HONORING SACRED SPACE
You know how good it feels to roll out a mat on the floor. It is like heating water for a drink or a bath; putting on gloves before playing in the snow.
Of course the household pet will take over the spot if you leave the mat open. It is the way of nature, by opening that door, making that warm spot, all will look to stand, pose or lay there.
The sacred space is also a buffer between your bare feet or body and the dust of the floor and the world. It gives you that separation, a chance to go further within yourself.
It is also the reason you should fold your yoga mat.
No, do not fold it, roll it. A neat stack of rolled floor cushions, as you pull yours to join the group, or unfurl your own, is a great point in the day and a marker of time for well being.
But wait, when you finish you should fold your mat.
To honor the space that just helped you care for yourself, take the leading edge, almost all the way back to the trailing edge as you finish your practice, folding the mat almost to half.
This way you place your hands to your feet like a folding pose, and like the Yin and Yang of this exercise, the dust stays out and your refreshed Qi stays in the mat. This improves separation of your Yin and the world’s Yang.
Then you can roll the precious space up and stow it, both on the shelf and in your self.
The short gap between leading and trailing edge meet as you roll from the fold. Thus you guard your sacred space, dust to dust on one folded then rolled half and Nature’s Energy to your self on the other side.