February Pose of the Month

How do you take care of yourself? Not just physically, but also in your thoughts about yourself. When you have a breakdown, a setback, make a mistake, or find yourself in the worst version of yourself… what is your inner critic saying? In order to broaden our circle of compassion we must first start with ourselves. Yoga is a powerful, self -transformational tool to help you connect to your self-compassion. Just like yoga is a practice, so is self-compassion. The yoga poses (and the breath work) don’t feel natural and easy at first, just like the practice of self-compassion doesn’t always come easy. They both encourage us to practice diligently with self-awareness. Furthermore, they (yoga and self-compassion) involve being patient with ourselves, taking one practice at a time, and tackling negative patterns one step at a time.

Of all the ways to strengthen self-compassion, yoga is one of the best. Almost no matter what form you’re doing, you’re cultivating courage, presence, and compassion through tolerating discomfort, says Kelly McGonigal, PhD, yoga teacher.

Yoga asana practice teaches us how to get comfortable with the uncomfortable parts of us- both the lighter and the darker sides. No matter how long someone has been practicing you are constantly experiencing new poses, different variations of poses, new teachings, new physical (and mental) sensations, etc. We are constantly asked to come to our mats with an open mind and heart to whatever unfolds on the mat during that specific practice. To meet oneself where they are at that moment- whether that is you at your 100% or you at 80%. Just meet yourself there, accept yourself there with wholehearted compassion.

What is interesting is while it may sound so easy, it can be very challenging at times. We are our harshest critics, so each yoga practice is that opportunity to let go of that harsh inner critic, even if it’s a gradual letting go process. We practice and we have breakdowns, setbacks, make mistakes, etc. along the way. We acknowledge them as what they are and let go, allowing our inner voice to speak from a place of love and compassion.

February is the month of LOVE. Celebrating the love that we are grateful for receiving in our present and past, while also celebrating the loving light within us that we have to share with others.  In modern society as we get older it’s easy to confuse self-compassion with selfishness. We put ourselves last a lot of times, so self-compassion falls outside of our circle of compassion and perhaps compassion for strangers makes the circle before ourselves.

Take some time to reflect this month on what love looks and feels like in your life currently. Where does self-compassion fall in your circle of compassion? Is it even IN the circle? Take time this month to internally investigate your circle of compassion, and see if you can explore ways to open your heart a little more to yourself this month so that you can make more space to share love and compassion to others. During your next yoga asana practice, take notice of how you’re speaking to yourself and practice cultivating self-compassion on your mat. Experience the peace and joy of opening your heart to yourself. <3

To Practice Setu Bhandasana at home, follow the steps below:

  • Begin lying on the back with the arms at the sides and the heels directly under the knees.

  • The knees and feet should be a comfortable distance apart, but the knees should not be wider than the feet.

  • The feet are pressing down to lift the hips and extend the spine away from the floor.

  • The thighs are internally rotating.

  • The chest should be broad with the shoulders externally rotating and the upper arms tucked under the back. 

  • The hands are clasped behind the back, or pulling the edges of the mat to maintain external rotation.

  • The back of the neck is neutral, with the gaze up toward the ceiling.

Benefits of Bhandasana:

  • Strengthens legs, back neck and chest.

  • Relaxes whole body.

  • Reduces stress.

  • Calms the brain and reduces anxiety.

  • Good for pregnant women.

  • Improves digestion.

  • Cures back pain.

  • Cures insomnia.

  • Maintains the normal blood pressure.

  • Improves blood circulation.

Happy Heart <3 Opening!

Namaste

Carrie Klaus