Friday, November 18, 2011

Morning Relaxation

It was a stiff morning, and though my body is still young-ish, it sometimes creaks. It seemed a good day for Yoga. Slow down. Center yourself. Invite peace. Offer peace.

The same CD always brings an instant calm—more than any of the other meditative CDs. Why is that? Was it the one that I used from the very early stages?

And so I begin with the poses that I’m familiar with and that my body yearns for. It’s a brief session; next time, perhaps longer. As I lay there, transitioning toward the end of my session, body face down, head to the side, fully relaxed, the music washes over me, the plucking of the sitar lulls my body deeper into relaxation, punctuated by the ting, ting, of the chimes, a deep breath exits my mouth. I feel all the muscles loosena deep calm permeates the tight muscles of my bodily container. I hear the rain outside through the bedroom window. It snuck in—wheels driving by on wet pavement turns to the swish of waterfalls.

I rise out of this pose slowly, carefully, in small stages. After a few more poses, my body decides that my next to last pose will be the warrior and my mind decides it will be for strength.

The last, how I always end, is to give thanks. Today, I turn to the North, East, South, and West, and bow with my hands in prayer, held close together, like angel wings surrounding a beating heart. I then kiss my palms and blow a kiss of love into our home and out into the universe.

4 comments:

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

My body creaks also. We need to do exercise together. Growing up in Japan, my legs used to be very strong, but now, I cannot sit with my legs folded underneath. In recent weeks, I've been taking up Jazz dance classes and trying to use stairs instead of escalators and whenever I can, I try to open and close my palms and so on, and elevate my body by standing on my toes and so on. Let's keep up with our exercises! By the way, have you been riding your bicycle?

Rebb said...

Keiko, Yes, I agree we need to do exercise together. My legs used to be strong too. I also cannot sit with my legs folded underneath. If I try, one of my legs makes a bad sound where the knee is and it doesn’t feel so good, so if I want to sit with crossed legs, I have to modify the position. I need to start dancing around the house again like I used too. I have really let exercise fall aside, except for walking. I walk as much as I can. Jazz class sounds good for you. Thanks for asking, I have not been riding my bicycle. No motivation because our street is awkward and not very bicycle friendly. Maybe it’s my excuse :) Have you been riding your bike? Let’s keep up with our exercises. Yes!

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

Using my muscles is my main concern. Here, many people older than I are in good shape because they take many hours of exercise and they keep moving. Right now, I try to bend my knees and go down like a rabbit as much as I can a few times a day. Also, I try to raise my heels and remain that way. That seems to be very good for me. A month ago, I couldn't do it, but now I can. I need to do much more.


About bike, I don't have one in Japan, and I don't think I like to ride here. When I get back to the US, I will. But the bike had a flat tire before I left. So, I have to fix it when I return. I'll begin taking ballet or belly dance or whatever that force me to move. Let's keep moving and improving our muscles.

Rebb said...

Keiko, I need to use my muscles more too. I have also tried to do exercises for my knees. I bend, but not down like a rabbit. I used to have more muscle when I rode my bike more and danced around. I noticed over the past two years and especially this year, I’m losing muscle above my knees and all around. I have small weights—5 lbs. I need to lift those to keep my arms strong. Thanks for the motivation! I’m glad to hear your overall mobility and flexibility is improving. It goes to show, it’s never too late to get those muscles into strong shape.