How headstands during my yoga practice taught me to be more mindful | embodiment
When I was a young girl, my aunt introduced me to the yoga studio. She taught me several yoga poses, but most importantly, how to find my balance. I didn’t know back then that yoga would become a tool for silencing the noise of the world when I needed to find peace.
Meditation can be difficult for me because my mind often jumps from one idea to the next when I sit during meditation. But movement meditation is different. Yoga grounds me within my body.
My yoga practice is meditative. I enjoy feeling my body push against gravity when I find my way up to standing from forward fold. I like feeling my feet grounded into the floor beneath me. I feel the energy of my hands as they slowly lift above my head into a standing, gentle backbend, and they make their way back to my heart center as my hands meet into prayer pose.
My favorite yoga positions involve balance. My aunt would tell me, “when you need to find focus, practice balance.” The headstand pose allows me to think more slowly and intentionally. It keeps me in the present moment of trying to maintain the pose. My hands lace together in front of my head while my legs rise against gravitational forces and float above my body.
In the headstand pose, I find confidence. I find stillness. Most importantly, I find focus. Headstands teach me to think about a singular idea: keep my balance. Otherwise, I will fall.
And I do fall. Repeatedly. But, yoga is a practice. We fall, readjust, and try again — floating for a little longer next time.
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