Today is a YOGA day.
Take some time today to reflect on your yoga practice. Maybe you try a new pose. Maybe instead of practicing at a busy studio, or with your toddler climbing on you, you practice alone with only your soul. Read our guest post today and you’ll be inspired to hit that mat.
Mahvish is a Living Fit Columbus/ptown run club member. She was a part of our original HG crew and is [finally!] back in Columbus to join us again. You can read more about Mahvish in our earlier post HERE. She offered to guest post for us today. Be ready to be inspired!
[m ahmed]
Falling…
Our own bodies are an example of it. When our bones break, they are built back even stronger. This is something I am all too familiar with from the four stress fractures in a row I’ve had and being told I could never run distance or practice yoga again.
Our bodies are vulnerable, yet resilient and capable of so much its just a matter of being patient with the process. Patience has always been a test for me, I’ve always wanted to run before I could walk, handstand before chataranga, have the answer without knowing the question and have that fairy tale ending before writing the story.
As I recently moved back to Columbus from NYC, it has been a culture shock and a mix of emotions to say the least: Here I am in a city and life that almost feels foreign. As soon as I got off the airplane, I had to rush to buy my first car in hopes to make the yoga class I so desperately needed. Finding a new place to live in Columbus has been more overwhelming than in NYC with all the new [housing] developments. Leaving a love behind in New York, to start a new job in Ohio, was difficult all in its own right. Marathon training has been put on the back burner since the passing away of four people in one week. Trying to reach my personal yoga pose for the month has turned into a source of stress when it was once empowerment.
SO much is uncertain, things feel upside down and I keep pushing until….SNAP! I’m broken.
I won’t allow myself to believe the doctor because when we are broken, we are built back stronger, bones heal harder, we learn to run faster, I can hold a pose longer. I have to be patient with the process, with myself, with my body, with my struggles, with changes and find comfort in them. It is not about how hard we fall, or if we asked for help getting up… as long as we make it back on our feet. 
My last day in NYC, I had the honor of practicing with my yoga instructor, Kenny Firsby, of Laughing Lotus Yoga. He asked what I wanted to work on that day. It was fitting for me to respond “falling” with all the unbalance in my life. I asked “How do you fall” and his response was beautiful as he said, “Let go of the fear, look up and forward never back, and trust you’ll land on your feet.” I trusted him, as I went from handstand, to scorpion to wheel.
Some may look at that as a blind landing when really it is focusing on what’s ahead of you and having faith that your past has set your foundation.
Victor Kiam said, “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” Well, I’ve basically face planted, but as many of us do, we have to remember that’s also when things happen, new doors open, new opportunities arise, and you finally make it to that finish line. Heck that might even be what gets you to the start…the start of something new, the start of the next chapter, the start of the next race. We are all afraid to fall, but should see it not as a failure, but an opportunity to make an even greater comeback. This is when we find out who we are and who we are destined to be.
Falling is just a means of getting there.
I’ve always admired those that have ENJOYED their race training or yoga practice because the end result is the fruit of their labor and a mark of what they went through to get there. Sometimes the struggles and obstacles seem overwhelming. This is where the potential becomes greater, mistakes turn into success, flaws become assets and what we once were afraid of gives us confidence. On days I seem to fall the hardest I have to remind myself, “Don’t quit before the miracle happens.”
So I will get back on my training starting today and finish that marathon.
I will nail that monthly yoga pose.
As for you Columbus, welcome back. Let’s see what you have in store for me.
While my life might seem upside down right now, I guess I’ll have to learn to walk on my hands…finally 🙂
Lan (left) and Mahvish (right) working on a nighttime yoga pose routine for our blog.
Stand on those heads ladies!
We must note… the day after Mahvish submitted this post, she completed her 18 mile training run! You go girl!
Just joining us? Below are some links to get you started…
The synergy of running and yoga
RUN + YOGA Living Fit [Columbus] Challenge – Day One
The challenge is below, both a picture and pdf version.
YOGA + RUN challenge [PDF version]
Disclaimer: We are NOT PROFESSIONAL runners or yogis, so make sure you check with your doctor and/or exercise professional for tips, advice, etc. We are just a group of fitness junkies who love a good challenge now and then 🙂
Living Fit [Columbus] 