Grace

Opening to grace, flowing with grace, the power of grace, grace-filled, steeped in grace, aligning with grace, abundant grace.  The lovely Anusara teachers toss the word grace around (second only to the word "John") as often as Andy Rooney made us laugh.  Call me shallow or uninformed but I must admit, I don't really understand the meaning of "grace". Yes, I looked it up in .0002 nanoseconds on Google and found that it means elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action and pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.  Some synonyms are attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, comeliness, ease and lissomeness.  Does this apply to my yoga practice?

Is God involved?  GodGlorified.com says grace is a gift from God and goes on to state that if you write a song about grace it is almost certain to be chart topper. (Really?)  And, that the majority of Christians have a misunderstanding of God's grace that could "very well lead them to the path of destruction".  Ah, sounds like another example of some fear mongering by the "church."   OK, I'm done going down that road.

Grace descends from the Roman gratia, and we find it in the Spanish and Italian words "gracias" and "grazie".  For Romans, gratia had three distinct meanings:  (1) a pleasing quality (gracefulness) (2) favor or goodwill (by the grace of God) and (3) gratitude or thanks (saying grace before a meal).  So, putting gratia to work on my uttita hasta padangustasana (big-toe balancing pose, see photo), I should (1) try to look graceful (dang hard in this pose), (2) by the grace of God avoid tipping over, and (3) be thankful there's a cranberry scone and Chai Baba Chai waiting for me after class.  Grazie!

My friend, colleague, and exceptional being, Rachel Lanzerotti, fills in the gaps in my quest for the meaning of grace.  Her recent blog entry (http://www.fiveriversyoga.com/blog) shares a quote from Lynn Ungar, in which she describes grace as "...moving with the flow of the river rather than against it. The river, the current of life, keeps flowing regardless of our choices. But we can choose to step into the current and float...."  I love the "don't push the river" metaphor.  It means to me not being haphazardly swept away, but consciously letting go of the uncontrollable and gracefully floating with the current.    Rachel provides another way of describing grace in quoting Viktor Frankl, "Between stimulus and response there's a space, in that space lies our power to choose our response, in our response lies our growth and our freedom."   I agree that if we look closely, maybe grace lives in that space. 

Regardless of what Merriam-Webster or John Friend has to say about the meaning of grace, I've got a better feel for my own meaning.  Maybe grace is the way we mindfully we slip and slide through life, neither grasping or hoarding or harming along the way.  Now top it off with an Amarena cherry for deep gratitude for our fortunate lives. 

I love the response of students to their first or second or hundredth restorative yoga experience.  It's the moment when their nervous system shifts from "yikes!" to "ahhhhhh."  They leave with relaxed shoulders and brightened attitude.  

It's easy to forget that the body knows exactly what to do.  The relaxation response is a built in function of our amazing central nervous system.  We just have to let relaxation happen.  I know, it seems impossible sometimes. Thus, the popularity of restorative yoga where we learn to put the body in positions and let it do it's thing.     

In these workshops you will be allowed to relax and let go while your body is supported with bolsters and blankets and lots more.  We will do a bit of movement, chat about stress and the relaxation response and then spend 90 minutes in positions that we will hold for 15 to 20 minutes.  This practice is for everyone.   Go ahead and put the dates on your calendar now so you won't forget.  And, while you're at it, invite a friend.

Sunday,November 20**

3:30 - 5:45 p.m. 

BodyWorks in Petaluma  

**The third Sunday of each month