Greetings!

Giving, receiving, and gathering are secret ingredients to a good life. Surprise, surprise they all hopefully happen over the Holidays. We overtly give presents, receive them, and gather into all sorts of groups. In these seemingly common human interactions, there is so much room for practice and realization, not to mention joy.

A balanced integration between giving and receiving takes practice. For most of us, giving is much easier than receiving. Giving well, without expectation or self-sacrifice, takes practice. Truly letting in and receiving can be even harder. How well do you receive compliments or praise? Do you trust others and yourself enough to truly receive? These are skills to develop, not abilities with which we are born.

These matters are not trivial. In fact, MBS has spent years helping health professionals, yoga teachers, and caregivers realize a more sustainable balance between giving and receiving. Without it, compassion fatigue sets in and everyone suffers.

At MBS, we teach these subtle realizations through the body. Bodies are simpler in these giving and receiving exchanges; minds are more complicated. Learning through the body can transform the mind in long lasting ways. One suggestion is to practice hugging your loved ones, learn from the ones that are perfectly calibrated. Generalize to the rest of your life.

Truth is either amplified or lost in groups of people. The Holiday season and all the gatherings are wonderful opportunities to practice the makings of a better life. So when you step into that room full of faces, smells and lights, pause, let it all in and truly receive, inhale, and then go give a perfect hug.

Happy Holidays from all of us at MBS!

Keep on rocking…

This time of year is known for giving and receiving, an exchange evident even in the number of sunlight hours swapped between the hemispheres. But today, we will focus on just some expressions of “reception”. We may receive in a joyful gathering or through the acceptance of nourishment or physical touch. Receiving can also give rise to awakened energy. Let’s explore the ways in which two versions of Utthita tadasana fold in aspects of the above. 

Utthita tadasana establishes a stable framework that allows for an inward and upward sensation through the core. The stability of the grounded feet and/or sit bones allows for noticing the connections between different arm/leg positions and the spine. Utthita tadasana rouses the body and prepares it for moving into other poses

More traditional pose:

Stand in tadasana, toes spread, feet grounded, and arms relaxed at the sides. Jump or step the feet more than hip distance away from one another.

Continue grounding, and on an inhale lift the arms out to the sides at shoulder height, shoulder blades moving toward one another. Pause and notice how the open position nourishes and gives reference to the spine, as well as a sense of direction up and out through the limbs.

Be receptive to the energetic connections between the ankles and the wrists, the knees and the elbows, and the hips and the shoulders. Gather awareness inward and at the same time expand outward, moving in multiple directions at once. Breathe.

Variation of Seated Utthita tadasana: 

Sit tall in a chair with the feet grounded. Align the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders, and observe the space connecting these joints.

Bring awareness both inward toward the spine, and outward to all the edges of the body. Allow nourishment to fill that boundary. Create a flow by inhaling and lifting the gaze and chest while bringing the arms out to the sides, palms open and receptive.

Then exhale, rounding forward through the spine and gently pressing the palms into the thighs. Repeat the flow, receptive to whatever arises. 

Read options, benefits, and more on our website.

ICYMI

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Recent MBS social media posts & offerings

Nov 30 / Explore Rhythm! In this video, Matthew Sanford and his team share both joyful and calming rhythm with one another, reigniting curiosity and playfulness while recognizing the underlying importance of sharing this core sensation with one another. Here's a link to this MBS Teaching Technique Video.

Dec 6 / Yoga Disability & Transformation To riff off of a famous Rumi quote, Beyond mind and body, there is a field. I will meet disability and trauma there. In this session, Matthew discusses how trauma lands in the sublte body, and how a yoga practice can help transform it. Watch the replay here.

Dec 13 / "Stillness is a Process"" As the physical body comes to stillness; imagine a snow globe, you shake it and then you set it down. During meditation you may be stopping physically, externally, but internally there can continue to be a lot of movement, almost chaos. This is the nature of the mind. So we give everything just some time to settle." Nancy Boler Practice here.

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