The Splits

Let's just say that I've always assumed that I would never be able to do the splits, I remember trying to slide gracefully in this pose when I was a little girl, when your limbs are supposedly the most flexible. I saw all the gymnasts do it on TV and thought, why not try? So try I did...I mean if it's on TV then anyone can do it, right?? :) I only made it down so far but could never quite get my legs flat on the floor. Oh well, eventually I decided that it just wasn't physically possible for this little girl to do. 
Fast forward about 20 years and that little girl now sees people, in real life, doing the splits right next to her in yoga class almost every day! Yoga has become a huge part of my life, since I started practicing just over two years ago. I started out incredibly "unbendy" and now find myself contorting into poses that I stared in awe at people doing in the very first class I attended. I'm not an advanced yogi by any means, but do strive to someday be able to do headstands and even the scorpion pose, among other advanced poses. The splits, though, has never been on my list of goal poses. It's just something I thought I knew my body could just never do because there are limits to my flexibility and I assumed this was one of those limits, therefore just kind of accepted that fact. It's not like the splits were going to change the direction of my life or anything.
In addition to yoga being a large part of my life these days, I've also been consumed with decision to attend grad school to get my MBA and ideally I want to start next fall. In order to apply for grad school, I need to take the GMAT test, which intimidated me to no end, especially the math portion. So to prepare for this test and in order to feel confident in my math abilities, I enrolled in a GMAT prep course. I attended the first class this past Sunday where they presented all the students with a stack of at least 15 study books, including a guide to preparing for grad school, with information on the timelines, what admissions at the top 10 schools are looking for in candidates, etc. Pretty intimidating for someone who hasn't been in a classroom in 6 years, but I was actually really excited to dive into the material and start learning again. (Guess that means I really am ready to go back to school, ha!) I've been researching all different MBA programs and of course, drooling over the programs at the top 10 schools, but pretty much knowing that I wouldn't be able to get into any of those schools. I mean, I didn't attend an ivy league college with a major in neuroscience, while saving the children AND the rain forest in a 3rd world country...so why look or even try, ya know? And course, after looking just to torture myself, I fall absolutely in love with one of the ivy league programs...what can I do to get into this program that received over 7,000 applications last year, but only accepted about 300 candidates?! I dived into the MBA guide book to discover what I needed to do...and it basically told me that I'm screwed and if I want a shot that I should wait another year to apply, but to go out and save the world in the meantime to strengthen my application. Yeah...not the answer I wanted and the frustrating thing is that I'm not getting any younger and I know if given the opportunity I would absolutely thrive at this top 10 school...and I just love the program, but at this point, a lot can happen in a year, waiting would be hard to do and I want to get started now. So what do I do?? Wait for a year to potentially get rejected or try now with almost certain rejection? 
And neither option is appealing to me, I needed to clear my head, so off to yoga I went. Usually going to one class makes my world crystal clear and puts me back on track. Not that day. I was not only mentally conflicted during class, but also distracted by the actor who came in late and set up his mat right next to mine. I wasn't distracted in the star-struck way because he comes to class all the time, but distracted in the annoyed way as I wanted to focus on yoga, but now I had this actor next to me which was taking some of my attention because I was half-hoping for something funny to happen while we were practicing to also distract me from my grad school thoughts. 
It wasn't something funny that happened at all, we're nearing the end of all the standing poses and doing the final deep stretches, which is when the Gumbys of the class slide effortlessly in the splits, normally this does not bother me at all. Oh, but that day, when I see this actor right next to me, who had just started going to yoga less than 2 months before, start sliding into the splits position, I was annoyed. He is not the lean, slender, typical yoga type, definitely not the type you'd expect to see doing the splits. How could he do that?!?! How could he do the splits and I couldn't?? Suffice it to say, I didn't leave class in my usual state of bliss that day. 
I went back to yoga the next day having forgot about the splits incident the previous day, but still confused about my life's direction, even after consulting with two of my wisest and logical friends. This class was much better, no distracting actor today and when we got to that same deep stretching point...I don't know what possessed me, but without really thinking about it, I started to slide into the splits...and it was almost effortless, before I knew it, I was almost parallel with the floor and it didn't hurt!! My jaw was probably on the floor because I had no idea that I could do what I was just doing...without a problem!! I kept looking at my legs as if they were not my own, I had never seen them do this before. How did I not know that I could do the splits?!?! Granted, it wasn't perfect splits form, but it was on it's way. I was shocked, I really had surprised myself, I did something that I had no idea that I was even capable of doing and I had pretty much assumed I couldn't do it, so I hadn't tried before. And I was able to get up from the pose as effortlessly as I started it. 

After I shook myself out of my state of shock, I realized that this was kind of the whack on the head that I needed for my grad school dilemma. I have to just go for it, all of it, this year, not a year from now...I have to try because I could surprise myself again, I could do something that I had no idea I was capable of doing! And if I don't get into the top-10 school, then it wasn't meant to be...wherever I end up in a year is exactly where I'm supposed to be, but I have to try now, to give myself that opportunity to see what happens. Who knows...maybe I'd be one of the first yogis, who can do the splits, at this top-10 school? Ya never know!