Simple Joys
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The theme last week was simple joys and a sense of adventure. I told this short story to begin: Once there was a man who had some very lovely crystals that he cherished very much. One day, someone in his house accidentally broke the crystals. She was so sad and upset and scared at what this man’s reaction would be when she told him. But when she told him, this was his response, “Those things were for my joy, not for my misery”.
I think this reminds us not to be miserable for what we don’t have. Although this is hard to put into practice, I think it especially applies now during Shelter-in-Place. This is a time in our lives when we can try to seek out little joys in our day and seek out a “sense” of adventure in anything we do.
My birthday was last week … see photo :) My husband and daughters threw a little progressive party in our house, with games, drinks, food, cake! It was such fun, and it made me realize I could be having more fun and not just stewing about what I can’t do. So the practice was about interjecting fun and gratitude and a a sense of adventure into the manner of what we do. Our focus was strengthening and opening the hamstrings. Hamstrings are adventure of their own!
We started by setting our intention and asking ourselves a couple questions: “What basic goodness do I want to get back to?” and “What one thing do I want to welcome in?”. The vinyasa flow was sprinkled with moments of gratitude. We would flow through a half salutation and on the exhale we’d name something we are grateful for. This can be your “little joy” practice….. name something you are grateful for whenever you hit a low point or low mood during your day. As students settled in for savanna, I read them this:
May I walk in gratitude, May I walk in joy, May I spread joy, May I contribute in a positive way, And may I let this joy & gratitude heal the world and heal my own heart.
Remembering that the real adventure comes in many forms:
enjoying moving your body
connecting to the present moment
noticing strength available to you
the ease, fun & freedom that ensue! From my heart to your heart, Lynn