"Let's Dance"

Even if you don't feel it, just get up and dance. If only those who danced best went onto the dance floor it might be empty! Come on and move it, move it, move it! Start your engine and shift into gear to move whatever moves on your body! Once the energy---the stuff of life called prana in Sanskrit, the life force---begins to flow through your body, you'll feel so much more alive. The blues will drain down and right out of your body and mind as the vital spirit of life takes over. So let's dance!
In yoga speak, this dance of movement with the breath is called vinyasa flow. Allow the sound of your breathing to be the drum that sets the beat as you flow from "Downward-facing Dog Pose" to "Warrior I" and back again on the other side to experience "Dancing Warrior." These rhythmically flowing movements just might awaken the joy of life within ( joie de vivre in French) and burn a few calories at the same time! So let's get this party started....

• Physically---In order to keep your life balanced with both relaxation and activity, begin on your knees in "Child's Pose" as described and pictured on last year's January 10th blog. After prayers of gratitude for the gift of life (regardless of the outward circumstances!) inhale the arms straight out from the shoulders, spreading the fingers widely as you begin to feel the flow of energy rise up through your entire body. Now exhale drawing the navel into the spine as you tuck your toes under the heels of the feet and press into both hands to lift your body off the floor into an inverted V position called "Downward-facing Dog Pose" (described in more detail in the May 4th blog from last year.) Remain in this position for 3-5 smooth and even breaths as you gaze back toward the big toes to check your alignment. The second toe (right next to the big toe) makes an imaginary line up the shin bone of each leg to intersect the center of the kneecap and then the hip joints. The fingers are spread widely with the middle finger making an imaginary line that runs up the forearm and intersects the the center of the crease at the elbow, and then continues up to intersect the shoulder joints. With each inhalation the energy rises up through the torso to expand the lungs and the shoulder blades as the tail bone lifts upward in a forward tilt of the pelvic bowl, almost as if the internal abdominal organs are being emptied forward. At the top of the inhalation, the pelvic floor and abdominals are lifted up and inward to secure and seal the energy in preparation to move the right foot all the way from the back to the front of the mat and situated between the hands. Get ready to make a decision because there are several options that represent different styles of yoga, depending on your intent for the day's practice.
  
• The easiest way (least intense, therefore less calories burned) to move the right foot up between the hands is to inhale and look forward to the thumbs while dropping the opposite knee briefly onto the floor and pushing off of that back foot to propel the energy (and the right foot) forward.
  
• The most energetic method of moving from "Downward-facing Dog" to "Warrior I" during a vinyasa flow is to inhale and lift the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles firmly upward to lighten the torso as the right leg extends straight back and upward. Then look forward and exhale to lunge the right foot between the hands. If there is not enough core strength at this time to place the foot directly between the hands, it's better to use the first method than to end up with a shortened stance in "Warrior I," which will decrease the benefits of the posture.
• Once the right foot is firmly planted between the hands at the top of the mat with the knee bent at 90 degrees and aligned directly over the right ankle, the back left foot pivots counterclockwise about 45 degrees as the breath rises in, through, and up to lift the torso. The back foot grounds firmly into the heel and outer edge as the arms extend directly up over the shoulders and the head in "Warrior I Pose." Each style of yoga has slightly different variations of this strong and energetic pose, but for the "Dancing Warrior Vinyasa Flow" the most important sensation is to experience the grounding of both feet equally as the energy rises upward and creates lift through the spine.
• Without holding the "Warrior I Pose" immediately exhale both arms straight to the floor on the outside of the foot as the right foot steps back and the body lowers into a straight line called "Plank Pose" and then into "Charuranga Dandasana." Please read the May 4th blog for details. Then inhale deeply into "Cobra Pose" or "Upward-facing Dog Pose" and exhale back into "Downward-facing Dog." From "Down-Dog" the left leg then extends on an inhalation and lunges forward on the exhalation to float down between the hands at the top of the mat for "Warrior I" on the left side. The back right foot pivots clockwise and grounds into the floor as the arms and the breath flow upward.
  
• Each one of these fluid movements is orchestrated by the need to inhale or exhale and should be thoroughly enjoyed---not forced or rushed. The body rides the waves of the breath as a surfer glides over the water or a dancer over the dance floor in a lovely "meditation in motion." Continue to flow with the breath from "Down-Dog" to "Warrior I" to "Chaturanga Dandasana" and back to "Down-Dog," alternating sides, until the breath becomes short or choppy, signaling that it's time to take a break. Take a deep centering breath and then lower slowly on a long exhalation into "Child's Pose" to rest for several minutes until the breath becomes smooth and steady again. Depending upon your intent for this practice, you may want to continue to perform another several rounds of "Dancing Warrior Vinyasa," or simply call it a day and slide into the restorative "Corpse Pose" (described in the January 24th blog) for 10-20 minutes of slow and relaxed breathing.
  
• Mentally---Feel your body begin to soften as the mind sharpens and becomes more focused on the rhythm of each present moment. As in all of your yoga practice, the mind is focused on the quality and duration of each breath, observing the prana flowing in and upward. Then notice the releasing of apana as the exhalation moves downward and out of the body. With each exhalation experience the mind releasing all sad or depressing thoughts and then being filled with the vitality and positive energy of life that represents renewal and opportunity.
• Spiritually---We all share the human condition of changing moods, the ebb and flow of energy as we attempt to balance our duties with leisure time. Gradually we evolve and learn to integrate our quiet yin practice with a sweat-inducing power practice that burns calories and toxic thoughts from our very core. There is a time for every purpose under heaven, as the wise King Solomon noted:

"For every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...." (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4, KJV)

Enjoy moving your body to all the rhythms of life called breath....plf