So, in case you have not checked it out yet, workshop 3 is focused on flying, inverting, and flying again! I break it up into different step by step exercises in order to first open the hips, engage the core and fold while opening the hips, step by step into our tripod headstand, then step by step into flying pigeon. After these 4 steps, we then put the sequence together into a fun flying, inverting, stretching, flow! And..... then we stretch those wrists out! So important! I chose this workshop to teach this morning, because I've been storing so much tension in my hips especially since my pelvic and abdominal surgery 7 weeks ago. If I don't open those hips and twist and turn, then they will continue to bottle up tension and I will lose mobility and flexibility in that critical joint! This, of course, is metaphoric for everything right now in life in general. If we store anger and tension in our body, don't speak up, don't advocate for ourselves, the tension and the anger continues to build resulting in a lack of mobility and flexibility to effectively interact with others and our situation in order to come to a compromising and peaceful solution. The more we store, the tenser we are, the less flexible we are in anything and the less agreeable our bodies and our mind will be to anything that comes our way.
We need to maintain flexibility, openness, relief for our tensions in order to continue to keep an open and adaptive body and mind to changing circumstances. The hips are gateways to our emotions (this is the truth). Keeping the gates closed does nothing but to cause longterm immobility and is maladaptive. So..... to get back to my original intention of this workshop, by sitting into that hip tension and raising our bodies (flying pigeon), we take ownership of our tightness and lighten the load (so to speak). When we come into an inversion, we are resetting ourselves, all of the weight is taken from our body and we feel the weight and gravity on the crown of our head. Here we are able to recenter, regain composure, and come down into flying pigeon and eventually onto the ground with a new mindset, flexibility, and release of tension.
JUST REMEMBER! It's all about the process and trying these steps. Keep trying and you may surprise yourself! It's not about actually doing all of these poses. I will always try to challenge myself and others, but we all move at our own pace and have our own strengths and weaknesses on any given day and any given moment.
REMEMBER! No judgment. This workshop is about compassion, relieving tension, resetting, and regaining control of how you approach and are open to different situations. We can't change the situations, but we can set ourselves up so that we are flexible and adaptive in order to make those situations as comfortable and calm and peaceful as possible.
Just one last final note (and this is something that I definitely need to work on), take a self assessment on how you feel physically and emotionally today. LISTEN to that self-assessment. Are you feeling more energized or lethargic? Are you feeling happy and excited about something or sad and depressed not necessarily even for a reason? One thing that we all need to do is to check in with ourselves, really sit, reflect, and check in on how we are doing on any given day and moment. When we check in, we can assess what we need at that moment or on that day in order to set ourselves up for a successful and more fulfilling day. We may need to socialize more on a given day, or need to be alone. We may need to go for a long run one day and a shorter walk the next day. We may need an invigorating and challenging yoga practice one day and a restorative and floor based practice the next day. We may need that extra afternoon snack or coffee one day and just crave iced water the next day. We are all pretty routine oriented, but our bodies and minds do differ from day to day, so..... sticking to the same routine day after day without any slight adaptations or modifications depending on how we feel does not make much sense even though this is what many of us are trained to do.
A challenge for this next week is to check in at least once a day with yourself and pinpoint something that you do need or don't need today that is different from how you felt that you did or didn't need yesterday AND (here's the most important thing!) LISTEN to yourself! 😏😉