One of the things I love about yoga is that it’s YOUR practice. You don’t have to push to conquer every super-duper, mega-tough, look-at-me-I’m-awesome pose, nor should you.

But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to master at least a FEW challenging poses. Lately, I’ve been working toward – OK, obsessed with – crow and headstand. In my head, this is me in crow:

Strong, beautiful, in control. By the way, that’s not me. It’s a photo of Kathryn Budig I found on the Internet. She’s awesome. Great photo, too, but I couldn’t find a photo credit.

In reality, when I try crow, I either fall back onto my toes or do a faceplant into the pillow I’ve strategically placed in front of me. I’m still trying, though.

The headstand obsession is working out much better. I’d been practicing dolphin pose to work up to it, but hadn’t had the nerve to kick my legs up and go for it. But, thanks to an assist from my friend Beth Lytle this weekend, I’ve got it now. Well, thanks to Beth and to a lovely wall in my foyer.

Beth is a yoga teacher in Tyler, Texas, newlywed to a longtime friend who plays in a band (Buffalo Blonde!) with my husband. After we got home from their gig about 1 a.m. Sunday, we started talking yoga, and I mentioned my obsession. This naturally led to her teaching me headstand in the wee hours of the morning after an evening of Thai food, a few drinks and much dancing to original rock-n-roll music. Looking at me probably wouldn’t have been very impressive, but it sure FELT awesome! I loved it so much that I did it on my own again the next day. I’m ready to make headstand a regular part of my practice. And maybe one day I’ll feel strong enough to move away from the wall.