DAILY When we are shattered, pieces lie everywhere, our shards creating new prisms of light. At rare times these fragments are born of bliss, but more often they are from the implosion of unfathomable sorrow. At the very least, pain is honest. It keeps us on track even as we stumble. There is something very centering about these times. Despite feeling lost, we are ushered toward endings, and beginnings. We begin to see a long, lonesome highway leading into unknown territory.
The inconsolable ache that grows from the well loved, well known richness of the time before the shattering is the tipping point that reveals essential self. It is that emptiness that lets in the light, that gives birth to the new, that assimilates the foreign, that learns the language where the tongue twists around oblique innuendo struggling to express the over-muchness of emotion. We stand forlorn, if we stand at all. Mainly we lie in pieces.
The new journey must begin with the disintegration of despair. When we can’t begin again, we practice. We simply imagine showing up. We sit in a corner making our breath bigger. We totter to the corner on rocky steps. Sometimes the steps have to move us off the ledge before they can move us forward. If we are very lucky, someone reaches out a hand and we grab hold, then the glue begins to set, new and old shards meld into a crystal revealing profound mysteries.
Asana: Paschimottanasa/Forward Fold Pose. Sitting with legs extended, on the exhale lift the belly, extend from the hips, reach forward and grab the big toes, if possible. Don’t hunch the shoulders, or round the back, simply extend as far as possible, release and breathe.
Paschima means the west, referring to the back of the body, as the east is the front or anterior, North is the crown of the head, and south the soles of the feet.
Health Notes: This pose lengthens the hamstrings, tones the abdominals, and kidneys, helps with digestion, and keeps the spine elongated and lively. Placing the heart below the spine massages and refreshes it, as well as resting the brain. It is a great pose for starting over, for offering the body a resting place to re-charge and re-glue its pieces.
Astrological Notes: Taurus is a steadfast energy, despite its sensitivity, Usually conservative, careful, and extremely practical, it is not often given to imploding, but when it does shatter, it takes a long time to reclaim its pieces. Sometimes its stubbornness stands in the way of being able to change and re-glue.
Ayurvedic Notes: When there is disturbance and imbalances, the first line of defense is usually a light fast for cleansing, This gives the over-loaded system time to rest and re-set. If the digestion is upset, brewing a weak ginger tea, with fresh lemon, and taking the body into nature are two simple steps toward healing.
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