When we received our learning materials, it was with great interest that I poured over the famous “brown sheet.” So excited to see all the poses that we would be working on, I quickly flipped it over to see the full array for the course. It all looked pretty familiar except for the few like Super Soldier and Drummer Pose – but I thought to myself…”doable.” But, then I saw it – PINCHA MAYURASANA. Nooooo!!!! I don’t know why – it’s completely unreasonable really, but Pincha scared me. Maybe because of my flat back and stiff shoulders – the thought of bending my back in such a manner and putting my full weight on my shoulders simply scared me to death.
I was actually happy that I shared this with Jessica; she very kindly took note of this and was happy to be extra patient and supportive throughout my process of learning. I found that taking this pose one step at a time, preparing the body with the proper strength training and warm-up of the joints and muscles, learning how to “lightly” move into this pose made it “doable” – just like the others. That’s when I realized that every pose has its “process.” So, it never needs to be scary. With the proper preparation and support from a well-trained practitioner, even the “scariest” poses can become a reality. Thank you, Jessica, for not only coaching me to get into Pincha, but also for teaching me how to approach every ‘scary’ pose that comes my way – whether is be on the mat or in daily life.
-Patricia Makatsaria
