The irony is not lost on me that after I spent a week encouraging myself and my students to slow down and pay attention, I let my attention and front wheel wander as I was bicycling. The mulch on the side of the road grabbed the tire and bike and I fell and spun on the blacktop. What a beautiful example of the shadow side’s presence! When we focus on courage we notice our insecurities, when we try to loosen our hamstrings we become even more aware of their tightness, and so on. When I’m trying to pay attention, I notice how often my thoughts wander! Needless to say all my lesson plans are first and foremost directed at myself. Three hours in the ER, of course I fell on on a Saturday, and at least three stitches later I limped my bruised body into my husband’s car and home. Fortunately I have no broken bones and I’ll be up and riding in time for a Backroads trip in Puglia, Italy  in May with  Terry and friends. Ice is wonderful!

A stranger saw my dramatic tumble and invited me into her house to clean me up. Her husband had recently had surgery and had lots of gauze and tape already in the kitchen so they wrapped me up neatly before racing off to a lacrosse game. What a lovely, spontaneous gesture of kindness! I sat in their driveway on a bench in the brilliant sunshine, listening to the birds and icing myself until Terry returned with the car. He was a charming caregiver all day, the one that determined that stitches were probably in order, and kept me lubed with ointment and protected with fresh gauze. We happened to have a sailing team from the College of Charleston staying at our house for the weekend while they raced in New London at the Coast Guard Academy, so Terry fairly single-handedly provided dinner last night and breakfast this morning for all of us. What a star!

I planned to take some photos of the Forward Bend Vinyasa to illustrate this week’s lesson plan, but my hip is too sore to pose. Are my written instructions helpful? In the plan I also introduce mulabandha, the root lock, a gentle lifting of the perineum that extends up through the diaphragm and the soft palate to stabilize the body and bring energy up the spine. Lying in Supine Child is a comfortable way to locate the lifting sensation while still breathing. As mulabandha becomes more familiar, the technique makes side bends, back bends, and twists from any position more stable and comfortable. Please let me know if you have questions or a better way to explain the root lock. Click on the title of the post above to open to a page where you can comment.

Slow Down PDF – Click away for a PDF with poetry and flow instructions that you can print out and try out on your own.