Shaken Ground, Steady Breaths

Guest blogger, educator, community leader, and friend Annie Moyer is Co-Founder and President of Awakening Yoga Spaces, as well as Co-Owner and Director of Sun and Moon Yoga Studio in Arlington, Virginia. 

​Recent rulings from the Supreme Court, revelations on Capitol Hill, and the ongoing pandemic have shaken loose the constitutional, institutional, and biological ground we stand on. And like an earthquake that affects those closest to the fault line, the aftershocks of far-reaching events rattle the fiercest for those whose suffering is already heightened by any form of marginalization.

But everyone's feet are fastened to the same earth, so when it shakes for some, it shakes for all, regardless of our views. Yoga scholar Dr. Shyam Ranganathan  (@yogaphilosophy_com) characterizes the yoga tradition as a force for personal and social transformation that “renders our activity appropriate for the challenges we face now.”  It’s a call that echoes at once morally inward and ethically outward, asking what’s our next move? The first step is inevitably universal and arguably simplistic: take a breath, and note your place on the literal ground.  Orienting to our present moment’s truth is the only way we can know which direction to aim our next steps.

If something hurts, feel the pain. If something confuses, ask questions. If something angers, trace the anger’s source. If something is untenable, reach out to what you can reliably touch:  a friend to give a comforting hug, a donation button to give material support, or the earth where you’ve planted – with eternal optimism – your summer tomatoes.
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And if conversations about hot-button issues leave you shaken, choose a practice that calms, balances, and primes you for the actions you deem most wise.  If you choose to do that with us here at Sun & Moon, know that our ground is steady and our arms are open.