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Going Grounded (not postal) at the Post Office

bigstock_Local_Post_Office_61490We teach kids and teens how to find humor in every day life and how awareness leads to amusement in even the most mundane places. This event took place this morning and it’s what I taught in my Grounded class this afternoon. I shared the story, taught the poses and we had an awesome, authentic experience. The kids were inspired to write down their own personal stories and the poses that prepared them to handle real life with ease. They loved using the pose stickers to illustrate their writing. Find all the details about these poses and more in our box of 84 Grounded Elevator Series Pose Cards. Enjoy!

I was at the post office this morning at 8:30 am GET UP, which in itself is funny since I’m a night owl and it’s summer and I abhor standing in the long lines. So much so that I use stamps.com (worth it!) and my own postage scale and printer. However, this particular package was international and I did not have a customs form at home, nor could I figure out the correct form to print from the USPS website. NO WHINING. My son runs every morning with his team and the park is across from the post office so I decided to beat the crowd and go on the way home from picking him up. WARROR III WITH INTENTION. He’s a champ to agree to sit in the hot car after running 8 miles. Anyway, it’s early and I’ll just be a minute. TWISTED TOGETHER. I packed up our wonderful Grounded materials at home using an official Flat Rate box, WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK, and carried it in, happy to see that there was only one person in line. GRATITUDE. It was even my turn before I had a chance to finish eavesdropping on a conversation between a city police woman in full uniform, including a holster packed with two guns, a taser and two containers of mace/tear gas or something that would surly knock some sense into anyone fighting this extremely well armed woman. DON’T ROCK THE BOAT. She was telling a post office employee that she had filled out a card for her mail to be forwarded while she was away but has since lost the paperwork and can’t remember the address to which she had her mail forwarded. ? . LAUGHTER MILKSHAKE. With a smile, I approached the older gentleman behind the counter and looked for his name tag in order to say hello. He didn’t have one because, as I soon figured out, he was new. NICE TO MEET YOU. I put the box on the counter and told him that it was ready to go to Australia other than the customs form and postage (the amount of which I already knew because it was a Flat Rate box and the website lists the prices for international Flat Rate boxes.) TRIANGLE WITH WISDOM. “Well” he said, “I’m not sure which customs form to use but it’s gonna cost a lot since it’s going all the way to Australia.” HOLD ON A MINUTE. I asked him to please find out about customs and I would gladly step aside to complete the form because by now, from the sound of violent breathing behind me, I could tell someone very cloaked was in a hurry. ROOT TREE RISE. While my post office man went in the back, I turned around just in time to see the mouth breather raise her hands and shout at the before mentioned police woman and her post office person “Our tax dollars at waste!” CAT SCRATCH FEVER.  The officer replies “You got somethin’ to say to me?” PLAYING WITH FIRE. The human brain is the most amazing computer ‘cause I can’t even count how many scenarios ran through my head at that instant. YOU’RE UP THEN YOU’RE DOWN. My man returns with a form just as she who may snap at any moment throws a floppy white envelope on the counter and stomps away yelling for him to mail the stupid package. GO TO YOUR ROOM. Without missing a beat, my mail man calls out for her to “have a nice day” with all the innocence of someone’s first day on the job. RECTANGULAR RELATIONSHIP. So, with wide eyes, I take the form and ask if I could possibly have a few more to take home so that the next time I need to mail something internationally, I can already have the form completed. TWIST AND TARGET. He tells me that he doesn’t know if that is allowed because he is new and I send things all the way to Australia, but that I can find out on the USPS website. JUST BREATHE. I’m processing this info and hearing Australia over and over in MY mind but with Oprah’s voice when another employee steps out of the back and hands me a stack of forms. My man, the new guy, then asks for some help since he’s never mailed anything to Australia before and he wants to give me the best price since it’s heavy and going all the way to Australia. OOMPA LOOMPA. I feel compelled to remind him that it is a Flat Rate Box, but it is too late. They are already discussing the options. BRING IT ON. I decide to go fill out the form so I missed out on the end of that conversation. It ended rather quickly because before I entered the description of each content, the other employee screamed to all 2 people in the building, me included, “does anyone need to pick up a package from the back? Pick up a package from the back? Anyone?” FORWARD FOLD. This shout out continued every few minutes for the next 40 minutes, no matter how few (1) other people were there. DOUBLE CHECK. I bet you are wondering why I was in the post office for 40 more minutes. Here are the ingredients to the rich icing on my not so easy bake post office cake. FLAT LIKE A PANCAKE. 1 new guy, 1 pair of tiny reading glasses, 1 extremely long customs form, 1 rule that all handwritten custom forms must be entered into the computer, 2 hands but only one finger typing, 3 beeping sounds from the computer after each incorrect entry, a package in a Flat Rate Box weighing 11.3 lbs going all the way to Australia and 1 yogini with 11 years of practice. ROCK N’ ROLL.  So, I wait and I breathe and I observe and I stretch and I connect and I AM WHAT I AM. Today I was at the post office for 45 minutes to mail  our inspiring materials to a woman in Australia ready to receive and get grounded. NETWORK. They say that when you start practicing yoga you either transform or quit. I’ve become aware of the LIFE in life. The humor, the diversity, the commonality, the joy, the depth, the darkness, the vibration of people’s energy, the Grace. I’m GROUNDED for LIFE and loving it.

