I'm perched in karandavasana when I realize help will not come.
Karandavasana is possibly the hardest asana overall in the intermediate series of Ashtanga yoga. It is so hard that women aren't held to the same standards as men. All women except for me.
In karandavasana your forearms are on the floor and your legs are in the air like when you stand on your head except your head isn't on the ground. Then you cross your legs like a pretzel (in the air) and lower them down to touch your armpits with your butt hovering in the air above the ground. You perch there for five very slow, very deep breaths and then you slowly reverse the movements, taking the legs back up to the ceiling. Then you hop your hands and feet into the bottom of a push up position. So, yeah, it is hard.
Men have to be able to consistently do the whole thing with ease and grace before being moved on to the next asana in the series. Women only need to be able to come down and perch. From there one of the assistants or my teacher picks you up and puts you in the original position but you do have to jump back correctly before being moved on.
The female version I got, no problem. I was moved on a few years ago and so today I do the usual. I take my legs up, I cross them, I slowly lower down and breathe calmly, waiting for someone to pick me up. Five breaths (which is all you need to do) go by, ten breaths, fifteen breaths, twenty breaths and I realize that help is not coming. I sit down and look across the room to my teacher who is looking at me and then looks away. This means "do it yourself because you can". Standing next to me is one of the assistants and he is kind of chuckling to himself.
"Really?" I shrug and try again.
No one comes. And again. No one comes. and again... Each time the two assistants are just shrugging and saying sorry because we all know that this is kind of a big deal and it is funny at how impossible it seems but he really wants me to come up by myself. Eventually he does come over and helps me up. He did this the last trip for a minute and I guess I never took the hint or at least not seriously or it is just a really slow process mentally and it doesn't need to be. Sometimes it is hard to believe in yourself as much as someone else. And this someone else I truly believe and want to see it through because he has absolutely no reason to need to believe in me. He just does.
Karandavasana is possibly the hardest asana overall in the intermediate series of Ashtanga yoga. It is so hard that women aren't held to the same standards as men. All women except for me.
In karandavasana your forearms are on the floor and your legs are in the air like when you stand on your head except your head isn't on the ground. Then you cross your legs like a pretzel (in the air) and lower them down to touch your armpits with your butt hovering in the air above the ground. You perch there for five very slow, very deep breaths and then you slowly reverse the movements, taking the legs back up to the ceiling. Then you hop your hands and feet into the bottom of a push up position. So, yeah, it is hard.
Men have to be able to consistently do the whole thing with ease and grace before being moved on to the next asana in the series. Women only need to be able to come down and perch. From there one of the assistants or my teacher picks you up and puts you in the original position but you do have to jump back correctly before being moved on.
The female version I got, no problem. I was moved on a few years ago and so today I do the usual. I take my legs up, I cross them, I slowly lower down and breathe calmly, waiting for someone to pick me up. Five breaths (which is all you need to do) go by, ten breaths, fifteen breaths, twenty breaths and I realize that help is not coming. I sit down and look across the room to my teacher who is looking at me and then looks away. This means "do it yourself because you can". Standing next to me is one of the assistants and he is kind of chuckling to himself.
"Really?" I shrug and try again.
No one comes. And again. No one comes. and again... Each time the two assistants are just shrugging and saying sorry because we all know that this is kind of a big deal and it is funny at how impossible it seems but he really wants me to come up by myself. Eventually he does come over and helps me up. He did this the last trip for a minute and I guess I never took the hint or at least not seriously or it is just a really slow process mentally and it doesn't need to be. Sometimes it is hard to believe in yourself as much as someone else. And this someone else I truly believe and want to see it through because he has absolutely no reason to need to believe in me. He just does.
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