WonderWorld

America the beautiful. You are not so bright and shiny today. I cannot sit silently by the stream of senseless death and say nothing. America the beautiful, you can do better, you must do better, and not just for those born with silver spoons, but for all your children. You must fight for the equal and fair treatment of every single citizen. And not just the “all” that is defined by those in power, the true all that embraces, respects and honors all, regardless of race, religion, gender or creed.

I cannot accept that this is America. We have a moral obligation as a nation to uphold the values of our Constitution, with its promise of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have to lift eachother up, stand up for one another, settle for nothing, and through difficulty, rise up and find an answer. It is the lie of emotional distance that divides up the world along comfortable zones of safety. It is the sense of the “other” that separates and orders according to a hierarchy of power. It is love that keeps us close and united.

We, the citizens of America, have the blood of these victims on our hands. We cannot claim innocence in the ivory tower, in the suburbs or our personal yoga sanctuaries. We are guilty too, and we need to ask for forgiveness, for our silence, for our compliance, for tolerating what should never be accepted. Forgiveness is won through action and action begins with accepting social responsibility for the world we live in. What kind of world do you want to in? Preach a gospel of peace and then act out hate? No, not that world, not for me. Live a life of inner peace and then act out of love. Yes, that one.

Today I stand with the African American community, my heart broken by Diamond Reynolds’ FB video where her boyfriend dies a senseless death, my soul aching for the Dallas shooting, for Alton Sterling, Laquan McDonald, Christian Taylor and too many more. I don’t have the answers, I can’t even scratch surface of the issue, but I simply cannot remain silent.

American, the beautiful. Live up to your name. Keep your promises. This is just not ok.

DETAIL + DEPTH | While Puppy Press is probably the easiest of the press-ups, it still requires a tremendous amount of core strength. In this next exercise to strengthen the abdomen, I replicate a similar shape to the final Puppy Press and Eka Pada Bakasana 2 pose, while emphasizing the demands of gravity on the core. Starting on the back, lift the legs and arms up the sky. Flex the hands by pulling the fingers toward the face, as if the hands are pressing into the earth for handstand or plank pose. Take a deep inhale, then exhale and draw the navel toward the spine. Support the low back and lift the head and shoulders off the ground. Keep looking straight up at the hands rather than forward toward the legs. Stay and breathe. Next, on an exhale, hug one leg into the side chest. Squeeze the leg in by pulling the hand into the shin, but press the shin back into the hand. Keep lifting through the opposite leg and hand. Stay and breathe. Inhale, straighten the arm and leg to return to center, and exhale, take the second side. Do this several times to feel one side extend away from the shoulder and pelvis, and the other side pull in.