Look up & widen your view

This week, let your attention rise upward... Notice the movements happening in the sky. From birds and insects, to shifting clouds and wind rattling the canopy.

We tend to look straight ahead or downward, focused on tasks, screens or where we're going. As you go out, notice what happens when you allow your gaze to travel further and your horizon widens. Even towns and cities have a living sky above and around.

Looking upward helps us breathe more deeply and change our relationship with space and possibility. Did you know there is an immediate connection between focused vs wide-angle view? Where the first triggers a fight or flight response, the second helps the nervous system to relax.

Movement invitation: wingspan, air and perspective

Begin by feeling your feet on the ground, and connecting with your breath or the wind on your face. Gradually explore the possibility of lightness above that grounding, like we often do in our Qi Gong classes.

Stretch your arms outward like wings catching currents of air. Move your elbows, wrists and fingers respond like feathers adjusting to the air currents. Experiment with gliding, swooping, hovering or sudden changes of direction.

Perhaps a bird draws your attention today. Notice how it navigates the sky. When does it glide, carried by the currents, when does it beat its wings? Does it fly alone or in groups? Is its movement sharp, playful, efficient, elegant or awkward?

Allow your body to exaggerate or translate some of these qualities. You do not need to imitate literally. Instead, let the essence of the movement influence your own body. A circling buzzard may invite a wide wingspan that opens your chest. Small darting birds may trigger quick footwork or alert shifts of focus and attention.

You can also explore perspective itself. What happens when you let your movement expand outward and stretch into space rather than staying earthbound and contained? What changes when your gaze lifts toward distance and horizon? Can you imagine your mind soaring like a bird?

If it feels right, pause occasionally and simply stand beneath the sky for a few breaths, allowing yourself to be held within something larger.

Deepening the weave

The sky reminds us of larger, wider perspectives. Birds move through currents we cannot see, adjusting constantly to changing conditions rather than resisting them. Bring that sky-wide quality into your day, noticing moments when your perspective feels narrowed, contracted or crowded. Does it make a difference then, if you pause and look outward or upward? Does your breathing change? Your posture? Your thinking?

You might also reflect on what contributes to spaciousness in your life. What helps you regain perspective when things feel heavy or repetitive? Where do you experience freedom?

Perhaps this week you carry a little more sky inside your body!