Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Jan 12: Stretch

We humans stretch all the time: our money, our time, our clothing, the truth.  But how often do we take the time to stretch important things like our bodies, our minds, our hearts?
To the stretch the body is not hard, all it takes is some peace and quiet, and a little time.  It's been proven to increase flexibility, prevent injuries by increasing range of motion, alleviate cramps, and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone.
Stretching is instinctive for many animals, often accompanied by yawning and occurring after waking, long periods of inactivity, or release from confined spaces.
This applies to our minds and hearts as well.  One of the most frustrating things in life (for me anyway), is to talk to someone who is completely closed minded about something.  Being prejudiced, intolerant, or stubborn about something can be hard to overcome, we all have our pride.  But when we hold onto those qualities we are only holding back possibilities from ourselves.  How do we have a more open mind? By getting our minds active through learning new things, trying new things, facing our fears, and listening to other ideas and points of view.
Opening our hearts can be a little more complicated.  Whether we've closed it from pain, sadness, or fear, opening it to new experiences can be scary.  Anyone who has ever loved and lost can attest to that.  It can be more comfortable to close ourselves off and prevent future damage.  But when we shut out life, we are also shutting out all of the new loves and beautiful possibilities life has in store for us.  We have to heal the hurt and open our hearts again through forgiveness, patience, and positivity.  Share love to receive love.  Be generous with yourself.  Don't hold back sincere praise, affection, or gratitude for the people in your life.  Stretch these aspects of yourself, and make room for all of the good things to come.

If I'm losing balance in a pose, I stretch higher and God reaches down to steady me.  It works every time, and not just in yoga.  ~Terri Guillemets

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