🦁💦Oshun: Ancient African Goddess Wisdom

🌟Welcome to our Ancient Goddess Wisdom Yoga Series!! This idea came to me last Fall as I listened to my daily morning meditation, one day selecting one focused on goddess energy. It spoke to me so much that I knew I had to create a yoga series, drawing from our ancestral feminine energy! My minor in college was Anthropology, so I've always loved and been fascinated by cultures from around our incredible planet! Goddess energy, divine feminine energy lies within each of us, our ancestors and the women before us guide us through our daily lives with strength, passion, resilience, inner power, peace, love, understanding, beautiful flowing energy that is rooted in our sacral chakra, our Svadhisthana. As our lives have become more hectic, more chaotic, we've accumulated so many layers creating an armor, and sometimes we no longer recognize ourselves. We arrive on our mats to shed these layers, so return home to our truest selves, reconnecting to our deep embedded Goddess energy!

🪷I've chosen 6 Goddesses from various regions including Indian-Hindu, South America Inca, Nordic, Greek, African, and Indigenous North American!

✨Last week, we dove into our fourth Goddess, Artemis, our Greek Goddess! She shared with us her beautiful devotion to the forest, goddess of the hunt, a lover of nature, accompanied by deer and dogs! She encouraged us to raise our arrows to the sky, piercing negativity and ugliness in the world, and instead fighting for the vulnerable, women, children, and animals. She is fierce and independent. Today, Artemis would definitely seek justice as a human rights champion! She reminded us to use our voice for good, connecting to our Visshudha, our Throat chakra, speaking our truth. She inspires female empowerment, and we absorbed her diving feminine energy in this hour! 

 

 

💦This week, we traveled south to Africa, and we needed it with snow still on the ground, we embraced the heat! Oshun, our goddess of West Africa, governs water, rivers, the nearby Niger River, sustaining life in the region, plants, animals, and humans! She connects us to the water element, to cleanse, release, purify, and heal. She reminds us to let go of rigidity and embrace fluidity, both in the body and in the mind. She is the goddess of fertility, of growth, often bringing water during droughts, and receding water during floods, serving as a reminder to people who fail to honor her or the land. She will bless and take away, often adorned in yellow, connecting to our Manipura, our Solar Plexus chakra energy center just above the naval, where we find our inner fire, our passion and purpose, our self confidence and self worth. She is the patron of women, children, and the environment. Celebrations often include offerings of oranges, sunflowers, cinnamon, and honey. She symbolizes transformation, metamorphosis, and renewal. 

 

 

🦁We began on our bellies, always a delicious choice on cold winter days to keep us warm, protecting the vital organs, keeping them close to the earth, as the left cheek met our mat, hands long by our hips. We allowed the head and shoulders to melt into the earth beneath us, each vertebrae grounding, the hips and pelvis melt, and the arms and legs soften. We inhaled through the nose, from the toes up into the abdomen, taking up space, with an extra sip of air at the top of that breath, and slowly exhaled through the mouth. Each time, increasing the length of the inhale up into the chest, expanding through the ribs, and lungs, up to the crown of the head, each exhale become longer and slower from the crown to the toes, fully melting into the soil beneath us. We became present in the body and the space we're in, and allowed all of our past events to melt back to the earth, transformed into something new, something for our greater good. We sent our fears and worries and stressors out into the river, to be carried further and further away from us, no longer needed to carry, as we become cleansed, healing in action. We anchored to the peace found in this stillness. Our Ujayi breath followed, even lengths of inhale and exhale through the nose, grounding, stabilizing breath, with a gentle constriction at the back of the throat creating an ocean wave sound.

 

 

 

☀️We inhaled our chin through center, as the opposite cheek met our mat, regrinding the head and shoulders. Even though the eyes are closed, we noticed what we see beyond the lids, finding peace and serenity in this darkness. We traveled to smell, noticing what we smell around us, I sprayed "Palo Santo" and "Bergamot" in studio, notes of citrus and wood. We scanned to our hearing, noticing the sound of our breath, the breath of our neighbor, the hum of the furnace, pinpointing an instrument in the music. We scanned to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea, coffee,  lingering in the mouth, separating the teeth, the tongue falling from the roof of the mouth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air against the skin, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat, supporting us, cradling us, serving as our anchor, as we shed the layers that accumulate on the body and mind from daily life, bringing us back home to ourselves, lighter, more free.

