Day 21~ Swimmingly

  • By onthemat
  • 14 Dec, 2017
One of the times I know that yoga works for me is when I swim. After several months at OTM, the perennial tightness in my left hip eased and today while backstroking I noticed that it has basically disappeared. Wow! Where did it go? I smile up toward the pool roof and realize that I […]
One of the times I know that yoga works for me is when I swim. After several months at OTM, the perennial tightness in my left hip eased and today while backstroking I noticed that it has basically disappeared. Wow! Where did it go? I smile up toward the pool roof and realize that I am relaxed and breathing with little effort. Although a pretty good swimmer, I have always struggled to stay afloat doing the backstroke. What changed? I put on my yoga thinking cap and paid close attention. I discover that rather than tilting my chin down or back like it used to, my chin remains level as my neck lengthens, my shoulders widen and my hips press down and away. My entire spine is more flexible which lifts me out of the water and helps me breathe free. I know it’s kind of complicated to picture, but awareness of subtlety is a lesson of yoga that can be applied to many aspects of our lives. Let’s just say that On the Mat has taken me from land to sea.

On The Mat Yoga Blog

By Linda Malcomb 03 May, 2020

“There is a light in the core of our being that calls us home—one that can only be seen with closed eyes; We can feel it as a radiance in the center of our chest. This light of loving awareness is always here, regardless of our conditioning. It does not matter how many dark paths we have traveled or how many wounds we have inflicted or sustained as we have unknowingly stumbled toward this inner radiance. It does not matter how long we have sleepwalked, seduced by our desires and fears. This call persists until it is answered, until we surrender to who we really are. When we do, we feel ourselves at home wherever we are. A hidden beauty reveals itself in our ordinary life. As the true nature of our Deep Hear is unveiled, we feel increasingly grateful for no reason—grateful to simply be.”

—John J. Prendergast, PHD, The Deep Heart  

By Linda Malcomb 02 May, 2020

Seems like it’s been rainy, windy, dreary for eons. Which may have helped us shelter inside a bit more. I remember reading years and years ago in a Seth book that weather can be influenced, and even created by mass human emotion. Why not? We are far more powerful than we currently acknowledge, and science is beginning to validate many phenomena that had seemed inconceivable before. Those seemingly endless days of “bad” weather seemed congruent with the emotional tone of covid her in New England. And now SUN! Glorious, warming, invigorating, hope-filled Sun! Today I will be outside basking and gardening and thanking. And I’m sure the whole neighborhood, and most of New England will go outside, stand with our faces to the sun and breathe a huge healing breath of joy. And maybe the collective energy of that will resonate out across the word as a promise of brighter days to come.     


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