“Let loose of what you can’t control. Serenity will be yours.” ~~ Author Unknown
(This pic of me was taken at an event hosted by the yoga studio I teach at, by my wonderful friends Ela and Nick, who own Light Ideas Photography)
In last week’s post, I mentioned that I would be spending the month of May focusing on staying grounded, since this time of year can be so busy and chaotic for many of us. Last week, our focus was more external…we spent lots of time on the feet, ensuring they are aligned properly in order to give our foundation lots of support.
This week, my plan is to focus a bit more internally, on the concept of inner calm. In my mind, inner calm is the strength to stay mentally, emotionally and physically steady…even when in the midst of difficult times. If you are anything like me, this is not an easy thing to achieve!
Things are definitely a bit on the chaotic side for me right now, for a variety of reasons. If you were to ask me to describe myself and my emotional state at this moment in one word, “steady” would definitely NOT be the word I would use. What about you? How do you feel, physically and emotionally, when things get stressful or out of control?
In yoga, we can start to work on this by incorporating more mindfulness, breath work, and poses that focus on physical stability. In classes I teach this week, we will begin with a mindfulness exercise, working to find our center and balanced breathing. Being mindful of these two things will help us to connect to inner calm more easily.
If you’re not able to make it to one of my classes this week, you can easily work on these things at home. After centering yourself with a mindfulness exercise like the one I mention above, focus first on simple poses that develop the physical action of staying grounded. Poses like Mountain, Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Triangle and Chair are all great for this. Move more slowly, perhaps, so that you can really focus on staying strong and grounded. Next, move on to more challenging balance poses, moving slowly and methodically so that you still feel grounded and at ease with your breathing. Finish up with some seated or supine poses like Bridge, Supta Baddha Konasana, any supine twists…all with the mindset of settling in and feeling steady and grounded. Of course, don’t forget Savasana…once you’ve settled in to Savasana, you should feel serene, peaceful and totally relaxed. Enjoy!
Namaste,
Melanie
SC Yoga Girl 