Boundaries?

I have been contemplating the huge concept of boundaries lately. This may be partially due to the fact that my dear, crazy, incredible husband is running the entire length of the Caminho de
Fe in Brazil (right at this moment). This will total about 353 miles and it has never been run before. So, yes, boundaries are relative at the Roman household. I have also been pondering what it is in us that makes us push the limits of our boundaries. This hugely complex question was made strikingly simple just the other day.

Several months ago, we had a lightning strike about 5 feet from our house. This is apparently pretty common in Fl, but until you witness this vast power of nature up close and personal, you cant really grasp the enormity of the power of our "Mother". Luckily for us, the lightening surged through our underground invisible dog fence, sparing our entire fuse box and untold amounts of monetary damage. We had a dilemma, do we have the fence repaired or take our chances? The dogs are conditioned to the fence. They have been trained to the boundaries of the perimeter of the yard. They "know" that if they push the boundary, they will get a little shock(horrible, I know). For the last 3 years they have been content with the boundaries that we gave them. We decided to not replace the fence (see $$$$$) and assume that the dogs are conditioned well enough to stay put.

Well, you can see where this is going. Our sweet, timid, rescue dog, Zora (ZZ for short), decided to defy her boundaries. Yep, as soon as Chris took off for Brazil, she decided that she would explore. What made her, after 3 years of confined happiness, decide to break through her barrier? Why now? What changed?

Here is what I got out of this whole crazy scenario.....We can easily go through life, content to accept the path and boundaries that we have been given. But how exciting can life be when we try to push the limit? If we are lucky, like ZZ, we decide to break though our boundaries and gallop down the 15th fairway with our long black ears flapping in the breeze, tongue lolling to the side of our mouths, without a care in the world. If we choose to accept our boundaries at face value, we may never feel this type of freedom. ZZ knew that she might get hurt as she tested her boundaries, but nevertheless, she did it. How inspiring, right?

If I can only translate this boundary pushing to my yoga practice. I tend to take the safe route in many postures, waiting until I can master something before I try it in a class full of my yogi peers. I am slowly toeing the line of my fear boundary. Headstand was my first milestone, now handstand has a vice grip on around my heart. I dont know why I have so much fear. When I instruct my own students, I can see when there is fear. I suppose that since I am now acknowledging my fear, I can begin to move through, but man!!!! the fear has me paralyzed. I feel like the ZZ that was content to lay on the driveway watching life go by instead of the ZZ that moved with reckless abandon to feel the wind in her fur.

The fence has been repaired, but Im confident that ZZ will push her limits many times over before she leaves this world. If Im lucky, I will follow suit.