Significance of 108

The number 108 is considered a sacred number in the Vedic tradition. Referring to the numbers themselves, the number one represents unity or the highest truth. The number zero represents completion in spiritual practice. The number eight represents eternity.  In addition, 108 can be evenly divided by the number three. The number three is significant because it represents birth, sustanence and dissolution, or the cycle of evolution. Through various applications, the number 108 is thought to be a bridge to connect us to pure consciousness itself.

One of the most common respresentations of the number 108 is a mala necklace which is used during mantra or japa meditation. For each repetition of the mantra, a bead is turned. The mala has 108 beads, plus one larger bead called the meru which indicates where to start and end the cycle of repetition. During the 108 sun salutation practice, we become the mala necklace as we say a prayer to the sun and the natural world 108 times. 

There are a few other significant references to the number 108:

•  In sanskrit there are 108 letters: 54 honoring Shiva, the masculine energy, and 54 for Shakti, the feminine energy. 

• The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the sun. 

• The distance between the Earth and the Moon is 108 times the diameter of the moon. 

• There are 108 pressure or marma points on the body. 

• It is believed that there are 108 energy channels which converge at the heart chakra. 

•  In Vedic astrology there are 12 houses and 9 planets which multiply to equal 108. 

• There are 108 Upanishads.

Meghan Maris and Anne Witmer offer 108 Sun Salutations and Yin on the winter and summer solstices. The salutations are broken into 4 sets of 27 rounds honoring the four directions. The room (though virtual this year) moves and breathes as one. During the 108 sun salutation practice, we become the mala necklace as we say a prayer to the sun and the natural world 108 times. The result of this pracitce is a powerful and palpable energy which can be utilized for empowering intentions by the individual and the group for personal and collective growth and upliftment. 

During the time of the longest night, let’s unite virtually with yogis across the globe to celebrate the important Winter Solstice of 2020!
Taught by Meghan Maris and Anne Witmer
The workshop costs $20 or $30, pay what you can.

Sensual Mama Flow - Embrace the changes of pregnancy, access your sensual female power and prepare your bodymind for motherhood.

You’re pregnant. Congratulations! Now what? This is a most sacred and special time that can only be fully understood when lived. While this is an exciting time it can also be overwhelming, disorienting and tugs at the very fabric of our identity. Now is the right time to bolster our mental and physical health and access our most primal wisdom. 

During pregnancy you will most likely be searching the internet for information. You will research for the best place for prenatal care and where to birth your baby. You will search for books, podcasts, videos and anything that will help you make the best choices for you and your baby. The resources will be endless, as will the advice and recommendations. It will, at times, feel exhausting sifting through all the information. 

This is precisely the time to dust off your skill of intuition or hone it for the first time. Your women’s intuition is a powerful guiding force that will help you through the gauntlet of decisions you will inevitably have to make. When a pregnant woman cultivates her mother’s intuition she initiates herself into a long line of mothers, our ancestors who have empowered themselves to trust their instincts, trust their body wisdom and learn to discern what they need and what is appropriate in each situation. 

One of the most basic yet transformational ways of cultivating our intuition is by listening to our body and learning to discern what it is communicating. That is easier said than done, especially during pregnancy when our body, mind and emotions are hyper sensitive. It can get confusing with all the external information we receive and the internal changes that we experience. Yet, pregnancy is just the right moment in our life to slow down, turn our attention inward, cultivate our mother’s intuition, and trust our innate body wisdom and deep inner knowing. 

Thankfully, this skill can be learned and reawakened within each of us. Through exceptional self-care, nourishing movement, healthy diet and lifestyle we are able to tap into our primal power. As we begin to trust our intuition and inherent feminine wisdom we learn to relax more deeply into the changes of pregnancy and build confidence. This confidence allows us to self-advocate, ask for what we need, gather our resources, connect with community and other mothers and trust that we know what is right for us and our baby. 

May you be guided by your own deep knowing, trust the wisdom of your primal feminine power and relax into the sensual nature of your female form. Your body is sacred and the wisdom it holds will guide you through the changes and challenges of motherhood and beyond. If you would like to learn more please join us in circle this month at Yoga Bhoga - Belmont St. for our Sensual Mama Flow three-part prenatal series.

Blog Post Written by Nianna Bray
Sensual Mama Flow Workshop Taught by Nianna Bray
Postponed Until Further Notice

Imagination Yoga for Kids

I believe so much in the power of yoga in a child's life and  I use Imagination yoga as a platform to bring up larger life concepts like kindness, concentration and how we can find joy in movement and stillness. There are so many reasons I love Imagination Yoga, but here a few specific examples.

