How Long is a Minute?

Time seems so real, so concrete, and yet it is ever-changing and malleable. The minutes fly when we’re enjoying ourselves, yet when we are suffering one single minute painfully crawls. On my 50^th birthday this year I realized that I have been alive for over 2.3 million minutes!

Today’s pose is Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bjujangasana), an ode to that timeless archetype of humanity’s monumental aspirations. Today’s challenge? To hold the pose for one full minute. While you do this, check in with how you feel. Take this minute to tune into the sensations in your body and the thoughts in your mind.

Begin by warming up your spine with twenty or more Cat-Cow Poses. Next lower down to your tummy with your legs stretched out behind you. Start your timer. Put your forearms on the ground with your elbows under your shoulders. Breathe in and press through your arms to lift your head and chest off the floor. Keep your hips grounded and only extend as far as is comfortable. Tuck your chin like the magnificent Sphinx.

Take long deep breaths as you relax into the physical feelings that you feel. To strengthen and alleviate pain in your lower back, hold Sphinx Pose for 5-10 seconds, then lower down and repeat 8-10 times. When you’re finished, lay on your belly with your head turned to one side and contemplate whatever came up for you. Namaste!

Images: Coloring pages from Yoga Teddy Bear’s Big Little Coloring Book of 108 YogaPoses colored by Miss Michele Palumbo, Bay Shore, NY. Enter our coloringcontest to win prizes. Pictures of Yoga Teddy Bear creator K. Mae Copham by Robert Oakley in New Paltz, NY.