Transition with Ease

Throughout our lives we are faced with various kinds of transitions. Whether it be the transition into and out of sleep, the transition into various phases of life or the transition throughout the various seasons, we are forced to deal with change. Our ability to move through transitions gracefully or not is a determining factor in our stress level. 

It's also a concept I've found more and more interesting as I've changed as an adult person. I've really only in the past few years felt that I finally made the mental transition out of adolescence. And I'm 34. There are cultures in the world who have rituals for transitions. In America it seems that we haven't solidified some of these change of life rituals that could truly benefit our young people as they move into various stages of responsibility. You can see this in the fumbling attempts of child stars to transition to adult stars. It's hard enough to be a human being in puberty, imagine the intense scrutiny while in puberty. It is of particular interest to me as a woman now raising a woman to see the complete lack of any comfort in the transition between girlhood and womanhood. Women go from girls who "should be protected" to sexual objects and we, as a society, are never completely comfortable with the juxtaposition, as we don't have any direction on how to come to terms with that process. We're told we are wrong for being sexually attracted to a sexually active person and we create disturbing deviances to deal with it.

There are even transitions to be made during a single day. We juggle our various roles as well as various responsibilities. How do you handle the transition from chores to meals to rest to play? If you're at all like me you tend to be occasionally overwhelmed and a bit scattered. 

This week's practice will focus, not on the perfect anatomical alignment, but on what your action of transition is. We will notice the transition between breathing out and in, and vice versa, and will flow slowly,with deliberation to notice how you handle the transition between poses. How do your personal control issues help or hinder your movement? What happens when you let go of them?