Strength & Grace

Hello friends!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Friday was absolutely gorgeous, and I took full advantage of the beautiful weather by spending the day in Chicago, exploring the Myth & Marble exhibit at the Art Institute.

There were 58 ancient marble statues on display. These weren't just bits and pieces of antiquity; they all had been 'restored' to wholeness during the 17th - 19th century. We were able to see the entire form as intended by the original sculptor. These were big, heavy pieces of rock that had been transformed into something beautiful. Each work of art, while heavy and solid, had so much grace and movement within it.

Statue of Athena - late 1st century BCE - early 1st century CE

And all I could think about was our yoga!

You may remember that yoga sutra 2:46 calls us to find a stable, easy pose (Sthira sukham asanam). It tells us to have strength that is not rigid but easeful—rooted and still rising. We employ both effort and ease in our practice, just as these sculptors balanced both force and finesse to unveil the beauty within the stone.

Young girl as Diana (Artemis)

This week in class, we're wrapping up our exploration of yoga to support bone health. We will bring our attention to our overall posture, using what we learned about the sturdiness and structure of our bones to create poses that are strong, but also graceful. We will find the beauty in our power.

Please join me on your mat (or on your chair!), my beautiful friends.

With hope, strength, & grace,

Nina G