Today, we are under the waning crescent moon, a day after the Last Quarter phase. Yogi Baby sits down in Butterfly Pose with the soles of her feet connected and invites you to do the same. She takes a breath in and notices how it feels entering her body. She lets the breath out and feels her shoulders relax down. With only the desire to follow the journey of her breath, in and out, she doesn’t try to change it or control it. A calming effect comes over her as she becomes the witness of the natural rhythm of her breath.
*
Yogi Baby moves her heels further away to create a Long-legged Butterfly and gently tucks her chin, rounds her spine, and folds forward to a natural place of resistance; her edge. Then, she relaxes, reaching her arms forward while holding Sankalpa Mudra (touch the end of your thumb to the tip of your third finger of your left hand; with your right hand, connect your thumb to the inside of the nail of your ring finger). This Practice Intention Gesture reminds her to remain focused upon her breath along with the idea of a precious, blissful, softly glowing light right at her third eye; that point in the center of her forehead, right between her brows.
She breathes, and the light glows more brightly expanding its rays. As she exhales, the light softens again. All of a sudden, a thought about a conversation she had with her friend Arieta pops into her awareness. It is a nice memory of a time they were doing yoga together in a sun-lit, grassy field by the edge of a little wooded area. The thought is lovely, but for now, she chooses to place it on a shelf for later so she can come back to the present moment with just a focus upon her breath and that beautiful, sparkling light within.
*
Yogi Baby has been in her folded Butterfly shape for some time and feels it is time to sit up. She reaches her arms out to the right and the left on a big inhale, and then with right arm above the left, she reaches for opposite shoulders to give herself a big hug on her exhale. Then, keeping her elbows where they are, she lifts her hands up by her face and spirals her forearms around one another. Fingers of one hand reach toward the palm of the other. She lifts her elbows higher, closes her eyes and rests her thumbs on her forehead with these Eagle Arms tightly wrapped. With her intention of being perfectly still for awhile, she reconnects with her breath that fans her inner light.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, in comes a thought. This one has been creeping into her awareness often lately; something unsettling she saw on the news. “Nope,” she says to the thought bubble. “Out with you. POP! There you go! I choose positivity instead.” And, with this mindful choice, she opens her arms out wide on her in-breath, and crossing her arms with the left on top to repeat Eagle Arms, she returns to her breath and her place of peace.
After an equal amount of time on this side, YB lowers her arms and places her hands back into Sankalpa Mudra and lies down on her back, stretching out her arms and legs to rest and release any lingering tension. A random thought, once again, attempts to make itself known, but YB doesn’t get involved. She chooses to return to her inner light shining so brightly now that she can almost feel its energy radiating at her brow.
“I choose positivity,” she says out loud. “It’s my choice. I know that my thoughts may become words, and my intentions may become actions that cause things to change. Therefore, my thoughts become things! I will choose beneficial thoughts which serve myself and others and let the others go…pop! Under this Third Quarter moon, I release what is not needed, clearing space for that which I intentionally choose.”
After some time, Yogi Baby sits up and opens her eyes brightly.
One more time, just for good measure she says today’s mantra out loud, “I choose positivity!”
She smiles. “I’m ready to bring my sweet light into everything I think and do today.”