Restoratives

Yes! We had restoratives tonight. The class actually applauded the announcement. The moon is full and beautiful, and Mary, my teacher, said she feels the pull of it very strongly this month. It really is clear and crisp tonight, I can see the details of its surface, feel it calling to my heart center.

A classmate said that the moon tonight is farther away from earth than it has been in about a thousand years. And perhaps this distance causes a tighter bond? Whatever it is, it is magnetic and forceful. The class was chatty and jumpy, and we started off with a resting Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend) with our head on a block to calm the mind and center the thoughts. The pose had the intended effect.

Tonight we ended with supported bridge pose. I love that pose; it reminds me of being a child. I would turn upside down in a chair and let my back flow over the edge of the seat, my shoulders contacting the floor. Sounds more like a shoulder stand, I know, but I would have my feet against something to make a solid connection rather than pushing up into the air.

Tonight I opened my chest and heart and stretched over the folded blankets, letting my shoulders connect to the floor. My feet were supported by a block and firmly pressed into the wall, creating the bridge. Mary said that when you are feeling blue, this is a very strong pose for bringing you out of sadness. I thought about bridges and about this pose, how it turns me into a conduit. Bridges carry things from one side to another. Prana, emotions, stresses, thoughts... My body connected to something solid at two ends, allowing pent-up tension to flow out and be grounded on one side, and allowing serenity to flow from the other across the length of my being. I felt a physical flow as well as a spiritual one. This connection to earth and spirit brings me back to my mat day after day, week after week.

Namaste.