Take a breath and step back to check in with yourself. How are you? Feel into your heart space and ask yourself, “What do I need in this moment to feel whole? What would fill me up?” Some days I desperately need a hug, a smile, a reassurance that things will be okay. Some days I NEED a chocolate chip cookie. And other days it feels like I don’t know what I need…But EVERY day, I know I need SOMETHING to ground me, nourish me, uplift me, and prepare me for what comes. And while it is nice to get the external things, often the some “thing” I really need seems to come from within rather than from outside.
The “things” that I need are often not describable in words. Maybe it’s a feeling or a sense or an understanding that I didn’t know I needed until it hit me. Often what we need doesn’t come from the thinking mind or from the external, but from the more subtle internal realms of insight, energy, knowing. And these subtle things have a way of showing up when we are quiet and calm, mindfully breathing, and opening up our hearts to receive these gifts instead of closing off or shutting down. Sometimes these “things” are not so subtle and are not so pleasant…and maybe they are downright painful. But to acknowledge and accept their existence, to process and deal and release them, means we skillfully make space to move forward. Move forward with more clarity, ease, and less discomfort.
Yoga is both a practice of “doing” and a process of “undoing” (effort and surrender). Some days we may arrive at our mats feeling scattered and fragmented, or we might arrive feeling overwhelmed, blocked and bunched up. Yoga offers a chance to dismantle unsupportive layers on physical, energetic, and mental levels by asking us to BREATHE, RELAX, FEEL, WATCH, and ALLOW… then guides us to put ourselves back together compassionately as we return to wholeness, fullness, unity. No wonder the word “yoga” means “union”.
And for those wonderful days when we arrive at our mats feeling light and happy and already full, our yoga practice only adds to that energy, allowing us to expand even more! The more we practice, the fuller we become.
After playing around with my 300 Things practice this summer, I felt not only the positive effects of physical exercise but the more subtle benefits that mindful movement and breathing can bring. I came up with a shorter version that I call the 108 Things (see my video below); a yoga practice I can do every day to fill me up. Try it for a week and see what you think; feel free to change it up, add or replace poses, or come up with your own “10 x 10 plus 8” different ways to mindfully breathe, move, and put yourself back together!
“THE 108 THINGS”
Do 10 exercises/poses/practices for 10 reps/breaths PLUS 8 slow mindful breaths in Savasana for a total of 108 things…all with awareness, attention, alignment, and safety for your own body.
Here is my routine; try to do it slowly and add whatever transition poses you like in between. Build in lots of pauses to feel the more subtle effects of breath, movement, and attention. Allow any negativity, unsupportive thoughts, or discomfort to drain away…wash away…unravel…then SMILE.
Warm up with Surya breath, a few twists, and neck rolls – whatever you like.
- Cat/cow (Marjariasana) x 10
- Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) x 10 Ujjayi breaths
- 1/2 Sun Salutations (Ardha Surya Namaskara) x 10
- “Chair” breathing x 10
- Balance pose (any pose holding 5 breaths each right and left sides)
- Strength pose (plank or any core-control pose) x 10 Ujjayi breaths
- Dynamic Locust pose (or any back extension exercise) x 10
- Child’s pose (Balasana) x 10 breaths (last three add Brahmari breath i.e. honey-bee breath)
- Legs Up the Wall pose (Viparita Karani) – x 10 belly breaths
- Spinal twist of your choice (5 breaths each right and left sides)
- Savasana with 8 soundless, slow breaths, then rest in stillness
Finish off with Dirgha Pranayama (3-part breath) and a short meditation, tapping in to your own sense of wholeness, completeness, and balance.
VEDIC PEACE MANTRA FOR WHOLENESS
OM purnamadah, purnamidam
Purnat purnam udachyate
Purnasya purnam adaya
Purnam evavashishyate.
OM Shantih, shantih, shantih.
OM. THAT IS COMPLETE/WHOLE/PERFECT.
THIS IS COMPLETE/WHOLE/PERFECT.
COMPLETENESS/WHOLENESS/PERFECTION ARISES FROM THE PERFECT.
TAKING THE WHOLENESS/PERFECTION FROM THE WHOLE/PERFECT,
IT REMAINS AS THE WHOLE/PERFECT ALONE.
OM PEACE, PEACE, PEACE.
Yoga In My Backyard 