“Get up offa that thing
And shake 'till you feel better
Get up offa that thing
And try to release that pressure!”
-James Brown, Get Up Offa That Thing
I’ve been in a funk. I usually think of the full moon as a time of celebration, and it is! It’s a time of taking stock and feeling the fullness of your life — but that means everything, pleasant and unpleasant. So, being in a funk is unpleasant, but I know it’s not the worst thing. At the end of the day, I’ll be fine; it’s simply a message from me to myself that I need a little TLC.
What I need is more than just positive self-talk. A funk is not just mental, it becomes physical, too. Luckily, yoga is a physical practice that can touch us on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
So what do I do when I’m in a funk? It’s a little different every time, depending on the situation, but normally it involves getting my blood and breath moving a little more. It doesn’t have to be complicated: it can be a walk, some jumping jacks, deep breathing, dancing, or, of course, yoga postures.
Here are some fun sequences I’ve played around with:
Any seated pose - table top - downward dog - walk hand to feet (or feet to hands) to bent-knee uttanasana - hands on thighs and push slowly up to standing with a lengthened spine.
Any seated pose - table top - step forward to a gentle anjaneyasana (lunge) - hands on the front (bent) leg - push down into hands and feet into standing (unless you have sciatic or pubic bone pain, then #1 might feel better).
Any seated pose - dandasana, shake legs out and wiggle toes - bend knees and use hands behind to push up to malasana (only if this pose feels good to you without props) - hands forward and lengthen legs into prasarita padottanasana - hands on thighs, knees bent and slowly push down through feet and hands to standing.
Get down on the floor and play around - make up your own mini getting up sequence! It doesn’t have to look pretty; my only recommendation is that it feels good in your body.
I like to think of this type of spontaneous yoga as a shift in perspective on what yoga is: not just a way to stand up straighter, but a way to get up with grace and intention whenever we get down in the dumps.
Movement usually gets me out of my rut, but sometimes my imagination helps, too. Creative visualization can be a fun way to divert your funk into a lighter state of mind. Just ask the Goddess of Getting Up (picture above). She’s part of lineage of lighthearted images of the Divine Feminine that I play around with. Here’s a post on Goddess of the Grump, who I drew one time when I was coming to peace with my own Inner Grumpy Mom. Here’s another one, a Goddess of Insomnia that I dreamt up when my son was an infant that kept waking up all night.
Have fun, get moving, and I hope you practice some creative ways of getting up off the ground:)
Here’s a little impromptu video on the above Getting Up sequences. I know, the video quality is not fantastic, but breaking out my video camera and polishing up my video game is on my (very long) to-do list. Feel free to post in the comments if you have any questions!
I want more goddesses!! I love this idea of the goddess of the grump 😂
Thank you! Especially appreciate these words -
“It doesn’t have to look pretty; my only recommendation is that it feels good in your body.
I like to think of this type of spontaneous yoga as a shift in perspective on what yoga is: not just a way to stand up straighter, but a way to get up with grace and intention whenever we get down in the dumps.“