Sacred stretching

I like quiet mornings when I am the only one up. I open the blinds and spread out my yoga mat between legos and crayons. If I am feeling inspired, I light a candle or put on the diffuser with an essential oil. My sacred time.

For several years, I have been doing the videos of Sarah Beth Yoga. In her most recent video, she shared a message that resonated with this project in a deep way. In between child's pose and downward dog, inhale and exhale, she reminded us to "find the balance between the strong and the calm." Not just referring to muscles when she suggests we ask ourselves, "where else can I soften?", she connects the physical with the emotional, the balance between masculine and feminine, the calm in the chaos.

And in a society dominanted by masculine energy, she challenges yogis to "imagine for a moment, what would your world be like if you embraced the soft, celebrated the fluid, the intuition, the gentle?"

Aha! The sacred principle manifests in a morning yoga routine. The reminder to approach the world with a different energy, to balance and connect with the feminine energy inside of us and around us. The goddess within instead of the god up above.

When we do this, when we try to settle in, relax, soften, we connect with our breath, with where we touch the ground, where we connect to the earth, to our source, to our life. We find answers from within us. We hear ourselves, we hear Nature speaking through us and in us. We let the pressures of productivity, achievement, even technology, fall away. We go back to our roots, our purpose, our power.

The video reminds us to "let go of control, practice trust." And I am reminded to trust that nature unfolds exactly as it should, that we cannot control the natural flow of the universe, that doing so is arrogant and only leads to frustration. That we are not the owners of the world, we are guests here, we depend on Her to survive. And She is gentle, fluid and soft -- but also fierce and fiery. And so are we.

Here is the video, if you would like to embark on the journey:

*I am in no way connected to, endorsed by or paid by Sarah Beth Yoga for this post. Just following the threads wherever they lead.

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