Day 34
Well…timer on, and, trumpets are playing…we’ve hit the half way mark today, and, almost symbolically, I had to the half time version today…well…I did 36 Kapalabhati breaths instead of 69 because I shoveled snow 3 times today and my bad (degenerative back disorder) back is really not happy with me… I took a pill even, and, for those of you who know me, you know I hate taking pills, so…that’s a big deal…it hurts… My friend Katie McKee, now named “Oh” wrote a play once called FLO AND GLO, about two fat women who shovel snow at an Antarctic air strip, and I couldn’t help but thinking that Flo and Glo didn’t show up for work today and I had to do all the work myself…it was never ending snow…snow, snow, snow, and more snow…which sucks because this was the second day of auditions for the Spring Theater Season at SUNY Sullivan and I competed with the Superbowl yesterday and Mother Nature today. I hope a whole bunch of people come tomorrow or I’m going to have to go beg people, which I hate doing…or, as my friend Luke Olson used to say, “I would rather people owed me favors, but this owing other people favors all the time is just crazy…”
So…I think we were finished talking about all of the Svadhisthana Chakra poses…we’re now down to the Muladhara Chakra Poses and the chakra purpose, itself…as a reminder was the reproductive one, and I nixed its helping through this transition because I can’t have children, and, yes, smart Hindu gurus of the world, I get it, having a baby is an easy way to leave mourning…life in place of death…good…I get it, but…I can’t so…we’ll just look at the other Benefits of the three poses in this “Part”.
Virabhadrasana (2) or Warrior 2 and Virabhadrasana (1) or Warrior 1, apparently share their Benefits:
· Strengthens, firms, and tones the legs, hips, abdomen, back, and neck muscles.
· Enhances the sense of balance on both sides of the body.
· Limbers and strengthens the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders.
· Expands the chest, encouraging deeper breathing.
· Improves balance and concentration.
Well, those are all nice and I said a while back that these were the two poses that felt “deeper” and “more grounded” right after my father’s death, and in my initial “googling” for “yoga poses for mourning” these were the first two I came upon. I guess one needs “balance” after death.
We should also look at the definition these two poses share:
“ ‘Virabhadra” is the name of a powerful hero in a Hindu legend, and this posture is said to cultivate heroic strength in the body and mind.”
Hmmm…I suppose I agree wholeheartedly that it does take heroic strength to get through mourning…and it takes both the body and mind to get over it…and, eventually, when one is courageous, then maybe all the extra emotional and physical weight will come off…
The last pose in this “Part” is Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend. It’s definition is:
“ ‘Tan’ means “to stretch” or “lengthen out,” and “ut” refers to an attitude of being deliberate or intense. This posture offers a deliberate and intense stretch to the spine and the back of the legs. Uttanasana has different names, depending on the position of the hands: Padangusthasana refers to holding the big toe; Padahastasana refers to the placing of the hands under the balls of the feet. In Uttanasana, the hands are placed alongside the feet.”
Well, that’s all for today…
Well…timer on, and, trumpets are playing…we’ve hit the half way mark today, and, almost symbolically, I had to the half time version today…well…I did 36 Kapalabhati breaths instead of 69 because I shoveled snow 3 times today and my bad (degenerative back disorder) back is really not happy with me… I took a pill even, and, for those of you who know me, you know I hate taking pills, so…that’s a big deal…it hurts… My friend Katie McKee, now named “Oh” wrote a play once called FLO AND GLO, about two fat women who shovel snow at an Antarctic air strip, and I couldn’t help but thinking that Flo and Glo didn’t show up for work today and I had to do all the work myself…it was never ending snow…snow, snow, snow, and more snow…which sucks because this was the second day of auditions for the Spring Theater Season at SUNY Sullivan and I competed with the Superbowl yesterday and Mother Nature today. I hope a whole bunch of people come tomorrow or I’m going to have to go beg people, which I hate doing…or, as my friend Luke Olson used to say, “I would rather people owed me favors, but this owing other people favors all the time is just crazy…”
So…I think we were finished talking about all of the Svadhisthana Chakra poses…we’re now down to the Muladhara Chakra Poses and the chakra purpose, itself…as a reminder was the reproductive one, and I nixed its helping through this transition because I can’t have children, and, yes, smart Hindu gurus of the world, I get it, having a baby is an easy way to leave mourning…life in place of death…good…I get it, but…I can’t so…we’ll just look at the other Benefits of the three poses in this “Part”.
Virabhadrasana (2) or Warrior 2 and Virabhadrasana (1) or Warrior 1, apparently share their Benefits:
· Strengthens, firms, and tones the legs, hips, abdomen, back, and neck muscles.
· Enhances the sense of balance on both sides of the body.
· Limbers and strengthens the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders.
· Expands the chest, encouraging deeper breathing.
· Improves balance and concentration.
Well, those are all nice and I said a while back that these were the two poses that felt “deeper” and “more grounded” right after my father’s death, and in my initial “googling” for “yoga poses for mourning” these were the first two I came upon. I guess one needs “balance” after death.
We should also look at the definition these two poses share:
“ ‘Virabhadra” is the name of a powerful hero in a Hindu legend, and this posture is said to cultivate heroic strength in the body and mind.”
Hmmm…I suppose I agree wholeheartedly that it does take heroic strength to get through mourning…and it takes both the body and mind to get over it…and, eventually, when one is courageous, then maybe all the extra emotional and physical weight will come off…
The last pose in this “Part” is Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend. It’s definition is:
“ ‘Tan’ means “to stretch” or “lengthen out,” and “ut” refers to an attitude of being deliberate or intense. This posture offers a deliberate and intense stretch to the spine and the back of the legs. Uttanasana has different names, depending on the position of the hands: Padangusthasana refers to holding the big toe; Padahastasana refers to the placing of the hands under the balls of the feet. In Uttanasana, the hands are placed alongside the feet.”
Well, that’s all for today…