There is too much emphasis in yoga on staying in perfect alignment, of balancing without falling. At that point, it becomes rigid, a practice in becoming more of a sculpture and less of a human.
This is my invitation to loosen up and not just let yourself fall, but find ways to fall gracefully. I wrote about this once for Kidding Around Yoga when my young yoga students taught me the art of falling.
My first lesson in falling was with those little yogis I taught back then (read the article to find out what I mean:). My second lesson in falling was when I started playing capoeira in 2014. In a weird kind of way, it enlivened my yoga practice; it wasn’t rigid at all and it offered me a sort of intensity that yoga didn’t. Plus, my teacher brought up a very good point: capoeira teaches you how to fall with intention and grace.
That really stuck with me. For years I had been trying so hard to always be upright in my posture and in perfect alignment, and for what? Yoga hadn’t really prepared me for falling, which was a shame because there is so much falling in life when you take meaningful risks. And if we think beyond that act of falling — falling from what we expect to last forever, or from what we think is the highest ideal — that sort of surrender to gravity is an invitation to find creative and even comforting ways to land.
What do I mean by that?
Next time you want to plunk yourself down in a chair or collapse onto the couch, think of how else you might land. Maybe child’s pose for 30 seconds or a seated yoga pose could offer a more restful moment than just total collapse. Or, perhaps if you’re really exhausted, yoga nidra could offer a deeper rest than just slouching around on the couch (I’m not saying that I never sit around on the couch, but I do try to work in moments of rest that are more intentional:)
So, on this new moon, I invite you to fall and land with attention and intention. It doesn’t have to be monumental, as long as it feels great and nurtures you in a moment when you need rest. New moons are all about pressing reset buttons, in my opinion. How can you reset an automatic habit like throwing yourself onto the couch?
And then, there are times when the couch invites you to just be with your kids:) Those are some of the best times!