Receptivity Pose

Pema Chodron received advice from a mentor about mindfulness: At teatime, just drink tea.

Like teatime, yoga provides opportunity to escape from multitasking and just do the one thing. (It's curious to me, because I also marvel at yoga's amazingly efficiency, stretching and strengthening muscles while cultivating mindfulness, deepening breath, toning organs.... a beautiful mystery that it can be both one thing and everything).

The simplest postures are perhaps the most enriching in this "just drink tea" aspect. Take Sukasana, or easy seat. We sit without effort, with ease. Then we can sit more easily. We can lift our spines slightly, draw our bellies in to stabilize our torsos. Perhaps we can relax our legs further, allowing our hips to ground more deeply into the earth. Our shoulders can melt further, our necks can release what we hold there, our faces release the mask we put on to present ourselves in certain ways. We can breathe more intentionally and notice new space in our bodies into which the prana can flow.

Receptivity pose is another example. Standing simply, firmly, loosely, with palms at our sides facing forward... a universe of information to receive.