|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kareen's Yoga by Kareen Zebroff
Slowly inching my way out of bed, I freeze into innovative yoga holding
positions every time my tired hubby’s breath slows. At last, having quietly
slipped into my laid-out clothes, I sneak out of the house into the as yet sunless
purity of the desert morning. Once there, it is entirely natural to inhale ever
more deeply its perfumed air while striding fleet as Mercury, messenger of the
gods, down the bridle path that takes me along the verdant golf course in the
wash. Soon, I find the hole in the iron fence that someone has long ago bent to
fit even those with middle-age spread.
Overcome by the delicious onslaught on all my senses, I fling myself onto the
grass and with every breath, let myself sink deeper and deeper into its yielding
softness. Completely relaxed, I seem to be floating up and down with each breath,
as inhalation becomes a conscious intake of light and love and healing. Exhalation
becomes a release of accumulated stress, fatigue, anxiety and negativity into
the all-forgiving Earth beneath me.
Only when the sun’s halo begins to radiate over the horizon do I rise up
into the dappled shade of the tree and respectfully perform the yoga Sun Salutations.
Bowing and arching in wave-like sequential movements, I concentrate on sensing
the breathing of nature all around me, even as I coordinate it with my own breathing.
For that is the spirit and essence of the asanas - to access the boundless energy
that flows through all creation by way of the breath that guides and "unfolds"
us into our poses.
Time goes into an adagio dimension as I next root myself into the ground in the
tree pose a most important one, as we so often feel ungrounded. Carefully balancing
myself between heel and toe, I let the pelvis realign itself until the body releases
it and offers it up to the heavens. In yoga the pelvis is a bowl symbolic of the
Earth, and the spine is the "plant" that grows out of it. This being
the first day of our holidays, I carry on with yoga poses that address the first,
base or "root" chakra called Muladhara, which concerns itself with worldly
matters such as family health, changes in lifestyle or location and business and
finances.
Chakras are seven energy vortices or centres, which may become deficient, blocked,
or overpowering due to our unnatural lifestyle. By readjusting our life energies
through yoga poses appropriate to a chakra that matches our personality and/or
our circumstances, we can offset challenges and regain a sense of trust and safety.
For instance, the first chakra is concerned with being able to feel grounded,
with survival needs in our daily stressful life, with taking good care of our
bodies and with getting rid of its wastes. Therefore, if we conscientiously practise
poses that are beneficial for the spine, the large intestine and the legs and
feet all of which are associated with the Muladhara chakra we cannot only correct
many imbalances, but can also bring us back to ourselves and achieve a much-needed
stillness of mind; perhaps most importantly nowadays, we can thus alleviate feelings
of being overwhelmed, anxious, or in crisis many of these being caused by living
too much in the mind rather than the body.
By late afternoon I am once again at my yoga, albeit in a much more playful practice
with Peter. After 30 contemplative minutes of face-down, breast-stroking lengths
in the smooth waters of the pool, it’s great fun to experiment with how
many different yoga poses we can practise together in the water. Pool-side sunbathers
soon become intrigued and join us in a session that quickly becomes a giggly party.
Ah, how good feel the backward bends done against the edge of the pool; how easy
the side-bending; how painless the stretches, lunges and twists while holding
onto your partner; and how amusing the balancing poses in a place where it doesn’t
matter if we fall over.
Afterwards, Peter and I have a drink of fresh grapefruit juice under the very
tree which has offered up to us its plentiful juicy fruit. Replete, we meditate
with heart-felt gratitude for being able to spend time in this nurturing, peaceful
place. To share it in even the smallest way with those who cannot be there, I
silently recite as my mantra the little prayer our girls had made up when little:
"Dear Lord, please bless all those who are poor in the world; those who are
hungry and wet and cold and hot, and depressed and lonely, and ill and miserable
and grieving, and in a war-situation; may the good Lord lessen all their suffering
and fulfil all their needs."
Amen, to that.
Find author, lecturer and yogini Kareen at www.kareenzebroff.com
 Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
