Meeting My Goals

I have a goal. Yes, another goal. I am still working toward my 'most fit self' goal for my birthday this year, but after spending a few weeks in the yoga studio, I'm adding a new one.

I'm not exactly sure what it is.

I know that I want to learn the sun salutations, and get so familiar with them that I can make them flow and do them at home in the morning. But my bigger, longer term goal, is to have the strength to do a solid headstand, and eventually work that into Vrischikasana, or Scorpion pose. No small feat for a beginning yoga student. Thus, my goal is tough to set.

 

In order to set a goal, we need to use the S.M.A.R.T. principles. 

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely

So, I know specifically what I want to do, and can measure what it is. Is it attainable and realistic? I believe it is, with many hours of practice and work to help me move towards those poses, but timely it is not. I cannot set a time goal because, with yoga, I believe that we follow our body and listen for it's readiness. 

While I do know that I will meet both the headstand, and later, Vrischikasana (!), I don't have any clue as to when that will be. I do, however, have a first step in getting there; increasing my time in the studio. This means taking a Saturday morning class at Prana whenever I can, and picking up available classes at the gym. Prana Yoga in Denville is nurturing and challenging, and the teachers are amazing. They work on prana (breathing), asanas (poses), and the spiritual aspect of the practice. 

The first time I saw one of my teacher's, Christy, gracefully move into a handstand, I knew I wanted to do it. Her body aligned perfectly, and I was in awe. In another class, we worked into a position from table, to something I thought the teacher called Scorpion. When I talked about having done it later on, I noticed that people were a little too impressed at my ability to do it. I looked it up online, to check and make sure I was calling it by the right name, and Boy, was I wrong! I don't know what the asana I did was called, and while it was lovely, it was no Scorpion. 

This is Scorpion. 

I guess this goal doesn't meet the S.M.A.R.T criteria. Still, it's on my To Do list. For sure.