Found Exhortation
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Tying Oneself Into Knots
Some think of yoga as folding or knotting oneself into pretzel-like shapes. No one wants to feel that they are tied into a knot in life, and those who make fun of yoga may do so because it seems silly to them intentionally to make knots with the body.
But carefully learning how to stretch and fold and bend and mold oneself into the shapes of the various asanas paradoxically can free one from feeling bound up or constricted by the knottiness of existence.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
How I Injured My Wrist (a Reminder)
About a month ago, I strained the top of my hand near my wrist as I was moving from uttanasana–standing forward fold to adho mukha svanasana–downward facing dog. I was certain that I had placed my hand properly. I always place fingerpads down first and then ground my metacarpals, with the emphasis on the index finger metacarpal. My fingers were evenly spaced. It felt like perhaps I had jammed the bones or slightly dislocated them–the wrist/hand version of a sacrum “going out.”
My initial reaction was to work harder, but it was not feeling any better. I resorted to resting for a few days and then concentrating on forearm balance instead of handstand.
When I was at the weekend workshop in New Jersey last month, one of my friends suggested that I was working too hard. That was definitely on the right track. Once my hand was in place, though, what felt best was to work very strongly. During the first intermediate/advanced workshop, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a few minutes with John Friend, who gave me an adjustment that rearranged the bones. This cleared most of the pain, but my hand was still extra sensitive.
I found myself placing leaving my hands soft and placing them with great delicacy. Before going into weight-bearing I added the actions of clawing the fingerpads and drawing the thumb and index finger together, while making sure my metacarpals were firmly rooted. No pain.
I went through this sequence of events with my Wednesday night group practice students yesterday. I showed them the difference between engaging strongly as the starting point of the hand alignment and sweetly touching, immediately followed by full engagement.
“What principle of alignment had I been leaving out?” I asked. Without hesitation, they chorused in unison, “opening to grace.” Exactly right. Sometimes practicing the Anusara principle of “opening to grace” is subtle, but it always comes first and, in my experience over the past decade of study and practice, is always essential to have the most life-expanding and holistic of practices.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Be Here Now (Var.)
I’ve heard different meditation teachers speak of meditation as a process that brings familiarity—with the workings of your mind, of consciousness, of your relationship to self and other. I would add, from my personal experience, that applies to asana practice and body consciousness, too.
On the Way to William Penn House for Tuesday Night Yoga Practice (and State of the Union)
I tried to take a picture of the brief snow flurries that greeted us on the way home, but they were too sparse to be photogenic. The sounds of helicopters circling, too, defied documentation.
We offered our loving best energy as we practiced just steps away from the preparations for this ever critically important event.
