Hey, Lighten Up!
Have you ever been told to Lighten Up? We’ve all been stressed and most of the time we just don’t know how to relieve the pressure. It’s not as if we want to feel the weight of the world on our shoulders but being responsible, consciences and caring can translate into anxious, overwhelmed and burdened if there’s not enough space to disperse the load.
Our pose, Lighten Up, is on the Honor Roll floor of the Grounded Elevator Pose Series for a reason. We honor ourselves by cultivating the element SPACE that is present in all living things. This element represents all space, an unbounded energy field and a playground for unconditional love. By practicing yoga we clear out negativity and experience more freedom in our body, mind and life. Openness and humility become our virtues when this element is balanced within us. This pose will lift your spirits and lighten your heart so that you may be a source of illumination in the world.
Lie down and ground the back of your head, your shoulders, your arms and your basement into the earth. Maintain the natural curve of your spine. Use your core strength to lift your legs straight up toward the sky. Spread your toes and expand inside with breath through your nose. Voice the word SPACE for the entirety of your exhalation. Repeat until tension and contracted thoughts fade into infinity and beyond.
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.
We all have a limited, contracted, outer surface. Yoga teaches us to dig deep into our center to know our true, authentic selves. Yoga Teacher Barbie was gifted to me on my birthday and I have chosen to Ground her and help her to expand her consciousness. All of my students are gifts; yet this is my first one who was born in Indonesia and had a non-existent childhood,. No wonder she has restricted knowledge.
Yoga has become a great way for children of ALL abilities to become aware of their body, in line with their breath, and connected to the beautiful truth and peace within them. As an occupational therapist and devoted yogi, Allison Morgan of Zensational Kids (see