This post is dedicated to my friends Julie & Aaron who just had beautiful twin daughters!

I’m in a yoga therapy mentorship program, where we’ve been reading the book The Thinking Body by Mabel E. Todd. It is fascinating, if you are into how and why the body moves and have quite a large vocabulary. You see, it was written in 1937, so I need a dictionary both for the anatomy terms and the strange words that are no longer in use today.

While reading, I’m continually shocked at the insight that a woman had into the human body over 70 years ago (not for the fact that it was a woman, but a woman 70 years ago). If only all people in the medical field since 1937 had to read and absorb the concepts of this book, the world might be a different place. But, I digress.

• Isn’t the human body cool?

The coolest thing I’ve learned from Mabel is about the development of the spine. We are born with a straight and flexible spine. The ultimate goal of our bodies (in infancy) is to be able to walk. But a straight spine is unable to carry the off-center load of the rib cage (thoracic spine) or the top load of the head, so the spine must develop curves to off-set these loads. The first curve that develops is the thoracic. It curves away from the load it is carrying (the ribs), and becomes concave.

This is where the cool part kicks in:  In order to develop/stabilize the opposing convex curves in the low back and neck, a baby must develop muscles in those areas. Babies pelvic and lumbar (low back) muscles start to develop even before they are born as they kick and squirm about in the womb. But the crying and kicking during the first months of life are are also absolutely necessary to continue muscle development for the baby to be able to crawl and eventually walk. So while crying is heartbreaking to us, it is what they have to do not just to communicate.

As I read this I thought of two different friends with two very different first baby experiences. One had a baby that cried a lot, but started walking at 10 months old. Another had a very mellow baby that hardly cried, which didn’t start walking until almost 13 months old. My hypothesis is more crying = faster physical development.  I think it might be different for 2nd children who get to watch their siblings move.  The crying=physical development is so not how the (horrible) “competitive mom society” looks at or compares development, but wouldn’t it be nice if they did.  Because, really what is a few months when you are looking at 75+ years of life and movement.

So, dear Julie and Aaron: as the girls are wailing, instead of fretting (not that I’ve ever seen either of you fret), just consider how their diaphragm and other spinal/pelvic muscles are getting stronger, stabilizing their little bodies for all the growing, crawling and eventual walking they have to do!

Anahata Asana

Asana means posture in Sanskrit (the classical language of India and yoga). Anahata is the Sanskrit word for the heart chakra.  The chakras in yoga are the 7 major energy centers in the body:

1. Root – sit bones/tailbone down to feet; provides grounding
2. Sacral – below the naval; source of creativity
3. Solar Plexus – naval to lower ribs; center for power/strength
4. Heart – upper rib cage; home of love and compassion
5. Throat – located in the v of the collarbone; communication center
6. Brow – center of the forehead; epicenter of higher thinking
7. Crown – just behind the top of the skull; domain of spirituality and enlightenment

This is an easy, safe heart opening posture to add to your routine for heart awareness month.  It is easy to stand up and do this at your desk any time you need a break during the day.

Spread your feet about 3’ apart with the outer edges of your feet aligned (toes pointing straight forward).  Bring your hands onto your low back near the sacrum, with your palms facing away from you.  Press down through your feet, connecting with the floor evenly through inner and outer ball and inner and outer heel of the foot (slip off your shoes if they are heels).  Slowly exhale and start to send your hips forward by pressing your hands into your low back.  Draw your shoulder blades down your back and together causing your heart to open up.  Take 5-8 slow, even breaths here, letting each breath be a little deeper.

This posture is a big shoulder and heart opener, so be gentle with yourself.  If you feel anything in your low back, back off (pull your hips back slightly) and press down more through your feet.  This posture should lengthen your spine, not compress it.

To come out of the pose, exhale and pull your hips and heart back to neutral, then release the hands and heel toe your feet all the way back together.  Notice how much more your heart (and shoulders) are open as you head back into your day.

Thanks to the (wonderful) Jim Henson movie The Labyrinth, most people confuse the term labyrinth with a maze.  However, a labyrinth is much more purposeful tool that has been in use for over 4000 years.  The labyrinth is a “unicursal” or one path design – there are no tricks or decisions to be made through it, except to surrender to the process and ultimately your spirit and the divine guidance you might receive. The labyrinth is non-denominational.  The earliest are found in Greece dating to 2000 BC, while early Christian labyrinths date back to the 4^th century.

Why in the world am I giving you a lesson on labyrinths?  Because ever since I was introduced to them several years ago, I love how I feel after walking one.  As stated in most info about labyrinths, it is a tool that helps us to see that we are “spiritual beings on a human path, instead of simply human beings on a spiritual path.”

Last year was a hard year for me. I lost my full-time job at the beginning of the year and my sweet dog of 11 years at the end of the year.  So, needless to say I was glad to see 2009 pass.  However upon waking on New Year’s Day, I was not as relieved to be out of last year or as happy to be in a new year as I thought I would be.  When my moodiness wasn’t wearing off by mid-morning, I decided to go for a walk.

I soon found myself walking the same path I always took Belle (my dog) when I am home for the holidays, then realized I had thought that with the end of the year, my grief would magically disappear.  It hadn’t, so as I walked I began to say goodbye, to cry, to take long exhales.  I eventually made my way over to the park where I always let Belle run around off leash. I sat down and completely let go of everything I had been holding onto.  It took some time, but I eventually felt at peace and had found enough strength and courage to start the journey back to the house and into this new year.  The whole way home I focused on my inhale and receiving all the blessings that this new year has in store for me.

My walk had turned into a labyrinth walk, bringing with it peace, joy and hope.  While walking a real labyrinth is wonderful, you don’t have to have the physical form to go through the process.  Here are the guidelines:

-          Before you start, stop, reflect, make a prayer or intention for the spiritual walk you are about to take.

-          Walking towards the center (or a chosen midway point in your walk) is a time of releasing, letting go of your thoughts, worries, and to do lists.  Try to focus less on getting to the center and more on enjoying the process.

-          Upon reaching the center, stay there as long as you like.  It is a place of meditation and prayer.  Receive what is there for you to receive.

-          As you leave following the same path, it feels completely different.  The return trip is about union or being in relationship with yourself, God, and nature (especially if you are lucky enough to have an outdoor labyrinth to walk).  Focus on what you will bring out from the center back into your daily life.

-          Once you have completed the walk, reflect on the journey and how you feel now.

Here is a link for the worldwide labyrinth locator if you want to find one near you: http://labyrinthlocator.com/ But as I found out, you can follow the same process without the physical form of it.  Let me know your thoughts on labyrinths. What experiences have you had walking the labyrinth?  Does this make you want to experience it?