I'm Good At Yoga?

So I had something really exciting to me happen in yoga class this morning...

As usual, I was struggling and with splits and forward bends and all of those poses that some people just do with ease, and I do as easily as you might bend a 2x4.

So when we got to "camel pose", the instructor kept going on and on about how people shouldn't push themselves too far if their bodies didn't go that way, to just lean back slowly, that it was all about getting an even bend through your upper and lower back, yada, yada, yada.

I didn't quite understand all of her warnings about how difficult it was, as I just leaned back, grabbed my ankles, and just looked up at the ceiling, doing well to keep my nose flat (like a camel) as instructed. Suddenly my yoga instructor was by my side and saying, "Everybody, please look at Adrian!"

Oh crap, probably to say, "Here's a common error and exactly what you shouldn't be doing", right?

So you can imagine my surprise when she said, "This is an absolutely textbook perfect camel pose. Even I can't do it that well. Adrian, would you mind turning to the side and doing it again so everyone can see you?"

Ummm...sure, except I have no idea what on earth I'm doing that is so perfect! So I move to the side so everyone in the class can get a clear view of what I'm doing, go back into the pose, and wait for the instructor to say, "Oh no wait, that wasn't like you did it before..."

But no, she then points to the arch in my back, pointing out to everyone how I've got an even arch all of the way through both my upper and lower back, that my neck is straight, and I'm still apparently doing it all just right. Seriously, I'm actually GOOD at something in yoga? And funny enough, when she traced the curve of my spine, I could feel it, although I had no idea that I was being so textbook perfect.

She then went back to the front of the class and demonstrated, but saying, "As you can see, I don't have as good of an arch in my upper back as Adrian does. She really does it much better. Oh Adrian, how I envy you your back!!"

So I was totally chuffed. Admittedly, given that my yoga instructor is in her late 50's or early 60's, saying that I have a better back than someone twice my age is really not saying much. Still, to do the pose better than the yoga instructor? How cool is that?

And then of course, we immediately went back to doing forward bends, and I went back to demonstrating how much I suck at yoga. But at least I had one moment of glory!