Standing like "palm trees"

During my morning walk I came across these beautifully palm trees. As I was standing in front of them admiring those trees, some thoughts were born in my mind which I would like to share with you.

Those trees are standing peacefully in the landscape, having their roots very deep in the earth from where they receive nutrients and strength while their trunks and branches extend above the surface to the sky. One day I asked my grandfather, who has born in the neighborhood, about how old these palm trees were and he replied with certainty that they stand there since the year he was born, and that was back in 1925, which amazed me !

Imagine how many changes have happened since then. The landscape was very different back in those days. For example the houses were beautiful single ones with gardens (hopefully some of them stand still so). Unfortunately, these houses today are replaced by factories and big apartment buildings. Regardless the changing surrounding environment, these palm trees stand there, with nothing to interfere to their serenity and vitality.

But why do I want to share this story with you? What is the correlation between the palm trees and yoga? As I gaze them, I visualize the human body in a standing position, with the feet and especially the heels well grounded, while the rest of the body extends upwards to the sky. Breathing is the basic element which helps the body extending and especially the spine, whose flexibility is very important for human health. And as Vanda Scaravelli once said:

“Each of the yoga poses is accompanied by breathing and it is during the process of exhalation that the spine can stretch and elongate without effort. We learn to elongate and extend, rather than to pull and push. Elongation and extension can only occur when the pulling and pushing has come to an end; this is the revolution”.

This type of practice will be very helpful for the grounding and flexibility of the body and mind since it will help it becoming calm, conscious and aware. If you wish to have a glimpse of this practice you can do the following sequence.

You can stand or sit on a chair with the feet and the heels touching the ground. The spine and the neck have to be straight, while relaxing the shoulders. The eyes should be gently closed or if open, they have to be focused in a specific point. Then you can start to deepen your breathing effortlessly and naturally. Take a deep breath and then as you exhale feel how the spine extends. You can rehearse this breathing technique for a couple of times. When you finish, you can gently open your eyes. If you notice any serenity in your mind after this breathing practice, it is a good sign to rehearse the sequence.

I wish you find helpful and inspiring the story that I have shared with you and you may expect more yoga stories and practices soon. Till then, take care of yourself and stay healthy! Hari Om!

PS1 In case you have any health issue, you are kindly recommended to advice your physician before following the practice as described above. Precautions are necessary in every yoga lesson.

PS2 Sorry grandpa for the revealing your age, it is for a good purpose!