Strap Magic Dancing Adventure

I love it when things just come together. You know, the times when things seem to come together by pure chance better than you probably could have planned it yourself?

I always welcome requests from my students, in case there’s something they’d like to see in future classes so that we can work on it together. I had a woman in one of my classes request some heart-opening work. She had been trying to open up for wheel and also loves dancer’s pose (I mean, it is pretty great – once we can grab on to that darn foot the pose practically opens itself up for you).

Wouldn’t you know it, when I went to take classes myself in the next few days, my teachers presented some really great information on backbends and a neat prop modification for Natarajasana (King Dancer). We explored the benefits of side-bending and spine-lengthening to increase range of motion – basically, get the shoulders nice and mobile, creating some space move around in.

And, with the creative use of a strap turned flippy-floppy, connecting both arms into King Dancer suddenly becomes (possibly slightly more) possible. I mean, I’ve got some pretty hyper-mobile shoulders and orangutang long arms, but I’m still not quite there without some strap assistance.

Really though, the coolest thing about exploring this special request, was how much it worked with what my own body and spirit are in synch with right now. I’ve been focused so much on the hips with my psoas trauma (which, by the way, has been totally under control lately! Yay!) that I’ve been neglecting some of my favorite heart-opening poses.

Like wheel. Seriously, I love wheel. I urdhva dhanurasana everywhere. I once got cut off at a bar on my first drink because I just couldn’t help myself but do it over the table. Some bartenders just don’t have a sense of humor or appreciation for the unusual (but here’s to those who do).

Also, I just finished “The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up” and I just can’t sing the praises of that system loudly enough. By removing all of the things that weren’t bringing me joy in my home and my space, I’ve been surrounded now by all of the things that do bring me joy and I’m feeling pretty… well… joyful!

I want you to picture now a happy toddler rushing out into something that makes them joyful. You know, arms spread, chest about 5 minutes ahead of the rest of the body towards their destination… moving with total abandon. That’s how I’m feeling these days, and isn’t it a beautiful thing to feel like that? So free, so open? Heck yea, it feels awesome.

So let’s open up together. Click on the video below and do this practice with me. Then, leave me some comments and let me know what you think. Oh, and if you wanna make a request for next week’s practice, let me know that, too!

Cheers, yo! -*- Namaste -*- April