Side-stretch meditation: when life throws you a curveball
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on June 6, 2017
Meghan Pullaro and Heather Holland of Yoga Tribe, Fort Myers, demonstrate the Side Stretch Meditation. Yoga Tribe will be offering teacher training soon!
You know what they say about the best-laid plans. They often go awry.
You can collapse in a heap of despair since your perfect strategies blew up in your face. You had aspirations for career advancement (you got fired) or personal growth (you picked the wrong teachers) or romantic happiness (you got dumped).
Or, not. Just because life tipped you over doesn’t mean you have to go back to the drawing board. Know where you stand, affirm your goal and your intention, and stay grounded. All you have to do is accommodate and explore the plot twist.
Daily Side-Stretch Meditation
First: Mountain Pose
Stand with your feet together, heels apart. Rotate your thighs inward, and float your heart above your hips, your head above your heart.
You know where you are. You know where you are headed.
Second: Throw a monkey wrench in your whole program.
On the inhale, stretch your right arm overhead so your upper arm is against your ear. Your left arm shoots straight down your left side.
Third: Exhale, and lean to the left in side stretch. Feel your right arm arcing overhead. Push your hips far to the right. Push your feet into the ground. Become a capital C. Turn your gaze to the floor.
Now, you may not be so sure where you are headed, but you’re stable in your instability. There are just a few surprises overhead. Get ready to face them.
Fourth: Push your right shoulder back so your heart spirals to face the ceiling. Turn your gaze to the sky. As you inhale, feel the grounding energy of the earth. Exhale, and pull the abundance of the universe through your crown.
Fifth: Reground, and be prepared to stretch.
Return your gaze to the floor and push up onto your right toe. Feel yourself reach even higher, higher than you planned. Feel your body expand with new experiences and perspectives.
While maintaining your new height, slowly lower your right heel to the floor. Feel your hip, the center of your creativity, accommodating the stretch so you can stay even taller.
Switch sides.
Success is never a straight path. The universe will offer helpful, sometimes corrective, nudges masquerading as smackdowns. As you ponder whether your plan of action has been the wisest one, as you navigate the storm of negation, false starts and dead ends, accept all your plot twists as universal guidance.
