It is a long time coming... forward backbend.

My hands were together in front of my chest and legs shoulder length apart. I inhaled a deep breathe,  expanded my lungs, took another deep inhale, lengthened my chest and moved my hips towards the front then as I exhaled, looked back , raised my arms , saw the floor and planted my hands on the floor. After getting into the upward bow posture, I swung back-and-forth a few times and inhaled as I swung out with the intention to gain momentum to bring myself to the standing position.

When I am successful, as I exhaled, my body should naturally come back to the standing position. I failed more times than I can remember. There are many reasons. It could be that  I failed to engage my legs when I am getting ready to move to standing. It could be that I didn't move my hip forward enough to get to standing. It could be that psychologically I told myself I can't do it. It could also be sum of all the above. One more reason, it could also be that I am distracted with other things in life and not be in the moment.

I have practiced with many experienced teachers and received a lot of good pointers as they guided me through the pose. Besides my regular yoga teacher , there are visiting teachers a few times a year at the studio where I practice Ashtanga Yoga.  They observed me and provided me pointers afterwards. They were nurturing, nonjudgmental and patience as I worked on the pose. I am been told to relax and to not overthink the pose. I am grateful to all the advice bestowed to me.

I put two and two together and mindfully completed the pose.  I did not do it out of brute force. I did not blindly go through pose without worrying about the result. I went through the pose in my head where I also incorporated the breathing sequence. My hands were together in front of my chest and legs shoulder length apart. I took a deep inhale and raised both my arms. As I exhaled, move my hip forward, arched my back, looked at the floor and landed my hands in a control manner. Then with one inhalation as I swung out my arms then on one exhalation, engaged my legs, moved my hip forward and let my vertebrate stacked up naturally. I wasn't hurrying myself and just let nature takes its course. I stand upright. It is a long time coming and glad I did it today.

This pose has thought me to relax and not to overthink the sequence. I have to trust myself and that there is no need to hurry through the pose. Most importantly, I enjoyed the sense of calmness as I work through the pose. My breathe is guiding me all along and I finally realized that. Indeed, it is a long time coming.