Found Exhortation (for the New Year)
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What Students Hear
Last week I took a lovely all-levels yoga class where the emphasis was on fully engaging in the practice rather than striving to achieve a particular outward notion of what the poses should look like.
Near the beginning of the class, but after the emphasis on not striving had already been discussed, the teacher said that the ideal form in uttanasana — standing forward fold — for classical hatha yoga is with the feet together. But, he said, however, he said, but not, the teacher explained, if your back is curved like a “c” in the pose, and your lumbar vertebrae are higher than your sacrum. In that case, you want to take your feet wider apart or you will strain or injure your low back.
As I was fully into the pose, I could see the rows of students behind me. At least two fellow students in my immediate line of sight, promptly put their feet together, even though they had tight hamstrings and bulging lumbar spines and were clearly pushing themselves hard to get their fingertips to the floor. As soon as the word “ideal” was uttered, they could not hear the caution or could or would not apply it to themselves.
The evident intent of the teacher in his exposition of the pose was to give an example where the “ideal” form is most certainly not ideal and will not further the reasons we practice asana. But for so many in this society, striving is such an ingrained way of being, that yoga class can become just another way to achieve.
It was useful for me to witness how carefully one must teach to high achievers this principle of the “ideal” being what suits and not what will win accolades. How do we teach (and learn) the practice of goalless goals, of enjoying working for fitness (of the mind, body, and emotions) without pushing and striving? I’m pretty sure that invoking the principle of actionless action from the Bhagavad Gita would not have made a difference here. It seems a shame to think that the only way to protect all the students’ backs is never to mention the classical form of the pose, and to have to tell all the students (especially in a big class) to have their feet apart (or some similar alignment rule)for protection of the few who do not (or are not yet ready) to hear the whole lesson.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
- Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Dance/Contact Improvisation
Square Dancing (and Spacial Awareness)
Last night, I hopped on the bus and went from Capitol Hill to Columbia Heights to go square dancing. I haven’t square danced since elementary school, when we had two week sessions every year from third through sixth grade (I doubt, somehow, that they are still teaching square dancing as a needed physical exercise these days). It was interesting how much of the kinesthetic memory was still there, but it would not have mattered if I had not remembered. There were a lot of beginners, and the emphasis was on enthusiasm and enjoyment, not on getting it exactly right.
One thing that was noticeable about both the complete beginners and those who were very interested in demonstrating that they could do fancy variations was how little awareness there was of how those dancers related to the room as a whole or their squares. Even if there was some awareness of their partners, the beginners were to busy trying to figure out what to do at all to be able to think outside themselves or their partner, much less outside of their own square to the relationship of their square to those around them. Those that were eager to demonstrate their prowess took up as much space as they wanted to do their own dance, making it so that others had to move out of their way.
The truly skilled and aware dancers fostered the fullness of the dance, mindful of their own technique, their relationship to their partners and squares, and how their square fit into the dance hall as a whole, thus optimizing the freedom of the flow of the dance for everyone.
I think this dynamic in the dance reflects how we want to live as an individual within the fabric of being. If we are sluggish with ignorance, we will trod on others, when we could have a better relationship by making the time and effort to learn how to live more rightly and in alignment with the whole. When we just strive to show how great we are, heedless of how we impact other beings, we also disrupt the flow of being. To be truly engaged in the wondrous dance of being in a way that makes not only our own lives fuller, but enriches and enhances life around us, we must not only study and practice for ourselves and develop sensitivity and awareness in our intimate relationships and our relationships to our family and community, but also understand and act from a cognizance of the flow of life and energy outside our immediate world.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
A Little Bit of India
I cannot tell you whether the food is tasty or healthy or authentic, but something felt good about this truck that was at Eastern Market today.
Please comment if you’ve tried it.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