Teaches Emotional Literacy
Children need an opportunity to associate how they are feeling with an actual word in order to seek help when they need it and have meaningful conversations with adults. The ability to communicate dramatically increases their understanding of their emotions as they learn to manage and self-regulate.

Fosters Mental Clarity
Concentration and focus are paramount in yoga. “The Importance of Focus” (10/23/13) reported that kids learn best when they can maintain sustained attention. The more youngsters can practice keeping their focus and resisting distraction, the stronger and more richly connected their ability to focus will become. Like a muscle, use attention poorly and it withers; work it in the right way and it strengthens.

Deep Breathing
Simply learning when and how to take a meaningful deep breath can be invaluable to a child today. Breathing is a lifelong tool for managing stress and cultivating inner peace. If learned early, the child can tap into this tool all the days of their life.

Find more reasons on "why kids yoga" at imaginationyoga.com.

I hope a child in your life can join me for a session of Imagination Yoga sometime soon!
Katy 

Our Spring session of Imagination Yoga is cancelled due to COVID-19. Stay tuned for information about our Fall session.

Yoga Conditioning for the Neck, Shoulders & Upper Back

In my teen years, the words “sit up straight” were almost always accompanied by a couple of fingers pressed between my shoulder blades. These affectionate “suggestions” were slightly annoying, however, I knew they were rooted in love and good reason. Because… posture matters, right?! It sure does. And… it’s complicated. 

Have you ever attempted to change your posture just by trying to “sit up straight”?? If you answered “yes”, I hear you, I feel your struggle, and I have some ideas that may help.

Anything that we do over and over again, like sitting in a particular way, eventually becomes a habit. Our bodies adapt to repetitive postures like sitting, and as a result some muscles can end up in a shortened position, like the muscles in the front of the body, while others can end up in a lengthened position, like some muscles in the back of the body. When a muscle stays in a shortened or lengthened position, overtime, and without adequate movement through its full range, the muscle can end up feeling tight. 

The remedy in this case, is not to simply muster all of your strength to sit up tall over and over again at your desk. Though, I’m not gonna lie, that is part of it! The first step is to mobilize and strengthen the muscles involved, so that sitting upright feels accessible, and perhaps even enjoyable (what?!). Combine that work with forming a new postural habit, and you’re on your way to a rooted, tall, stable and spacious seat. 

One muscle that can end up in a shortened position while sitting, and contributes to your shoulders rolling forward, is your Pectoralis minor. This muscle lies underneath your Pectoralis major (your bigger chest muscle) and is often referred to as the “back packers” muscle, because when you’re wearing a heavy pack, your shoulders automatically press forward and down into the straps so you don’t fall backward, and this is due to the action of your Pec. Minor. 

When I notice I’m hunched over and bound up like an ogre, working away on my computer, I try to remind myself to take a short yoga break. Sometimes I listen to this reminder, and sometimes I don’t. We are all human. If you find yourself ogre-ish at your desk, try this: a little massage and a quick stretch. You’ll see the Pec. Minor massage steps and photos below, and I suggest following this with some Half Sun Salutations, a Chest Opener at the Wall, or a Standing Side Bend, all while taking deep, full breaths. While chest and shoulder opening are only part of the equation when we’re working on posture, they are an accessible, practical, and valuable area to pay attention to.

Pec. Minor massage:

• Stand facing a wall with a block or book and a tennis ball handy. 

• Place the block/book at the height of your upper chest. Place the ball just below your right lateral clavicle, and then press the ball into the block.

• Walk your feet away from the wall a little and lean into the ball to increase the pressure.

• Phase 1: Wrap your right arm around behind your back and allow your arm to rest on your backside. Rock side to side over your Pec. minor, then up and down, and finally in all directions for several deep breaths. Slow your exhalation, so it’s a little longer than your inhalation.

• Phase 2: Station the ball on your chest where you're feeling restriction. Hover your arm away from your back body, reach your arm out to the side, turn your palm up, and then lift your arm up next to your ear as you bend your elbow and draw your hand toward your mid back. Then reverse that pathway. Repeat 3-5X.

• Phase 3: Position your arm as you did in phase 1, and find a tender or tight area in your chest. Press the ball directly into that spot, or right next to it (experiment and do whichever encourages the muscles to soften the most). Then hover your arm away from your backside. Take two deep breathes and with your last exhale, release your arm to rest on your back and invite the spot you were just massaging to melt over the ball.

