Posture ~ blog two ~ steady and grounded.

In posture blog one we began to learn to use the body as a way to awareness. Now we learn to guide our attention to different aspects of the body as if our awareness is like a spotlight or a torch. In this blog we begin to explore posture from the ground up. 

The interesting thing about noticing the parts of the body that are grounded, or touching the floor, bed, chair or cushioning beneath us, is that this is an immediate signal for the nervous system that you are safe. When we fully sense that we are safe, supported, settled and dropping down there’s an immediate sense of relief. In that relief we soften. In softening our muscles are more fluid, like honey, and we can then choose to take our attention elsewhere in the body to explore our posture as an overall felt sense. 

Picture you, at your most relaxed, in an environment where you feel steady, safe and supported, maybe in your own home or gathered with close friends or supportive family. Hopefully there’s some sense of ease, or effortless for you in this scenario. Could you begin to develop that noticing? Maybe notice the feeling of being grounded and then explore how are you in your body as a whole and how you hold yourself, your posture, your overall felt sense of how you are, your presence.

In yoga we pay a lot of attention to our feet. In contemplative practices (including yoga, meditation, mindfulness, derived from the word to ‘contemplate’). Maybe next time you come to standing you could notice the contact of each foot and the floor. Maybe the support of your shoes or the comfort of your socks or you notice the texture of the yoga mat under the skin of bare feet. We don’t need to move anything when we are guiding the awareness like this but sometimes movement helps us anchor the attention, or it ups the volume on what we notice. Maybe give your toes a little wiggle and notice the space between your toes. 

When we stand we shouldn’t need to clench with the toes. Have you ever looked at the feet of a baby learning to walk? The little toes are all scrunched up and gripping like mad as the wobbly little human figures out how to balance themselves in toddling around, the scrunched-up toes gripping like mad like little brakes ready to prevent a head crash! As adults we have this bit figured out yet we can often lean a little bit too far forward with the result the toes are gripping. Even in sitting down we can have this forward-leaning emphasis, as if we just can’t wait to get going again; an ever-present sense of rushing. Like all movement habits and patterns we might notice that this shows up again, and again, at different times in our yoga practice. In a forward fold. In a wide-leg forward fold. In warrior. In tree pose. Chatting to your neighbours. Walking to the shops. 

Instructions for the feet in yoga: 

Stand tall with your weight distributed evenly between left and right foot, between the toes and the heels. Your feet are stepped hip-width apart and parallel. 

Wiggle the toes out and place them back down with space between them. 

Press down evenly into the four outer corners of the foot, base of the big toe, base of the little toe, base of the inner heel, base of the outer heel. 

Slightly lift the instep while keeping the four outer corners grounded. 

Of course we all have very different body shapes and although these instructions are generic they might not suit you. Step one is simply awareness… can I shine the spotlight of awareness to both feet and notice where they are touching down, solid, grounded and earthy. From there expand your awareness to include the body as a whole. Stand tall and spacious, take a nice un-rushed breath and step brightly into the rest of your life wide awake, present and spacious, and full of joy!

"Remember to use your body as a way to awareness. It can be as simple as staying mindful of your posture. Just patiently practice feeling what is here, and the body is always here, until it becomes second nature to know even the small movements you make. It’s very simple, practice again and again bringing your awareness to the body. This basic effort, which paradoxically is a relaxing back into the present moment, gives us the key to expanding our awareness from times of formal practice to living mindfully in the world. Do not underestimate the power the power that comes from feeling the simple movements of your body throughout the day."
- Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation, 1993.

Looking forward to seeing you on the mat! 

Sylvia.