The Right Balance
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Photo by Angie Mistina, courtesy of Richard Krzyzanowski.
Last night in class, I did a lovely crow pose, thanks to a wonderful guest teacher at Grateful Yoga. We started with a forward fold, hands placed outside the feet, knees bent. After stretching my bum upward and pulling in the abdomen, it was easy to place each knee on the back of the upper arm. A head tilt forward ("like you're going to sniff the floor," as our teacher explained it), and you're in the pose!
Photos via Flickr.
I also loved how during this pose and other challenging ones, our instructor kept repeating, "All is well, all is well, all is well."Can you balance out negative thoughts, frustration and impatience by repeating a mantra to yourself? Can you practice peace being fully present?
I love Julia of Julia Yee Yoga's description of how we can apply carefulness to our lives off the mat:
The key word here is balance - meaning, not all ease, but not all effort either. Similarly, the opposite of passive doesn't necessarily have to be aggressive or active. When we are engaged in our lives, we can cultivate inspiration through a collaboration of time and conscious reflection. We can manifest love, and joy, and happiness, through a combination of fate and making the decision to open our heart. Sometimes, the simple act of being engaged is more than enough.
The next time you're attempting an arm balance, just think: what effort can you release? What can you let go of? From there, you find progress.
Photo by Angie Mistina, courtesy of Richard Krzyzanowski.
