//Uttana Shishosana: Puppy Pose or Melting Heart Pose

Hello again, Gratitude. You’re the friend I’m reminded of this time of year, and the one I try never to forget.  You seep into my practice daily, working your magic through each posture to yoke me to the Creator.  Gratitude reminds me that my practice is enough, that my breath is enough, and that I am enough.  More than enough: worthy of wild, unadulterated praise.

Uttana Shishosana (puppy pose) is a simple, feel good motion that stretches the shoulders and spine, invigorates the mind, and relieves stress, tension, and insomnia.  Also referred to as melting heart pose, this mild inversion invites the opening of your heart to the earth and the humbling of your being to the heavens.  In this reorientation of the body, we are able to recognize an imperative notion to believing in gratitude, that we are all connected and bound together by something greater than ourselves. With our heart open to the earth, we receive all of its bounty, we acknowledge that we are not alone and that our existence and breath is nourished by all creatures great and small.  In this I am humbled and grateful.