Pretzels, Anyone?

Was my body really meant to contort that way?  I haven't danced to Achy Breaky Heart yet but I have pulled out my yoga mat and bought a nice rubberized strap.  I usually use a towel to wrap around my feet and lean one leg to the right and then lean to the left.  Recently, I have experienced great pain when sitting on the floor cross-legged.  My hip just doesn't want to cooperate!  I'm not sure if it ever wanted to cooperate.  I remember long, long, LONG years ago when I took ballet- now that's going back decades!!!  I was new to the class and the ballet instructor was telling us to do the splits.  I must have been 10 inches off the ground from that split.  My legs were bent and my face must have been red from struggling to get into position.  The next thing I know the instructor leans on my shoulders and pops me into the splits.  Sure I heard a pop and something like muscles tearing, but I was so proud.  I know I went home joyous and proved to whomever would watch me as I slid into a ballet splits.  Well now I'm cussing out that instructor who is probably happily  pirouette-ing and Grand jeté-ing all over heaven while I, on the other hand, can't even sit cross-legged!  Where are you now, huh?  Why aren't you here to pop my hip into a happy little cross-legged position?  So much for sitting in "seated meditation."  But that's not stopping me from utilizing the VCR and moving from downward facing dog to mountain pose.  Oh yeah, this Strawberry can move mountains with those pelvic tilts!!