Don't let it bring you down
Back to school is here! Or is it? What does it look like? How do we feel about it? It's a time of year that we are all so familiar with and yet this year, like everything else in our lives, the familiar is all but familiar and we are being asked to look at a familiar thing in a new way with much uncertainty. That can be VERY hard to do- but fear not- we've got you! This month on the mat we are mirroring this experience and hopefully helping you find the joy, even if it seems like it's buried very deep- I promise you it's there!
This month we are going back to school with downward facing dog! Down dog is a pose we are very familiar with as yogis but one that we often move so quickly through during our flow classes that we never really "see". This month we change that.
This week we are looking at the spine and how aligned, or not, she is in this pose. Finding a neutral spine in this pose provides an amazing opportunity for the spinal extensors to become strong in an opposing relationship to gravity which makes them inherently more resilient. This resilience adds up to less pain and therefore more joy! Finding alignment in the spine in this shape is made pretty challenging by tightness in the backs of the legs, lack of strength in the back muscles and lack of awareness on our part as yogis. This week I ask you to awaken to all of these things in your own body and likely some other things that are unique to you in this shape.
The mirror this week OFF THE MAT that I ask you to ponder is this- Like the natural state of the lumbar is curved and in this shape we want to see the sitting bones lifted but they are instead being pulled down by lack of length and lack of strength- so too is your natural state bliss but it is being brought down by things inside our mind and in our world and we can, at times lack the strength to pull up out of the mud to reconnect to our blissful state. But here is what I want to really highlight- your natural state is joy- everything that is not joy- is an obstacle that is in your way and either needs to be released (like the hamstrings in this pose this week) or using our strength (like the lumbar extensors this week) requires action to move out of our way! Often we spend time thinking we have to make joy, we think that it is missing from our lives when the reality is it is there always and we have to reconnect to our natural state by listening to our Inner Teacher and getting rid of all of the crud that is in the way! Let go or take action!
Can you think about that this week? What action, person, place, thing, thought pattern, physical pattern etc are in the way of your joy and can you take a little step to remove an obstacle.
In addition can you spend a moment or two each day connecting to a feeling of joy deep within. Orient yourself to this space existing and obstacles simply being in the way of you feeling more of it. Likely it is very close to the space where your intuition resides. You see that intuition or, Inner Teacher in our lineage, is ALWAYS guiding you home to the place where your joy lives- listen to and act from this place and real joy will be yours! Join us this week On and Off the Mat as together we can say- I lift up!
With Great Respect and Love,
Nicole