• Switch Sides.

A 5-minute breathing and movement break can energize the body and mind, stimulate creativity, and enhance productivity. Not to mention the incredible and numerous benefits to the nervous system and to mental wellness. It only takes a few minutes to make a HUGE difference.

Join Emily for her upcoming workshop: Yoga Conditioning for the Neck, Shoulders & Upper Back on March 8th from 2p - 5p at our Belmont location.

This workshop costs $45

Yoga Conditioning for Hips & Legs

For the last several months I’ve had a big toe thing. I won’t bore you with the details besides that it's probably related to my knee and hip, and it feels "tight" in some areas around the joint. My point for mentioning this is that I’ve been articulating my toes in different ways as part of my toe recovery protocol. “Toe recovery protocol” sounds way too intense for the exercises I’m doing! Anyways, I’ve been doing things like spreading my toes apart (abduction), and hugging my toes in toward one another (adduction), without scrunching or curling my toes. These smaller muscular actions are often more challenging, (or at the very least, challenging in a different way), than the bigger actions of larger muscle groups. 

For example, I find it more difficult to adduct my toes (hug them in) than I do my leg. The muscles that draw the toes together are smaller than the muscles of the inner thigh compartment (which moves the whole leg toward the midline of the body). We’re also likely to be more familiar with conscious adduction of the leg vs. the toes because we do that action more frequently. Plus, our toes are squished in our shoes most of the day, we forget about them until something starts to go awry, and then we try to fix them with fancier shoes (which, to be fair, can be part of the solution). Unfortunately, we often end our pathway of healing at the fancy shoe store, stopping short of addressing the actual foot issue (which is in relationship with everything up stream in the body!). My point here is not to talk about the feet, nor the toes specifically, but to highlight the benefits of activating the smaller muscles around joints, refining our joint actions, control, and patterns of movement. And finally, how the experience of “tightness” in the body relates to joint control.

A lot of folks come to yoga asana practice feeling tightness in their hips and just want to get in there and stretch it out. Pigeon anyone? Maybe this resonates with you and your experience. If so, let me ask, has Pigeon resolved your tight hips? Do you keep practicing Pigeon in the hopes that the 100th or 1000th Pigeon will do the trick? If you answered “yes”, I’d like to offer you another approach to consider adding into the mix…

The sensation of tightness can appear for many reasons. Sometimes it’s due to past or present injury, postural habits, psychological stress, or genetics, to name a few. When there’s a feeling of tightness, it’s like our nervous system is saying, “pay attention!” Rather than pointing a finger at one exact spot and saying “stretch me!”, The body could be asking to be stretched, or massaged, or not. In fact, the experience of tightness may be… wait for it… the body asking for strengthening.

What?! Don’t “tight” muscles need to be stretched out? Always and forever?

No. Not always. 

Yet another factor that’s involved in the feeling of tightness or restricted range of motion is related to joint control.

Let me explain: Imagine you feel tightness in your hips (maybe that’s not a far stretch of the imagination ;) You may be feeling tightness for many different reasons, or a combination of reasons. One may be that your nervous system is registering a need for greater control of the actions of your hip joints. So, your nervous system signals to the muscles close to the hip joints to contract, like your Piriformis (one of your Deep Six External Rotators of the hip that originates on the front/anterior side of your sacrum, and inserts into your upper, outer thigh bone/femur), to allow for greater control of the joints.

And then you flop into Pigeon to try to stretch your Piriformis. If your nervous system is trying to contract that muscle for hip joint control (or for another reason), and you try to passively stretch it out instead, there’s a bit of a battle happening. 

What if you explored strengthening your Piriformis? If the tightness in your Piriformis is related to an attempt to gain more leadership in how your hip joint functions, following that lead may produce different results than trying to do the opposite. Independent of why the muscle feels tight or why the range of motion feels limited, enhancing joint control is a beneficial aim.

More capacity for joint control = efficient and integrated movements = greater ease in moving on and off the mat.

This feels like a “mic drop” moment.

You know I’m not gonna leave you hanging there! The following is one of my new favorite exercises for strengthening the muscles which abduct and externally rotate the hip.

Side Lying Hip Rotator

• Lie down on your left side in one straight line (with your heels, the back of your pelvis, and the back of your head in one line). 

• Rest your head on your bottom arm anyway you like.

• Lift your right leg so your foot is a little higher than your pelvis.

• Place your right hand on the ground in front of your torso, far enough away from your chest that you have space to roll.

