My True Space

We believe that freedom comes in movement. And this summer, we connected with our bodies every day. We did yoga, Pilates, break dancing, karate, water fitness, rock climbing and improvisation. We played silly childhood games and we made up races in the gym. And as we attempted to define ourselves, through our words and our art and our commitment to the truth and to each other, we worked hard to stay connected to ourselves in an active, healthy way.

We believe that girls spend far too much time thinking about how their bodies look rather than discovering what their bodies can do. Can you climb a rock wall? Can you balance on one foot? Can you close your eyes and listen to your own breath for three minutes?

Want to connect to yourself every day? Listen to True Body Project director Stacy Sims here.

	TRY THIS: Tree Pose (Vrksasana) Stand with both feet strong and let your gaze fall on an unmoving spot ahead of you. (If your balance feels off today, feel free to use a wall for support.) Become aware of your center just below your bellybutton.	Shift your weight to your right foot, and place your left foot on either your inner shin or bring it to your upper inner thigh. Then place your hands together in prayer position in front of your heart and feel the connection to your center. Actively press your hands into one another to widen your chest and make room for the full expression of your heart.
	After you have tried Tree Pose, get out your journal or and write for five minutes on the theme of “When I Lose My Balance.” Don’t let the editor in your head get in your way. Don’t worry about punctuation or grammar. Just let the words and feelings fly. Denesha’s poem (to the right) was written in just this way. It is what came to her when she was given this writing prompt after yoga.

		Do you know of a Teen-Friendly Place to move and connect with your body? Here are some of our favorites. Tell us yours. Email and we will list you here. Cincinnati: www.yogahome.net www.shineyoga.com www.pendletonpilates.com www.ywcacincinnati.org www.cincinnatiymca.org www.girls-can.org www.kamasalsa.com www.uc.edu/reccenter

“When I lose my balance”

When I lose my balance
I can’t hide what I’ve hidden from you,
The world, and everyone else around me.
I could blame it on my PMS phase and have
Everyone laugh and smirk so the tears in my eyes
Could simply go back into me and I could
Pretend they don’t exist.
I’m losing my balance here and now.
My feet once planted to the earth are now
Trembling, shaking, crying.
I want to smack the floor
To put me back into place and
Keep the thoughts and memories
floating to the ceiling instead
Of stuffed in my baking head.
When I lose my balance,
It’s hard to keep pretending everything is fine.
That I don’t cry at night from nightmares
And hold myself to go back to sleep again.
Or that I ignore my body aching for love
And touch instead of me constantly digging into it,
Bleeding it, bruising it while it’s begging me to stop.
I could blame it on my PMS phase and have
Everyone laugh and smirk so the tears in my eyes
Could simply go back into me. I’m losing my balance
Now, whispering over and over
“This is isn’t real. This isn’t happening.
Why can’t this all stop?” while I crunch up
In Child’s pose, shutting out the incense, the wind chimes,
The sounds of breathing, bending, and twisting.
And then it does.

Denesha Smith