Suffering from lower back or outer hip pain? Try this modification of the classical pigeon pose.
Begin on the floor on hands and knees. Place your right knee in between your hands. Bring your right foot up in front of your left hip. Lengthen the left leg back. Lower the torso over the front of the pose and bring your elbows to the ground.
Notice how this lengthens the right lower back. From here, play with dropping the right hip toward and away from the ground. Notice how that changes the stretch in the back and the hip. Stay here as long as you like.
Repeat on the other side.
Rumi Quote
Recently I was looking through a magazine and I found a wonderful quote by Rumi. In it Rumi says to
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."
After reflecting upon it some more, I found that it is more wonderful than just first glance. At first read you think, "okay, do what I love." We have all heard this before and many of us have said it to those we were mentoring. If you are helping to guide a child, a friend, or a student this could have graced your lips more than once. One of my high school teacher, when asked what I should do with my life, repeated the ever useful, "If you love what you do for a living, then you will never work a day in your life."
I have had jobs that I loved and jobs that I resented. But even working the best job in the world, you will surely encounter days that you will work. And work your butt off. I have been blessed enough to have the opportunity to train to teach yoga. I love it. Some classes are better than others. And many of you will contest that great classes seem to fall from the skies into our practice space. Some times the energies of those I teach combine to create the most amazing atmosphere. For all of these things I am grateful.
But that is not what Rumi was saying here. Read it again and this time listen. "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." We are told to do beauty. And not just any beauty, but the beauty of love.
When you love something, just purely love something, that is beauty. You smile. Your heart is light and your mind is focused. Think of the love of a new child or the love written across the face of newlyweds. This is the beauty that we are to do. By doing beauty, you are showing the world the love within yourself.
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."
After reflecting upon it some more, I found that it is more wonderful than just first glance. At first read you think, "okay, do what I love." We have all heard this before and many of us have said it to those we were mentoring. If you are helping to guide a child, a friend, or a student this could have graced your lips more than once. One of my high school teacher, when asked what I should do with my life, repeated the ever useful, "If you love what you do for a living, then you will never work a day in your life."
I have had jobs that I loved and jobs that I resented. But even working the best job in the world, you will surely encounter days that you will work. And work your butt off. I have been blessed enough to have the opportunity to train to teach yoga. I love it. Some classes are better than others. And many of you will contest that great classes seem to fall from the skies into our practice space. Some times the energies of those I teach combine to create the most amazing atmosphere. For all of these things I am grateful.
But that is not what Rumi was saying here. Read it again and this time listen. "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." We are told to do beauty. And not just any beauty, but the beauty of love.
When you love something, just purely love something, that is beauty. You smile. Your heart is light and your mind is focused. Think of the love of a new child or the love written across the face of newlyweds. This is the beauty that we are to do. By doing beauty, you are showing the world the love within yourself.
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Meditative Thoughts
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