Bones! Divine Design and Alignment

"Sue" at Chicago's Field Museum photo: Steve Richmond

If you've ever taken the time to closely observe and appreciate the skeleton of any human or animal, you probably couldn't help being amazed at the intricacy and brilliance of the design. Every facet, every dip, every smooth surface, and every angle of bone has a purpose.

This weekend we visited COSi in Columbus. A big reason for the visit was to share the dinosaur exhibit with our children. Along with full scale animatronic models of the dinosaurs, the center also presented a 3-D film based on the discovery of the skeleton of an ancient t-rex known as Sue. I've always appreciated the importance of bone and of the way the bones fit together in a skeleton to give us structure and allow for movement. To see the camera pan the enormous bones of this beast heightened my perspective. The skeleton is truly amazing!

As a yoga teacher, I feel priviledged to help people feel better in their bodies, hearts, and minds. A large part of this healing comes from focusing on re-aligning the skeleton and re-balancing the musculature. Anusara Yoga uses the term "optimal blueprint" when teaching physical alignment. Although there are slight variances from body to body, there is a general form and pattern where the bones align perfectly so that we can each experience both steadiness of form and freedom of movement. What we do with our bodies can take us away from this optimal alignment over time. Our lifestyles and habitual patterns have a huge impact on our muscle structure. Muscles are meant to be balanced around a joint to hold it in optimal working position. When we repeatedly move in certain ways, the muscles on one side of the joint can begin to contract or over-tighten and muscles on the opposite side can over-stretch due to posturing or loosen due to inactivity.

In the same way that tires need to be aligned on a car, it is important for us to maintain our bodies in some way as we move through time and space. Yoga is an optimum place to both stretch the muscles that need to lengthen or relax and tone the muscles that are needed to create more stability. At any rate it's important for those of us in a body to explore a full range of motion throughout our skeletal system to keep us in top form. Taking some time to really appreciate the divine form of your body will also do wonders to keep things in perspective when you feel like things are breaking down. Our bodies are magnificent and are fully deserving of optimal care.

Be good to yourself so you can be better for others too. Kate
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