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​This month’s blog story is a hands-on.  Set your device beside you, and come into Tree Pose. Take five even breaths and switch sides.  Take inventory while you balance.  What does your breath sound like?  What is floating around in your mind?  Go ahead, and try.
 
When our mind is roaming and indulging in imagination, we leave the present moment and can cause havoc to our state of being.  If you felt wobbly and unbalanced in Tree, go back to what was on your mind?  Were you thinking about the laundry that is waiting or what your colleague said at work?
 
Our body is always in the present moment; it’s our mind that floats between the past, present and past.  When it leaves the present moment, we cannot hold the pose.  Practicing yoga asanas (poses) forces us to stop and take notice.
 
Now, let’s try legs up against the wall pose or legs on the “coffee table” pose.  Lie down on your back with your legs against the wall or supported on something like a coffee table or chair.  Set an alarm on your device for five minutes.  Pay attention to your mind and your breath.  Notice how high your chest rises and how grounded your back feels when you exhale.  When the bell rings, roll to one side and sit up.
 
While Legs Up Against the Wall pose isn’t as difficult as Tree Pose, it still challenges the mind and breath.  We must learn to train our mind to listen as we move into a pose.  It’s our own imagination mixed with emotions that cause us the most pain.
 
Our mind will wander.  We will get distracted.  So we begin again and again and again.  Welcome peace and acceptance into the body, mind and breath.  Welcome home.