Yoga for Being More Grounded

Lately, no matter where I am, I have been feeling something like homesickness. I can't say why, but I can say how it feels. It's a little bit like being heartbroken over a place. In the past, I have been known to meander. A lot. I never stayed in one place for more than a couple years since I was fifteen (when I moved out of my parent's house). The apartment that Chris and I live in now is the longest I've lived in a place since then, too. With this homesickness, I feel peripatetic, or at least an urge toward it. In my aged years though (birthday last week), I know that being a traveling bum don't do nuttin' to find yourself a home. Home is solid tree roots in an internal landscape that feels like it lies somewhere around my diaphragm. At least that's where I feel homesickness in my body.

Ayurveda would say I am too vata these days. I would agree (you should see how dry my hands are). The funny thing is, Spring is supposed to make you feel more grounded and stable. Some external circumstances, though, just can't change with the weather.

In the meantime, a grounding sequence.
  1. Sukhasana (Easy pose)
  2. Deep ujayyi (Ocean Sounding) breath, sending breath to root chakra
  3. Sun breaths, continuing with ujayyi
  4. Table, grounding through parts of body in contact with floor
  5. Arch spine towards ceiling, chin towards chest in Marjarasana (Cat Pose)
  6. Arch spine towards floor, crown of head towards ceiling in Bitilasana (Cow Pose)
  7. Flow with breath between 6 and 7
  8. Table
  9. Lift opposite arm and leg in table to balance
  10. Repeat other side
  11. Garbasana  (Child's Pose)
  12. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog) or Bhujangasana (Cobra)
  13. Flow with breath between 11 and 12
  14. Knee-down Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
  15. Knee-down Low Lunge (front knee bent over ankle, back leg straight)
  16. Anjaneyasana (Crescent Moon Pose)
  17. Repeat 15 and 16 other side
  18. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)
  19. Tadasana 
  20. Sun breaths in Tadasana
  21. Begin walking meditation, carefully noting how feet land for two to four minutes
  22. Tadasana
  23. Malasana (Garland, or Squatting Pose)
  24. Dandasana (Staff Pose), grounding through legs
  25. Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)
  26. Setu Bandhasana (Bridge)
  27. Repeat Setu Bandhasana two more times, pressing sacrum into floor in between sets
  28. Baddha Konasana (Cobbler Pose), press feet together firmly
  29. Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Cobbler Pose)
  30. Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall) for relaxation

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