What is so special about inversions? Why does it seem that more than in other poses, inversions create the most anxiety or even desire- the desire to "master" the pose? Many students are attached to perfecting sirsasana or headstand, adho mukha vrksasana or handstand, pincha mayurasana or forearm stand. In my own experience, students ask about inversions frequently, but none have come up to me and asked, how do I make a perfect trikonasana or triangle? I think it is because when our head is close to the ground and our feet are up in the air, we feel that we somehow defy gravity. We feel extraordinary. Even the aesthetics, or maybe especially the aesthetics of the pose, is visually impressive. And maybe in the deepest recesses of our hearts, that is what we want, to be extraordinary, to stand over our heads in order to stand out. To explore our extraordinariness, come into a place of humility, in child's pose, where we are curled up and we make this body small. With this humility, think about what it is that you desire in this life. It could be something general, to be happy, to have peace of mind, to love, or it could be very specific, a goal you want to achieve, a place you want to go, a dream you want to fulfill. Using this desire as your intention, let it inspire you in your yoga practice. As you lift up your hands in prayer, you take this intention with you. As you extend your arms out in warrior 2, you see this intention sitting right at your fingertips. This thing that you do desire is so accessible. It is yours for the taking. Practice with your breath and with this intention of what you desire in your heart. As it is the month of inversions, we can deepen our practice of inversions with a partner exercise. One partner kicks up into a handstand while the other assists. But before you take this partner exercise into action, let us also invert our usual way of thinking. Whether you are assisting the pose or doing the handstand, both of which you will do, visualize your partner being able to do a handstand to the best of his or her ability. We are going to make this partner exercise not about you, but about your partner. However much you desire to come into a perfect handstand yourself, you will set this aside for the few minutes that you are working with your partner. It is about him or her now. This is your practice of inversion. After kicking up into handstand, come back to rest in child's pose. All that kicking up may be tiring and challenging, but I am going to ask you do something even more challenging. In fact, this is the most challenging part of the practice. That thing that you desire most for yourself, that you saw at your fingertips, that you are so close to getting- I want you to give that away to someone who equally desires it. We may want to resist this giving, but if we decide to offer this desire, we may feel uplifted, we may feel light, we may feel unburdened by our own clinging. And that is what is extraordinary about inversions. When we lead with our heart instead of our head, we find ourselves capable of doing things we never imagined. What is extraordinary about us is not so much being able to contort our bodies into an upside down shape. More important than that, what is extraordinary about us is our capacity to be extraordinarily kind and generous and compassionate, to feel as others feel, to give away what we ourselves wish to receive, to offer what we most desire in our hearts. What is extraordinary is that we have started the practice thinking of what we want, and we ended the practice offering what we want to give. Now that is an extraordinary inversion!
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The Jivamukti Focus of the Month is what makes up the theme of a Jivamukti Open Class. The essays are usually written by Sharon Gannon, and occasionally by David Life and other yoga teachers. What is beautiful about the focus of the month is that it allows us to reflect on a specific topic. If you have the opportunity to take classes within the same month with different Jivamukti teachers, you will see how each has a different voice and perspective while keeping to the same focus of the month. Here are reflections on inversions by Jivamukti Yoga Teachers Sandy King who teaches at Jivamukti Yoga Center Sydney and Julia Nusshart who teaches at Jivamukti Yoga Center Berlin. "I often reflect on how strange it is that I became a yoga teacher, after so many years of disliking sport, exercise, and anything related to fitness. But then I remember random moments from childhood, like how much fun I had as a kid lying down on the sofa, imagining what it would be like to walk on the ceiling (an idea I probably got from this book, which was my favorite growing up). Yoga has taught me how to be a kid whilst simultaneously being an adult, and gosh, yoga is so much more than physical activity. Learning how to invert your body is one thing, but learning to invert your mindset is a whole other can of tofu." - Sandy King, Advance Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Visit Sandy's website to practice to recorded classes, check out her playlists