“Man must rise above the Earth — to the top of the atmosphere and beyond — for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” — Socrates.
Clouds are whimsical creatures floating in the sky. Take a moment to look at them and notice what emotion arises. The other day I was driving to teach my yoga class and I saw an amazing cloud shaped like a huge bird flying right at me. The clouds were soft and glowing. I could feel the essence of flight as I looked at those clouds.
When I think of flying, I think of being free. I feel light and almost like I am being held and carried by an energy that is endless. There is a sense of power in this lightness.
To fly is to be above the earth and have a vantage point where you can see in all directions. It gives a different perspective than being earthbound. You can see the bigger picture and not be limited by narrow vision.
Try bringing a feeling of flight to all your yoga poses, Imagine lightness and freedom being your ultimate goal.
To achieve this you must have a strong core. The core is your foundation. Your core will carry you into flight when you engage it fully. This means using your abs, your back, your shoulders and your hip flexors.
Engage your muscles and then fly. Extend outward from your core. Flight is about balance and space. Drawing inward provides stability and extending outward creates space and freedom.
In life we need to be strong in order to fly, to be free, to expand our horizons. If we are not committed, if we do not practice mental and emotional strength, we limit ourselves.
When we are strong we gain confidence. We have more faith in ourselves. We see the bigger picture. We see more possibilities.
Start practicing the feeling of flying in the simplest of poses. In tadasana (standing pose) just close your eyes and move your arms up and down as if they were wings. As you bow forward into uttanasana (standing forward fold) imagine floating downward.
Every time you inhale, imagine flying higher. Every time you exhale, imagine gliding through the sky.
Fear of failure will stop us from flying. Practice being okay with falling in your yoga poses. This does not mean trying poses you are not ready for. It does not mean being reckless or careless. It means reaching a little farther than you might be comfortable with. It means believing you can fly.
In Warrior III reach your chest further forward and lower your upper body closer to the ground. If you fall out of the pose, you do not have far to go before your hands are on the floor.
In Half Moon pose you could try using a block under your bottom hand which will make it easier to open your top shoulder more and find more expansion across your chest. Engaging your core deeply, float your bottom hand off the block and either hover with your hand above the floor or reach your hand to the floor without the block.
Use these actions of engaging your core and reaching outward to bring the feeling of flight into any pose.
Next time you look at a cloud, imagine you are part of that energy. Try to see the world, your life, from the perspective of being high in the sky. Sense a lightness of being that will help you to let go of pettiness in life. Set yourself free,
