Finding the Fierce in the Daily.

OFF THE MAT

Weekly Thought Offering:
It can hurt you or it can introduce you to your strength. You pick.
~Nicole Katz~

Weekly Journal Prompts:
The day to day thing in my life I know is not good for me is…
This could hurt me by… This could also strengthen me by…
When I think of my energy as strong and constant I feel…

Weekly Mantra:
I can do hard things
- Glennon Doyle

Hello Sadhakas!
This is week 2 of Crow Pose and we are headed into the tricky territory of our low backs.
If you have been working with me for even a short period of time you have heard me talk about the low back (our lumbar curve) and how we excessively round the area leading to many, many, of us having low back pain. Constantly and consistently, I remind you to find and maintain a lumbar curve in down dogs, in half lifts, and more. But here is the thing, it’s not that I never want you to round your low back, I just want you to know when you are doing it. I want you to do it to the degree that it is good for YOU and I want you to do it without pain. This requires two things: consciousness and strength.

ON THE MAT this week we are working first to release some compression that may be lingering in the lumbar before we ask it to round. This is the HUGE gift of an intelligent asana practice; it can counter pose life. It can undo what our daily lives do to us. Once we have done that we will work on creating a healthy and strong combination of hip and spinal flexion. Those two things allow us to stand in a space that could otherwise harm us but instead it’s igniting our strength.

OFF THE MAT I ask you to explore the same thing. Where in life are you facing something that might cause you pain? How instead can you awaken consciousness and strength? Channel the lion within and the courage to forge through the fire to the gift of light, joy, and of strength on the other side.

With Great Respect and Love,

Nicole