"If you think you can't work any harder in the 'basics,' you don't know the basics."

My teacher's feisty words run through my head as I study my persistently stubborn shoulders.

•

There are days for pretty poses.

There are moments to free fall.

But the real transformation happens through the diligent, quiet investigation of my body—

the light and the shadow of it—

as I move from "basic" pose

to "basic" pose.