Lift

Lift your gaze to the world around you. Notice the magnificence and immensity of what lies beyond your immediate concerns and worries. Once you investigate - and appreciate - the magnitude and precision of how nature handles adversity such as bad weather, human ineptitude and natural predators, you come to realize how tiny your problems seem in the big picture. Yet we all have a role to play in the big picture. You get to decide how you want to show up in the world. What type of energy do you offer? Positive (Negative)? Constructive (Destructive)? Creative (Unoriginal)? Each of us makes a difference, even a small one. Lift your gaze and let your contribution to our world be uplifting.

Raptor Trail, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, Arizona

"I lift my gaze to the world around me."

Yoga Pose: Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose Utthita Hasta Padangustasana

Lift your gaze and your spirits with this challenging balance pose.

Foundation. Start in Tadasana - Mountain Pose. Set your intention.

Stance. Shift your weight onto your right leg, maintaining a strong foundation through the right foot. Keep your right leg straight without locking your knee.

Legs. Lift your left knee up toward your belly. Reach your left arm inside the thigh, cross it over the front ankle, take hold the outside of your left foot. [If your hamstrings are tight, hold a strap looped around the left sole]. Inhale and extend the left leg first out to the front of you and then swing it to a diagonal. Straighten the left knee as much as possible and allow the left elbow to straighten.

Torso. Lengthen the spine. Relax the shoulders.

Arms. Float your right arm up to a diagonal, stretching your fingertips to the sky.

Gaze. Soften your jaw and eyes. Keep your head in a neutral position and look lightly upward.

Timing. Hold for several breaths or as long as it feels steady. Bend your left knee slightly, swing your leg back to center on an inhale, release your grip and lower the foot to the ground with an exhale.

B R E A T H E

[Repeat on the other side]

Palmetto State Park, Ottine, Texas