Feel it in your Bones

 

I got bones beneath my skin, and mister...
There's a skeleton in every man's house
Beneath the dust and love and sweat that hangs on everybody
There's a dead man trying to get out

~ Counting Crows “Perfect Blue Buildings”

After last week's work around opening up the heart space I felt called to reflect on the significance of the the bony cage that contains our physiological hearts. Clearly we DO need protection.

What do your bones mean to you? 

Bone is not a symbol of the macabre or death, it is living tissue –  it’s our living support structure. 

I wonder if this signifies the complicated relationship we have with feeling supported and being supportive. 

Do we feel obliged to support others?

Do we need others to be dependent on us to feel worthy?

Your body is telling you to acknowledge your inner strength.

Get to know yourself.

Discover your strengths.

Cat’s purr mends bones: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-cats-purr/

So let’s Ommmmmmm…(human purr equivalent ;)

Let’s Build our Bones – working against gravity, with strength & grace

1.         Tai Chi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJiZCIGdTk

Tai chi -- a form of slow, graceful moves -- builds both coordination and strong bones. A study reported in Physician and Sportsmedicine found that tai chi could slow bone loss in postmenopausal women. The women, who did 45 minutes of tai chi a day, five days a week for a year, enjoyed a rate of bone loss up to three-and-a-half times slower than the non-tai-chi group. Their bone health gains showed up on bone mineral density tests.

2. Yoga

A study reported in Yoga Journal found an increase in bone mineral density in the spine for women who did yoga regularly. From the slow, precise Iyengar style to the athletic, vigorous ashtanga, yoga can build bone health in your hips, spine, and wrists -- the bones most vulnerable to fracture.

Standing poses like Warrior I and II work the large bones of the hips and legs, while poses like Downward Dog work the wrists, arms, and shoulders. Both the Cobra and Locust poses, which work the back muscles, may preserve the health of the spine. Yoga also sharpens your balance, coordination, concentration, and body awareness -- and thus helps prevent falls.

3. Walking/Hiking (it's free and fabulous, so get out there!)

4. Dancing 

Boogie to this gem!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYb8Wm6-QfA

Free write: 

What are your strengths? 

What are strengths others have or would identify in you? 

What are strengths you long to have? 

Create: 

Circle some and write them on paper using a white wax candle. 

Then ink wash and reveal your strengths to yourself in Black & White.

Brahmari (bee breath)

Homework:

What’s sitting in your bones that you need to get off your chest?

 

Backbone

Down to the bone

A bone to pick

As dry as a bone

Bone idle

Bone of contention

Bone weary

Close to the bone

Feel it in your bones

Lazy bones

Make no bones about it

Work your fingers to the bone

Bare Bones

Funny bone