Intention: Connection with and gratitude for the elements of the Earth
I remember one yoga practice when I was a beginning yogi (and aren't we always beginning?), and the lesson of it has remained with me through the years. I had a hotel room with a majestic view of mountains all to myself. I decided to practice yoga facing the window so that I could appreciate the view. Each sun salutation brought me back to a deeper appreciation of the mountains, the earth, the sky. Then, at some point during the practice, and I'm not quite sure when or how, the appreciation changed to embodiment. By the end of the practice I didn't just admire the mountain, I was the mountain. The strength, beauty, and majesty of the mountain was a part of me, and I was part of it. What a gift from the practice of yoga!
As we continue on our journey of interdependency within and outside of ourselves, may we look at the elements of the earth as part of ourselves, a reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving, living and breathing inside of us. As a meditation, I invite you to meditate upon the element of the earth. What do we receive from the earth to sustain us, and what must the earth receive from us to be sustained? Repeat this method of meditation upon the water, and then the air. Not only are we not alone here on the earth, we are an integral part of its survival, and our survival depends on the viability of each of the elements. Stand as the mountain. Flow as the water. Breathe as the air.
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