What is opening to Grace? I remember hearing this for the first time in Calgary at one of my many teacher training sessions. I was in Trikonasana (Triangle pose) and I was told to "open to grace" I have to be honest I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, and at the time my mind kept telling me I 'should' know what that meant, but I didn't. I curled open, did the pose and hoped I looked graceful. What I have learned is that opening to grace has nothing to do with how my body looks like in a pose, if I was in perfect form, perfect alignment, but instead to me it meant the perfect state of mind. Releasing my ego, closing my eyes and just allowing to come what needs to come, and let go of what doesn't serve me. How do you do that? Well, not an easy question, but possibly yes. Let go of the physical, let go of what my neighbour is doing, let go of how deep I feel my hamstrings should be stretching and just allowing the poses to flow and be. Close my eyes and feel how easily yoga realigns the chakras. Stretch, breath. Open to grace. My class tonight focused on anxiety and the releasement of pent up emotions. As I cued my class in my mind I kept saying, open to grace, release, allow. I feel so honoured that these people hold their trust in me as they move and stretch. I also have a whole new understanding of Open to Grace as I watch their faces move into the poses, their eyes close, and their bodies relaxing into a place of unfamiliarity. Its beautiful! Namaste |