Week of 7/14/2019 This week's focus: Standing Poses. Standing poses are the foundation for most of yoga's other poses. It's where we begin. Whether we are seasoned yoga practitioners, or just standing on the mat for the first time, it is always beneficial to stay rooted by fine-tuning the basics. The foundational skills we learn in the standing poses are the skills that we will build upon for the more difficult poses. Once in the pose, because they are simpler, we can often turn our attention inward and listen. The act of being still and listening may be the most difficult aspect of yoga for some. Keeping ourselves busy may be an emotional survival skill we are not yet ready to release. However, in our busy-ness, at times we complain because 'no one is listening to us.' The reflective question for this week then becomes, "Are *we* listening to 'us'?" Erich Schiffman writes in Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, "Remember that experiencing yourself in stillness is the most direct way to experience yourself with clarity." Our intention and focus for this week are to go deeply into our practice by "not just doing something" but "standing there."
