DETAIL + DEPTH | Like many of you, I needed a break from engaging on social media. Apologies for taking that break in the middle of this sequence, but sometimes rest is necessary. The Movement: Start in the Upper Trike setup as described in the previous two posts, but slide the yoga belt around the hips along the top sacrum (Lower Trike). Be sure it is not around the waist. Keep the resistance loops in the feet, and come in and out of Utkatsana. The key to using resistance bands is to move with control. Use the breath to guide each movement. To increase the challenge, make the yoga belt tighter, which will add even more resistance to the bands, and/or lift the arms. This exercise will teach how to come into and out of the pose with control. The Meditation: One week ago, my beautiful daughter woke up and started to cry. She called for "mama" on repeat and seemed inconsolable. She cried so hard she threw her body on the ground, face down, and kicked her legs. This type of behavior continued each time she didn't get what she wanted, and sometimes, as it seems, for no reason at all. It has been a hard week for me and my husband, especially when this emotional energy floods her body and she pushes, kicks, and flails. She got a time out for hitting one of us, and then when she did it again not a full hour later, I felt impatient, frustrated, and fed up, and put her straight to bed without milk. I shut her out emotionally, and then continued on with my night. But my body was tense and I found it difficult to breathe. When I sat down for meditation before bed, I opened myself up to honesty. I asked for help so that I could be a mother who acts from compassion and wisdom. I prayed to be patient, wise, and loving.Then I cried huge tears as I processed the "loss" of the daughter I was attached to: the sweet, happy, easy toddler. I felt her growing independence and was scared and sad. Open yourself up to honesty. © 2018 Ellen Huang Saltarelli #detailanddepth#alignmentyoga#yogaalignment#Yoga#yogapractice#iyengaryoga#utkatasana #chair (at Eagle Rock, Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsVrYExh8EP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cxcmxhqfzwnh