Let the Glitter Settle

Hi friends,

Here we are at the Spring Solstice. Our yoga practices this month have been preparing us for the longer days and increased warmth as we move from winter into spring. We are also at the two-year mark of pandemic living. Who knew?

If you’ve ever taken a restorative yoga class with me, or even just a yoga class with a restorative yoga pose in it, you’ve heard me say, “Let the glitter settle.” I usually say it when we’re transitioning from a pose in stillness. When we move from a pose that we’ve held in silence for a while, we move mindfully and slowly and then we sit for a few moments. The calm that we created in our stillness gets disrupted a bit, much like a snow globe full of glitter. Sitting still, letting the glitter settle, is a good way to regain that sense of calm before moving into another pose.

After two plus years of pandemic living, it feels to me like we're in the middle of a snow globe blizzard. Even as we hope to move out of our pandemic life, we have a conflict brewing on the edge of Europe. We move from one global trauma to the next with no space – no transition – in between. Will the glitter get a chance to settle?

I hope so. We can’t live in a constant state of anxiety – it doesn’t serve anyone, especially our own bodies. But we can’t just sit in a room and practice yoga and hope that all of the world’s problems will go away. We need to take right action to do what we can to fix problems larger than ourselves, and then we must also take care of ourselves.

Take right action – that means different things to everyone. In the case of the conflict in Ukraine, you may want to make a donation to an aid group. You may want to reach out to your elected officials and offer your voice. Do what is right for you. You are the only person who knows what that means. But if you take the time to do something positive, you may feel better.

And then come back to your mat. This is where we can care for ourselves. On the mat is where we can find those glimpses of calm and hope that can anchor us as our anxiety builds with each news report. This is why we practice. We return to our mats and we know that we can stretch and move and use our breath to change the way we feel. Those simple tools – the breath and movement – are all we need.

Yes, we seem to be trapped in a snow globe that’s being shaken again and again and again. While we can’t stop the shaking in the world around us, we can find a way to let the glitter settle within us.

Join me on your mat.

Love,

Nina G

P.S. Regarding right action: I am always amazed and impressed by the work of World Central Kitchen, an organization run by Chef José Andrés. My right action this week has been to send a donation to them. If you aren’t familiar with their work, check them out here.