“The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self realization demands very great struggle.” — Swami Sivananda
I did a handstand on the beach! Notice, please, that I used an exclamation mark and not a period. That’s because an exclamation mark makes it sound a little more triumphant than an everyday, non-excited period, and because it truly was a fabulous moment! If you’ve ever done a handstand in the sand, you understand why this was cause for such jubilation — if you haven’t, allow me to enlighten you.
First of all, sand is so soft that it provides no stability when you press into your hands to try and set things up. Second, it moves when you attempt to press off with your foot to kick up. Since I’m not doing “handstand press” yet (that’s right — yet — because I truly believe it will happen some day), having something solid for my foot to push off with is essential. (This was a big eye opener for me — I actually didn’t realize how important the pushing foot was until I tried handstand in the sand and couldn’t push.)
As a result, I had to change locations several times to find sand that was packed hard enough to simultaneously press down and kick up without losing my grip or my footing. I kept trying and trying and was ready to give up, but my husband (who was recording this on his phone) said, “Take your time. You’ll get it.”
Now keep in mind, this little scenario was also in front of strangers on a public beach. Not a big crowd, mind you, but still, this was in front of people I don’t know, watching what was feeling like an embarrassing moment. With my husband’s encouragement, I slowed down, set it up, and kicked into a handstand. On the beach! In front of people! For a whole second! If you watch the video, you can see my excitement.
The excitement is a result of the struggle. The effort. The determination to accomplish something that I really wanted to do, and that I had sorta told others I was going to do (my co-worker Emmie said she couldn’t wait to see a picture of my handstand on the beach).
It may not look like that big of a deal, but for me, it was a triumphant moment and definitely worthy of an exclamation point. Hoorah!
[wpvideo YEdRMcJY]
