Salutations
Charlotte’s Web is a celebration of the quiet virtues. It reminds us to keep a soft tender heart, accept our true nature, and value the unique gifts of our friends. The two main characters of Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte and Wilbur, highlight the awareness of our own unique inner story.
Charlotte, the spider, represents our highest self who provides wisdom and help from above. She reminds us that we are never alone. She provides a higher, bigger perspective from her vantage point high up in the rafters. She brings a calm wisdom into an anxious situation, bolstering Wilbur’s self image by spelling out his best aspects. She represents our INHALE.
Become sensitive and aware of your breath.
Wilbur, the pig, represents our vulnerable self that is at the center of our awareness. Wilbur is consistently caring and engaging. He forms a bond with Charlotte because he sees her beauty. He is accepting and compassionate and joyfully celebrates life. He represents our EXHALE.
“Salutations” is Charlotte’s fancy way of saying Hello. In Yoga, we practice Sun Salutations , not so much to be fancy, but to gracefully pay homage to the brightness within and to mindfully connect our breath to our movements. This is how we brighten what can at times seem ordinary and mundane. Like Hello is to Salutations, Standing is to Mountain.
Curious how to greet each moment with more elegance? Try this. Connect with your breath while moving through a sequence of poses we call the SOLID GROUND FLOW.
Symbolic of the circular aspect of time, twelve poses are arranged in a clockwork fashion to say Hello ….or Salutations as Charlotte would say…to the Sun.
Starting at the 12 O’Clock position in Mountain pose. Introduce yourself to your breath. Invite your breath to BE IN CHARGE! Allow your breath to lead your movement in this Salutation to the Sun. Exhale and soften into your back body with humility and remembrance of your wise supporters.
Make each inhale full and each exhale complete as you move to each subsequent pose in a clockwise fashion With each breath in, move your side ribs back, inflate your middle back and with trust move into your back body until you feel the strength of that support.
The back body represents our colorful cast of teachers whose caring attention beneath the surface was magical and supportive. It’s your Universal Self.
With each breath out, soften your skin, your eyes, your jaw. Get longer, smoother, deeper until you feel an opening in the front of your heart to offer the world. Completely release what stands in your way. Your front body represents how you offer your unique giftts. It’s your Indivdual Self.
When you allow your breath to lead your movements you will become more attentive to “miracles when they happen in the midst of our ordinary days”. You’ll feel more elegant and fancy and radiant. That’s how you want to greet each moment.
Charlotte’s Web is about the deep friendship of a rescued pig and an articulate spider. On the surface Wilbur is a runt. Charlotte is a spider. Dig deeper into their friendship and see how their mutual appreciation is absolutely genuine.
This story shows that each of us can be RADIANT and TERRIFIC when we breathe deeper, love deeper, and live deeper. Charlotte did not create Wilbur’s fine qualities. She just noticed them. He even protested that he did not feel particularly terrific, but she knows better. It reminds us in moments of smallness to ask for support from the Highest, and in moments of glory to remain HUMBLE. It reminds us to celebrate our true qualities and express them more fully.
The magic is in that caring attention allows a glimpse beneath the surface.
May you find your fine qualities deep within your heart and offer your compassion to your valuable friends.
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.
Found: This Fear escaped from a very Grounded 9 year old’s first chakra. Her thighs were rooted and her connection to the earth was solid. She faced her fears, and actually whispered to herself, “I have the Right to be Here.” After the Fear escaped she felt even more Grounded and Elevated and aware of where she was in space.
