Child's Pose

Something lovely about the Bodhi Flow is that we take the time to revisit child's pose in every tier, though admittedly in the fourth tier we approach it from a slightly different angle. Dropping back and rolling the spine along the mat, our legs pull into our chests and for just a brief moment, there it is, a fetal-like position--child's pose. Leading a class today, halfway into tier three I heard myself say the words "Let's pull back into child's pose and take several full, restorative breaths." Perhaps why I heard (like, really heard) my own words so clearly was because I had said that same phrase each time we went into that pose without realizing it. How interesting, I thought, that I feel a need to say this aloud every time we visit this pose. Part of leading a yoga class, in my experience, is learning to trust what your own body is telling you, then letting that guide the movement for the class. My body really wanted those moments of restoration apparently. What is it about child's pose that invites the restorative breath, I silently wondered as we pushed back into downward facing dog.

Almost as soon as I asked the question awareness flooded over me. I've been revisiting some semblance of child's pose all of my life yearning for restoration, and long before I was ever practicing yoga. Just as there are tiers of the Bodhi Flow, there are certainly tiers or stages of life, all of which brings a different focus.

Intentions and focus of the Bodhi Flow tiers look like this:

Tier One- Warms the Body
Tier Two- Opens Flexibility
Tier Three- Builds Strength and Stamina
Tier Four- Reduces Tension and Balances Breath

I'm beginning to see how the intentions and focus of my own life change and evolve as I age. It's a marvel how much childhood varies from young-adulthood, and how adulthood varies from the elderly years. Yet, throughout it all, when we take the time to pull back, take some deep restorative breaths, and revisit "childhood"--that's when we find true restoration, isn't it?

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