Drawing of a child in Lighten Up pose, lying on their back with legs raised straight up and a red block under the hips, with the word Space floating up

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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.

 

More to Explore

  • Mini Pose Card Icebreaker – Get To Know You Game

    Last month I finally broke open my Mini Pose Cards from Grounded Yoga. Okay, now how to use them, I thought. It just so happened that I was launching a new class that night called, “Girls Night Out” (8 – 12 years) and that I had a full house of 18 (some of which Iʼd never met). One of the main intentions for this new class was to create a space for girls to come together and connect. So, what a perfect opportunity to use the Mini Pose Cards as a tool to do so. As the girls were arriving, I came around and placed a mini pose card on their mat. I asked them to keep it safe for the whole night. Once everyone arrived, I introduced the “Mini Pose Card Icebreaker – Get To Know You Game” and hereʼs how it works:

  • Count On Meditation to Be Your Best Self

    It’s true that meditation helps children to feel better, know better and do better. That’s because meditators are in touch with their best self. If we’ve neglected to stay in touch with that part of ourselves, then how can we introduce that self to others? When access to our best self is as close as our next inhalation and expressing our best self is as easy as the next exhalation, then showing up to school, tests, parties, conversations, and even to do your chores as your best self feels natural. If your best self feels like a stranger, this meditation will help you tune in to your goodness and integrate that energy into your being

  • when something horrible happens

    how do you teach yoga to teens? you start by teaching Truth. speak to the highest in them. they will get it when you tell them that they are a spiritual being in a physical body and that they are immeasurably powerful. when they root their feet into their mat, into the earth in Mountain pose they will feel steady and strong; a steadiness they themselves create becomes a thing they can rely upon. when their feet are rooted into the earth, they will become rooted in their integrity. when they are faced with difficult situations they can breathe into steadiness, root into their integrity and make grounded choices.

  • Principal’s Office

    Want to be a risk taker?
    Feel more alive?
    Go one foot past scary?
    and deep into the dive?
    We have a suggestion;
    a type of advice.
    Report to the principal’s office
    not once….but twice!
    Once as invited,
    the other time sent.
    Once in your school years,
    with our consent.
    It may seem unusual
    coming from us.
    Report to the office
    Nevertheless.