I always thought that if I continued to practice I would get stronger and be able to ‘float’ forward and back through my vinyasas. I sure gave it a good try with about 18 solid years of effort and numerous workshops where I thought I would discover the secret.
The image to the left is deceptive as I am hopping forward with very little floating going on. If I had the strength to lift my feet from the floor while forward bending, I would maybe stand a chance of floating my legs back.
This image on the right says it all – this is how I landed in my jump backs. Is it any wonder that I ended up with shoulder injuries? Now to be fair, my landings were not heavy thuds. I am able to muster up enough strength to have fairly light landings but the problem is that the wrong muscles are doing the work. I simply do not have the strength in the right places to float.
Will it ever change? I’m not sure and I really don’t care. My concern now is just building strength in the areas that are weak in order for my overused body parts to finally get a break. It’s been about 18 months of work thus far but I have yet to make up for the 18 years of overdoing it in the wrong places. Doesn’t matter – I’m loving the ride!!