I haven’t competed in quite a long time. My main reason for not competing was my inability to stay in the posture. The last time I competed I fell out of the first two compulsory postures and I felt like I wasn’t a great demonstration of a yogi. So why compete again? Because to me competitions like this are more about the challenge within than with others. I have found my yoga practice lately to be a maintenance program, meaning I usually find myself practicing 2-3 times a week. I also have noticed my balance, flexibility and strength have changed and I am not able to do the same things. Now so of this is simply age right? That’s what we tell ourselves, as we age, it is ok to do less because “that’s what happens when you age”. But is it ok?
No, it’s not ok! So I decided to compete to force myself to practice more and be more mobile, more strong. Did it work? Eh. Maybe. I wasn’t able to practice and train like I know you should but I did find during class I was challenging myself more to stay in a posture. And now that the competition is done, I have noticed more times than not I can do more in class. I am more flexible, more strong and have better balance…which is the point. So until next year…..off to yoga class!