• Roll to your front side (chest, abdomen and pelvis move down toward the ground) while reaching your right toes up toward the ceiling. Point your back (left) toes and roll to the top of your back foot. 

• Press your right hand down and return to the starting position. 

• Focus on the movement coming from deep within your hip joint, rather than at your knee or ankle. 

• Repeat 10X or more, then switch sides.

There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach with tight hips or with anything in life. You are your best scientist. You are the number one expert of living in your own body. If you want to try this exercise, I recommend showing up to class 10 minutes early to do a set or more on each side, and any other active range of motion exercises you’re working with, before the group practice. Your body will thank you!

Tu B'Shvat // 'the Jewish Earth Day:' A Special Yoga Practice for Repairing the World

Tu B’Shvat is a Jewish holiday best known as the new year of the trees or “Jewish Earth Day.” But the holiday holds much more depth and its history holds many more evolutions than the name suggests.

In ancient times, Tu B’Shvat, which literally means the 15th of the Jewish month Shvat, was simply a date marked on the calendar for farmers to plant their fruit trees. Since then, the holiday has evolved many times, each time reflecting an opportunity to practice the Jewish value of tikkun olam, or repairing the world. 

In its second evolution, Tu B’Shvat became an opportunity for people to donate food to those in need. After counting the garden’s harvest (profits), the following year's garden was planted with a reserved portion to be donated to those in need. This reminds me of the yama, or yogic ethical guideline, called Aparigraha, or nongreed. There is a human tendency to hoard more than we need - more food, more clothes, more money - as a means for self-protection. But, when we expand ourselves beyond survival mode, and beyond our small selves, we may realize that this hoarding is unnecessary. 

To repair the world through the practice of aparigraha, we can ask ourselves:

1. Where am I hoarding more than I need? 

2. What can I let go of to create more space in my life?

3. How can I “share the harvest” with those who have less?

In the mystical kabbalist tradition of Judaism, Tu B’Shvat evolved to become a ritual in repairing our personal connection with our Divine Selves - to “try to get as close as possible to the Garden of Eden, to taste of its fruit, and to heal its damaged trees.” It was often celebrated with a Feast of Fruit to symbolize this connection with the divine fruit of the higher self. This practice reminds me of the niyama, or ethical guideline of svadhyaya, or self-study. Yoga Sutra 11.4 states "Study thy self, discover the divine.” This practice invites us to explore and understand our habitual and unconscious patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions, so that we may untangle our small ego self from our higher self. It is this untangling that allows us to understand who we truly are, and (re)connect with our divine essence. 

To repair the world through the practice of svadyhaya, we can ask ourselves:

1. What habits or patterns create more harm in my life or in the lives of others?

2. How can I untangle harmful patterns to make space for my true Self to shine through?

3. When do I feel most connected to my true Self or to something much bigger than me?

In it’s next evolution, Tu B’Shvat became a tree planting festival - an opportunity to repair the harm that we have caused to the environment. Most of us live in places very far away from where our ancestors lived, in cities where we have lost a deep personal connection with the land. Planting trees became a way to resolve this separation, to create a positive impact on the land with our very own two hands. This practice reminds of me of the yama called ahimsa, or non harming. It can be as literal as planting a tree, but it can also be much more subtle. It can be noticing when harmful thoughts move through our minds, and then working to understand them, so that they eventually fade away. 

To repair the world through the practice of ahimsa, we can ask ourselves:

1. In what ways do I create harm for myself, for others, or for the environment? In thoughts? In words? In actions?

2. What habits can I change to create less harm in the world? 

Most recently, Tu B’Shvat has been dubbed “the Jewish Earth Day,” adopting a global perspective of tikkun olam. It has become an invitation for us to repair our relationship with the Earth in this age of climate change. Although it is a great source of turmoil for many of us, this momentous crisis creates the opportunity to unite. It is time for each and every one of us to practice tikkun olam, to repair the world for all life, in all directions on our planet Earth. We’ve only got one. 

Each step of the way, Tu B’Shvat has become a reflection of the will of the people to dismantle concepts or structures that were creating harm - to ourselves, each other, or the earth. Each evolution represents an act of revolutionary change - moving actions from harming to healing. In the Hebrew language, the word ‘man’ or “adam” has the same root as the word ‘earth’ or “adama.” In the same vein, yoga teaches us that we are earth. We are not separate from it. 

