release and surrender

Where am I?
I am here.

What time is it?
Right now.







Eyes closed, legs crossed, hands at heart center
I sit. I breathe.

I am here, on my mat.
I am present here, now.

I am trying to release an issue that occurred earlier in the day,
but the emotion keeps nibbling at the edges of my consciousness.

Breathing in, I fill my lungs with a smooth, steady, great inhale of air -(release the emotion)
Breathing out, I extend the exhale, wringing every last bit of air from my lungs. (surrender it ... let it go ...)

Breathing in, I am aware -
I scan my body for tight spots, I scan my mind for any tight spots
Breathing out, I smile - to all that is me, here, tonight

Again, I breathe in, counting 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... I am aware ...
Breathing out ... I smile (there! it's released. Thank you, God.)

We begin our surya namaskars (sun salutations):

Inhale - hands out and up, extending the spine, legs strong, muscles engaged
Exhale - dive down to Forward Fold, spine extended, head relaxed

Inhale - right foot back, lunge deeply, heart raised up, legs engaged
Exhale - Down Dog, spine extended (oh, yes, this feels so good, I smile), core engaged as I push back and lift my tailbone

Inhale - forward into Plank, arms are strong, legs straight and engaged
Exhale - lower down to knees, chest, chin ... noting the strength of the triceps ... eight-point namaskar ... strong, muscles engaged

Inhale - lower down to the mat ... rise into Cobra, heart raised, back muscles tightly engaged
Exhale - push back into Down Dog ... lengthen the spine, extend the arms, raise the tailbone

Inhale - left foot forward into lunge, heart raised, deeply lowering the hips
Exhale - bring the right foot foward to Forward Fold again, muscles starting to feel fluid ... engaged and relaxed at the same time

Inhale - with straight back, engage the back muscles and extend the arms forward and up, looking up between the hands
Exhale - arms forward and then pulled back in to heart center

Inhale - the sound of the ocean as it sighs, pulling the wave back from shore
Exhale - the wave returning to lap at the shore, happily releasing the tug of gravity

Set after set - like sets of ocean waves - we go through the surya namaskars, releasing, surrendering to the flow of the breath ...

Inhale - I am aware ...
Exhale - I smile ...

Where am I?
I am here.
What time is it?
Right now.