into the blue- holding negative space

In my yoga classes, I encourage students to focus on the negative space of the asana- to harness the negative space as much as the positive. The spaces are inseparable, regardless of what our minds tell us. It takes work, a constant re-training of the brain, to see/feel/understand the pose beyond the physical space inhabited by our bodies and controlled by our minds, but the work is worthwhile as one expands his or her awareness beyond the positive, the obvious, the self.

The human condition is only complete in its dualities: life versus death, health versus sickness, awake versus asleep, peace versus war; suffering versus joy. The human condition is not authentic until we make space (mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually) for the entirety (the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly) of our birthright. Remembering this brings me peace as I try to fathom the acute and shared suffering being endured worldwide as we adjust to a new reality of living in a pandemic.

When I allow my experience to expand beyond the limits of my body and mind--my fixed ideas about how things should be or feel--whether in the moments of reading the news, connecting with a worried friend or self, learning about someone falling ill or dying, hearing about grown siblings not being able to be with their parents in ICU, talking to a friend struggling to balance being a nurse on the frontlines with being a mother at her home she doesn't want to infect, friends with cancer and heart disease being afraid to touch their mail, I try (mind you it doesn't always work) to practice holding the negative space without having to change it. This practice reminds me to find hope instead of fear. I have come to understand hope as possibility, that when married with creativity and faith, comes to fruition as we surrender any prescribed outcome or notion that I or any fellow human knows what's next.

I don't know what's next or what's best or why, and neither does anyone else. But I would wager that if we can focus on accepting (on harnessing) more of the negative and darkness around us, we can marry it to the following truths and find hope and infinite possibility for how to evolve and support ourselves and each other as we live through this together:

My responsibility is to take care of myself first so I can take care of others.

If I cannot take care of myself, my responsibility is to ask for help.

If someone asks for my help, it is my responsibility to give it if I can.

If I have something to give, my responsibility is to give it, even if I see my offerings as imperfect.

My actions, my thoughts are interconnected.

We are all in this together.

This too shall pass.

Our ancestors have survived World Wars and other great hardships before us.

I will practice gratitude and be happy for what I've got no matter how small or big.

Like the birds calling out Spring, I am allowed to experience joy, even in the midst of a pandemic without feeling guilty--allowing joy in is part of taking care of myself.

Here is what I've got to give, complete with imperfections as I navigate the technical world of teaching online:

I am offering 6 Blue Light Yoga and CAKE classes every week as well as a weekly opportunity to connect with one another over a discussion post yoga on ZOOM. Every Sunday my schedule is updated on my website. Classes are $10. If you need class on me, I can give that to you, just email me ahead of time.

I'm also available for Blue Light Counseling sessions via the phone. Please feel free to email me if you'd like to set up a session together.

Sending love, 
Georgia