Embodied: Presence is power

For some reason, when I saw this flower, it struck me as commanding.  It commanded my attention and it made me think about what makes US a force?  What allows us to show up and bloom in our own lives?  For me, that is being embodied.  It's showing up connected to our whole self, present and open to each moment.  Because presence is always in the NOW.  Which means we aren't laden with the weight of our past, or fearful about the future.  We show up ready to meet the needs of THIS moment--and that's compelling.  We're owning who we are and showing up fully.  
 
Why do we care if WE are commanding?  I don't mean commanding as in, "I'm going to get my way and force others to bend to my will."  I mean commanding as in, "Here I am, ready to own who I am and to share it in the world". That's compelling and powerful.  How do we do that?  

We've done exercises in class where we slouch, caving our hearts back.  We let our heads drop forward with our gazes downward.  We sit with that posture and notice how we feel.  Try it yourself.  How does it feel?  What would it be like to meet others from this space? 
 
Now let's try this.  Lift the crown of your head and the top of your chest up to the sky.  Spread your collar bones wide. The spine is elongated and the heart faces forward into the world. How does this feel?  It may feel different physically.  How does it feel when you think of interacting with others?  
 
For most of us, the sunken heart, head down posture makes us feel defensive, vulnerable and closed off.  But the opposite is true when we lift our head and heart.  Here is the posture of someone ready to engage!  And we feel that.  We feel more open.  We feel more alert.  We are those things and we enter our lives ready to take command. 
 
Mostly, our posture is somewhat unconscious.  It develops over time as we respond to the world.  And the world can be tough!  We can subconsciously begin to brace ourselves.  Or hide ourselves away.  And the world responds to that person.  And you respond AS that person.  But we can become conscious and choose to dismantle our old habits, be they postural or the beliefs that grew up as we braced for the next tough thing or responded by closing ourselves away.
 
We can awaken and step into the truth of who we are, tapping into that power.
 
To me, it starts with remembering who I am.  In yoga, we reference the "spark of the divine" which refers to the inherent divinity, innate intelligence and spiritual consciousness within every person.  And because we hold that spark, we are always connected to the Divine consciousness.  We are one with all. Through our yoga practice as we develop our conscious presence, we fan that spark into a radiant flame that connects us to a greater understanding of the universe and our true selves.  We move from a place of more stability and peace, power and potential.
 
Does that mean awful, random things won't happen to us?  Of course not, but being present, awake and available in our lives gives us more capacity to meet ALL the ups and downs of our human experience.  It gives us access to the truth of who we are, an embodiment of the divine consciousness, and that can empower us to make our mark.