Strike a Pose.

Every year I challenge myself to do something so far outside of my comfort zone that it initially appears to be impossible. This year, I was able to check that box by mid-January, which brought the promise of 11.5 blissful months of anxiety-free living. It's true that I've been able to wallow in my status quo, but it has brought a bit of unexpected boredom. So, I say it's time to shake things up. Seems reasonable, right?

I've recently started "doing yoga." And by "doing yoga" I really mean flailing around a dimly-lit room while simultaneously trying to control my breathing and translate the foreign language the instructor seems to be using. My instructor promises that yoga is an individual endeavor, and that no one cares what anyone else looks like, and as I make extra attempts to ensure my body is pointing in the right direction and my face isn't doing anything alarming, I silently pray that she's right. But I'm pretty sure she's a liar.

Yoga to me is really just the thing I do before having a glass of wine and dinner with one of my BFFs. It's fun and challenging, and while no one is supposed to be looking at those around them, I do sometimes sneak a peek at my fellow classmates for my own personal entertainment.

To say I am terrible at yoga is an understatement. Tragic is more appropriate. But, I am determined.

So far my favorite pose is this fun thing we get to do at the beginning and end of class where we lay flat on our backs and get our heads into yoga mode. This kind of yoga is for me.

But, I need a challenge. And so I'm upping the ante to "master" what is called the Bird of Paradise, which is this little number:

I've given myself until the end of the year to be able to bend myself into this nifty jumble of limbs with ease. This seemed reasonable enough, until I made this announcement to my husband and son, whose disbelief instantly collided with my disbelief over their disbelief. And so now I am determined to become a Bird of Paradise just to prove them wrong.

This is really more of a warning than an accountability announcement. You see, once I master the Bird of Paradise, I intend to strike this pose at any opportunity; in meetings, while teaching, on the side of the road, while grocery shopping, during my son’s conferences. I will use it to convey emotion and punctuate sentences. Just because I can.