and more. "Surrendering to the divine with faith and sthira sukham asanam: Do you remember how it felt riding a roller coaster for the first time? Your parents, older brother, sister or friends might have pushed you to go on that thing. But you were so afraid of bringing your head upside down that you completely forgot that this was supposed to be fun. I remember checking out the people who had finished the ride. By looking in their faces I wanted to see whether I could make it or not. But in fact the only chance to see how it is for yourself is to try it out. So I went on that roller coaster. Once it was done, I was so proud of myself that I had overcome this fear and moved a little closer towards trust. A yoga class (life) can be like a trip on a roller coaster. You never know what's coming up. You might have to be upside down for longer than you wish to. But in the end, you feel great, don't you? What is this "thing" that you trust? What used to be your parents' hands could now be you telling yourself: It is ok. I'm there for you. It's going to be a alright. Focus on your connection to yourself and the earth and keep it steady and joyful." - Julia Nusshart, 800-Hour Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Visit Julia's website to know more about her. PYS II.33 Vitarka-bādhane pratipaksha bhāvanam When disturbed by disturbing thoughts, think of the opposite. Yeah right. As if it were that easy. This sutra is good advice, but challenging to put into practice. Patanjali merely gives us the prescription. It is up to us to take the medicine. It's not usually a matter of thinking one thought, and we weed out the root of all negativity. Most likely, this single negative thought is just a symptom of an established structure or pattern or set of beliefs. For example, when we are stuck in Manila traffic and start to get irritated, this irritation comes from a set of deeply-ingrained beliefs. We somehow believe we are the star of the show which is our life, and we think everyone else are just extras, filling the gaps here and there. It is because we believe this to be so that we have a sense of entitlement. And when things do not go our way- even something as trivial as traffic- in our minds this is not the natural order and so negativity arises. But we are not the star of the show. That is a very misguided and egocentric way to think. The truth is we are one amongst many, and we co-exist with others, and when things do not go our way it is really not that personal. The universe is not mocking us. It is just unfolding the way that it is. Therefore, if we want to apply the yoga sutra in a way that results to long-lasting change, we reverse not only the immediate thought but also our recurring deep-seated beliefs and patterns and habits and structures. We dig deep and examine our biases and predispositions. Is it possible that this negative thought is a culmination of many other factors? Then we reverse the deep-seated thoughts, not just the immediate and apparent ones. We break down the old structure so we can build a new one. The focus of the month for April is inversions. When we practice our sirsasana II (tripod headstand) and pincha mayurasana (forearm stand), some of us may struggle. We may immediately think that the struggle comes from fear or inexperience or lack of physical strength. We may forget that the struggle could possibly be due to clinging to an old way of doing things. Perhaps we have been repeating the same habit to our detriment. If that is the case, then we need to unlearn old habits to create new ones. In this week's class, we used the belt to practice keeping our elbows to the sides of our body in chaturanga (low push-up). Once we form a habit out of this, we see that this understanding applies to our inversions as well. Even in sirsasana and pincha mayurasana, we clip our elbows in. We build a new structure based on a new understanding. It is the same with anything that we need to build from scratch- starting over from a breakup or separation, changing careers, going vegan, etc. We need to break down old habits, old patterns, and old ways of thinking if we want to rebuild with a solid foundation. The yoga sutra holds a lot of wisdom and requires strong commitment to practice. If we are disturbed by disturbing thoughts, and we want to be able to shift our perspective, then we go deeper than we have before, examine our recurring patterns, and see how we can turn things around- not just as a superficial band-aid solution but as a new way of thinking and living and thriving. Inversions are physically challenging. We spend our entire day standing on our feet, and we go to a yoga class and we are asked to do the exact opposite. It is challenging to turn our bodies upside down, but even more challenging is to turn our thoughts upside down. But if we want yoga, if we want freedom, if we want liberation, then we must be open enough to at least try. I once overheard someone saying that she likes to keep things simple and not make her meals the prime focus of her life. Hence, she is not vegan. It made me sad to hear this, because she seemed like a compassionate