“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind may unfold.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce
Weekly Focus: Lila (play)
Lila is a sweet and playful goodness, and derives from the concept that the Universe is an act of playful creation from the divine, rather than a creation made for achieving any purpose. Lila is a reminder that we can exist and engage in life simply as an act of exploration and curiosity. Children learn and grow through curiosity and play, why should this stop as we become adults?
Lila is derived from Hinduism, and is referenced as the creative activity of the Divine or the play of the Gods, where the whole world is seen as a stage for the Divine play. The whole of creation, the Universe, the Cosmos, contains a lot of chaos to navigate, and we can seek to engage and consider how we interact with this chaos.
In Yoga, the Universe is also represented inside of our Self – our consciousness, our knowing, our feeling, is an entire chaotic universe of our own. How beautiful that we hold a whole Universe within ourselves, full of chaos and curiosities. Yoga invites us to creatively explore and interact with this chaos, to play with the balance of how we both contain and experience this space. It’s worth it to explore areas of ourselves without purpose to see what arises and unfolds. We can do this through movement, writing, meditation, music, art… the avenues are endless. How will you find playfullness in your life this season?
Here is a simple practice in engaging with playfulness and curiosity:
- Explore movement — find space by yourself, turn on music you enjoy, and allow your body to move. Go somewhere without mirror so you feel confined and safe from viewing eyes. Allow yourself to simply explore movement through dance, no matter how it looks. What are you expressing as you move?
- Explore art — choose a medium: paint, pencil, marker, and allow yourself to express visually. You can use a coloring book if you need a container, or simply grab a blank paper and just put utensil to paper. It can sometimes be fun to close your eyes and just let your hand move, see what comes out! Remove your focus from the look and adjust it to the expression.
- Explore your imagination — when was the last time you looked at clouds? If you haven’t done it recently, try! It’s a great exercise for the imagination. Lie on your back and simply look up. No music, no sound. What can you see above you?
Passive Pose of the Week: Pawanmuktasana (wind relieving pose)
Pawanmuktasana is a pose that calls of your energy inwards. From here, allow yourself to unfold like the petals of a flower, exploring and experiencing your body on the floor. This is a great space to allow freeform movement such as rocking and rolling, tucking the head in, circling the knees – explore what calls to you and what feels good!
- Begin lying on the floor.
- Bend the knees and hug them into your chest. Grab behind the backs of the thighs or around the fronts of the shins.
- Breathe for 7 – 10 breaths before releasing with a big exhale.
To make this pose especially nice for the low back, try adding a prop to lift the hips. This will allow for more flexion in the spine creating a nice stretch. It doesn’t have to be a lot, a folded blanket or flat pillow just below your seat will do nicely. For even more spinal decompression, take this pose near the wall so that your feet and butt press agianst the wall in front of you. Pressing your feet lightly into the wall will provide nice traction for the spine.
Active Pose of the Week: Parivrtta Anjaneyasana 1 (Twisted Monkey)
Parivrtta Anjaneyasana I is a twisty, playful pose that challenges your coordination, balance and stability.
- Begin in a lunge with the right foot forward and the left knee on the ground.
- Start with both hands on the ground, framing the right foot.
- Begin to twist your chest to the right, reaching your right arm up to the ceiling.
- Bend your left knee and try to squeeze your left heel to your seat.
- Reach the right hand back for the left foot and grab hold of the inside edge of the foot.
- If the foot is hard to reach, loop a strap around the foot to lengthen the reach of the arm.
- Hold for 3 – 5 breaths and switch sides.
This pose can provide a lot of great sensation for the body in many places. Specifically, we can access a very lovely stretch for the upper back thigh here, or a big shoulder and chest opener. For the upper thigh stretch, pull the back foot in as close to the body as you like while pressing the hips forward. Imagine breathing into the front of that thigh. For the shoulder and chest opener, try to kick your foot into the resistance of your hand. Roll the right shoulder up to the ears and then squeeze the shoulder blades together. Push your hips forward. One is not better than the other, they are both just different! Play around with what you prefer.
Join us in class this week to practice your curiosity and playfulness with lila. See the full schedule HERE.
To get weekly updates from our parent brand, Myriad Fitness + Yoga, follow our weekly podcast “For Time.
