Now that we are back in action in Monday Morning Yoga, I'm again reminded of something I love to see in a group practice: the generative energy of asana!

Since asana simply means posture, you are actually in an asana right now as you sit (or stand) and read these words. And how is your seated posture? Do you succumb to gravity and slouch, or is there a lift within you that, at first, takes effort, and over time gets easier?

When we forget that we can be our own engines of energy, we tend to shrink down and collapse a bit. Our breathing gets shallower as our diaphragm has less space to move and pull oxygen into our lungs. We get tired, even sad. Then core muscles grow weaker and aches and pains ensue.

But you are generative! You have "the power or function of generating, originating, producing, or reproducing." ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Just try this with me:

~ Whether you're sitting or standing, interlace your fingers on the crown of your head.

~ Now pull down on...

I'm sitting at my little desk in my home yoga studio, and I'm thinking about the mind-body connection.  Nick and I just talked for a couple hours about what chakras are and why I work with them, etc.  And it's not because I was explaining things to him.  He was doing most of the talking, and it's everything I needed to hear.  

You see, I have been learning and thinking about the chakras for so long, I see the complicated interplay, I know the history, I know they're not something to "fix," and you can't poke them with a stick.  And yet there they are.  A beautiful map of...of what? I was having trouble getting to the basic idea of what's going on here and why it works.

Nick said it: mind-body connection.  

BAM.

If you've reached adulthood and have any amount of personal reflection and self awareness, you know you have patterns.  You know you keep doing something that isn't helpful, and is possibly...

How tuned in are you to your energetic flow? Do you know when your cups are getting low and you need a refill?  Do you know what I mean by that?

This blog is posting late because my cups got emptied...by poison ivy.  Before last weekend I was rocking and rolling, so excited about our 5 Day Challenge and planning all the fun things I have in store for us. That same strong energy took me from weeding a small area in my back yard to clearing brush and weed trees on the edge of our property.  I was KILLIN’ it!  And I didn’t even notice our 3-leafed friend.  But my body did. And it kinda overreacted. 

I’ll spare you the journey, but it wiped me out.  And I’ll tell you what I’ve learned after many years of pushing through--it’s not worth it.  I’m happy to say as soon as the wave of fatigue hit, I went to the doctor, cancelled all my appointments, and went to bed.  It’s what...