in which i have a realization whilst in pigeon pose
when i roll out my mat and click through to youtube to find a yoga video for the evening, my go-to list is fightmaster yoga’s playlist of videos of yoga for hips. running tightens up the hips, and i do my best to keep them relatively loose. plus i really enjoy stretching out the muscles and connector tissues in there.
lesley has always said that we stuff our emotions in the hips, so don’t be alarmed if you get emotional during pigeon pose or another intense hip opener. i have read about people who break down sobbing while in these hip openers, working through emotions that are released. i don’t doubt it, but i have never experienced intense sorts of sadness or the like while in my deep hip openers. i always just feel a stretch in the muscles and ligaments surrounding my hips pushing upwards toward my chest.
then the other day, i’m deep in pigeon pose and it hits me: i’m not stuffing sadness or anger in my hips; i’m stuffing my stupid anxiety in my hips. the surge pushing upwards toward my chest is just all that pushed-down anxiety rushing to the solar plexus where it usually resides. good grief.
there are times when my hips are legitimately tight and the stretching helps release the muscles, but there are also days when the muscles aren’t so tight and i still feel like i’m getting an intense reaction out of the pose, especially if held longer than usual.
that’s my realization for the day. i guess it’s a good thing that these poses are some of my go-tos. yoga: keeping the body and mind limber. (as advertised.)