DAILY Gate Pose Kneel, stretching R leg out to side, place R foot in line with L knee, turn the R foot sideways, leg straight. Inhale, opening arms out to the side, exhale as you move R arm down toward R leg. You can rest the hand on the shin, R ear rests on R shoulder, and L arm stretches overhead to rest on R hand. Stay here and do a cycle of 5-10 breaths. Repeat on other side. You can also do this Pose by extending R arm straight down toward floor and extending L arm up, so the arms form a single bar or beam of energy. As you do this pose think about what new gate/doorway you wish to open and walk through. Take time to breathe into a new direction. What preparation needs to happen for you open and walk through? (Here’s a scary PS to the unconscious DNA propelling us/me. Almost to the day, one year ago, I chose this same pose to enter 2010, the gate image et all. It works. But how frightening to have so little imagination that I think it’s a good idea a second time. No wonder I’m feeling stuck. No, wait. I’ll turn that around and see it as ritual, not boring repetition. It’s now the ritual of a lemming, bound for the sea cliff. Ha! Health Notes: Physically, Parighasana helps stiff backs and ribs, stretching laterally, lengthening abdominals, stimulating lungs and organs. If hamstrings are tight, it will lengthen those. Psychologically, it’s an expansive pose, for it is simple enough to allow ideas to percolate through the breath, leading body, mind & spirit toward undiscovered gateways, perhaps balancing enthusiasm with practicality, dreams with reality, and hopefulness with structure.
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