Vrksasana – Growing faith, acceptance and patience

Vrksasana – Tree Pose
Is a classic Yoga Pose. It opens the hips and represents grounding, stability and balance. However, for my prenatal students in their third trimester the thought of trying to steady themselves and balance when their centre of gravity has shifted so much made them feel uneasy. Rolling their eyes, they began to fidget and grimace at me for making such a preposterous suggestion.

However, my intention was to go beyond the shape of the pose.

Standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) they found their foundation, connected with their breath, shifted their awareness, aligned themselves…focused…breathed and opened themselves up to possibilities. They used the support of a wall, me, a friend, if they needed too…maybe they didn’t…maybe they did…just for a moment to steady themselves again..they connected with their breath..stayed focused and what grew was a beautiful lesson of faith, patience, acceptance…gifts I invited them to take with them into labour.

Namaste

Going with the flow….

So, it’s nearly the week-end and friends are asking me ‘What are your plans for the week-end?’ Personally I try to avoid making plans – since undoubtably they change. Our family has a bit of a reputation amongst close relatives and friends for this, so, for me  I find it better to be spontaneous.
Living here in Thailand helps, that’s why I like it so much it is an easy-going lifestyle.

Having no agenda, no fixed plans for the weekend, opens its up to us for anything to happen and I can limit my frustrations when things don’t happen because I have no expectations. Having no fixed plans, having no agenda opens us up to listen, to be inquisitive, explore, get lost, be fluid and to go with the flow.
Sometimes when we plan too much, we already get a sense of what we are going to get as we have already been there in our thoughts. We can become rigid in our expectations, unable to listen to what may arise and forget about living in the present moment.

So how do we find balance between being too fluid and too static  in life. Maybe instead of planning a stack of things to do set a simply intention…to finish a chapter in my book, to share a juice with a friend, to go to the movies then from this other experiences may arise.

We can become open to listen if we are present and not simply rushing from one thing to the next, focusing on achieving rather than being.

So, the next time you step on your yoga mat, come to your practice with no fixed agenda. Find your foundation, ground down, become connected, explore, have fun, play, listen to your intuition, let your body lead you and go with the flow.