person in other ways, and yet the connection between what (or who) we eat and what we put in the world was not yet clear to her. The thing about being vegan- or being on the right side of any social justice issue- is that it will be inconvenient. To stand up against something that is wrong that is considered normal necessarily means that we create the change rather than stay put in apathy. It's interesting because when we really think about it, veganism is not a stance of being "kind". It's just neutral. We choose not to hurt others. That is all there is to it. If someone chooses not to rape a child, this person would not be "kind". This person is just neutral. Veganism is like that. And yet because the norm is to hurt others, boycotting not to hurt others is made out to be a big deal. It used to make me angry and frustrated and impatient that others "don't get it". But I am starting to realize that this frustration is futile, and for the sake of the animals whom I claim to work for, I need to keep my serenity. Activism is not for everyone. If someone chooses to live his or her life a certain way, who am I to judge? Even when this person is hurting others, who am I to judge? If I judged this person, then that makes my behavior the same as the person who eats animals because he or she thinks the animals do not matter. When I turned vegan, I was certain I would not turn into a crazy activist who spends all of her time advocating for one cause. How wrong I turned out to be. I think I got pulled into animal rights advocacy when I realized I have no choice. The truth about animal cruelty is too large for me to ignore. I can honestly say that everything I do is for the animals. I try my best to be better at teaching yoga so that I could be more effective at giving information about veganism. I learn about assists so students will begin to trust me and trust what I say about veganism. I talk about empowerment and compassion and freedom because they are ultimately and undeniably related to how we see our fellow animals. I wanted to be apathetic, but it was too inconvenient for me to keep at it. I would rather read labels when I shop at the grocery than participate in the animal holocaust. I would rather explain in detail what it means to be vegan to the restaurant staff than to be served the suffering of others. I am fine with keeping my meals complicated but my morals simple. The inconvenient truth about apathy is that it costs animals their lives. It cannot be more literal than that. Is being vegan for you? Be a witness to the suffering we inflict on animals, and then you decide. It is not uncommon for yoga practitioners to fear inversions. And because inversions are always a part of a Jivamukti Open Level Class, I become privy to the doubts that yoga students have. I often hear the words "but I have never done this before" as a reason for one's hesitation in trying out an inversion. Injuries are of course another issue and should be taken seriously. But in most cases that I encounter, it is the unfamiliarity of the pose that stops a student in his or her tracks. Because the student has never done an inversion before, he or she has already set a limitation, thinking that he or she should keep within the bounds of the comfort zone. A line is drawn. The other night, I met a vegetarian (someone who does not eat meat but continues to consume dairy, eggs, and honey) and upon knowing that he was vegetarian because he opposed the horrors of the meat industry, I asked him why he was not vegan (someone who eliminates all forms of animal use). He said that it was the line he drew, and that we all draw lines. I responded then by asking why lines should be drawn at all. It made me think of how accustomed we are to drawing lines. We uphold certain values and ideals about the world, but we think it is unrealistic to match our actions with our beliefs, so we draw a line. We desire a life of fulfillment doing what we love, but we do not believe we can make a living out of it, so we draw a line. We encounter a yoga pose that looks intimidating, so we draw a line. We draw so many lines we end up drawing a box. We put ourselves in this box thinking it is safe. We get used to staying inside this box we start to think this is all we are and all that we could be. Then we lose sight of who we truly we are. While none of us could be perfect, drawing lines and deliberately limiting our capacity underestimates our strength. There is a huge difference between drawing a line and accepting temporary limitations. Drawing a line is putting a stop to our potential, while accepting our current limitations is seeing that we are taking steps to reach our full potential- even if we are not yet there. Drawing lines is restrictive. The opposite of that is to be open to future possibilities and to welcome our own greatness. The experience is expansive. Through the practice of inversions, we turn our world upside down. We can see our potential instead of our limitations. We can transform our fear into courage. We can live in the present instead of dwelling in the past. By turning our world upside down, we erase the