balance and the Tree Pose

the tree

balance is a journey. as you explore the tree posture, allow balance to come and go...as a metaphor for exploring balance in your own life. as you steady yourself, watch how it translates to your life.

find a place to settle your eyes as you look down, just a couple  of feet from where you stand. use this place, perhaps a rock, or a spot on the floor and embrace it as a resting place for you eyes. gaze gently and find your breath. bring awareness here. bring  your breath to slow and steady, allowing the breath to quiet your mind.

ground one leg, firmly, as if roots extend from below your foot,  and  anchor  to mother earth. raise the other foot, perhaps just the heal, perhaps the foot and glide it  up the anchored leg.  start low, only bringing it as high up you are comfortable.  eventually you may settle it at the knee. Open the free leg at a right angle to the anchored leg. breathe, slow and steady.

relax here.  raise your hands over your head, ever so slowly, reaching up to the sky (I'm copying the sculpture, that's why my hands reach playfully to one side). feel the strength in your arms and the freedom of your finger tips and explore the sensation here. open the chest. breathe, slow and steady.

flow in and out of balance, dropping any judgments you might be saying to your self and return your gaze to the spot on the floor as an anchor for your mind along with your slow and conscious breath.

sense the anchored leg and the feeling this stance provides, perhaps grounded? what is the sensation in your  raised leg?  perhaps openness or freedom?    be curious about these sensations and the difference between holding and letting go, judging and accepting.

Do this with the other leg, exploring  balance on this side. what's different about each side?

Enjoy the tree pose  and see how long you can balance. watch how it mirrors  balance in your life and savor in the blessing of balance.

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Niece Sara moves real purposefully, each movement its own breath.. I watch her in awe... my body and mind move much more abruptly than hers. Just observing her slows me down. "You are so interesting, Sara," I say. "You make me smile."

She's preparing to journal on her Apple, I've decided to blog alongside her. "Every time I'm with you I get this unreal sense, kind of like I'm better than I really am," she says. Then she adds apologetically, "that's not a bad thing." "It's bullshit," I say, somewhat sheepishly (have I been blowing steam up her ass?). "How can it be bullshit; It's how I feel?" "It's bullshit, Sara, because that's not a feeling, it's a thought and the thought is bullshit. You are great. Like it or not." "Whatever" she chided and sat down to type. I ignored the attitude and continued blogging. First of all, shout out to Harriett! (www.Harriettswalk.com) for teaching me the difference between a thought and a feeling and the importance of distinguishing the two. Sara has every right to think she's not (as) great as I think she is. How she feels as a result of this thought, and how she acts based on this process, that's her journey. I'll remind her when she's done writing why I think she's great. I'll encourage her to challenge her self judgments, like I encourage myself to do the same. What we say to ourselves is important.Finding Balance is a blessing.
ain't she adorable?

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blog heaven. you hold many prayers for your bloggers. prayers of world peace and equanimity. prayers of a verdant world and a kind world. "what?" you say! "yet another blog?" ha, for what? to add to your list of must reads? don't read this one dammit. This one's for me. for me to support my journey of finding that crystal clear reflecting glass ... b/c as I understand me , I'm yours. I swear I am. I'll give you my all. and I'll say "no" when I can't. in understanding is balance. balance of work and play. freedom and responsibility. thinking and doing. taking and giving. eating and fasting. indulging and abstaining. ha, how are you doing at this balaning act? have you considered? have you ever really felt balanced? The only place I have known the blessing of balance is on my yoga mat. where all of your damn judgments of me drop away. Oh, yes! they are my judgments. I take full responsibility for them. Step away, they're are all mine. yours are only a reflection of what I've chosen to believe. I am on the balancing beam of transparency. walking the line between hiding and sharing. I don't need to bow my head in shame because I've told you, I am deficient. Perhaps like you, perhaps not. it doesn't matter. It's a sunny day. there's a quiet wind bathing my newly exposed winterized skin. I'm going to challenge myself today. to taste the blessing of balance in my real life. not just on my mat. not on the waves of google plus. but in here. in the breath, the sensations, the movement of me. and I dedicate this blessing of balance blog to you.