My friend, Anna is who inspired me to learn polish. Though I am not very good with persistence, I know that I will improve. A positive confident attitude also helps greatly! I hope that you are finding odwaga or courage in your own life to do what you feel like you need to do this week. I find that whenever I do this, I can more easily find peace and happiness in my day, my heart feels large and expansive. I am more likely to do things that are good for myself and others when I am finding the courage and strength, the clarity and focus to be who I feel that I was meant to be. I invite you to take this journey with me, moja przjaciolka (friend for female) or przjacielu (friend for male) in this entry of Postures of Life.
“I find strength and clarity as I move beyond my fears.” Fears come in many shapes and forms, though at the core, they are all very similar. I believe that this similarity is found in a deep rooted worry that we will be separated from that which we love and can not live without. Often times I find that my fears are so emotionally based that only something that is emotionally based as well can help me overcome them. This is where strength and clarity comes into play. Can I remain fixed on that which brings good energy, happy and pleasant feelings into my life even though they go beyond my fears, even though I do not know intellectually, that I may be thrown into the unknown? For me, the unknown is someplace where the comforts that I have become used to, come to rely on because of their easiness, the ability they give me to live without thought, awareness, and action are no longer available for me. Will this ever occur? I can not say for sure what the future holds, but I at fairly certain, after living with myself for so long that I make things more dramatic, horrible, fearful than they actually are. Does this scenario feel similar to you? I invite you to explore your feelings on this matter by practicing a pose that invites strength and clarity to move beyond fear, and the lies we might tell to ourselves in hope of getting by. I invite you to liberate yourself to your best, your fullest potential! If we experience but a glimpse as we practice, this can be plenty enough to motivate a greater, more lasting change.
Warrior 1 pose
CAUTIONS: To care if you have high blood pressure or heart problems. It may be better to avoid this pose. If you have shoulder problems, keeping the arms a little farther apart when raised might help. If you have neck problems you may feel more comfortable keeping the head in a neutral position, rather than looking up at your hands.
- Starting in a standing position, bring the right foot pointing forward to one short edge of the mat, and the left foot back a bit at a 45 degree angle moving forward or 90 degrees pointing to the long edge of the mat. You will have the best balance in your stance if the mid arch of the left foot is aligned with the heal of the right.
- I invite you to move the hands to the hips, pushing the right hip back slightly, and the left hip forward a bit.
- Explore bending the right knee, maintaining that it is directly over the ankle, protecting the knee joint.
- When you are ready, take a breath in, raising the arms to frame the head.
- Now that we are in Warrior I or Virabhadrasana I Pose, I invite you to either aloud or mentally say the affirmation, “I find strength and clarity as I move beyond my fears.” I recommend saying this at least three times, perhaps thinking about a situation in life that is currently holding you in a state of fear. How might you find the strength and clarity to move beyond it?
- When you are ready to come out of the pose, do so, and move into the pose once again on the opposite side, trying to maintain it for about the same amount of time.
- Having done both sides, I invite you to come back to a standing pose, to press hands together at heart center, and say a word that means, my inner light honors your inner light, “Namaste, Thank you so much body for carrying me through this practice, ground for supporting me, for an opportunity to move beyond my fears, to find strength and clarity in the light of love!”
Have a wonderful day, my friend! Thank you so much for being wonderful you, for doing your best in life day by day! I hope to see you again soon through the mental, internet, or physical space! Sile I jasnosc dla ciebie, moja przjacielu/przjaciolka! Obyscie dzisiaj I zawsze wychodzili poza obawy! Strength and clarity to you, my friend! May you move beyond your fears today and always! Peace, love, and light along your way! Aaron :-)