mind and body challenge for 75 minutes, and then walk out of there dripping sweat, feeling muscularly exhausted, yet so energized and balanced.

Some examples of activities I was not able to do prior to starting yoga include:
- doing a push-up, with elbows tucked close to your body
- not getting tossed on the subway every time it halted

Some examples of activities I definitely would not have been able to do, or improve in prior to starting yoga include:
- running at a quicker pace without my lungs and legs feeling like death
- carrying a friggin 45lb canoe on my shoulders through some uphill, rocky, and marshy terrain

I have discovered one thing I am truly passionate about. And that is huge for me. I have so much love for yoga that I have it sold to a few friends who are regulars now. It's such a great bond to share with them.

I watch and follow the instructors in awe, as they float from pose to pose with complete ease and grace. Throw in a couple of one-handed push-ups with a leg on top of your shoulder, and you have me floored. I hope to channel some of this energy into other aspects of my life that are lacking "oomph". In the mean time, I will continue to inch my way toward achieving the standing split pose, the headstand without a wall pose, the wheel pose, the crow pose...the list goes on.

What's your inspiration?