Opening to Grace
Long ago in a galaxy far far away...
I was the mom to 4 tiny humans. During that snapshot of my life, I was training under the Anusara yoga tradition. We created a notebook to accompany each of the 5 Universal Principals of Alignment. The first principal...Open to grace.
When I was assigned to go home and contemplate what this principal meant to me and how I embody it, I immediately thought of the joy and delight that I got to experience through my children. I captured a few precious moments, and the above picture is the opening page to my Open to grace section. When I look at these moments it fills me with so many emotions. This is the appearance of grace throughout the trials and difficulties of being a parent and guardian to developing humans. It's helpful to remember that they existed and how grace continues to change and shift its face in my life.
The one constant has been my practice. Open to grace is the first alignment principal that I observe whether I am teaching or taking a class. It is the closing of the eyes, the softening of the skin, the deepening of the breath and it makes one more receptive. It asks one to soften to the unknown so the light or lesson can enter. It allows one to set aside any predetermined ideas of what things should be and it asks that one opens to possibility.
Up until now, I have always assumed that grace was supposed to "feel good". I have recently heard the phrase "fierce grace" through the teachings of Ram Dass. He speaks of the grace he learned through surrendering after his debilitating stroke. I resonate with this idea more and more, now that I am the mother of big humans. I am working on allowing grace to not only be gentle and sweet but also fierce yet still good.
This week's class, Open to grace is about remembering that we are the embodiment of grace, the beauty-of course, but also the uncomfortable uncertainty. Allowing fierce grace to have a home and teach us to stay open to the lessons that show up in every form is a daily practice. It's a choice and requires practice so we don't harden and close off to life. I hope you enjoy this class as well as the many other options available online!
May we all BeWell,
Kim
