Openings...

So, anyone who's taken on the Ashtanga Vinyasa system as their practice will understand the title of this post. So no, I'm not referring to a job opening, or a store opening, but an opening that is a physical thing, and a physical thing that translates to a mental thing, and an energetic thing.

Our bodies, from doing the same things over and over again, slowly open. Muscles release from tissues, ribs start to gain more flexibility, bones start to move and many other things. It sounds crazy, but its true, and its very fulfilling because with these openings the energy starts to flow and when the energy is unblocked our lives become unblocked, meaning we have less resistance to things that come up and allow the flow to happen almost all the time.

The problem is, and its not really a problem but anyway, the problem is that when you're going through an "opening" phase, you're sore as fuck lol!!! And then it calms down and if you keep the practice up and don't slack off to allow the soreness to go away, you get the benefits of the opening.

So this week I'm going through an opening period, yesterday was a full moon too so I'm sure the intensity of that added to it, but I was glad for the day off the practice and even practiced some kundalini yoga with a friend, which made me more sensitive to the energetics of this opening period, so very nice it can be, even though its intense.

I've been practicing a bit more kundalini to get really clear as the openings happen, and I do love it even though I'm not immersed in it right now, it is amazing work. Much like the Ashtanga system. They are both tough, regimented practices that are very traditional and those traditions were to cause transformations within the practitioner, so how can I complain? I'm asking for it! lol... Yes I am, and I appreciate and love it even if it is hard sometimes.

I will say this, I've been on with my practices lately, super strong in them, not slacking and this full moon, mercury in retrograde (which just went direct), the way people are acting sooo crazy out there in the world and the intensity of life right now, have seemed less so. And I credit it with me being so strong with them right now, so now I'm seeing another benefit of keeping up these practices that have become so dear to me.

Today, I had a few plans, all of which ended up getting canceled so most of the day I ended up being alone, I took a nap, I watched a movie, I went to the park and meditated in the woods, I read 5 chapters in a book I'm reading. All of these things I've not been satisfied with in the past few weeks, but I kept strong to my practice and now I'm back to being okay with the being alone, feeling fulfilled just with my own company, and happy to be back here because I've always loved my alone time. To not enjoy it for about 3 weeks was hard for me.

So when you find yourself having some down time, do you enjoy it even if you're all by yourself? I think so many folks do not, because they've been raised in an environment of constant stimulation so they aren't sure what to do with themselves when they get that time. So maybe take up some yoga, even just a few times a week. Ideally that will lead you to some meditation too, or if you do some kundalini yoga, it will include active meditations which are great for beginners because it gives your mind something to occupy it and then you can dive deep into yourself, your spirit, and come out on the other side of it calmer, and maybe will enjoy your down time, when you have it.

So the openings in the physical body led me to openings in my mind that led me to openings in my schedule, which allowed me to enjoy the openings in my mind. The mental openings equate to a feeling of peace to me. Space to just be, with the trees in the woods, with the words in the book I'm reading and the images that came up in my mind from those words, with the friends I had lunch with and the conversation we had, or coloring with their daughter on her childrens menu, with the warmth of the sun as it beat down on my skin on this warmer of days we seem to be having this fall, and now as I sit and write this for you, and for me too.

Ok, love to you all, now to go be present with some Vampire Diaries! LOL