Exercise: Several times a day become aware of your posture. This has two aspects. First become aware of what posture you are in and how it feels in the body. For example, notice your posture while sitting, standing, or lying down. How do these postures feel in the body? With your eyes closed, tune into what part of your body feels the pressure. Second, notice and adjust your posture. If you are slouching, straighten up.
When I was 12 years old, I was 5’6”. As a 7th grader, not only was I taller than my fellow students, I was also taller than most of my teachers. So tall in fact, that my mother took me to a doctor to see if he could determine how much more I was going to grow and whether or not anything needed to be done to stop me from growing. If you had asked me what I wanted most at that age, I would have said to be short. What I really wanted was to fit in. This meant giving up wearing the cool Candies’ platform slides that were in style and doing everything I could to make myself appear smaller. I start with this insight to tell you dear reader that I have a long established habit of slouching.
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| Candies Shoes circa 1970s. |
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I agree with the author of this book that our outward body is a reflection of what is going on in the mind. Today for example, I am suffering from a lack of sleep and have just noticed I am slumped over my computer working to get this blog out. As I purposefully sit up taller in my chair I do feel better, both in my body and my mind. They are not separate. When I roll out my yoga mat and practice, I am really focused on my posture in each and every pose. I do this on my mat in hopes that it will stick when I am off my mat. I do this because I know when I align my body and my mind, I also align to something bigger.
And so I will keep sitting up tall and correcting my posture when I slump. I will continue to watch my alignment like a hawk in yoga class. And while I am past wearing the platform shoes, I will remember to stand tall in my own light.
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