Streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch

At yoga last night the instructor led us through a pose called “Bird of Paradise.” It involves shoving your right leg under your right shoulder while on the floor (or your left) and then standing up on the opposite foot. I could not achieve what is called “full expression” of the posture. I managed to shove my leg maybe three-quarters of the way under my shoulder, then hopped around in a low crouch with my ass in the air while my lithe-limbed classmates stood and stretched and seemed to almost preen themselves. I re-named my version of the posture “A Hippopotamus Goes to Disneyland.”