Today I finally got an arm balance that I’ve been working on for years.

I attended a workshop this morning with Jim Bennitt at Be Yoga. The workshop focused on balancing postures and arm balances and we also did a lot of back bending (which I love). We didn’t really do much in the way of balancing postures but I did make some big steps on some difficult arm balances.

I have been working on flying splits for years. For whatever reason, I could never figure it out. It’s really not that hard but it literally felt impossible for me until Jim gave me one new cue that totally opened up the whole pose for me. Bam. It happened.

There is something about taking classes from new teachers and attending workshops that fires me up. I love being in a zone of complete non-judment and learning. Everyone was there to soak up the experience and learn all that we could from Jim. The workshop was two and a half hours and it was so nice to get my body open and have time to play around.

One of the things I enjoy most about taking from different teachers is learning new ways to cue poses and open my body. Take this pose for example, an excellent way to open the hip flexor and quad as well as the upper thoracic spine. Eventually your triceps should be against the wall and you should be able to grab your toes. One day!

Jim had an easy and likable presence and I did not feel nervous or intimidated in his class. In fact, he came over to assist me when we were working on natarajasana (dancer) and I was able to reach back with both hands and grab my big toe for the first time. It was a pretty monumental moment.

Where’s the lesson in all of this?

#1 – Continuing education is so important no matter what your field. Like I mentioned above, I always return from workshops totally inspired and with new creativity.

#2 – Don’t give up. This is two-fold. I started this post by sharing that I finally mastered a pose that I’ve been working on for years. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I left the workshop feeling light and happy. Then I checked my phone and saw that I made major mistake at work last week. It instantly brought me to tears and I spent most of my evening correcting the error.

I subbed a yoga class this afternoon and straight up shared with them that I messed up at work…but at the same time something happened today that I’ve been working on for years. The point being that we aren’t perfect. We have to work for what we have and we all make mistakes along the way. There is so much growth to be had from owning up to your mistakes and then being determined to keep trying. We learn the most from the difficult times.