Smile~ Day #4 (Week 2)

Richard Fahlander • April 16, 2020

April 16

A yoga teacher friend often suggests smiling at the conclusion of savasana. When I do, it makes my spirit lift. But not only that, I’ve discovered that a full face smile can also lift my spine. The more I smile the more opening wraps around from the front of my chest to the back until my shoulder blades relax and widen into an inverted smile (think rainbow). Spirit and spine united with a smile. This connection is especially useful in balance poses where I have found that a small smile brings me up and relaxes the breath - it takes concentrated effort to clench your teeth and hold your breath while smiling.

In the yoga world we have the image of the fat laughing Buddha and there is even an entire wing of yoga devoted to laughter as described in this Yoga Journal article https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/laughter-cure . And for an even wider view of the power of the smile, you might want to check out this TED talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_gutman_the_hidden_power_of_smiling?language=en

In tough times a smile might just lighten the load a little bit, while a frown might just bring you down. Perhaps the smile is another pose to add to our yoga toolbox.



On The Mat Yoga Blog

Heart~ Day #7 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 3, 2020
“There is a light in the core of our being that calls us home—one that can only be seen with closed eyes; We can feel it as a radiance in the center of our chest. This light of loving awareness is always here, regardless of our conditioning. It does not matter how many dark paths we have traveled or how many wounds we have inflicted or sustained as we have unknowingly stumbled toward this inner radiance. It does not matter how long we have sleepwalked, seduced by our desires and fears. This call persists until it is answered, until we surrender to who we really are. When we do, we feel ourselves at home wherever we are. A hidden beauty reveals itself in our ordinary life. As the true nature of our Deep Hear is unveiled, we feel increasingly grateful for no reason—grateful to simply be.” —John J. Prendergast, PHD, The Deep Heart

SUN!~ Day #6 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 2, 2020
Seems like it’s been rainy, windy, dreary for eons. Which may have helped us shelter inside a bit more. I remember reading years and years ago in a Seth book that weather can be influenced, and even created by mass human emotion. Why not? We are far more powerful than we currently acknowledge, and science is beginning to validate many phenomena that had seemed inconceivable before. Those seemingly endless days of “bad” weather seemed congruent with the emotional tone of covid her in New England. And now SUN! Glorious, warming, invigorating, hope-filled Sun! Today I will be outside basking and gardening and thanking. And I’m sure the whole neighborhood, and most of New England will go outside, stand with our faces to the sun and breathe a huge healing breath of joy. And maybe the collective energy of that will resonate out across the word as a promise of brighter days to come.
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