An un-challenging resolution

I'd just got home from the bitter cold, put the kettle on, and settled myself comfortably on the couch for an evening of telly. I was just trying to decide between Law and Order and House, when suddenly I remembered the mat.

Last week, in a sudden burst of healthful ambition, I had entered a sports store and procured myself a yoga mat. Classic purple mat designed for the occasional spot of yoga at home. Brought it home, immediately rolled it up into a neat tight log and tucked it away in the far corner of the coat closet where I wouldn't feel compelled to make immediate use of it. Just owning the mat brought such a ring of satisfaction, I didn't actually have to even use it.

So this evening, just before I settled my posterior into optimal telly-watching position, I decided to make a go of flopping around a little bit on the mat. So I sat myself down with legs outstretched, and tried to reach my arms out towards them. I could barely reach past my knees.

I , recoiled, mortified by my own inflexibility. I'd never been like this before. Who was this person who couldn't reach her toes?!

I've always taken health and fitness for granted. Effortlessly, without trying, without practicing, without having to work at it. And now, all of a sudden, here I was, held away from my toes as though by a glass wall. So I decided to take a different angle, and tried to split my legs apart to see how deep I could split. I barely got half way down, when I was stopped, grunting and mid-split, by my own body's limits.

It was at that moment, legs mid-split, grunting exertions, muttering expletives, that I decided: It has to get better than this.

Voila my new year's resolution. In 2005, my resolution was two-fold: eat healthier; swear less. It took my three years to actually be able to perform these, so there were no new resolutions till now. But this year, I'm going to make one again. Not because I've particularly mastered the art of eating healthier, or swearing less. Just because, if I haven't got those two down by now, let's face it I'm never going to.

But a bit of flopping around on a purple mat at home each evening - now that sounds like a resolution which doesn't pose too much of a challenge.