Week 148: Come Into a Place of Ease

Think what comes easy to you.

Now, think of what comes hard to you.

How closely related are the things that come easy to you and those that come hard? I would suggest they are likely quite different from one another.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. 

Yet, without a doubt, there is always an easy part of yoga for me but there is always a hard part too. Not one practice is all one or the other. Yoga ebbs and flows from challenging to painless.

This week's practice was no different.

My fav YouTuber and yoga teacher, Adriene, highlighted the simple yet thoughtful idea. Rather than easy and hard, think of moving with EASE. Yes, EASE!

What an excellent way to focus during practice. And as her tag line goes, "find what feels good”, it was fitting she challenged her viewers to maintain EASE.

So I took it to heart and moved through each asana with EASE.

Throughout the practice. she incorporated the same upper body sequence into many of the poses. Thinking I'd mastered it during the first asana, I was surprised it challenged me in the others. 

Think EASE, Lisa…

Let's explore…

The arm flow was hands at the heart in namaste with an inhale. Lacing the fingers together, exhaling and pressing the palms out with arms at shoulder height. Inhaling and bringing the arms up above the head. A short hold, followed by exhaling and letting the finger tips float down gently to the side of the body.

Initially, this full body experience was found in a seated crossed legged position with the arm sequence. We then included the arm sequence into our forward fold from a kneeling position into an extended child's pose. The third asana with the arm sequence was one of the most taxing for the full body! In a low lunge (similar to warrior I), we moved through the arm sequence multiple times while holding the lower body strong (this was my challenge - with EASE - of the day!). Finally, the arm sequence appeared one more time in garland pose. This was my second challenge of the day!

I find it refreshing to have an arm sequence continue throughout the entire practice. It was comforting to move through the same sequence in different poses. The thought of ease was necessary to keep present during each version. It was shocking how some versions were easy and others were hard. Same thing but slightly different.

Overall, the message of this week was clear. Stay with EASE…not just with yoga but with all things. 

So I pass onto you the concept of EASE. Find your EASE this week,
LW