Good morning,
Thank you for joining me today.
It's a beautiful sunny day,
Chilly,
But I'm sitting on the wharf surrounded by herons and birds.
A little wind is blowing,
But it's absolutely glorious.
And today I'm going to ask that you start in a starfish position.
So flat on the floor,
You may be most comfortable with pillows under your knees,
Arms out to your sides,
Legs splayed open,
Allowing your head to be comfortable.
So maybe you want a little bolster or small pillow underneath the back of your head.
And just take a moment to settle in.
Maybe you want to separate your bum cheeks or your sitz bones just to give your low back a little more space.
Allow your shoulder blades to be flat on the ground,
Palms facing up.
And just settle into your breath.
Like a snowfall in spring,
We are being called to receive the gifts of the unknown.
Trusting in the divine that there is always a purpose.
A snow in spring nourishes and waters are sprouting gardens.
Although we may see it as destruction.
Watch the glowing green grass melt away the thick white blanket.
The grass emerges stronger,
More vibrant,
More full of life for what the upcoming season has to offer.
It's okay to turn your head,
Pushing away the sights and the thoughts of snow.
Dig in,
Rest here.
It will do its work behind the scenes whether you're ready to accept it or reject it.
This is simply giving us a little more time to prepare for our next journey into the season of fire,
Of energy,
Of sunshine,
Of open hearts,
Of laughter and adventure.
Take this quiet,
Prepare and receive.
So allowing your body to completely surrender into the earth.
Breathing in through your nose,
Feeling your lungs fill,
Your belly rise and sigh it out.
And closing your eyes,
Allowing yourself to go deeper inside.
And maybe you notice that it increases the sensation in your ears.
You have a greater availability to what you're hearing now.
Maybe it's the traffic in the distance.
The spring birds,
The blue jays,
The herons,
The woodpeckers,
Maybe even an owl.
And with each breath,
Just sinking a little further,
Becoming heavier.
Feeling and unwinding through your entire being.
Allow your feet to fall out,
Your knees to completely relax.
And clench your hips.
Maybe squeezing a little bit through your low back and your glutes,
Allowing your sacrum to find a little bit more space on the earth.
Appreciate your heaviness here.
Taking this opportunity to allow every single cell of your body to quiet,
To find a new place to call home.
Just cherish the freedom that you have in this moment right now.
You are in a complete position of surrender with your arms spread wide,
Your legs open.
Just receive whatever sensations are coming.
And let's start on the bottom of your feet.
Just noticing any relaxation or ease creeping in.
Just notice and allow that,
Allow the space,
The settling.
And sliding up the back of your legs.
Feeling your legs on the ground.
Feeling the circulation through your toes,
The arch of your foot,
Winding around your lower leg.
Feeling your knee caps maybe slide around to find a new place of neutral.
Maybe feeling some rigidity across the front of your thighs,
Right up in through your hip flexors.
Breathe deeply into this area.
Setting your legs free.
Feeling the elongation through your hamstrings,
The opening through your pelvic floor.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Allowing your thoughts to wave in front of you and continue to walk on.
They do not require your attention in this moment.
And feel your spine.
Resting,
Lengthening.
And appreciate this inactivity.
Inviting the circulation.
Our low backs provide us with a great deal of strength throughout our day.
Twisting and bending,
Carrying our heavy loads.
Unburden your lower back.
You are safe.
You are secure.
You can rest here.
Feeling your diaphragm allowing a greater expansion.
As your lungs experience more inflation,
Pushing your diaphragm deep down into your belly.
Feeling pressure in through your pelvic floor,
Maybe.
And just appreciating this mobility.
Maybe there's something holding you back from deep breath here.
Is there something that you are ready to unburden yourself from?
Divulge to the universe.
Or maybe just something that you need to communicate to yourself.
Breathe into what your body is telling you right now.
Moving up into your solar plexus.
Right at the bottom of your breastbone.
What are you feeling here?
Breathe into that and allow your mind's eye just to check in.
This is an area of great control,
Of great will,
Of great doing.
It's this area that allows us to move forward when we feel fear.
It just keeps you moving one step in front of the other.
But you are now in a place of rest.
Allow your solar plexus some time off,
Release,
Setting it free to listen to what your body has to tell you.
Maybe even with the thought of putting your solar plexus aside,
You feel less rigidity.
Maybe you feel an opening in your heart.
Now listen to the messages of your heart.
What are you hiding?
What is your heart ready to express?
Right in this moment,
You don't need to be available to anyone but yourself.
Just breathe into that liberation,
Setting free any ideas,
Deepest desires.
Allow them to play around right now inside of your body.
Maybe you can feel yourself walking on the beach,
The warm sand,
Moving underneath your feet with each footstep.
And just feel your heart expand with the thought of that.
Maybe you're feeling yourself in that moment right after you have leapt and not yet felt the cold water beneath you.
The anticipation,
The excitement of the chills,
Of the release of the circulation that you're going to feel in any second as soon as you hit that cold water.
Allow your heart to wander here in those moments that bring great pleasure to your body.
Yesterday when I was on my yoga mat,
Both dogs came over and just laid beside me.
They didn't interrupt.
They just came over to bask in that moment.
They wanted to share in that energy,
That peace,
That quiet.
And at the end of my practice,
They both just gently nuzzled into me,
Not interrupting,
Just coming to savor that moment.
I felt as though they wanted to be held at that moment.
And it was a great sharing of just love.
And it brought all that much more meaning to my practice yesterday.
Going back to your heart and your breath.
And moving up into your upper chest.
In Chinese medicine,
This is the area of great spirit.
These are your kidney points,
Your kidney spirit points.
Sometimes this might feel tender between your ribs.
Don't apply a lot of pressure here.
Just maybe take a moment to notice any specific points that feel a little more tender than others.
And in moments of great anxiety,
You might actually feel yourself applying pressure to points here or placing your hand on your chest.
You are self nourishing.
You are self supporting,
Self energizing.
You have great wisdom and intuition within your body,
Whether you know it or not.
Having your hands facing upward to the sky.
What sensation do you feel in the palm of your hands?
With your hands in a complete resting position,
Can you feel the sun?
Can you feel the air moving between your fingers?
Can you feel the ease?
Can you feel the receiving of the worship that you are allowing in this moment?
There is always a purpose.
There are no coincidences.
Anytime that you find yourself in a place of disbelief,
Of dis-ease,
Open your body and lay on the ground.
Request abundance and treasure what comes to you.
It might be a great surprise.
Please place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest.
Thank your heart for the messages it has allowed you to receive today.
And thank your solar plexus for stepping aside and for trusting in your journey.
Taking a nice deep breath in through your nose,
Feeling your diaphragm with greater expansion,
Pushing down into your pelvis,
Your ribs expand.
And slowly breathing it out,
Feeling the surrender,
The release.
And finish your practice this morning with a few more long deep breaths in and maybe even deeper breaths out.
Allow for the receiving and the letting go.
Thank you for joining me today.
Have a beautiful day.
