Play. Ground.

Happy Baby pose, where you lie on your back and grab your big toes, is a natural action that I remember watching my own baby organically do, way back when he was an infant in his crib. I marveled, thinking, wow, yoga is innate. Plus, the name of the pose was so apropos.

Then there’s the dancers I’ve spent time with over the years. They are so body-oriented, they can’t be idle for long. Even when they are waiting in line at the grocery, they do some head rolls side to side as to stretch the neck, or they point and flex one foot while balancing on the other.

What does the infant and the dancer have in common? They play to ground and they ground to play. It’s a chicken or the egg kind of thing where one leads to the other and vice versa. Moving the body helps us ground. It helps us be here now. And grounding helps us move. Once grounded, we can tap into the deliciousness of stretching a muscle, lubricating a joint, breathing a breathe, or increasing the heart rate. 

Also interesting to note with both the infant and the dancer is that  their exploration of movement has no strings attached. There is no agenda, no master plan. They’re doing it just to do it..because hey, why not? Of course having an agenda is fine, but wouldn’t it be be swell to just to move because we can? 

This week, when you find yourself lying around your house, lingering on your yoga mat, or waiting in line at the store, play around with the simplest of movements. (Shoulder loops, knee hugs, side bends are easy go-to’s.) Be like an infant, be like a dancer and play…ground…ground..play. It truly does a body (and mind!) tons of good.