Intention Tower

We 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! 

Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how.

The enlightened sage, Dr. Seuss, in the revered text The Cat and The Hat, teaches us how to tune into our Highest Self, listen to our small, limited, fears and even invite them out to play with each other. My intention and desire is for us to value and understand this text in the highest spiritual sense. May this process lead us to a higher capacity for insight, for revelation, for learning at a deeper level, so clarity about our Self become possible.

Cat in the Hat begins on a cold and wet day at the house of two sad children stuck inside with nothing to do, until the Cat in a Hat shows up, transforming the dull day into an adventure. As he steps in on the mat, we can relate the action metaphorically to Yoga Sutra 1.1. Now, the teachings of yoga. As he begins to express his philosophy to the children, their pet fish begins to express his hesitation and fears. The Cat reassures him with a simple “Now! Now!” That answer is an important teaching in the whole text, because it teaches us to let go of our old social order, and enter the present, which is new. “Now” in Sanskrit is “atha”, signaling the value of what you are about to dive into. “Atha” is also the first spoken word of Yoga Sutra 1.1, its entirety being~

1.1 Ātha Yogānuśāsanam The teachings of yoga, have been presented. You don’t need to wait until the sun comes out, an authority figure is watching, or your fear is gone. All that it (Yoga) requires of you is a YES. In essence, then, The Cat in the Hat, just like Patanjali ,is telling his students to get ready to receive the knowledge on the subject of “yoga”.

The fish in the tiny bowl represents our limited, concealed self, and our karma mala. He is fear, limiting our ability to act. The cat is a wise trickster. He questions authority, encourages enthusiasm, seeks new experiences, while destroying our old way of thinking. He is our Big-Picture Play of Consciousness. He is our Highest Self.  Your higher self is consciousness. Your higher self is the real you. Your higher self is the more complete you.

Shiva Sutra 1-1 Chaitanyam ātmā. Consciousness is the self.

The children were still able to recognize, the fish’s concern. Fear is natural; it’s an adaptive instinct. Don’t try to squelch it down or ignore it. Without fear, we wouldn’t have courage. Without courage we wouldn’t be brave. The Cat in the Hat was able to listen to the fish, listen to his fears, and playfully act upon them.
“Have no fear!” said the cat
“I will not let you fall
I will hold you up high…”

Introducing three Tricks to greet your Higher Consciousness (HC)…ie Cat in the Hat  and Small Fish (SF)  i.e Karma Mala, Fear.

1.Listen

Close your eyes. Breathe in through your heart and out through your third eye. Continue to follow your breath. Listen to your heart. Sometimes HC sounds like the whisper of a wise old man. Sometimes HC sounds like a voice you recognize that is playful, friendly, and compassionate.
The voice of your SF is usually scared or angry. It’s probably much louder.

2. Look

Invite C to sit with you and have a conversation. Ask questions. When the answers sound wiser or more knowledgeable than usual, you’re probably talking to your C. Just keep talking to this manifestation of your higher self until it feels like you’re talking to someone else and the answers you’re getting don’t seem like they’re coming from your own head. What does C look like? Invite F to the table as well. What do you see?

3. Feel

The cat in the hat starts at your spine and goes up to the crown of your head and beyond! Feel your cat getting taller with each breath.

Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!

Root your left sitting bone to your left heel and your right sitting bone to your right heel. Thing 1 begins in the lowest part of your left belly. Thing two resides in the lowest part of your right belly. Lift Thing one and Thing Two, both lowest bellies, up like a kite. Most everything conspires to drop low abs. The trick is to keep lifting thing one and thing two) The game is don’t spill energy, must be a conscious effort to Feel!

A Thing is defined as some entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described: anything that is or may become an object of thought: things of the spirit.
things, matters; affairs: a fact, circumstance, or state of affairs so the trick is to LIFT Your Things! Lift your entity, being, matter, act, deed, event, material object, body, being, assembly, council, suit, matter, suit, plea, concern while keeping your sitting bones rooted to your heels. Try this in different shapes~standing, forward folds, backbends, twists, supine..Notice the difference.

Reponses received from kids~
“Thing 1 and Thing 2 teach me I can do it!” Ella, age 7
“My little baby tiny weeny self is in my head. My Huge, humungous ,, big giant Self is in my heart and body.” Claire, age 9
“My High Cat knows I can do big things” Madeline, age 5
“My Highest Self stands up for the world. My small Fish gets angry at myself and others.” Lauren, age 6
“My High Self is beautiful and colorful.” Emily, age 6
“My Highest Self tells me my gift is seeing the future in my sleep.” Hunter, age 7
“My Fear is in my foot. My Highest Self is upside down now. It’s telling me to pay attention.” Dodge, age 9
“Higher Self is standing up for myself. My Little Self is always looking around at others.” Amelia, age 8
“My Fear is sliding down a pole. I see that picture (of the pole) any time I get scared.” Sarah, age 9
Once you’ve tuned in to your C, you’ll be able to get some key information about why you’re here and where you should go, and who you should go with. Your C is watching over you and helping to steer you in the highest direction. This playful practice is for each one of us to embody the deep empowerment, the authenticity, and the fullness of who we are.
Please share how it goes. Now~ You’ve got to have fun, but you have to know HOW!

I have been working with Ken, this is true. I have found him to be a natural adept; I leave him seated, sometimes in the morning, I come back, he has not moved an inch – he is completely absorbed in the mantra. I asked him what his experience was like, and he just stared at me, said nothing: obviously it is beyond the ability to verbalize at the shtula level. Pure transcendence. I even at one point stuck a pin in his foot and held a BIC lighter to his head – he did not flinch. Incredible. He is an amazing meditator.

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.

Perhaps Barbie’s obvious patterns of limitations can teach us how to observe our own stuff.
Bring It On!  Barbie has offered her letters to her beloved, Ken for you all to witness her progress.

Want movement, sequence and rhyme at the same time?

Incorporate this Grounded Knick-Knack Alignment into your daily Solid Ground Flow.

I think it is safe to say that no one likes whining, but despite that fact, regardless of age we all find ourselves doing it. It creeps up on you suddenly, born out of a desire for something you don’t have, or to leave a place where you don’t want to be, or perhaps to…