I was merely late for work, but I stopped to bear witness. Sadhana is for our whole lives.
United States Supreme Court, December 2, 2019
Rabbi Hillel is famous for having said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me; if I am not for others, what am I? If not now, when?” Taken in its best light (and not as the recruiting technique for going to war this quote has served), this means we must, as they say on the airplane, “put on our own oxygen mask first before helping others.”
I often think of this principle, when I am emphasizing the fundamental physical alignment principle of shins in/thighs out. If you have taken even just a few Anusara classes, you have probably heard the teacher say “shins in, thighs out.” It is really short hand for the action of muscular energy that hugs the legs to the mid-line, followed by the spiraling upward and backward expansion of inner spiral.
When applied with enthusiasm and in the right sequence, “shins in/thighs out” protects our knees and opens the groins, hips, and pelvic floor in a way that gives us greater access to finding the strength of our pelvic floor, low back and abdominal muscles. It is a perfect example of an appropriate personal boundary: it leaves us open and available to receive and observe all that is good, while creating a protective and appropriate boundary from which we can grow safely better to serve.
This morning I decided it was time to have a public “Rose Garden Yoga” page on Facebook, in addition to the page under my name.
Before I even figured out whether I had done it correctly, a couple of friends had hit the “like” button. I still do not know when and where it appeared so that would happen. After browsing around, I did figure out how to “share” with my friends that I had created the page and that brought in a few more. I have also added a widget to the welcome page of the blog/website, so people can “like” “Rose Garden Yoga.” (Please do).
Did I need to do this? Absolutely not. Do I find knowing my way around these mediums of expression useful? Yes, because they have become so important to how we communicate with each other across generations, the planet, and various social divides. Do I mind that getting it just right or perfectly current takes more time and skill than I have from just experimenting? Not really. When I want to do more, I spend the time to learn or hire someone to help. It is also sort of fun to just mess around and experiment and discover whether I can figure it out just by trusting that if I try enough different things and don’t get frustrated by not getting it “right” right away, I will end up either with something that serves well enough or will decide it is not that important and let go.
For health and ease in this embodiment, remember to massage your feet every day. Perhaps followed by some time with your legs up the wall.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
