Upright and Elegant

‘Posture’ our parents told us,
stand up tall,
don’t slouch at the dinner table.

Little did I know my mother was right, about this and a few other things ';0)

Fast forward 4 decades and I’m teaching Yoga, observing all the bodies rolling into class. People wanting to feel a bit better, less stressed, stretched out and blissed out. Yoga, Pilates and many other modalities are helping us stress less and breathe better. Its no coincidence that yoga and pilates are so popular! They are having their renaissance.

One of their fundamental teachings is encouraging us to breathe, properly. I feel like many of us, myself included, forgot how to breathe well. We hold our breath, we forget to breathe, we take short shallow gulps of air and as a result of this and our lifestyle, our posture slowllllllly begins to fold forward.

Our gaze, taken from the beautiful skies, horizon’s of glorious sunsets and sunrises begins to fold forward.

In a yogic wisdom text, The Bhagavad Gita, the main character Arjuna, has had a crisis. He’s slouched over, he’s crestfallen, lacking confidence, he cant go on. Lost his confidence, lost his direction, his sureness.

Havent we all been there? We dont know what to do, we forget to trust ourselves, we loose our willingness to be open and to wait for the answers. We tilt forward, our heart caves inward and we loose the healing magic of a full breath.

A girlfriend of mine offered this advice after a personal crisis; walk on the grass each morning she said, shoulders back & LOOK UP & SMILE. Do this for a few minutes, barefoot on the grass.

So here’s an exercise for you now. Stand up, tuck your shoulders back gently, smile to yourself because you can. Breathe in an image of feeling tall and elegant, upright in your carriage. Walk confidently, swing your arms and look up with a smile.

Notice how you feel afterward. Maybe weave this in as a daily practice.