So, we can ask ourselves:

1. In what ways can I lessen my impact on the planet Earth?

2. How am I uniquely positioned - with my personality, skillset, interests, and opportunities - to practice tikkun olam?

3. How can I let my life become a practice in repairing the world?

Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/four-types-of-tu-bishvat/

Why 108 Salutations?

The number 108 is considered a sacred number in the Vedic tradition. Referring to the numbers themselves, the number one represents unity or the highest truth. The number zero represents completion in spiritual practice. The number eight represents eternity.  In addition, 108 can be evenly divided by the number three. The number three is significant because it represents birth, sustenance and dissolution, or the cycle of evolution. Through various applications, the number 108 is thought to be a bridge to connect us to pure consciousness itself.

One of the most common representations of the number 108 is a mala necklace which is used during mantra or japa meditation. For each repetition of the mantra, a bead is turned. The mala has 108 beads, plus one larger bead called the meru which indicates where to start and end the cycle of repetition. During the 108 sun salutation practice, we become the mala necklace as we say a prayer to the sun and the natural world 108 times. 

There are a few other significant references to the number 108:

•  In sanskrit there are 108 letters: 54 honoring Shiva, the masculine energy, and 54 for Shakti, the feminine energy. 

• The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the sun. 

• The distance between the Earth and the Moon is 108 times the diameter of the moon. 

• There are 108 pressure or marma points on the body. 

• It is believed that there are 108 energy channels which converge at the heart chakra. 

•  In Vedic astrology there are 12 houses and 9 planets which multiply to equal 108. 

• There are 108 Upanishads.

Meghan Maris and Anne Witmer offer 108 Sun Salutations and Yin on the winter and summer solstices. The salutations are broken into 4 sets of 27 rounds honoring the four directions. The room moves and breathes as one.During the 108 sun salutation practice, we become the mala necklace as we say a prayer to the sun and the natural world 108 times. The result of this practice is a powerful and palpable energy which can be utilized for empowering intentions by the individual and the group for personal and collective growth and upliftment. 

Space is limited and this event tends to sell out. Make sure to sign up today to hold your spot!

Winter Morning Yoga Immersion - The Intention is Love

A letter from Meghan Maris, with love…

The Winter Morning Yoga Immersion is an opportunity to experience your practice in a direct and powerful way. It is a week which holds the potential to deepen your connection to yourself and your purpose. We will counter the coldest months of the year with practices which will warm our body, ground us energetically and open our hearts to examine the ways we collectively and unconsciously block our ability to love unconditionally.

During the week of the Winter Morning Yoga Immersion, we will be practicing Kriya Yoga, or the path of action. Kriya yoga consists of self-discipline, self-study and surrender or letting go. Even in a short period of time, vivid insights can arise through committed and sincere practice. In order for this to occur, it does require that we are accountable to our practice, the study of ourselves and the willingness to let go of the ideas that we cling to which distort our ability to perceive our experiences with clarity. When we are able to let go and create space, we then need to call in a higher frequency so we don’t attract the same patterns which bind us. 

Much of modern yoga focuses on technique which is an important foundation for a sound and sustainable practice. However, the top heavy emphasis on the cognitive aspects of practice often keeps us in our heads rather than our hearts.  Love is the key ingredient for the practice of yoga to truly permeate into every corner of our lives. If we truly witness the way we relate to others and our environment, we begin to realize how often our actions lack love. Out of fear, we often restrict our ability to give and receive love.

Yoga encourages us to consciously cultivate and express love through our words and actions. The paradox is that we already are a reservoir of limitless love, but due to the various wounds of the lovelessness we experience around us, we block our love from ourselves and the world. We can observe this with our impatience, our snippy remarks, our envious thoughts and all the ways we react from a place of limitation. To love unconditionally is an act of courage and service. There is no guarantee that we will receive the love back which we give, but love is infectious. 

As we look towards 2020, more than ever, we need warriors of love to actively deconstruct the lesser self and step into our highest purpose and potential. Our ability to love is unlimited, but to express our love in our actions requires that we make the effort day after day to witness where we block it and practice to unlock it. The Winter Morning Yoga Immersion is for anyone who is looking to connect to their practice and begin the New Year with a clear mind, open heart and ready to demonstrate love in action for the sake of healing ourselves and awakening our collective heart.

“Genuine love asks for nothing in return, though it always works towards duplicating itself in others. Thus, the greatest reward for a person who practices the discipline of love is that another being has become illumined by that love and is now carrying the gift to others.” -- Georg Feuerstein

We’re excited to share the story behind Sudara, the new line of products now available at Belmont Street

Sudara Joggers Now Available At Yoga Bhoga: Read About This Impact Focused Company Rooted in Dignity

Sudara Joggers are great for yoga, lounging and daily style.

