Tag Archives: practice

This Week in Yoga ~ Unfolding

Hi Yogis,

Last week in yoga (I know, someday I’ll catch up) we worked with the concept of unfolding.  In a mat-based yoga practice, this means two things:  1) we allow the pose to unfold during the course of several breaths, and 2) within the pose unfolding, the body unfolds, as well.

For instance, when practicing Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle pose), instead of leaping into a pre-conceived “final” version of the pose on breath #1, we start gently by simply reaching to the side with straight legs, both arms parallel to the floor.  On breath #2, we lower the front arm, pressing the back of the hand gently into the inside of the front thigh, or, resting the palm on a block, while the back arm drapes behind the lumbar spine.  Breath #3 will take the fold at the hip deeper, if that seems wise, and the bottom hand closer to the floor.  20190110_0715412322849988521377645.jpgThe top arm is invited to reach upward, and the gaze is directed to the ceiling, side wall, or floor.  Breaths #4 & #5 will offer the space to remain, back out, or go deeper into the pose.  In this way, we take the pose in stages, which allows the body to warm up to the shape without any pressure to find the edge.  Only by the final breath(s), if it seems wise to do so, will we explore the edges of the pose as they manifest uniquely in each of us.

During practice, we unfold the pose and the pose unfolds the body, so that by the end we might feel like we’ve arrived in a totally new place, not just “regular old triangle pose.”  The fuel for all this unfolding is the breath. It is in each inhalation that the body expands and creates space, and in each exhalation that the body stabilizes and grounds.  In this way, the breath acts as “the great unfolder,” a beautiful thing to experience.

Happy Practicing,

The Catholic Yogi

 

 

It is Time

Dear Yoga Friends,

Each of our days holds twenty-four precious hours, and depending on our circumstances, those hours either drag on endlessly or rush past us on bird wing.  I have a wonderful poet friend who once told me that she simply could not carve out time to write anymore; instead, she had to “take a machete” to her days in order to hack down the stalks of obstacles, obligations, and should-do lists.  I love this image of a powerful woman wielding a powerful tool with such focused intention, determined to create moments, or uncover an entire hour, in which to practice her craft.  She began saying no to some things and yes to others.  She reordered her days.

In mid-Ohio it is newly spring, and the ground has yet to soften completely.  Still, green shoots are sprouting up all over the land, and I am reminded that while I can’t control everything, I can acknowledge my priorities.  I can nurture certain aspects and interests in my life, and I can leave others behind or cut them out, or hack them down.  Instead of trying to do everything, living in a mess of half-done-ness and emptiness, I can choose one or two things and do them well and with delight.

It is time to reorder, shake out, cut down, rearrange.  It is time to take ownership of the few hours I have to call my own.  It is time to ask for help if I need it, to honor my life with joy and contentment instead of dishonoring it with resentment and bitterness.

What will you nurture this spring, and what will you cut out?  Will your yoga practice be like a bud popping through the soil reaching for the sun?  Has your practice become burdensome, like a dreaded chore, like thick, knotted jungle stalks that need pruned and tended?  How will you create moments or uncover an hour to devote to your passion, to whatever brings you joy, to what makes you feel alive?

What will your yoga practice look like on your mat, and off?