I’m reading a book – Overcoming
Trauma Through Yoga by David Emerson and
Elizabeth Hooper (North Atlantic Books: 2011). I became interested in the book
a few weeks ago, when I came across a workshop Emerson ran last summer for war
photographers with PTSD.
There’s a grid on page 96:
Challenge/Goal/Posture.
I’m so in love with this idea.
For the past few weeks I have
been getting so much better and listening to my body tell me what it needs –
hips and back are beginning to speak to me…
But employing the body to sooth
the mind, respond to the mind…
I suppose that is why we say “I
need a hug” or “I feel like dancing,” – but to choose a time to listen and
respond in a physical way – and on purpose!
dissociation/grounding/mountain
pose
conflicted
feelings/centering/seated twist
I love this – somehow I guessed
before I read twist what the pose would be – and in that instant I thought of
tree… feeling off balance, find balance…
bring your awareness to the
core
Of course. Counterbalance.
Some days I go into tree –
which is mostly a resting pose for me. My balance is often pretty good. I feel
settled – enjoy the roots to sky…
But the days when I can’t
balance, there’s simply no point in trying, you know? It’s just not there and
it has nothing to do with anything I can control…
If I listen today... there is a hint of sadness... a hint of tired. So the impulse is to cave inward...
But what if I stand up and open my heart to the sun -- what if I move through a vinyassa to try to move through the energy sitting in the center of myself...
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