My daily practice includes at least ten minutes of yoga. Ever since a car accident in December 2019 tweaked my shoulder, my challenge to myself is to Get. On. The. Mat. I give myself lots of options and choice. Trauma needs agency. So I pause, check inside, and ask “What does my body, spirit, and mind need today?” I choose an online yoga video (usually SarahBethYoga or Redping Yoga) that is at least ten minutes long and offers the poses I need that day. Often it is not a rigorous, exercise yoga practice that I am seeking. I need stretching, strengthening, and most importantly rhythmic, bilateral movement with synchronized breathing. Most days, my neck, shoulders, and hips are feeling out of alignment after yet another “energetic” walk with my young labradoodle and I need to begin my daily practice with Bird Dogs.
So below, I offer a meditation I wrote about the rhythm I experience with my Bird Dog and how it calls me back to the mat to more Bird Dogs.
***
Bird Dog by Bird Dog
walking my Bird Dog, my 65lbs pup, who is constantly pulling the leash to chase birds,
leads me back to my yoga mat to bird dog pose, strengthening my core and strained lower back
I wobble every time as I reach my right leg and my left arm in opposing directions and again, with the others
my Bird Dog’s instincts are activated as a bird flies and lands in our path
if the bird is spotted before I see it, the lunge and attack are already in motion before I can respond
my instincts and body prefer dead bugs
those I can stomach, but acknowledge the crime, pain, discomfort, and challenge are the same
and the loop continues each day in the frenzied days of spring and early summer
when the birds are chirping and flitting and flirting,
tempting my Bird Dog’s instinct
I’m swatting and zapping away, wishing the birds would snatch those buggers before they bite me AND not poop on my head
then I wonder …pause… What is my consequence for all the dead bugs? What are the birds telling me?
as I reach for my “cuddle bug” with the love right arm, and the blue jay squawks on, extending its left wing to shelter its young
Is Nature wobbling on its mat? Is the wobble part of the growth?
I watch and listen,
sitting with the offering and the call to the mat,
pause, and breathe into the next transition.
***
There is something resonant for me about the way my energetic Bird Dog responds to seeing a bird. When my body experiences a stressor and activation of my protective patterns, it often gets stuck inside my neck, shoulders, and hips. There’s tightness I can’t let go of until I stretch, strengthen, and breathe. I need to move and wobble through it, with it, until I can find the alignment again.
Say to yourself in the kindest possible way, Look, honey, all we’re going to do for now is to write a description of the river at sunrise, or the young child swimming in the pool at the club…We are just going to take this bird by bird. But we are going to finish this one short assignment.
Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Appreciating complexity reminds us that no behavior is always effective and that all cures have unintended consequences.
Adam Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
The gift of my daily practice and bird dogs for me is the daily invitation to wobble through what is tight and activated within me. If you are seeking support for your journey, I invite you to check out my summer workshops or individual coaching offerings.
Let’s wobble through it together!
