Tap, tap, tap. Is this thing on?! 🎤

My stress response to 2020 has been avoiding things I like to do. There is a strange masochism in shaking your first at the sky and saying “Oh yeah, 2020? You’re gonna be shitty? I am in control! I am in power! Watch me make things even WORSE.”

Writing? Psch. Yoga? No-ga. But I’m dusting off ye olde newsletter to share something that helped me the other day—and that I think can help you.

I finished my yoga teacher training earlier this year. This profoundly deepened my respect for both yoga and the human body—so much so, in fact, that I do not feel ready for the responsibility of teaching 😅 (P.S. I can’t recommend Kula Yoga Project enough. They only offer one training per year—and in 2021 it’s virtual!)

Yoga is an embodied practice. I have felt very thrown, very disembodied as I have spent so much of this year in my head. I want to reclaim my breath, movement, and awareness. And I’d like to help others do the same—if not through yoga, then through something else that is embodied and accessible.

Yesterday, I went for a run in Central Park. I left my phone at home and ran in the opposite direction that I normally do. These two tiny changes led to an experience that felt less like traditional exercise and more like a conversation with my senses.

I’m calling this somatic running. I’ve written a guide below, and there’s just one rule before you head out: a somatic run is analog. No phones, no Strava, no GPS, no music, no podcasts, no watches. (You will survive.) Ready?

A GUIDE TO SOMATIC RUNNING

TUNE IN

Take one deep breath. Tune in. How are you? If you’re not feeling up to this for whatever reason, feel free to scrap it.
The point of somatic running is not to run. It’s to be in conversation with yourself through movement. If any part of you is not ready for that today—respect that.
If you’re feeling it, go to your favorite route or trail. I also think it’s fun to start straight from your front door, Forrest Gump style.

START

You determine the pace and distance. If you want to walk, walk. If you want to stop, stop. I think you can reap the benefits of this in as little as 20 minutes.
Personally, I love taking off my shirt after warming up. I like having more of my skin in contact with the sun and with air.
At some point, notice something you hear, something you smell, and something you touch. You’ll notice much more, but don’t worry about trying to remember everything. Just three things: hear, smell, touch. I noticed saxophone music, the smell of autumn leaves, and I touched broken acorns on the ground.

MIDPOINT: GENTLE VINYASA FLOW

Find a grassy spot and come into downward dog. Softly explore the pose, lubricating your joints. Pedal your feet, sway your hips, whatever feels good.
- Your head is below your heart. This makes downward dog an inversion pose—no different than more advanced inversions like handstand or headstand. Inversions bring oxygenated blood to your brain.
Roll your spine forward into plank (this undulation always feels so good to me). Lower your knees and press the tops of your feet into the earth.
Straighten your arms and gently arch into upward facing dog, legs strong and alive behind you. Root your hands under your shoulders and pull your chest forward.
- This is a backbending pose. Backbends open your shoulders and chest, where lots of us hold tension from hunching.
Flow through this vinyasa sequence again at your own pace, however many times you’d like. Notice your breathing. Steady inhalations, steady exhalations.

FINISH

Finish the second half of your run.
Find a big tree.
Lie down on your back next to the tree and crawl your feet up its trunk (you’ll be making an L shape). You can also do this pose at home, against a wall.
- This pose (Viparita Karani) calms the nervous system. It’s great for both blood and lymphatic circulation.
- I love Viparita Karani because it contradicts the idea that results only come from doing more, not less. This compels us to rethink our paradigm for what work can be.
- You are practicing the opposite of activity—receptivity. It doesn’t feel like work, but the benefits flow to every part of your body. It may not look like you’re “doing” anything. But you are.
What did you hear, smell, and touch?
Breathe slowly and evenly.

Thanks for reading Gemini Mind! Elsewhere, you can find me as @yokizzi 💫

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Live from New York, it’s Gemini Mind!🗽