Having Faith and Flexibility

When I was a kid, I used to bite my toenails.

This sounds really gross, and I can't dispute the hygiene trouble there. But my point isn't the nail-biting issue. It's the fact that I used to bring my foot to my face.

Not front ways, but from behind. It was just easier for me, I guess. And other than a few people making faces at me, I never really thought much about it.

I am now in my mid-thirties. And I am not flexible. At all.

It never really has been a strong point. I could never do a split. I was never double jointed. And in High School I was always the one who had trouble reaching her toes during stretches. I had trouble grabbing my ankles.

It never occurred to me that I could change this. I guess I just assumed that some people were not flexible, and I was one of them. The stretching that I have done over the years, even when I started working out, has been around stretching out a muscle just so I could work with it. Not increasing flexibility in any way.

I have started doing yoga. Basic yoga. Very basic yoga. In fact, the more I do it, the more basic it becomes, as I admit to myself that I have trouble doing a straight leg forward bend.

But I'm doing it almost every day. And, being mindful not to hurt myself, I am pushing myself a little bit. Because I have decided I want my body to be a little more flexible, and have decided that I can be, as long as I give it a try. It's not too late. All I have to do is have a little faith in myself, and the discipline to follow through.