The Question
How do you give to others?
The Intention
Look outward
The Meditative Moment
Grieving and anxiety are rather introspective experiences. There’s a lot of inner work that happens as we grieve, process, heal, learn, and eventually emerge. Much of it happens in our heads and hearts. We do not, however, live in isolation. Spouses, children, friends, pets, coworkers, other family members—we’re still connected to all of them in the midst of our internalizing. I like cat/cow because it reminds me that, even in the midst of this internal work, I have to look out to the world and those around me. Do a couple of rounds of this pose today:
Begin by coming into tabletop position on the floor: knees under hips and wrists under shoulders. Toes can be turned under, so your feet are flexed, or you can have tops of the feet on the ground; try both ways and see what works best for you. Spine is neutral in tabletop, so your gaze is at the floor and the crown of your head points forward toward the wall in front of you. As you inhale into cow pose, drop the belly, tailbone moves upward, draw shoulders back and down, and look up. As you exhale into cat, round the spine, draw shoulder blades away from each other, tailbone tucks, glide your chin toward your chest. Inhale, drop the belly and look up. Exhale, round the spine and look toward your belly. Inhale, give thanks for those who are supporting you. Exhale, give thanks for the ways you honor your process. Repeat a few more times, then come back to a neutral spine. Take a seat of your choice, and, if you feel up to it today, set an intention to do something kind for someone else today.
Originally sent September 21, 2023, to paid Substack subscribers. If you want to receive current Thin Space reflections, you can start a paid subscription here: https://laurenlmurphy.substack.com. You can choose to pay $75/year or $8/month.