Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 @ 04:40 PM
We do, do, do and finish what we are doing so we can start doing what we need to do next.
What happens when we stop doing for a moment and make time for just Being?
This is spider season in Sausalito, CA and webs are everywhere. From porch railings to shrubs, tree branches to lawn furniture, spiders cast their intricate webs which glisten in the sunshine and get caught in your face and hair. There are three large webs beneath the landing of my front steps and three thimble sized spiders hanging there in the Center of the Universes they have spun for themselves.
A lot of work went into their webs. The strands are too numerous to count, woven around and through, and attached to points far and wide, way beyond the Center where the spiders just wait. It occurs to me that their survival depends on their just Being there, now. Spin, spin, spin, spin, wait. Hang out. Literally. From elsewhere in the Universe, the food will come.
I took note of these particular spiders when I came home from yoga today. In yoga, we move and pose, twist, turn and pose again, stretch, balance, breathe and bend... and every teacher that I have ever had has told me the the same thing. The most important pose of the entire class is the final one. Corpse pose.
Savasana.
In this pose, lying flat on your back with eyes closed, palms resting at your sides toward the ceiling, the object is to imitate a corpse, to still the body and the mind and allow space for conscious relaxation. Some people fall asleep, although Being Fully Awake is the goal. Some people jump ahead to the chores of the day, or think about going back to work, or make a grocery list. I have done all these things in Savasana. It is incredibly difficult to lie perfectly still, and not fidget, calculate, plan, organize, judge, or snooze. For 10 to 20 minutes!
In Savasana you can breathe open the door to a place of pure Being. All the hard work is done. The web you have spun is strong enough to hold you in the Center of the Universe. There is no where to go and nothing to do.
As I practice Savasana I begin to understand the power of just Being. When I quiet my mind and body I make space to experience possibility and connectedness. When I practice, I am reminded that this place of pure Being is a place that I can access any time I choose. A place in the Center of my Universe where I can Not-do, Un-do... just Be and Breathe.
In Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyenger says, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which Savasana is the best antidote."
My spiders will spring into action when a bug gets caught or an unsuspecting pedestrian tears through their web. And we are called into doing by our responsibilities and our jobs and our people and our goals. But just Being - in the space between doing - can be a source of infinite peace, joy, light and love. Allow yourself Savasana. Just hang out in the Center of your Universe and breathe. Your nourishment will come.
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Jul 30, 2009 @ 01:21 PM
Bradley is the substitute yoga teacher this morning. He is incredibly energetic. Bradley is excited by the practice of yoga, bringing together the body and spirit, and the "rad" concept that each of us, being entirely unique, is perfectly beautiful in our very own way. Yoga, he says, is a way to get inside yourself, to be in the moment, and appreciate your body for what it is right now.
"It's amazing, isn't it, I mean, so rad, to realize that you can only leave one set of footprints that are uniquely yours in this lifetime. You are perfect just as you are in this moment! Like think about the people in your life who find you beautiful, your partners who have loved your body just as it is and your friends who love you because they see the unique beauty you have. I mean, it's rad, you are this being inside this body, just sparks and energy behind those eyes, you have this body, this perfect body to be in and play with so play! No one has hands like yours - that's so beautiful, and this practice of yoga can teach us to be fully in appreciation of where we are in this moment. You look at the magazine covers - who says that her combination of cells defines what beauty is - you are all perfect! Alicia, just be the most Alicia that you can be - why would you want to look like or be like anyone else when you can be truly unique and yourself!"
I am paraphrasing - but you get the idea.
So I started to think about all the things we wait to do until we reach the "perfect weight". All the "if onlys" and "when I ams". What are the hopes and dreams we put on hold until we see the magical on the number on the scale - when our bodies, finally, will be perfect enough to...what? ... go swimming in the ocean with your granddaughter? Ask that woman out to dinner? Join the dance class? ... Like who we are or the way we look?
Why can't we start doing those things right now?
Weight loss can create new opportunitues to live more fully. Weight loss gives some people more energy, more self confidence, and a better sense of control over their lives. But what I am suggesting is that if we can take Bradley's rad perspective and practice believing we are perfect right now - it might make the task of taking better care of ourselves easier. After all, when you love and appreciate someone - you do right by them.
Too often we punish ourselves for the way we are right now. And then feel we have to deprive ourselves to be better. It's a cycle of negativity that's counterproductive.
So the next time we feel discouraged about our weight we could practice identifying something about ourselves that is unique and beautiful. We could practice telling ourselves that we are perfect just as we are - and it might be easier to make healthy choices. Instead of saying "I can't have this (pizza) because I have been bad and I am awful" let's try "I will choose this (delightful salad) because I am beautiful and my body deserves nutritious food.
Our lifelong well being depends on being good (kind, gentle, appreciative, grateful, nurturing) to ourselves in this moment - no matter what the scale says or what we look like. Hmmm, we are perfect exactly the way we are. Rad.