The Body Window Newsletter

May 3, 2017

Working through the discomforts that life brings us, often takes a lot of effort. We have a tendency to fight against what life presents us, hoping that by pushing away the discomfort that it will disappear.

In fact quite the opposite happens. When we deny our strong emotions, push away any pain or discomfort, or ignore what is, most often this is a temporary measure. The suppressed feelings that are shoved down deeply into our subconscious and ignored, now have real power over us, and our health.

I offer in this issue, an easier, modified, Yin yoga pose called the Half Dragonfly Pose to practice holding and accepting our discomforts in life. This is what I mean by "edginess." We can learn about holding our edges, by practicing with our body, so that we are better able to incorporate whatever edges we face in our lives, into our soul's experiences. This is better than avoiding them or pushing them away, so they can be recognized quickly, experienced by feeling them fully and then, be able to be released. It is a way to avoid the power they hold over us!

Please join me in learning this most therapeutic pose, one that I turn to time and time again.

In health and hope, Elle

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The Half Dragonfly Pose

"Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are." ~ Rolf Gates

The goal of the practice of Yin Yoga, is exactly what the above quote describes. It provides us with a way to use long-held poses to see inwardly, to notice how and where we hold tension in our bodies. Once the body awareness is in our consciousness, we can learn to see how the opposite effect can be so therapeutic, when we release all our efforts on the musculature.

As we hold a yin pose, and breathe deeply through the belly, we can observe the slow and subtle changes in the body as it shifts and releases, and therefore the power of understanding how we hold tension can be known. Tension is who we are, as a species, and the practice of Yin Yoga teaches us to understand this so we can know the difference between held tension and releasing tension in our bodies. This is the "work in" as described above.

The Half Dragonfly Pose Starting Position

Because most of us have very tight groins, hamstrings and hips, which the Dragonfly Pose targets, the easier Half Dragonfly Pose makes the pose accessible to more of us. So do not be discouraged if you are unable to the the full Dragonfly pose. Practicing the Half Dragonfly Pose will give you as therapeutic an effect as the full Dragonfly. If you wish to learn more about the energetic benefits of this pose, click on this link to the Dragonfly Pose in a separate Yin Yoga page of mine.

Click here to continue reading about the Half Dragonfly Pose on my Body Window website >>

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