More to Explore

  • Grounded Defined

    Through our programs, we endeavor to “ground” kids, teens, and adults via yoga, laughter, and elevation.  But what exactly does it mean to be grounded?  By formal definition courtesy of the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary….

    grounded [ˈgraʊndɪd]

    adj

    sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground: mentally and emotionally stable : admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious <remains grounded despite all the praise and attention>

     

  • Grounded….an Adjective, a Noun, a Verb…Redefining for Real

      Can getting grounded bring me back to balanced working order, the way nature intended me to be? Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines GROUNDED as mentally and emotionally stable: admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious grounded [?gra?nd?d] adj sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground I do aim to know where I belong…

  • Harry Potter Magic Yoga Sequence

    Feeling like a troubled, tuckered out muggle? Want to enter the wizard- like state of clarity, and focus? Choose to ground your outer body to create the conditions for a vast inner freedom. You need space inside for the magic to do its work. Albus Dumbledore teaches us… “It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

    Each pose has a corresponding spell for you to breathe into your structure. The more you breathe with awareness, the more potent the spell becomes. With each inhale; drop the spell into the space between your eyebrows. With each exhale; drop the meaning of the spell into the same space above your nose. Say the word to yourself as you drop it into the window to your heart.

    The charm Duro is used to keep objects still. Seen in Deathly Hallows, cast by Hermione while escaping from Death Eaters in Hogwarts.
    Stay balanced in each pose by softly gazing at an immobile object. Inhale DURO, EXHALE FREEZE to keep the object still.

    “Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” — Albus Dumbledore.

    Spell: Rennervate Pose: Wake Up Mountain

    Rennervate is a charm that awakens and energizes whomever the caster’s wand is pointed at. It is accompanied by a flash of brilliantly colored red light. Harry uses it to attempt to revive Professor Dumbledore after Dumbledore has succumbed to the potion guarding the locket in the lake.

    Stand with your feet parallel and evenly rooted to prepare for WAKE UP MOUNTAIN. Exhale as you reach up high with outstretched hands and take hold of the universal energy. Inhale and pull the power into your core. Each time you exhale stretch out higher. Each time you inhale, bend your elbows and pull in deeper. Visualize the movement of energy around and inside your body. Accelerate your breath to accelerate your movement.. Then decelerate your breath to slow your movement. When your movement follows your breath, you feel more alive. Inhale RENNERVATE, Exhale WAKE UP!

    Root Tree Rise
    Mobiliarbus lifts a tree a few inches off the ground and levitates it to where the caster points his or her wand. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione uses the spell to move a Christmas tree beside her table to hide Harry.

    Ground your left foot to prepare for ROOT TREE RISE. Place the sole of your right foot inside of your left thigh or shin. Reach your right hand behind your waist between your shoulder blades. Lift your left arm overhead, lowering your hand to interlock with your right hand. Rise up inside with each breath as you open your shoulders and stretch your branches. Exhale, expand and explore. Root into the earth and into your own center. Experiment with gazing both outward as a tree rising up toward the sky and inward as the same tree roots down into the earth. Inhale MOBILIARBUS. Exhale RISE. Ground your right foot and repeat on the other side.

    “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”~ Albus Dumbledore

    Flap Eagle Fly
    Avis. This charm creates a flock of birds from the caster’s wand and is shown in Goblet of Fire, cast by Mr. Ollivander to test Viktor Krum’s wand.

