Learning from what happens to us and moving forward requires openness. With yoga you open your body to open your mind.
A stable state, however desirable, is not a fixed thing. It could be said that it is simply a facet of the process in which one constantly loses and recovers the central axis.
This is a more realistic look at stability and therefore more achievable and enjoyable. If you want stability, you must be willing to lose it for a moment.
Anything can take us out of our “stability”: a thought that does not serve our vital purpose, an alien look, something that we consider to harm us, relapse into a bad habit … They are situations that are part of life experience and teach us how the mind works.
If we accept that the mind has its cycles, phases and biorhythms like any other bodily organ, we will enjoy its waves and see the stability behind its constant currents: that awakened gaze that observes everything.
ASANA TO OPEN YOUR BODY AND MIND
Experience is not enough to learn, but it is the openness that one has to experience that allows one to absorb and act according to the lessons that life offers. Being open to what happens in life allows you to remain humble and recognize that each person and each event is a mystery whose causes and origins are partly unknown.
This openness to life is pure health, since the mind that thinks it “knows” is usually a closed mind that does not apply other ways of seeing things or behaving. A closed mind entails suffering, because one of the greatest pleasures of life is evolution, growth. In Chinese medicine it is said that every stagnation produces pain.
Movement in learning involves changes in views (and behaviors) that revitalize the mind. Mental health, in part, depends on our willingness to learn and grow, to be able to apologize, forgive and understand that, although there are lessons that mark, each person and situation is different and offers new opportunities.
From a solid base you can open your chest well, expand your breathing and experience new sensations.
- Trust your strength
With your right foot firmly anchored to the ground, rest your left instep on a stable seat.
Notice the strength of your legs and how they hold you. Trust them and your balance.
- Open
Inhale and lengthen your spine until your heart looks up at the sky.
Turn your shoulders back and bring your palms together in Kespana mudra (bringing your index fingers together and crossing the rest of your fingers).
- Breathe and observe
Breathe deeply into the area of your body where you notice the stretch the most.
Also notice the mental effect that bodily openness and deep breathing have on you.
Undo the asana and repeat it by supporting the right instep.
CONNECT WITH YOUR STRENGTH WITH THE POSTURE OF THE GODDESS
Strength is often associated with the power to endure some seemingly unbearable condition. In reality, when such inevitable events occur throughout life, the innate force arises and emerges.
Now, strength, endurance, freshness and drive – those desired mental qualities – increase with conscious training. The ability to keep the mind at peace when it is hurting takes practice.
Start by noticing the countless ways life sustains you: gravity, your feet, legs, spine, food, farmers, your intestines, oxygen, trees, the sun’s rays.
Our life is the product of an entire existence, which dances and self-balances despite constant movements and turbulence. By recognizing that the whole existence sustains life, you will appreciate that force is not an individual matter, but a quality of nature.
Life continues to grow and flourish, despite the difficulties. Life is unstoppable precisely because of its strength and flexibility, because of its ability to adapt to any circumstance, making the best of it.
Utkata konasana with the mudra of the heart and courage
In this variant of the goddess posture, we lay hands on Abhaya Hridaya Mudra. This mudra symbolizes the courage of the heart and helps you connect with your own strength.
- How to get into the pose
Spread your feet apart until your knees fall on your heels. Exhale and bend your knees 90 degrees. Tuck your abs inward, with your spine upright.
- The position of the hands
Cross the right wrist over the left in front of the sternum, bringing the backs together with the palm’s outwards. Start by placing your index fingers: the right index finger wraps around the left.
Next, join your right middle finger with your left. With the little fingers follow the scheme of the index fingers: the right little finger surrounds the left.
Finally, bring your ring finger and thumb closer together to make a seal.
- Breathe and feel
Bring the mudra to the root of your heart, so that the hands rest on the base of the sternum. Breathe consciously feeling the strength of the posture.
ASANA TO REGAIN EMOTIONAL STABILITY
A stable state, however desirable, is not a fixed thing. It could be said that it is simply a facet of the process in which one constantly loses and recovers the central axis. This is a more realistic look at stability and therefore more achievable and enjoyable. If you want stability, you must be willing to lose it for a moment.
Anything can take us out of our “stability”: a thought that does not serve our vital purpose, an alien look, something that we consider to harm us, relapse into a bad habit … They are situations that are part of life experience and teach us how the mind works.
If we accept that the mind has its cycles, phases and biorhythms like any other bodily organ, we will enjoy its waves and see the stability behind its constant currents: that awakened gaze that observes everything.
Variant of Utthita Trikonasana
Lucid observation allows us to see what is inherent in the body-mind whole. If instead of identifying ourselves with thoughts we identify with the consciousness that observes them, we will gain freedom and a placid stability.
In this alternative to the classic triangle yoga pose you work on stability while connecting with the life that moves within you.