 

🐊As we floated the chin through center, the hands formed a pillow at the top of our mat, forehead to our pillow, into our Crocodile, as the hips slowly rocked right to left into our pelvic rocks. On the inhale, we grounded the hands under the shoulders, fingers spread wide, third eye melting to the earth, we lifted into our Low Cobra and melted, 2 times, and on the third, walked the fingertips out beyond our mat, elbows to the sky, inhale up into our Low Cobra, exhale left ear taps the mat, inhale through center, exhale right ear taps the mat, repeating once more to the right and left, coming through center, and extending the left hand out to the left side of our mat, rolling onto the left hip, planting the right foot behind the left leg, right knee to the sky, into our Broken Wing. We floated through center to our bellies, Low Cobra ear taps once more and Broken Wing to the right side. We came through center, pressed into the palms to glide the hips up and back into our Childs pose. The hands walked to the right, hips back and to the left, through center, and to the left, through center, we created a bowl with our extended hands, filling our bowl with our intention for our practice. I loved this quote for our river goddess practice!

 

 

 

🐍We inhaled rolling forward into the palms, to come into a comfortable seat or half lotus pose. We anchored the sit bones, lengthened each vertebrae toward the next in line, crown to the sky. We formed our Varuna Mudra, thumbs and pinky fingers meeting while the middle three extended out. Our water mudra could rest onto the knees or brought to our Sacral Chakra, below the naval, our water element chakra, connection to our cleansing, purifying, healing center. The hands lifted overhead, and met in our Anjali mudra, prayer hands. We rubbed them to create some heat, some healing energy, remembering that our hands are tools for healing, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. Hands floated to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter. The mind can become stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or travel too far forward into the future with worry, but the body is always present, so here we connect and stay present. One hand floated to the forehead, and the other to the base of the skull, gentle pressure into our vagus nerve, serving as a nervous system reset button, finally bringing the hands to the heart sending gratitude to the heart and lungs, for the work they do every moment of every day, for us.

 

 

💦We reached the hands to the sky and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more, opening our Anahata chakra, heart chakra, sending compassion, understanding, love out into the world. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the opposite knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. We honored the other side, and then came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, and melted into a forward fold. We unraveled the legs and melted the hips back into a child’s pose, bending the elbows, prayer hands overhead, thumbs melting to the nape of the neck. With our inhale we pressed into the palms to roll back into our Childs pose. We walked the hands to the right, sinking the hips back and to the left, walked the hands through center, and to the left, hips sinking back and to the right. We created a Childs pose wave, slowly rolled through the spine, arching the back, brushing the fingertips along the mat as we rolled toward our feet, the chin dripping toward the chest, until our glutes met the heels, and then creating a little backbend, hands to the earth, the spine waving long, crown reaching to the sky, the shoulders melting back, the arms extend out and up, palms together, to the heart, and melting forward, walking the fingertips into a forward fold. We repeated this 2 more times, delighting in this spinal awakening of the body. After this fluid roll, we floated into our Table Top.

 

🦁Our cat cow flow followed as we warmed up the spine, adding in organic movement, hips swaying side to side, or rolling forward and back into Childs pose waving back and forward into our table top. We moved to our breath, our own pace, making our cat cow our own. We came into our neutral table top, inhaled as the gaze and right foot floated to the sky, bending at the knee, as the left hand reached back to bind the foot into our Tiger, today a Lion, we inhaled and exhaled out our Lion's Breath, deep exhale through the mouth, tongue extending out. We released our foot to the back of our mat, planting the toes as the left knee lifted to the chest, arching the back, shin melting back down as the right leg floats parallel to the mat and crosses over to the left of our mat, gaze following over the left shoulder. The gaze came through center, the right knee tucked in behind the left, as the hands walked to the right corner of our mat, hips drew back into our Crossed leg Childs pose. We inhaled rolling forward, hands through center as the right leg floated out to the right side of our mat, we floated up off of our hands into our Gate pose, hands to the sky, exhaled as the right hand fell to the right leg, left hand overhead, cartwheeling through center and to the left into a side bend, right hand overhead. The right hand grounded, right knee in to meet the left, into our cat cow flow, then honored the left side.

 

 

☀️After we honored the left side, we tucked the toes, hovered the knees, and lifted into our downward dog- plank waves, pranam knees chest chin, into a low cobra, and up into our downward dog, a total of 3 times. We floated to the top of our mats into a forward fold, hanging heavy, and began to root to rise, we slowly lifted up, one vertebrae at a time, the head the last to come through, into our Tadasana, our mountain pose. We felt the grounding energy from the earth pull at the soles of our feet from the toes to the arches to the heels, like roots of a tree pulling us into he soil, anchoring us. This energy circled around the legs, to the pelvis, the hips, around each vertebrae of the spine to the shoulders as they melt down from the ears. The crown reaching for the heavens, we are stable, rooted, and anchored. We inhaled hands overhead, stepped the right foot out to the right of our mat into Goddess legs, as the right elbow met the right thigh, left hand overhead, through center in our Tadasana, and stepping the left foot out to the left into our Goddess sidebend to the left! We came through center and to exhaled forward into a swan dive melted into a forward fold. We planted the hands and moved through a vinyasa flow, pranam knees chest chin into a low cobra, or a chaturanga flow to upward dog, or skipped the flow completely, stepping into downward dog. Always your choice!

