Come onto your sitz bones, raise the arms overhead and stretch up, then forward, lengthening the spine. Then begin to round down over the legs, letting the hands fall naturally where they belong. Don’t push or pull or force yourself in any way, that would be a gesture of submission, not surrender. We want to relax, release, surrender.
As you inhale, lengthen. As you exhale, release. Open every pore and cell of your body; surrender into sobriety.
How to Do a Yoga Forward Bend – Video – For Dummies
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Spring flowers
Yoga helps us open inside and out as we increase awareness of our inner experiences and of the outside world,
learning to see ourselves and others clearly, and with love, helping us connect bravely.
If we can fall in love with the world, then we can love one special person.
But it all starts with loving and accepting ourselves.
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So, tomorrow is Monday- and just the thought makes you feel like passing out. Don’t ruin your Sunday by dreading Monday. This week we’ll strategize survival mechanisms that will help you tolerate your job, that is, if you’re lucky enough to have one. 
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Let your hands tell you where and how you are–let them enjoy the texture of the washcloth as you rinse your face, the weight of a lemon, the warmth of your coffee cup.
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Sometimes your hands seem to move by themselves–rough or smooth–focus on their motions, and let their soft sureness shine through the world and mold caring, love and connection.
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Briny game scent of rain near the sea, or floating in from NY’s Central Park –a sign of primordial life. Inhale exhale prana.
Filed under: beauty in the everyday | Tags: constancy., mindfulness. awakening. everydayness. yoga
Yoga is a mindfulness practice, tying me to the big and little world. I reach up to the sky as I begin Surya Namaskaaram, then I reach down towards the ground in Uttanasana; later I bow forward in yoga mudra, sealing in the effects of my practice, my hands linked behind me. My hands are soft and strong, opening and closing –they can hold and they can release their hold, confident master trainers in loving kindness and mindfulness.
I go through eight doors from my home to my office. Most open and close quietly, but two will slam if I don’t remember to release them gently. I try not to let the doors slam; when I forget the slamming door is a loud reminder that I didn’t remember– a small awakening that my hands know.
There were only three doors to my Grandmother’s house, but they were big and heavy; not one of them closed quietly. My grandmother used to yell at me when I let her doors slam. Grandma had smooth skin and smelled of fish and starched aprons. She loved growing flowers.
Now, my hands are my teachers. If I forget to catch my office door it reminds me with a crash, and I respond with a cringe or maybe a smile—sometimes I think about Grandma– often I wake up. I go in and out those doors every day.
Everydayness and constancy are powerful.
It's the last day of 2008. I wish you a shiny year filled with joy, depth, and hearts rich with love and understanding.
