Challenges in Yoga mirror challenges in life

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Sheryl Checkman

Firefly pose side view

Yoga is a never-ending practice of self-exploration. Each practice is different. What I can do one day, I may not be able to to the next. On the other hand, what was once difficult can also become obtainable. The same is true in life. My yoga practice allows me to check-in with my body and mind for 75-90 minutes and explore the possibilities and boundaries for the day. Being a somewhat “type-A” personality, I like to challenge myself, working on guiding my body into new, often difficult poses – preferably without hurting myself. The key here is to listen to my body’s signals, and know when to stop. I may not be ready to get there today, but maybe next time.

Headstand is one of those yoga poses that I thought I would never be able to do. It just looked too scary to me to even try. But I did try it and thanks to my wonderful yoga instructor Suzanne and the intention that I set for myself to overcome my fears, I now can do it with very little effort, and no fear. I don’t even need the wall (most of the time!).

Next, I challenged myself to learn Firefly, or Tittibhasana, as it is known in sanskrit. This is an arm balance pose that requires a lot of core strength. My instructor told me how to start out using blocks to get into the pose at first I then looked at some pictures and videos online showing the full pose and little by little I have been able to accomplish it. No longer using the blocks, I can now hold the pose longer and get my legs out straighter at each new attempt. If I fall out of the pose, I just try again. No judgement. I found this video online that gives a good explanation of the pose. Next up: Side Crow!

Firefly pose front view

What I have learned through challenging myself in yoga is that whether or not I am able to do the full pose is irrelevant, it is that I keep trying, accepting each days’ accomplishments for what they are, without judging myself. I may never achieve the full pose, and that’s ok. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Now the biggest challenge is to take this into my life off the mat.

What challenges are you working on?

I could have swam with Diana Nyad!

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Sheryl Checkman

Diana Nyad swims 48 hours in Herald Square

How many times do you find yourself saying, “If only…”? For me the latest version came when I walked over to Herald Square a couple of week nights ago and saw Diana Nyad at about the 12 hour mark of her 48 hour swim to benefit the New York victims of Hurricane Sandy. Being a swimmer myself, I thought how cool it would be to swim beside her for a few laps. I walked over to one of the security guards and asked how one would get to join her in the pool. Alas, I would have had to sign up weeks ago! If only I had found out about this opportunity to swim beside Diana Nyad in time to sign up, I would have had an experience of a lifetime! But, just standing along the edge of the pool, so close to the water that I could have touched it was still an amazing experience!

Diana Nyad is an inspiration! After 30 years she finally realized her life-long dream to swim 103 miles from Cuba to Key West this past September. Her failed attempts over the years never caused her to give up that dream. While the thought of all those hours in the water makes my skin prune, I admire her determination and I applaud her success. It just makes me want to keep on striving to achieve my dreams. After all, anything is possible if you keep going after it!

Maybe I’ll send Diana one of my Life is Balance® “Take a breath” inspirational t-shirts!

Do we really need a garbage dump on the Upper East Side?

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Sheryl Checkman

Green space instead of a garbage dump at 91st street

Do we really need a garbage dump on the upper east side in a residential community? I live in the neighborhood that will be directly impacted by the construction of a garbage station: the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station (MTS). According to Pledge2Protect, (a coalition of residents, businesses, organizations, educators and parents working to stop the construction of this MTS) “The East 91st St. MTS will directly affect the 22,056 residents who live within a quarter mile of the site, which is 25% more people – and over 30% more children – than all of the other six MTS combined. It is also the only MTS located near a major public housing complex.” In addition, the location for this MTS is in Flood Zone A, putting it in the highest category of risk for flooding which could result in the displacement of both residential and hazardous commercial waste into the neighborhood. Marine Transfer Stations do not belong in residential neighborhoods. They belong in industrial areas. It’s just common sense.

The photo of the demolition of the existing unused sanitation facility, above, was taken from my yoga class at Asphalt Green, a state of the art fitness facility which is right next to the proposed MTS. It is a facility that caters to young athletes from all over the city (like Lia Neal, who just brought home an Olympic medal from the London Games last summer) as well as members (like me) from the community. Getting rid of that eye-sore is a good thing. Replacing it with an MTS is a bad thing. Why not use the space instead to create a beautiful public space (similar to the 72nd Street pier on the west side)? Just imaging a plaza, overlooking the East River, with an al fresco cafe. Or maybe a couple of public tennis courts – with a bubble could go over them in the winter. A summer stage for concerts, movies under the stars, free yoga classes… the possibilities are endless. The west side has Summer on the Hudson. Why can’t the East side have something similar? Wouldn’t creating a useable public space be a much healthier project? And, I bet it would cost the city and taxpayers far less than the quarter of a billion dollars that the construction of the MTS is going to cost.

What’s your opinion? Garbage dump or park? Is there really any question?

Stop the dump next to Asphalt Green