Often I'll start free writing with the prompt, 'Who am I?'
This week, I received some humorous answers from my inner intuition. Who am I? I am a flower in the weeds. I am a beacon in the dark. To those who suffer, I am salvation. Who am I? -the Sun Who am I? I lurk in the night. I cause quite a fright. Over all your delicate things I crawl, Soiling and spreading my angst. The world must know how I suffer. Always at the bottom. Always looking down. Who am I? -a cockroach If I read between the lines, I hear, "I am both big and small. I am both love and fear." Even more humorous is that I wasn't looking for those answers! The playful response of my inner knowing helped steer me towards a more precise investigation: Why am I now? -For the children. I'll have to unpack that one at another time. Today, I marvel at the nuance of asking the right questions. Aho!
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It’s the week approaching a new moon and the sky is heavy with clouds. What do we need from yoga today?
-To stretch it out, open it up, and feel connected. -To get into the flow. Tune in to check in. -Begin by chanting Aum three times. -Follow with sun breath and a gentle seated twist. -Open the upperbody with the support of a strap. Move onto hands and knees. -Stretch spine between cat and cow poses. -Flow up and down between up-dog to child’s pose. Move up to kneeling. -Camel warm ups. -Gate pose. -Full camel. Recline, release. -Hold supported bridge. -Rock through lower body thread needle. -Breath through frog pose. Drum during savasana. I had some good insight come through during class today. Through repetition of asana postures, we can evolve our physical bodies to be more flexible. By practicing meditation, Yoga also evolves our mental bodies to be more calm, relaxed, and clear. Finally, adding conscious intention to our yoga practice evolves our spiritual bodies to be more in the flow. Often we progress in that order, or we can work on evolving all three bodies at once. Can we measure our progress? It’s easy to see when our friends or loved ones gain more flexibility or peace of mind through yoga. But how can one tell if a person is spiritually evolving? Especially for ourselves-What does it look like? It can look quite magical, often unbelievable. Many seekers call this elusive state, ‘Being in the flow.’ Surfers do it, dancers do it, and musicians do it. Almost any movement based activity can produce feelings of connection and ease. It’s how professional sports players make their goals look ‘so easy.’ Being ‘in the flow’ looks a lot like being lucky or ‘well-connected’. In reality, the flow IS the ultimate connection. The ‘yoga’ between source and creation-God and Earth. So all those ‘right place at the right time’ coincidences are actually validation that a creation of Earth (you or me) abides with God’s gentle guidance. (It’s why prayer works when you listen as much as you talk.) What my flow looks like I get into the flow most easily on my bike. I start pedaling and coasting and feel my body glide effortlessly over the Earth. Ideas spring forth and my fears dissipate. It feels pleasurable and comforting. At the end of a yoga class, either when I am student or teacher, I feel super connected to myself and everyone in the room. I am in the flow big time. I am energized, present, and happy. I can get lost tending a garden for hours. There is always one more plant to inspect, bug to watch, pile to turn. Physically working with the Earth grounds me so deep that I feel like I just sat in a hot tub or ran a foot race-exhausted exuberance. I enter the flow and forget all outside space and time. This is the goal of yoga. To be aligned in the bliss of present love. |
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