lines previously drawn, and instead we choose to learn and grow and progress. All of our yoga practice is a progress. Even when it feels as though we take three steps forward and two steps back, it is progress. My teacher Sharon Gannon often says that yogis are practical people. Indeed, what is the use of yoga if it cannot make us happier, if it cannot give us freedom? What we can get from our inversion practice is to not let the final "goal" scare us. Instead, we allow it to inspire us to take as many steps as we need to or as little steps as we feel we are ready for. In any case, we do something. We choose something over nothing. We do not just watch. We try. We do not just throw our hands up in the air and give up. We are free not because we have reached perfection. We are free because we do not shut down our heart. And after some time, when we have an established regular yoga practice, we will notice the changes in our body. We get to experience that what was once impossible is now possible and part of our daily practice. We realize that there is no need to draw lines because we will always have the capacity to change and grow. Why draw lines when our true nature is limitless? Why draw lines when we are stronger than we think? Why draw lines when our compassion comes from an endless source? Why draw lines and cheat ourselves of the opportunity to become the highest of who we are? Why draw lines at all? PYS II.46 sthira-sukham āsanam The connection to the Earth should be steady and joyful. Sthira means steady, sukham means joyful, asanam means seat. In this sutra, Patanjali did not refer to any specific asana. It is meant to refer to all asana, all poses. He said that if we want yoga, then we have two qualifiers to consider in the pose that we take: steadiness and joyfulness. He did not say that the pose should be perfect. He did not say that the pose should be fancy and worthy of ten thousand likes on Facebook. If we need to use props or modify the pose to achieve steadiness and joyfulness, so be it. The April focus of the month is inversions, and so we will try to the best of our abilities to find steadiness and joyfulness even in a pose that may seem challenging. In Jivamukti, we also want to get a little deeper into this investigation of what seat is. Every asana or pose that we take is a relationship with something else. It is not an independent action. There is something we are sitting on, something we are grounded on, something we are reaching for, somewhere we are resting on. There is an object. There is a relationship. And so we take this seat to be our connection to the Earth. The commentary for this yoga sutra according to the Jivamukti school is: The connection to the Earth should be steady and joyful. Tadasana or mountain pose is the foundation of all the poses. Here we learn to root ourselves to the Earth. As our feet are grounded, there is an energetic antenna at the top of our head lifting us up. This is how we want to stand- grounded yet uplifted. This is how we want to live- humble yet inspired. Even as we come to inversions, we find that same grounding and lifting. The same principles apply, only the placement and movement of energy change. In sirsana or headstand for example, it is the top of our head that is rooted and our feet that are lifted. We can think of this move to an inversion as our ever changing situations in life. As our lives take a turn for the unfamiliar, how do we practice in such a way that we can keep steady and joyful? Yoga asana is a way for us to experience the philosophy that we subscribe to. If we agree that our connection should be steady and joyful, then we take this intellectual understanding of the sutra into our bodies as we come into yoga asanas, and then we take this experience of the yoga exercise into our daily lives. When we practice inversions and come face to face with our doubt or fear or insecurity, we can easily lose our steadiness and joyfulness. We may start to obsess over alignment or nailing the pose. We may start to get frustrated. If we catch ourselves heading this direction, we can stop. We can pause. We can examine ourselves and our motivations and our reactions. Steadiness and joyfulness do not come from an intense unreasonable desire to be perfect. They do not come to us by way of clinging and craving and attachment. On the contrary, the need for perfection and the need to look good are surefire ways to lose our steadiness and joyfulness. If we want to find steadiness and joyfulness, we search within. We dig deep if we need to. They come from inside us, not from external conditions. Even if the physical body struggles, we can still access that place of steadiness and joyfulness. When we keep our mind soft, our thoughts peaceful, our actions compassionate, the ease in the physical body will follow. We begin to relax into the pose, even in an inversion, even when things radically change, even in the midst of difficulty and unexpected challenge. Wayne Dyer said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Steadiness and joyfulness in our asana and in our connection to the Earth come from within us. If