All Humanity Newsletter | July 2021 |
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The theme of this newsletter is integrity. Such a notion is daunting, especially when understood strictly in terms of moral unrightness or being morally principled. At Mind Body Solutions, we explore integrity in yoga poses along different lines, ones of wholeness and completeness, the ability to stay intact while living within constraints, limitations, and even shortcomings. Our students’ poses are brimming with integrity, not because their poses are perfect, but because our students include all of what they are – both abilities and limitations – in their movements.
Imagine a canoe. The hull has an ‘outer’ shape and this creates some defined empty space, i.e. the inside of the canoe. This ‘inner’ space is ripe with possibilities. At Mind Body Solutions, we do not worry if the hull has small leaks here and there. We do not try to patch them. Instead, we help people paddle their canoes and realize that the integrity comes from their experience, not their canoe’s ‘rightness.’ (Don’t worry…we know to get off the lake before sinking.)
In this vein, on July 14th at 2:00 CDT, join us for our next installment of Yoga, Disability, and Transformation entitled “The Difference Between Allowing and Accepting.” Check out the wisdom from people living with trauma, loss, and disability who don’t simply ‘accept’ that their canoe is leaking, but ‘allow’ those leaks with minimal judgment and still paddle with integrity through the rest of their lives.
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Matthew Sanford | Founder, Mind Body Solutions |
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Join us...
This Wednesday, July 14th! Yoga, Disability, & Transformation #3
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JULY 14 2 PM CENTRAL TIME / ZOOM
People living with disabilities must “accept” a wide variety of things: their condition, their limitations, marginalization, discrimination, patronizing, invisibility, well-intending people who say horrible things, stairs, stares, pity, and on and on. The problem is that the transformation of disability requires something more organic than psychological acceptance.
Disability contains an underlying energy that can be transformed into resilience and realization. Through conversation with guests, a short yoga practice, and discussion, Matthew explores the energetic differences between “allowing” and “accepting” in both yoga poses and while living one’s life. The aim is to reveal the wisdom that is inherent to living outside the bounds of “normal” ability.
No need to register in advance, but you can RSVP below to get a Zoom link and other updates via email. Sessions will be recorded made available on The Hub.
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Pose of the month...
Trikonasana
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What is the essence of integrity? Minds as brilliant and various as William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Albert Einstein have weighed in, emphasizing honesty, character, and being true to oneself. From an engineering perspective, structural integrity describes the ability to support a load while remaining functional. In asana, the essence of integrity is a combination of these two. It describes knowledge of and respect for oneself and one’s body while engaging in the practice of attaining alignment, abiding in the center of gravity, and sensing and moving in multiple directions to unite all the spaces of the body.
For this pose, sit on a stable base. Ground through the feet and sit bones. Lengthen from the feet and ankles to the knees and from the knees to the sit bones. Elongate through the curves of the spine and beyond the top of the head. Connect an invisible line from the sacrum to the back of the sternum and lift under the collar bones without arching the lower back. Take one arm away from the midline and drop the shoulder blade as you lengthen from the center of the elbow out through the wrist and fingers. Ground with the opposite arm and hand. Follow the awareness traveling up from the feet, through the legs, and along the spine to top of the head while extending outward with the raised arm.
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Exploring more deeply:
- Place sandbag/weighed prop on feet/ankles or top of the thigh(s)
- Broaden base by changing leg positions
- Change relationship to gravity by adjusting the angle of spine/raised arm
Benefits of the pose:
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- Explore different positions in which to ground and support hand(s)
- Allow boundary to encourage ease of breath
- Open the skin of the elbow pit and connect that to the back of the knees
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- Alignment creates a stable and effortless form of mind-body integration
- Vertical extension and horizontal expansion emerge
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Reference reveals pose and shows a sense of direction
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- A lifted chest is a catalyst for receiving the experience
- Spine integrates with the limbs in a coordinated effort, activation occurs
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From the Bookshelf...
For your reading pleasure
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This summer, we thought it would be fun to share a few of our beloved bibliophile Kathy Dahl's favorite picks. Riffing off the theme of integrity, here are her current favs...
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No Man’s Land ~ Wendy Moore
This intriguing book tells the story of two brilliant and brave women who helped advance medicine while saving lives during World War I. The book chronicles the struggles these women faced simply to study medicine, let alone practice it. Their courage helped to open the way for generations of women to follow their love of medicine and science.
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Great Circle ~ Maggie Shipstead
This beautifully crafted novel tells the story of two women, Marian and Hadley, who live in different time periods. Both hunger for self-determination. Meticulously researched, this brilliant piece of historical fiction keeps the reader captivated at every turn and wanting to read it over, and over again.
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Yoga, Disability, & Transformation / July 14, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM CDT
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LOCATION
Online via Zoom
DATE AND TIME
07/14/21 2:00pm
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07/14/21 3:30pm
The Difference Between Allowing and Accepting: This is an experiential workshop designed specifically for people living with a disability.
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