    Ground your feet to prepare for FLAP EAGE FLY. Inhale; lift your arms. Exhale your right elbow under your left one-twisting to bring your palms together. Steady your breath for balance. Lift the right leg up, over and around your left leg. Center your wrists, elbows, knees and ankles in one line. Slowly untangle your right leg and extend it behind as you hinge forward. Stretch your crown, fingers and elbows forward. Inhale AVIS. Exhale FLY. Flap for stability and fly with freedom. Ground your feet and repeat on the other side. Let your brilliance soar.

    Playing With Fire
    Incendio produces fire. It is first seen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Hagrid (nonverbally) produces fire out of his umbrella in the little house the Dursleys took refuge in (from the Hogwarts letters). In Half-Blood Prince, this spell is used several times in battle, for instance when Hagrid’s hut is set ablaze.

    Ground your sitting bones to prepare for PLAYING WITH FIRE. Lift your legs and rub the soles of your feet together. Balance and rub your palms together. Create friction. Generate heat by scooping your tailbone until your lower belly fires up. Draw into you internal fire to provide energy and fuel your focus. Inhale INCENDIO. Exhale FIRE.

    I Am What I Am
    Revelio will reveal to the caster whether any other (presumably living) humans are within its area of influence.
    In Deathly Hallows, when they first arrive at Number 12, Grimmauld Place after leaving Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are concerned that there may be Death Eaters lurking. Hermione casts Homenum Revelio to determine that the house is, in fact, empty.

    Sit in Easy Pose. To prepare for I AM WHAT I AM. Press thumbs into each of your fingers in the following order. Say “FOCUS” and press thumb and first second together. Say “CLEAR” and press your thumb and third finger. Say “CERTAIN” and press your thumb and ring finger. Say “BRIGHT” and press your thumb and little finger together. Repeat out loud for a minute. Whisper for a minute. Hear it inside while you silently keep moving your fingers for one minute. Do another minute of silence, then one minute of whispering, then one minute of saying it out loud. Close your eyes. Inhale REVELIO. Exhale REVEAL.

    Lighten Up
    Lumos creates a beam of light. First seen in Chamber of Secrets and then constantly throughout the series.

    Lie on your back and press the back of your head into the ground to prepare for LIGHTEN UP, keeping your chin level. Exhale as you lift your legs to a 90-degree angle, making an L shape with your body. Inhale; root your upper arm bones down and back by your sides. Exhale, spread your toes and extend your flame. Soften your back body into the earth. Inhale LUMOS. Exhale LIGHT.

    “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. ” – Albus Dumbledore

    Just Breathe
    Quietus makes a magically magnified voice return to normal.
    Sonorus magnifies the spell caster’s voice, functioning as a magical megaphone.
    These charms counter each other and were used by Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge in Goblet of Fire to commentate at the Quidditch World Cup and during the Triwizard Tournament. Also used by Dumbledore to silence everyone in the Great Hall in Goblet of Fire. Used by Voldemort several times during the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows.

    Roll up into Easy Pose to JUST BREATHE. Close your eyes and tune in to your own internal magic elevator. Visualize a silvery white light beginning at the base of your spine and flowing upwards, reaching your head and spilling out from the top of your head like sparkling stars soaring upwards into the universe. Through your nose inhale a spacious breath into your basement, up into your atrium and toward the roof of your mouth. Exhale the breath from your roof all the way down into your basement. Establish a steady rhythm of your breath. Inhale QUIETUS. Exhale Quiet.
    The quieter you become, the more you can hear the quiet whisper of your heart. Listen. Magnify your heart’s voice so it functions as a magical megaphone. Inhale SONORUS into your heart. Exhale Magnify. Listen. That’s the magic.

    “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Albus Dumbledore

  • “Lightbulb!”…Recognizing The Importance of Honoring Your Self!

    despicable_me_2Have you ever felt not worthy?  Maybe you lacked Self-love or maybe you didn’t surround yourself with goodness at the time.  Who we surround ourselves with is who we become.  If we surround ourselves with downers we begin to feel down.  If we surround ourselves with happy, joyous, and delightful people we become more happy and joyful.  If we were to eat junk food every single day we would begin to feel down and ucky.  When we eat healthier we experience delight and Self-love.  Honor Your Self!  Surround yourself with goodness.   “The first step toward awareness is being willing to look at yourself and your life without judgment or self-criticism.” (Iyanla Vanzant)  Awareness opens the heart to new possibilities.