.....I let go

Yogis,
I start this week by offering an experience. It involves your breath, a mantra and an intention.

Settle in and begin by noticing that you are breathing. You might find that when the breath is noticed it changes slightly, but you are not trying to control it in any way. All I would like you to do is place a gentle awareness on your breath. A light touch.

Oh, hello breath!

Notice the tactile experience of the breath. Sensations arise in the body. First there is a coolness in the nostrils as the air rushes in, yet as it leaves it has been warmed by your body. In the torso a feeling of inflating as you draw breath in, and then deflating as you send it back out. In and out……in and out. Life’s rhythm.

You can also ‘see’ the breath with your inner gaze. The way it rises through the center when you inhale. Then how it falls on the exhale. How the ribs spread and open to create more space and then draw quietly back together. Gentle movements at the navel. How the breath brushes your heart.

There are also distinctly different energies that ride on the two parts of your breath. When taking the breath in a lightness is created. A lifting away from the earth. If you were going to try to levitate, you would do it on the inhale. The exhale, on the other hand, makes you heavier and grounded. If you didn’t want to let me pick you up you would naturally push out all of the breath and root yourself to the earth.

Our exhale also carries the energies of relaxation…..emptying…..and letting go.

Once you feel you are synched to the pattern of the breath, I would like you to add in a mantra. A mantra is a set of words repeated consciously and with intention. The mantra for today is ‘I let go’, so we will pair it with the exhale.

Sit back now. Spend the next minute with your eyes closed watching yourself fill on the inhales and each time you slowly exhale, mentally say to yourself ‘I let go.’ I let go….. Intend to let go.  Expect it to happen. Come back when you are done.

In and out…..in and out.

How was it? Did you sense what ‘letting go’ feels like? We talk about the need to let go, but it can’t happen through thought or words. There is an internal process that is required for any form of letting go. An exhale.

Letting go of the past. Letting go of worries. Desires, thoughts and attachments. Letting go of the need to control. Of viewpoints and beliefs. The need to be right. Letting go of the future and how you wish it to be. Opening the hands and relaxing the grip. Loosening the jaw. Allowing an emptiness to pervade.

True letting go means leaping into uncertainty. An act of bravery. And what is left when we let go?

This enormously beautiful messy present moment which contains absolutely everything. The excitement of not knowing. An openness to living life one breath at a time.

In and out…..in and out.
SARAH

.....snippets of perfection

Yogis,
When you return from a vacation everyone asks you how it was. They want to hear if you had a good time and get a brief overview of what made it special. No one really cares to hear all the details or see every picture you took, so I found myself mentally sifting through the sounds, smells, sights and experiences that I had in my eight days in St John to attempt to weave a week of perfection into a couple soundbites.

Should I talk about the morning hikes? How they began with my feet in the sand and ended at the top of a cliff surrounded by silly looking cactus and a blue sea that extended as far as the eye could see. A small plateau in which to pause, catch your breath and inevitably strike up instant friendships with the few other hikers doing the same.

Or perhaps I should recount the tales of animals that crossed my path (literally) who made it clear I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. The goats who peered down at me from the top of my outdoor shower and whose bleats filled the morning air. The donkeys who strolled the beach in the afternoon grabbing snacks out of unsuspecting sunbather’s beach bags. Or the click-click-click of the armies of hermit crabs marching through the brush to who knows where. The pink flamingos that recently arrived in the salt pond or the hummingbirds.

Maybe I could share how incredibly satisfying that first bite of a perfectly grilled mahi-mahi sandwich was after a leisurely afternoon on the beach. That first delightful sip of the painkiller which accompanied it, dusted with fresh ground nutmeg.

But how could I not mention the moon? The way she would lift each evening over the horizon as we watched through open doors facing east. Surrounded by thousands of stars and throwing a river of light across the ocean’s surface. Not to be outdone, the sun would then wake me each morning as she rose from the same position, casting her beams on my bed to let me know it was time to stir. Another new and glorious day.

The light breeze that would brush my skin just at the right time during our morning yoga practices on the balcony. The turtles who allowed me to float alongside them as they munched sea grass. My first shark sighting underwater. Living in cutoff shorts with warm sand between my toes.

But most of all, how can I possibly find the right words to express that by the end of the week, as I floated on my back with the sun on my face, my hair filled with salt and my feet blistered from miles of hiking I felt the immense ‘me-ness’ inside bursting out to be seen. Alive…..joyful……and oh so filled with gratitude.

How was your vacation? It was perfect.

Sun kissed,
SARAH

.....stretching

Yogis,
Often when I tell someone I am a yoga teacher they rush to tell me that they stretch. For those who have never done yoga, from the outside yoga looks like a whole lot of stretching.

Which in some ways it is. The asanas, or poses, place the body in a variety of different positions which cause the body to stretch in at least one area, but often in many. It may be the arms lifted over the head, hips swiveling, and back leg lengthened, like in a warrior pose. Or lying on the back with feet planted, hips lifted and shoulders rolled under the body in a bridge. So yes, yoga does stretch the body and over time creates greater flexibility.

But that is where the similarities end…….

Last week again someone shared that they stretch, and I nodded. Yoga is an experiential practice that can only be understood by doing, so the difference is not something I typically attempt to explain. But it did get me thinking.

Here is an example. When we stretch, we move our body in a certain direction and hold for a short time. Sometimes bouncing ensues. Our mind is often elsewhere, and the eyes move about. Yoga also moves the body into a certain position which is the physical piece of the practice. Then, however, all of the attention moves inward.

The eyes soften and fix to one unmoving point, called a drishti. Now it is time to become still and turn the awareness to the breath. Thoughts float by as we stay tuned in to the present moment. There is the effort of holding the body active, yet at the same time allowing an inner relaxation. The ease. And we stay.

The pose begins when we want to leave it.  B.K.S Iyengar

Where stretching has wonderful physical benefits and is critical as we age, yoga takes all of that and moves beyond the physical. In fact, in the yoga scriptures, yoga is described as a mind practice. And as the mind changes, we change.

A few days later I came across an article in the paper on this very topic. Thank you, Universe! It was a study done in Canada on the effects of adding stretching or yoga to an exercise plan for cardiovascular health, and in particular for those with high blood pressure. While both practices showed reduction in blood pressure readings, the yoga approach resulted in a 2 ½ time greater reduction over the stretching!

The results were clear although they were not able to determine the exact mechanism that caused the difference. For those of us who have a yoga practice, we know the difference. It is subtle and we can feel it. When the mind is calm and the breath slows, the body follows.

I went to the doctor this week for my annual exam. As the tech unwrapped the blood pressure cuff from my arm she announced, ‘112 over 76. Excellent!’

Thank you yoga,
SARAH