- Create the foundation on which you stand
Separate your legs about a meter, to the point where you feel stable. Explore the limits and make sure you are stretching the inside and back of your legs well.
- Rotate and enlarge the stretch
Turn your right foot outwards and, bending at the hip, lean with your spine well elongated. You should notice how even greater stretching occurs in the legs.
- Place your arms while you feel and watch
The posture of the arms marks the variant. Bring your left arm behind to hold your right and rest your right hand, sideways, on your heart. Notice how your heart beats while keeping your body stable in this position.
ASANA TO OPEN THE HEART
Do you feel like you’re doing things you wouldn’t do if you didn’t receive love or appreciation in return? Do you dress, talk, eat, walk in a certain way, or say that you agree with something that you are not fully agreed with because you believe that you will be more accepted or loved?
Do you lie to yourself or others about your tastes, preferences, or feelings? In what aspect of your life do you think that if you told the truth, you would no longer be loved or accepted in the same way?
These are important questions. When answered attentively, they help the heart feel confident and express itself freely.
If you feel that you cannot show your truth to yourself or others, it is advisable to find out the effect this belief has on your behavior, your psycho-emotional state and even you’re breathing. By questioning these beliefs, we can free the mind from fixed ideas that separate us from both ourselves and others.
Knowing what the personal truth is – and living it – requires an open mind that accepts the different truths and tastes of each one, including oneself. An open mind leads to an open heart.
In this dynamic asana you open the heart and help to release it without disconnecting from what is happening inside you.
- Backward twisting
Inhale, turn your spine backwards, and extend an arm to the same side that your spine turns. Place the other hand over your heart.
Stay in this pose for a couple of breaths noticing their heartbeat.
- Switching sides
Exhale and return to the center with both hands to your heart. Inhale and twist to the other side.
- Turn with your breath
After taking at least two breaths on each side, alternate each breath with each movement.
You can also add a little smile for the simple fact that you are in touch with your own heart and its continuous movement.
THE YOGA POSE OF THE KING OF BIRDS
This yoga pose can be chosen between seeing it as a set of joint push-ups and a balance game or as the representation or a kinesthetic symbol of the power that Garuda embodies.
Garuda, as told in the mythical story of the Ramayana, is the king of eagles and serves the god Vishnu as a mount when he helps humanity to free itself from demons. It symbolizes strength, power, determination, service and perfect alignment with the essential in oneself, with our deepest seed or the divine, in order to save our humanity.
The Vision of the Eagle
By performing this posture, you can feel and relive the power, determination and concentration that its execution requires, focusing on seeking balance and harmony not only to improve your own well-being but also to put it at the service of other living beings.
Not only is the strength and focus of attention worked, but the heart is opened to the world.
- Position yourself with determination
Shift your weight onto your right foot.
- Exhale
Exhale and curl your left leg over your right, flexing your hips slightly to find a stable point. If you find it difficult to keep your balance, you can lean against the wall.
- Inspires
Breathe in and cross your left arm over your right, curling your elbows and hands as in the photo. If it costs you, you can take a handkerchief in your hands.
- Keep your balance
Observe a spot on the ground in a fixed and gentle way. Breathe naturally and fluidly between 10 and 30 times.
Repeat the posture by switching sides.
- Important
It is preferable not to practice Garudasana if you have any knee problems.
WARRIOR WITH LOTUS, THE ASANA TO GAIN FREEDOM
Growing up is inevitable. We all do it: we learn from our actions; we revalue our decisions and we draw conclusions. But growing personally has an added ingredient, and that is the intention, the desire to free oneself from a mind conditioned by the past, habits and mental noise. It requires an open, light and flexible mind to assess each moment and its options.
To grow is to develop a mind that does not eagerly pursue pleasure or run away from pain, and instead is present and serene in the face of what happens. One trains oneself by accommodating oneself to pain without rejecting, denying or opposing it; welcoming every expression of reality, however unwanted.
Living in the present is basic for personal growth, because the present is precisely where we live. If one is not fully aware and attentive to the present, how will one be able to grow?
Sometimes it can hurt, as children hurt when their teeth grow, but maturity is an enriching process. In it lies true freedom.
Warrior with lotus, asana to calm the mind
The objective of this asana is to generate an energy at the base of the body, in the legs, to feel how we can sustain ourselves in any situation of life, while watching the lotus grow between our hands.
- Enter the posture
Standing, bring your right leg back, well extended, while bending your left leg.
- Feel the earth
Pay attention to the soles of your feet, support them well on the ground and be grateful for the soil that supports you.
With your legs firm, grow your spine backwards.
- Grow the flower
Raise your arms to the sky by putting your thumbs and pinkes together, and reveal your other fingers to the sun to create the lotus flower with your hands.
Make the flower grow while keeping the roots firmly in the ground: that’s how it grows.