One day, I invited my 8-year-old son to try “Legs up the Wall,” and within 30 seconds he jumped out of the pose and ran screaming from the room. His piercing words “I can feel my heart beating!” faded away after a few long moments.
Contrast this with a 70-year-old male student of mine who said the same thing. His “I can feel my heart beating” statement was expressed with a much calmer tone, as if he were enjoying every moment. He didn’t jump and run screaming from the room; in fact, with sleepy eyes, he asked for more time.
It’s about circulation, which our heartbeat drives.
This week, while training with Francisco, I had the opportunity to listen to one student’s perspective on her relationship to her circulation. A healthy, young woman in her mid-40s who grew up with Type 1 diabetes. In a prior training, she shared the concern that someday she might lose the ability to feel her feet due to lack of circulation. She was very clear when she said, “I enjoy feeling the circulation return to my feet after Legs up the Wall. It gives me hope.” It made sense to me that feeling her feet had meaning.
It gave her a sense of well-being. While the rest of us are trying to “Shake it Off” and avoid that sensation, she’s enjoying every second. For her, feeling circulation return to her feet means she can look forward to growing older with hope.
Her feet. Her foundation. What moves her. What gives her a sense of independence. In a sense, her life.