Thirty-Eight: Day One

38 Days Towards Love and Acceptance (Working Title)
 
Day 1 – 12/31/15
The timer is on…
 
The ground rules are the same as last year:

• Only 15 minutes to write after the series.
• I wear my inimitable Red Sweat Pants that say, “Love”.  (Albeit, I must admit that those things might have to be retired or replaced, soon…).
• I will clean the ground (Japanese ritual) before working.
• I will braid my hair in a French Braid (a practice I did last year because it is the most comfortable for all the poses and doesn’t annoy me…also…I always wanted to be able to do one on myself…).

 
Last year on New Year’s Eve, I began 69 Days of Mourning, an attempt to find a ritual true to my pluralistic American roots…
 
This year I am getting married…and, yet, it seems as though many cultures also have a ritual in preparation of marriage, and our pluralistic culture, of course, does not…
 
So…for the next 38 Days (the age my fiancé will be when we get married and what I will be just 3 days later), I am going to create my own yoga ritual towards Love and Acceptance to marry the journey I took last year that allowed me to (finally) grieve in my own way and open myself up to the possibility of a future that lacks the physical presence of my irreplaceable father.
 
Here is the line up: I did the research a long time ago on what yoga poses are for happiness and love…and I kept the paper:
 
Part 1: Warm-Up and Meditation

• Inner Guidance Meditation
• Figure 8s
• Neck Rolls

 
Part 2: Sitting or lying
Neutral – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana (Navel or Hara Chakra) – Orange

• Virasana – Hero’s Pose
• Baddha Konasana – Butterfly

 
Forward Bend – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana (Navel or Hara Chakra) – Orange

• Upavista Konasana – The Straddle

 
Back Bend – Chakra 3 – Manipura (Solar Plexus) – Yellow

• Bidalasana – The Cat (Three Variations)
• Balancing Cat (Two Variations)
• Bhujangasana – Cobra
• Salabhasana – Full Locust (2 Variations)

Twist – Chakra 4 – Anahata – Heart Chakra – Green

• Jathara Parivartasana – Reclining Spinal Twist (3 Variations, 2 Dynamic variations)
• Ardha Matsyendrasana – Half Twist
• Chandrasana – Crescent Moon
• Eda Pada Rajakapotasana – The Pigeon (Three Variations)
• Hanumanasana – Dancing Monkey/The Splits

 
Part 3: Standing
Side Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red

• Utthita Trikonasana – Triangle
• Utthita Parsvakonasana - Extended Triangle

 
Twist – Chakra 4 – Anahata – Heart Chakra – Green

• Parivritta Trikonasana – The Revolving/Reversed Triangle

 
Part 4: Standing Balance
Forward Bend – Chakra 6 – Anja – Third Eye/Brow Chakra – Indigo

• Garudasana – Eagle (2 Variations)
• Tuladandasana – Balancing Stick

 
Part 5: Hand Balance
Back Bend – Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus – Yellow

• Kairana – Crab

 
Part 6: Inverted
Back Bend – Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus – Yellow

• Adho Mukha Svasana – Downward Facing Dog
• Urdhva Dhanurasana – The Full Bridge/Wheel

 
Part 7: Rest
Neutral – Chakra 5 – Visuddha – Throat Chakra – Sky Blue

• Supine Butterfly

 
Part 8: Counter-postures/Rest
Forward Bend – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana – Navel or Hara Chakra – Orange

• Kurmasana – Turtle (Two Variations)

 
Back Bend – Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus – Yellow

• Dhanurasana – Cross Bow (Two Variations)

 
Part 9: Mudra – Gestures
Forward Bend – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra – Lavender

• Sasamgasana – Rabbit/Hare
  

 
Part 10: Meditation

• Earth and Sun Meditation

 
That’s all for today…more tomorrow…