Purchase to emPOWER.

At our Belmont yoga studio, you will see Sudara’s gorgeous, colorful printed pants that are more than just comfy pants. These pants are empowering women to rise and be free from a life of slavery and sex trafficking. We decided to partner with Sudara as we believe that every person should be free. 

Who is Sudara?

Founded in 2006 by Shannon Keith, Sudara is a foundation of activists that believe people were created for freedom, dignity & hope. They are an Oregon-based Benefit Corporation and certified B Corp. Their business model is rooted in dignity, not charity.

Here’s a quote from Sudara:

“No human being should be owned by anyone, anywhere, for any reason- ever. Our mission is to create pathways to sustainable freedom through skills training, education, and dignified, living-wage jobs for women who wish to remain free from the brothels. We help survivors and those at high risk of trafficking primarily by selling our apparel - pajamas and loungewear - which not only creates sewing jobs but generates revenue for our mission-aligned partners in India via the sewing centers that help fund training in various vocational training programs. This process helps train approximately 1,200 women per year and there is an 89% job placement post-training.  Many of the women have graduated from the training programs and started their own tailoring business; others have taken technology or cosmetology courses (also offered at some of the centers) and found great jobs in those fields.”

One of those women is Ela. Here is Ela’s Story.

Ela’s mother made a living as a commercial sex worker and frequently moved from one place to another. Eventually, both of Ela’s parents died from complications due to HIV/AIDS. After her mother’s death, the pimps who controlled her mother came after Ela to work for them as well. Through a trafficking awareness campaign led by our partner centers, Ela found out about their employable job skills training programs.

Ela enrolled and completed her Computer and Spoken English courses. She is now employed as an office executive. She says before joining our partner centers she struggled with low self-esteem and felt totally alone in the world, without love or acceptance in her life. She also felt unable to achieve anything of importance. After going through the skills training program, she gained confidence and the knowledge that she was capable of meeting her goals. She says, “I am what I am today because of the love and encouragement that I received at the center.”

We are passionate about Sudara’s mission to empower women like Ela and you CAN be a part of this mission too. You can become a part of something greater this holiday season when you #purchasetoEmPower and support many like Ela.

Come see (and feel!) the cause today at our Belmont Street Studio.. 

Using Chinese Medicine & Yin Yoga: To Flow with the Energy of Autumn

Traditional Chinese Medicine promotes the idea of living simply and in harmony with nature to assure optimal health. Much of the practice is based on The Five Element Theory which describes the natural world as well as the human body, as comprised of 5 universal elements: fire, metal, water, wood, earth. Each element has unique properties and affects the mind/body in different ways.

Autumn is the time when the element of metal is most dominant. In nature we feel coolness in the air, observe trees losing their leaves and see animals intensely preparing for winter. In our own psyches, metal energy challenges us to focus and turn inward, gain clarity about what is most important, and come to terms with the reality of impermanence. The lessons of metal are not always the easiest, but they offer some of the deepest & most valuable gifts.

Our personal relationship to metal energy impacts how we deal with change, loss and the emotion of grief. When we are able to accept that all things are impermanent, we begin to truly appreciate what is here in the present moment. We are less likely to take things for granted or become consumed with petty worries. It is often only when we experience a deep loss that we gain the clarity of what matters most to us. Those with strong metal chi have typically weathered a few storms, but as a result, have developed courage, resilience and a deep appreciation for life’s beauty.

A Yin yoga practice can help strengthen internal metal chi and encourage the release of energetic blockages due to unprocessed loss and grief. Yin poses can target specific meridians (energy channels) associated with metal and the corresponding organs that are governed by this energy - the lungs and large intestine. Because yin poses are held for a significant time, the energy has the opportunity to pool, strengthen and gain fluidity. This can also help with physical symptoms associated with weak or stagnant metal chi such as allergies, asthma, arthritis, rashes, rheumatic pain and constipation.

The quiet, meditative nature of yin yoga also helps to build strong chi. Meditations & guided inquiries can be incorporated into the practice to work through psychological issues that may result in blockages. With metal energy, the focus would be on releasing thoughts, emotions & habits that are no longer serving a healthy purpose, especially those associated with long held grief. This can free up energy to more fully appreciate and enjoy what is here, right now.

Metal energy will often requires us to surrender control and release into the unknown. Although never easy, it is through this process that we ultimately experience true peace and freedom.