{10} Experience your Alignment

Sometimes I love embracing the fire - dripping with sweat, & challenging my body to explore new postures.

Sometimes I desire to bask in total calm, melt into my mat, & move s l o w l y from one restorative posture to the next.

Once I stood in tadasana (mountain pose) at the back of the room, slowly lifting my arms overhead (“as if through honey”) while tears streamed down my face ...for the entire class.

I’ve attended candlelight yoga assuming a slow sequence, only to encounter a quick dynamic flow. At first, I pushed myself to keep up. Then, I let go of the need to “achieve” or “be,” & released the belief that there was a right way to practice. I breathed into balasana (child’s pose) & courageously honored my truth.

What is your current experience? Are you experiencing it?

I invite you to show up, just as you are, in whatever practice you find yourself with this week.

• Maybe your practice is the short yoga flow with yesandbymarin Youtube, following up on your mini-model exploration from last week.
• Maybe your practice is breathing at your desk for one minute after reading this post: “What is here?”
• Maybe your practice is watching your spouse in admiration as they delicately button their fall coat before gathering the mail.

Show up. Be present. Honor your truth.

Experience the Benefits of Yoga: Part 2 // Yes& by marin Yoga Last week (Experience the Inquiry of Yoga: Part 1) I offered you an opportunity to EXPERIENCE one of the five benefits of yoga I discussed in the previous week's video: connection to self.

{9} Explore your Alignment

Tsunami: a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance; an arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities or amounts.

To escape a tsunami, The Red Cross suggests going as high and as far as you can; “if you can see the wave, you are too close for safety.”

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I love the universe for providing such brilliant, powerful metaphors.

This week my “disturbance” was a desire to accomplish 8 days of work in 5, so I could share my weekend with someone I care about before departing for a conference.

On Sunday evening, a wave of stress overwhelmed me. How will there ever be enough time? Will I have to prioritize work over my other values? Why do I have so many projects! Am I good enough!?

Wow! Talk about being too close for safety. I was IN it Sunday night; I could absolutely see the wave.

Fast-forward to the picture above, taken from my yesandbymarin YouTube footage filmed on Monday afternoon. In that moment, I had completed two weeks of Yes& content, felt brilliant about the end products, and excitedly anticipated a call with my life coach during which I had the opportunity to not only prioritize but bask in the values I feared could get trampled by a busy work week.

In this image: I am sitting on my rooftop (“as far and as high as you can”), I had just completed a short yoga sequence intended to open my heart to a current challenge – and simultaneously let go into trust (next week on yesandbymarin YouTube 😉). I felt on top of the world and full of gratitude; I felt safe, and confident in myself and my ambitions.

Notably – my place of safety did not necessitate avoiding or eliminating my tsunami all together. Rather, I utilized my disturbance as a CUE to step back, take care of myself, and utilize the practices I have in my toolbox (y o g a, breath, “I remember this part,” coaching…)

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What is your present “disturbance”? How can I support you as you seek higher, safer ground? What is your desired experience as you embrace safety?

{8} One Profound Savasana

I stared at the tree limbs above, exhaled, & believed: everything is going to be okay.

For over a decade, yoga has played a dynamic role in my life. From attending class during high school for physical wellness, to crying in tadasana in emotional release last year – my understanding, appreciation, & practice of yoga continuously evolves.

One benefit from yoga I experience time and time again is pause: One deep breath at the beginning of class. Holding a posture for five counts longer than I thought possible. Practicing patience as I’m instructed through 30 minutes of ground work before the standing series. Choosing balasana (child’s pose) when my body cues me to rest instead of following the sequence. Releasing, completely, in final savasana.

The gift of pause aids me to release stress, trust a process, embrace uncertainty, experience the present moment, & B R E A T H E.

Importantly, the pause I experience during practice extends beyond my yoga mat. One example of yoga’s powerful benefit to bring me pause on and off my mat occurred during finals week in graduate school.

It was the end of my first semester, & I finally made it to my last exam. An untimely fever multiplied my stress to study for a class known to fail first year students, & I could feel the toll this took on my mind & shoulders (“Hey mom, could you mail me that heating pad?”).

As I sat hunched over my notes, eyebrows scrunched together, with thoughts racing about what I would do if I failed - I realized I was no longer helping myself nor my test performance by studying. That’s when I looked to my green yoga mat gently balancing against my bookshelf.

With only 45 minutes until my exam time, I pedaled to a nearby park & laid out my mat underneath a strong tree. In a beautiful park on a beautiful day, I completed a short, guided yoga sequence.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

When I fluttered my eyes open after final savasana, I witnessed the incredible tree branches above me. Leaves gently waved in the wind to illuminate a deep blue sky above. It was one of those moments where I felt as grand as the universe yet unbelievably small at the same time. & I knew everything was going to be okay.

I received an A on my exam that afternoon. And… that is not, truly, the point.

The point was that I successfully recognized self-induced suffering (study, stress, worry). The point was that I enacted my courage to act in alignment with what I was intuitively called to (pause, move, breathe). The point was coming home to myself, & in turn discovering unwavering trust.