Patting the Head and Rubbing the Belly

Remember the coordination trick of patting the head and rubbing the belly at the same time?

Stephanie Quirk told me this analogy while practicing Medical. Such an ah-ha moment!!!

Here are a few I have been noticing:

I lift my dorsal, my neck caves in

I turn my head, the other shoulder sticks out and hardens

Clenching the hands tightens the neck

I lift my chest, the sternum sinks

I take my left leg into Supta Padangusthasana II and the right hip tightens and does not let the left leg relax down.

These separate actions of separate body parts are starting to click in the mind. My body has not been able to distinguish one area from the other due to stiffness and compensation. One area has latched on to try to help or hinder another area. So now, I am separating these body parts and learning how to create individual and paired actions that are conducive to balance function and space.

Almost like a watch, how all the parts move in various directions to create the entire mechanism.

Surrender to Mother Earth

Sunita, Geeta's sister taught the Woman's class today. She emphasized surrendering to Mother Earth. Especially while in Trianga Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana and Janu Sirsasana.

Her directions were:

Lift the sacral area/tailbone/low back up before bending forward. Let this area know what your are about to do and prepare this area of the body. Then, lift the navel band up. Now, you are ready to bend forward. It is just as important to go into the pose with preparation and awareness as being in the pose and coming out of the pose. Extend the sternum forward and lengthen the sides of the chest. Do not take the head lower than the dorsal. Keep the abdomen band soft and take it to the legs, touch that area to the legs. Lift the elbows up at first and extend the arms forward. Then completely surrender to Mother Earth. Surrender! Soften the entire back, do not hold the back hard. Surrender! 

Her teaching was strong and held our attention. We had to concentrate on ourselves, not what others were doing. It is so often that our minds start becoming busy. I often think about when we are going to be able to come out of the pose, or that my hamstrings are screaming. To focus on surrendering brought a softness to the mind and I felt more of a grounding effect in my legs. Then, my torso began to follow going down without using brut force. In my classes, we have been practicing breathing into the back chest, now we can start focusing on surrendering to quiet the mind while using the breath as our guide.