Hafizalicious

This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you.

Hafiz

A friend I lived at Kripalu with, a beauty with a knack for reciting poetry, had a tattoo that said something like, "I am exactly where I am meant to be." Anyone who lived with me then can correct me on the exact wording, but the point is there. For all of the time we spend wishing for the future and ruing the past, we could all use a reminder, perhaps even tattooed onto our bodies, that we are in the right place at the only time that really exists. 

Hafizalicious

Isn't the practice of yoga the practice of being present in every moment? The next time you practice, do so without a mat. It takes away superficial lines of: on the purple rubber I will be connected to my self and my breath and when I step off, then I can get all my real work done. The "real work" is on and off the purple (or green, or pretty flowers of different colors).  Here's a sequence easy to do anywhere and any time without a mat.

1. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
2. Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
3. Tadasana
4. Vrksasana on other leg
5. Uttanasana (Forward Fold Pose)
6. Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Hand Pose)
7. Kripalu Ardha Chandrasana (Kripalu-style Half Moon), arms above head to bend to the side for a deep side stretch
8. Inhale through center to repeat on other side
9. Tadasana
10. Step forward to Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I)
11. Inhale to raise the arms and straighten the back leg, exhale to lower arms and gentle bend back leg. Repeat 10-12x
12. Hold Virabhadrasana I 
13. Virabhadrasana II
14. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
15. Utthita Tadasana (Five Pointed Star Pose)
16. Prasarita Padottanasana (Standing Forward Fold)
17. Repeat steps 10-16 on other side
18. Utthita Tadasana
19. Tadasana
20. Take hand to opposite hip, other hand to sacrum for gentle twist. Repeat other side. 
21. Sun Breaths (12x)
22. Nadi Shodna Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breath). Repeat for 5-10 minutes 
23. Savasana