I use the words of this subject in a lot of the classes I teach.  This past week I had to put them into practice in my own life.  I attended an AcroYoga training in PA.  For 5 days we flied (envision the airplane game you played with your kids....see the picture), based (I think I was born to be a base) and spotted.  

I signed up for the training because it looked like FUN! And I was curious what AcroYoga was all about.  Was it something that I would want to share with our Studio South yogi community or my family?  I loved the Thai Massage that was taught and the therapeutic flying (the picture is an example of this), however when we moved to the Acrobatic side of AcroYoga...I began to resist.  

It was an odd sensation.  I was surrounded by people who absolutely loved the Acro side of things.  Were giddy with excitement.  But yet I really wanted to pack my bags and head home.  What I learned is that the fundamentals of Acrobatics and Yoga are not necessarily the same.  You are taught to stack the bones to feel lighter.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around how this could be beneficial for my joints.  But I pushed on.

By the end of day 2 I thought I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  I was sore in places I didn't know exist but more than that....I just didn't feel good.  I was sad.

As a side note, I do not practice headstands.  As a matter of fact, I do not allow headstands to be taught in our studio.  I have plenty of friends who love a good headstand but I personally can not see how the risk is worth the reward.  With a strong family history of bad necks....I'm not willing to stick my neck out (hehe).  I'm pretty sure the neck was designed to support the head...but I digress.

As we moved into Headstands, I finally admitted something to myself.  I am not an acrobat and I do not do headstands.  While I totally respect the field....because, man, they can move their bodies in some pretty phenomenal ways.... I do not embrace Acrobatics as part of my yoga....and after 4 days of wanting to curl up in a ball and disappear, I embraced it.  I allowed myself to accept it.  But had I not attended this training I would not have learned that very valuable lesson about myself.  This lesson of acceptance for not being something.  I also would have missed out on the Thai Yoga and therapeutic practices, which I love.

So I guess the lesson of the day is that it's ok to not embrace everything.  By honoring this fact without judging AcroYoga, I feel better and a little closer to knowing myself, for which I am grateful.  I took what resonated and left the rest.

Namaste Y'all!

Katy