Stretch

Today was clear again and the sky for the moment is blue. Temperature sits at 54 degrees fahrenheit this morning. Today is Thursday.

What came to mind this morning was the word "stretch." It seemed to come in and then, the image was found among many others, and it matched. This physical stretching is what we all need in order to stay limber. One teacher observed, "Have you ever noticed old people and how stiff they become if they don't have a regular practice of working with their bodies? The body gets rigid, and so does the mind!"

In this household, "the stretch" has become a daily ritual.

There is also the shakes and the swing. One day, we will have to make an image to show what those movements look like in a still drawing. The stretch includes the usual parts of the body but also moves into the face (as in wide open mouth and eyes and big facial movements to make every part of the face contract and open at least 8 times). The neck, the arms, the torso (yes, even the torso can be stretched), the legs, the feet (including expanding the toes and crunching them back). It looks ridiculous. It feels great as a morning routine. Everything is waking up and invited into the day ahead. One must do the routine everyday, without missing a beat and without short-changing the life force that wants to wake up and join the rest of the world. If a routine becomes a part of your practice, you will definitely notice when you miss a day. The body is our most accessible vehicle for engaging body/mind/spirit.

Something happens with the mind, too. It is so. The mind can hold more, and seems also to be able to manage the complexity of life - without moving too quickly into the space of anxiety. It is there somewhere, anxiety. But it's not the first place (or even the second or third) where the mind seems to go. Anxiety becomes one of many options and points of view on what is happening in daily living.

In solving a problem that may be floating around as part of your reality at the moment, fear and frustration may get displaced and opportunities for self growth or change may appear. In dealing with pain in the body as the reality in the moment, curiosity about how to "become one with" the pain may open and while the pain may persist, the invitation to self-awareness about how you deal with discomfort may be a new lesson or awareness about your character. In being in total chaos, the engagement in moving the body and stretching may actually allow you to release the static and strip down to the point of it all.

Plus, stretching just feels good. Why not allow for good feeling, basic, simple, unadulterated good feeling to be a part of the day? Haven't yet met a person who doesn't like a good stretch.