The Ride of Your Life

Your_Up_and_Your_DownYou’re Up Then You’re Down is in the Twist and Shine sequence of our Grounded Elevator Pose Series. In this sequence, the focus is on the Third Chakra located in the solar plexus, the core of your body. These poses challenge you to exert your personal power and strength of character. Self-esteem is born out of actions and a direct result of the choices we make in life. We feel good about ourselves by acting in ways that show our goodness and represent a commitment to living our best life.

A strong third chakra gives us the courage to trust our gut feelings and follow our intuition. By tuning inward, you access the YOU that is connected to an unlimited source of energy available to fuel your inner fire. Each breath is an opportunity to stoke that fire and begin again. Every moment is an opportunity to say YES to life. Think of all you’ve learned from overcoming obstacles and surviving hard times. Without falling down, you would not know how to rise up. You would not be afforded the chance to pick up the pieces and create a new structure. The difference between something living and non-living is the capability of remaking itself from within. Life is emergent. Getting up is an affirmation of being alive.

Choosing UP after being DOWN is a powerful expression of YES. We vitalize the third chakra and earn self-esteemroller-coaster3 in the process of living as we face our challenges one at a time.

Begin in Mountain pose. Inhale and cross your right foot over the left. Both feet are touching the floor. Engage your core, powering your entire body. Extend your arms out. You’re up! Exhale with strength as you lower down gracefully into a crossed-legged position. You’re down! Keep your same footing and with steadiness stand up as you take a long, deep breath. You’re up! Exhale back into Mountain pose. Repeat by crossing your left foot over your right. Whether you’re up or down, the choice is yours.

More to Explore

  • Hi Ken…It’s me Barbie!

    Yoga BarbieWe 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.

  • Meet Keira and Kendall

    Hi, my name is Keira and I have been doing yoga for 4 years. It has been a great experience. Yoga has helped me calm down when I’m mad. Yoga makes me feel peaceful. Practicing yoga has helped me a lot by calming me down and making me more flexible. It’s fun learning new poses and helping others earn their bandanas. I wish I had started earlier. I had fun earning my bandanas, and if you do yoga, I hope that you’ll have fun earning yours.

    Kendall Kiera
    Hi! My name is Kendall, I’m 12 years old, and I have been doing yoga for four years. In these four short years, yoga has become a huge part of my life.
    From taking a deep breath before yelling at my mom or sister, teaching friends for my green bandana, to even making up flows of my own, I love every part of yoga. I especially enjoy the way I feel after class and the feeling I get from helping younger kids earn their own bandanas.
    Yoga has been a steady part of my life, always helping me through a difficult week, a bad grade, or friend and family problems. I hope to continue to practice and learn as I get older.

  • Zip the Lip…Potato Chip!

    Often people tend to pull us into their drama. Our awareness can get overwhelmed. What if we allow them time for self-correction? What if we don’t always comment about what we are critical of? What if we focus in a positive way and offer love with enthusiasm?

    I invite you to practice the zip mantra (influenced by the brilliant Paul Muller-Ortega ) on your mat space as well as in your life space. Do tell us how it goes!