PASSION FOR THE PAUSE

It’s important to consult your physician or physical therapist before beginning any new physical activity or exercises and always listen to your body and respect the warnings you hear.

I’m passionate about the PAUSE—the pause in-between breaths and movements, in-between seasons and cycles, and in-between memories and the millions of moments that shape them. I’m passionate about the PAUSE because it is instructional, because it is healing, and because it is, in its own curious way, fun.

It’s one of the hardest practices, though: to take that second for a breath, a stretch, or a word. Even harder, if you’re anything like me, is to find that moment in a space free of self-doubt or self-loathing. How great would it be if in these moments of mindfulness, of awareness, I could meet myself as the witness and the not the judge?

Sometimes the hardest part is just beginning. Having the courage to start. Being comfortable enough to just be. Recognizing that all the cheesy affirmations of Stuart Smalley are true—that “I am good enough, smart enough, and dog-gone-it, people like me.” We’re all telling stories. What if ours just started sounding a little kinder, a little more forgiving, a little fuller of grace?

Being a physical therapist, I’ve always been interested in the body, but it took becoming a yogi to finally learn to be interested in my own body. And it’s in this journey through the physical body that I’ve learned to connect to those deeper parts of myself, those spaces that lay dormant way too long. And it’s in the pause that I’ve learned to access that space, that I’ve learned to rediscover and reimagine my being. That I am more than Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Therapist, Teacher, Friend—more than it all. That when all the layers of my identity get peeled away, there is still that part of me that’s left. Finding that is my passion. Helping you find it is my purpose and mission.

It’s out there in the field, in the pause, in the space of the in-between. I’ll meet you there.

Centering Breath can help to bring focus and clarity. Start in a mindful seated posture, fingertips connected to the earth. Pause for one breath of gratitude for all the diverse, rich and worthy life that resides on this beautiful planet. Inhale, reach arms up and overhead, pause with prayer hands towards the heavens to connect with your angels, ancestors, and Divine light, energy and love. Draw prayer hands to heart center to pause and connect with your own breath within. In that pause we can find gratitude for the earth below us, the heavens above us and the breath which unites us all.

Ocean breathing involves constricting the back of the throat to encourage lengthening each breath cycle. Mouth stays closed and you can slowly inhale through the nose with the back of the throat partially closed. Remember to pause your breath at the top of that inhale to notice. Maintain the partially restricted throat as you slowly exhale through the nose. Pause at the bottom of the exhale to notice. The breath cycle remains full, deep, slow and controlled through the constricting of the back of the throat. Match your breath with the motion of the ocean, visualize those beautiful crystal-clear blue waves rising and falling as they dissolve over the smooth sand. Repeat often, remember the pause.

Half moon (chair version): Due to joint stability, strength and balance required for this pose, this pose is for intermediate to advanced practitioners. Caution needs be taken with all versions of this pose for safety.

The wall may be used for balance to support your back side. The seat of the chair should be facing you at the top of the mat. Step into a wide stance, back towards the wall and toes near the chair pointed towards the seat.  Bend into the front knee as you extend your trunk over the legs reaching the bottom hand to the seat of the chair. Top arm can reach to sky as you straighten the standing leg and lift back leg with knee extended.

Half moon: If you are an advanced yogi and this pose is in your practice, let’s focus on safety and alignment with this posture. The advanced yogi will determine where the hip can allow for safe range of motion below the pelvis hinging diagonally. Focus on a neutral spine from pelvis to crown with strong core engagement. Do not sacrifice a sidebend of the trunk to reach the hand closer to the earth, then we have lost the connection of the expansivity of the pose. Any support as high as a chair or block could be used.  Imagine creating the largest diameter of your moon. Think length from lifted heel to crown as well as from hand to hand, with an open heart.

When performing any exercises always listen to your body, move slowly, and remember to breathe. It can be common to a feel gentle pulling sensation with stretches or toning of muscles through engagement and holds. You should not feel any numbness, tingling, sharp, shooting, intense, or burning pain. If you do, back off until it goes away or consult your physical therapist.