Letterhead can be Presidential, china can be Presidential and so too can yoga be Presidential. In fact, if we assembled the premiere candidates before us on yoga mats and offered them poses that would help them gain insight into what it takes to lead to the best of their ability as well as feel physically agile and mentally more acute, this is what we would prescribe. Check out some of the other candidates' assignments, like Getting Sarah Palin Fit For Office, Om-ing For Obama and Anti-Aging Asana for John McCain.
Good old Joe Biden. What a true blue grown up. While we could have offered a yoga practice for commuters here (to get to work he treks from D.C. to Delaware; devoted family man that he is) we felt that Biden gets the gold star where we all fall short--in the category of willpower.
In today's day and age of email trysts, online insta-shopping, and lunchtime eyelid lifts, maybe a little dose of old fashioned class and education would do a nation good. The way Biden makes his way in the world is not only human but yogic. How? He always seems to take the high road and wage war with the low. And even after one good yoga class you'll realize that you have the internal resources to do the same.
From the stretch at your desk, to taking a silent moment to count your blessings when you pass a car accident while commuting, and from avoiding snarky utterances to offering your kind but truthful opinion, you are harnessing your own ability to provoke change even if you are not a White House policy-maker.
If we took Biden to the yoga mat we'd enroll him in a bootcamp called willpower workshop. He'd sit at the head of the class because he is a living, breathing exception to what is fashionable today: allowing hubris to anoint the inept political star status. The workout we prescribe is meant to reinforce the classical yoga philosophy that mat work -- poses, breathing and meditation -- allow one more time to choose their reaction to a situation. For example: Joe Biden's responses to Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential debates. Rather than chuckle and demean his colleague from behind a podium he allowed her to finish and graciously chose his response. All great leaders lead by example.
So let us all drop quietly to the mat and work on bolstering our own iron wills. When we falter we can watch Biden and learn.
Standing Reach-Up: Start with feet together. Place your hands on your lower back and arch slightly back. Tara's tip: Press your hands down on your lower back to root your lower back, so the arch comes from your upper back.
Standing Reach-Up: Start with feet together. Place your hands on your lower back and arch slightly back. Tara's tip: Press your hands down on your lower back to root your lower back, so the arch comes from your upper back.
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Flat Back: Come onto a flat back with your hands out to the side. Tara's tip: Keep lifting in your stomach so your back is completely flat.
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Flat Back, Arms Forward: Stay in your flat back position and bring your arms straight forward. Tara's tip: Keep your weight over your feet and try not to rock back on your heels.
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Forward Bend: Come into a forward bend. Grab your calves and pull yourself towards your legs. Tara's tip: Bend your knees slightly and move your hips directly over your feet.
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Chair: Bend your knees deeply and lift up your back and come into chair pose. Tara's tip: Keep your shoulders relaxed and breathe deeply
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Chair Prayer: Stay in chair pose and bring your hands to prayer. Tara's tip: Keep breathing and keep the bend in your knees deep.
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Chair Twist: Twist the prayer to one side and look up. Tara's tip: Hook your elbow on the outside of the opposite knee for leverage to twist you deeper.
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Rotated Lunge: Bring your bottom hand to the ground and extend your opposite leg straight behind you and place it on the ground, as you move into a lunge position. Look up at your top hand. Tara's tip: Extend through your back heel for balance.
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Chair Pose: Come back into chair pose. Tara's tip: Breathe and focus!
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Chair Pose On Toes: Stay in chair pose and lift up on your toes and balance there. Tara's tip: Find a spot in the distance to focus on if you need extra balance help.
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Chair Pose On Toes, Flat Back: Stay in the chair pose on your toes and come into a flat back stance. Tara's tip: Stick with it. Call on your strength to balance.
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Chair Pose On Toes, Forward Bend: Keep on your toes and start to lower your hands towards the floor keeping your flat back all the way and hover just above the floor. Tara's tip: Straighten your legs as you lower. Find the balance in the movement.
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Forward Bend Shoulder Stretch: Give yourself a break. Come into a forward bend. Interlace your hands and stretch them behind you. Tara's tip: Breathe! Now: Don't forget to repeat everything on the other side!
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