Grounded In Fluffiness
Three years ago…a five year old Grounded Kid said her favorite pose was “Flat Like a Pancake”. It was actually not an official pose, but rather a transitional phrase from Gratitude pose to Snake pose. To honor the wisdom and innocence of this child, we decided to make “Flat Like a Pancake” a pose that’s part of the Grounded Elevator Series. Read on to see how to griddle some pancakes the “Grounded” way.
When cooking pancakes keep this in mind:
Each pancake needs their own space on the griddle.
If one pancake is not squeezing their legs or firing up their hearts, it will affect the whole batch.
When the pancakes breathe together, the results are more delightful.
Groundwork: From Gratitude pose, exhale as you pour yourself down onto your belly. Fill up with breath and bring fluffiness into your short stack. Keep your hands actively clawing the griddle in line with your chest. Squeeze your legs together for the fluffiest and lightest pancake possible. Inhale, draw your leg muscles up toward your center as you lift your arm bones toward the sky. Exhale, root your tailbone down until your belly lifts in and up. Reach your chest forward and make a silly face.
Like pancakes hot off the griddle, continue to fire up all your muscles, creating enough heat to allow your heart to melt just like real butter on your favorite pancake! When you breathe into your back body and puff it up with bubbles, you are ready to FLIP!
Can you stay big and light and fluffy and together and Flip over? Did your belly get lumpy? Did you fall apart?
You don’t want to be dense and bland or runny and gooey. Find the balance. Keep your edges strong and crisp, and breathe evenly so you cook all the way through.
Grounded Tips:
If your pancake is runny:
1st check hands. Concentrate on All finger pads and knuckles. They must ground into the earth. Stabilize your forearm until they feel solid. Focus on keeping your arm bones up. For best results, gather heat from your palms all the way to the back of your heart. Settle your shoulder blades in toward your heart. Stay connected to your hands, arms and legs. Squeeze your legs until you feel cohesive. Allow any excess tension to drain off into the griddle.
If your pancake is dense and bland: Receive your breath. Breath deeper. Soften your eyes and throat and skin more. Possibly separate legs hip distance apart. Can you make this pancake new?
If your pancake is thick and sticking to the pan: Follow your breath. Breathe more fully into your back body so your front ribs will move back. Keep the fluffiness and melt your heart. Flow your inner thighs down to the griddle. Express your emotions. Make a smiley face or silly face.
If the belly of your short stack is lumpy: Fire up your legs, lengthen your tailbone and scoop it more fully. Notice how your breath gets more expansive and you gather more length from hips to armpits.
If your pancake is burnt: Slow your breath and movement down and really pay attention to where you are.
If your smell doesn’t cause others to exclaim “Hey what’s cookin?” Breathe through your nose instead of your mouth.
Be aware of extra ingredients in your personal batter. You want sweetness, like chocolate or berries. Even some nuttiness will add excitement to your short stack. Stay clear of anything bitter, sour or hard.
Shine out from your center so much like the golden hot cake you were born to be. Allow Real Syrup or Butter to melt your heart.
Enjoy your thin layer of sweet crust and from deep inside, radiate your light, fluffy, beautiful warmth.
As Earth Day approaches this year, I am struck by what it means to truly foster Peace on this planet. I remember as a child, learning about anti-nuclear protestors who chained themselves to fences and were forcibly removed and jailed. These brave souls became my heroines and heroes in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. I was moved to tears singing Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and hearing stories of civil disobedience and the message of non-violent resistance. Later in the 1990’s, when I danced barefoot on my very first Earth Day, a lump would form in my throat when I celebrated each small victory (and the Gigantic Hearts) of environmental protestors who sacrificed so much to save a single tree and worked to preserve open space for our children’s children. Peace.
The week before college life officially started at Belmont Abbey College, the Student Life department held one of its biggest and most important trainings of the year for its Resident Assistants. “RA’s” are some of the most influential student employees on campus. They represent the college in helping new students settle into resident hall life, assist in planning social events, lead discussions, report maintenance concerns, serve as a resource to campus information, lend a listening ear and comforting shoulder to cry on, perform room checks, work in the hall office and much more.