 

 

🦩In our downward dog, we inhaled lifting the right leg, exhale right knee toward the left elbow, extending, curling in knee to right elbow, extending, curling in knee to chest with a hover, and planting the right foot between the hands, as the back foot grounded, rising up into our Warrior I. Hands reached toward the sky, shoulders relaxed down from the ears, hips forward, inhale we cactus the arms, exhale the hands reach forward, creating fluid waves, back and forth, like water, on the third inhale, we pull the hands behind us into a bind, lifting the chest, and humbling forward toward the right knee. We inhaled floating forward into our Warrior III. We planted the hands to let this go, left toes to the sky, Standing Splits, exhale as the left knee curled into the chest, crunching in, 3 times, and on the third, one or both hands holding the right ankle, balance challenge in our Flamingo! Standing Split to let this go, and curtsy tap the left toes behind the right leg out to the right of our mat, coming onto our seat, into a twist, right knee to the sky, left arm wrapping around, right hand behind us opening the chest to the right. We came through center as the right leg extended up both hands at the ankle, into our Heron pose, and the left hand opened to the back of our mat, into a Twist. We came through center, planting the right foot over the left knee, floating forward into the hands into a Standing Split, left toes high, and a soft landing of the left foot to the back of our mat, Sky Archer, left hand down, right leg straightened, right hand high. We cradled the head with the right hand, maybe left hand behind the back reaching for fingers, as the gaze lifted up to the right elbow. We opened up into our 5-pt. Star, extending through the fingers and toes, exhaling into our Goddess, arms out to a T, right over left eagle arms, as we snaked through the spine from right to left, all the way down into a WideLeg fold, swaying with our Elephant trunk left to right, removing obstacles from our path, clearing the way forward, and unraveling the hands walking them forward into a WideLeg downward dog, just like a Giraffe drinking from the river. We walked the hands toward the mat, reaching the right hand high, and threading through to the left shin, Twisted Giraffe, through center and to the right, through center, walking the hands to the back of the mat, grounding the right knee, floating the hands up into a Low Lunge, cactus the arms, find a bind behind the back as we draw the hips back, into a Quarter Split, with our bind, rolling forward, and heel toe the left foot out into our Lizard pose, melting the hips, and opening onto the outer edge of the left foot reaching for a bind of the back foot. We released our bind, left foot back into our plank, moving through our flow into downward dog, hopping to the hands, at the back of our mat, and rising up to stand as we spin around facing the top of our mat, at the back of our mat. We flowed through our goddess sidebands, swan dive into our fold, and walked the hands forward into our plank, moving through our flow into downward dog, to honor the left side!

🦒SO MANY FUN ANIMALS in our flow to honor the rivers and watering holes in Africa!
Everyone was a big fan of the Giraffe drinking water, we all laughed together!

 

 

 

 🐘Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs throughout the body touching every organ system! We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We began in our Tadasana, brought the right hand to the left upper side of the chest, and extended the left arm forward, palm facing the sky. With a deep inhale, we kept the hips forward, as the left arm slowly traveled out to the left side, gaze following, to the back, paused at the back with the gaze over our left shoulder, and on the exhale slowly brought the arm back toward the top of our mat. We repeated this two more times, inhaled as the arms reached overhead, palms gathered at the heart. We brought the left arm to the right upper side of the chest, extended the right arm forward, palm facing up, and with the inhale slowly traveled the right arm out to the side as the gaze followed, to the back, and paused opening the chest. With the exhale we brought the right arm slowly back to the top of our mat, and repeated 2 more times!  We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, either with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed into our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything still tethered to the body is fully released. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be freed of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the snowy breeze, no longer needed in this moment!

 

 

🦓We came into stillness, then swayed right and left, and found stillness again, noticing the effects: we can feel cool, heat, or tingling sensations, even a spontaneous yawn! All signs of a regulated nervous system. We removed anything stuck, anything harmful & toxic still attached to the body! We stimulated the vagus nerve, the super highway of information from the brain to the body! We sent messages to the brain that the body is not under threat, it does not have to exist in a continuous active state (fight /flight/freeze mode). We helped our body to experience a larger capacity to sit in discomfort, and not immediately reach for unhealthy soothers, or run from it. We welcome space for triggers to be felt and moved through. We have the ability to help our nervous system shift fluidly between states when each are needed, the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems! Both are useful and 100% needed, but we do not want to become stuck in one state for too long. These practices are so useful off the mat as we encounter stress or triggers in our daily lives! We find balance! We find freedom!