Friday, April 22, 2011

Claim Your Space

Some days you have to claim your space......those days when you feel the urge to crawl into the fetal position and pull the blankets over your head.....that is when you have to think large. All day Wednesday, every class I taught (private and at work) it seemed that every one wanted to be small. It's ok to to do that occasionally......lord knows, I have crawled into child's pose many a time and hoped for the best. But my intuition told me, I felt it deep in my heart that it was not the time to shrink, but to expand.

I urged each student to think of claiming their space and their place here on earth, that each one had the right to be here and to thrive. I told them to think big, to take as much space as they possibly could as they did their asanas. We opened our hearts, lifted our chests, and spread our arms......we breathed deeply, stood strong with our feet grounded on our mats. Within ten minutes everyone had a different look in their eyes.....heads were held high, there were smiles and soon down right laughter. We have a right to be here.

I think at some point in each of our lives, we have all felt small, all felt invisible or unworthy.
There is a time to go inward, but sometimes when life has beat you up, when you have played the story a million times in your mind.......and you have beat yourself up.......then it is time to claim your space, your right to be here.

So tonight, if you feel yourself getting smaller by the minute, stand up......reach up.....spread your arms.....plant your feet......take a deep breath and remind yourself you have a right to be here. We all have something to offer, something to bring to the table, we all are valuable and precious and we each have a purpose for being here. Maybe times have been hard, or life has just gotten too fast, it is easy to do, to feel small. Just remember, you have a right to be here.

I leave you with a quote from one of my most favorite writings, I had a poster of this when I was in college.

"you are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars
you have a right to be here" -Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann
Posted by Jilda at 9:38 PM

5 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    Yes my friend there was a time when I felt my life had real purpose and I was serving God with all I could do and along the way I lost that and hit rock bottom. I have gained a lot of ground but am still so far from where I want to be. I know that He has a work for me to do and I take every opportunity to pass along nuggets of truth hoping at the same time that I will grow stronger in faith as well. I would appreciate your prayers. Thanks for your encouragement.
    Odie

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  2. SouthhamsdarlingApril 23, 2011 at 8:18 AM

    Beautiful post of encouragement there. Sometimes we all need that encouragement to say, "yes, we DO have a right to be here." I have always loved Desiderata. When I first met my husband, it was one of the first things that he gave me, which I thought was very sweet at the time. I am sure you are an excellent teacher to your students. Happy Easter my friend.

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  3. BBApril 23, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    Jilda I really enjoyed this one. It's so true that we all have the right to claim our own space in the universe. And there are so many who don't have someone to coach them. I'm thankful that I am open minded enough to be a strong woman. Good for you for helping those that you can.

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  4. Marsha YoungApril 23, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    Oh, Jilda, I had not seen that quote in years. but I kept a copy of the Desiderata on my office wall for many years.

    Good post. Have a great weekend....Marsha

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  5. CiCiApril 24, 2011 at 6:28 AM

    It is because of you that I ordered a few Yoga tapes and have started doing some Yoga exercises. It has been a few years since the last time but I am drawn to it so much. This is something I want to do as opposed to something I think I need to do.

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