we see the world and judge it with a heart filled with rage, we perpetuate anger and suffering in the world. If we see the world in all its imperfections with compassionate eyes, we use our own steadiness and joyfulness to project kindness into the world. When we invert our bodies, our perception starts to get used to the unfamiliar. We practice being at ease with a new way of seeing things. If we want to be connected to the Earth, and if we want to reach a state of yoga, then it is necessary that we shift our perception to a kinder world view. We reverse our old ways of thinking that we can exploit other humans and animals and our environment. We ease ourselves into a new way of thinking and speaking and living. We shift our movement and energy to come to a place where we are grounded by our humility, that we are one amongst many, while we are uplifted by our significance, that our actions affect all, that our compassion transcends our limitations. Steady and joyful is the way of surrender. Steady and joyful even as we invert our body and mind is the way to the path of yoga. I've been teaching Jivamukti Yoga for almost two years now, and not that long ago, my life was completely different. The first time it occurred to me that I may want to teach yoga was during savasana in a Jivamukti yoga class. I was all sweaty from the vigorous practice, and I received a loving massage from the teacher. That simple action made me feel unconditionally accepted. I felt then that I wanted to be able to provide this feeling to others. But I was new in my yoga practice so it was not something that seemed realistic at that time. Nonetheless, a seed was planted. I had one office job after another before I became a yoga teacher. My last job in the corporate world was in the Marketing Department of a multi-national company. The job was not very stressful. I had time to pursue my interests, which is mainly to practice yoga, and I had enough money to travel on vacations. I wore clothes other than yoga clothes. I wore shoes all day. It was an alright job. Not great and not horrible. It really was just alright. December of 2011, I received the official notice that I was going to be laid off because the company was restructuring. I remember on my way home that day, that I stared out the window, and I felt that the Christmas festivities contrasted against my job loss in a very cinematic way. Just like that, my life as I knew it was gone. It was turned upside down. I was not sure how I would be able to pay my mortgage. I was not sure how I would be able to make a living. I knew the layoff was going to happen so I had anticipated it, but I also knew that looking for another alright job was no longer an option. In the months spent waiting for this inevitability, I had vowed to myself that when the time came, I will use my severance pay to invest in a life filled only with things that I love. I revisited the small seed that was previously planted, and today I teach nonviolence and acceptance for a living as a Jivamukti Yoga teacher. The Jivamukti April focus of the month is inversions. It is literally to put our bodies in an upside down position, allowing us to see the world from an upside down view. We may find that when we are new to practicing inversions, a lot of fear comes up. We are afraid of the unknown and of falling and of failing and of mystery. We may resist it. Why go upside down if I can stay right side up? If we see our yoga practice as a path towards liberation, then we use the asana practice as a safe way of simulating our real-life fears and disappointments and inhibitions. My teacher Sharon Gannon in her essay for this month's focus teaches us that inversions allow space for trust and surrender. "When we turn our bodies upside down, we are literally turning our world upside down. Turning upside down allows us to experience the advantage of different attitudes and ways to perceive. Everything we know as right side up, typical and normal is pulled out from underneath us. This disorientation requires us to draw from places in our psyches that we may not have accessed much before. In order to fully experience this new angle of perception we must relax both our bodies and minds and surrender to the Divine with faith." When unexpected things happen, we can choose to resist them and deny them and even change them, but that is not an effective strategy if our goal is liberation, especially since there are many things we cannot control. If our goal is yoga, then we respond to our upside down world with a renewal of creativity, allowing seeds of deep-seated inspiration to grow. We create a new way of living that assimilates our new situation. We have fear but we do not let fear paralyze us. We have disappointment but we do not let disappointment overshadow our hopes. We have uncertainty but we do not let uncertainty trap us. When we invert our body, we have our heart over our head. That is a good reminder for us to allow our innermost calling to lead us towards our path, to let go of the should-have-beens of our supposed logical mind, to renew our faith that this new version of our world has an infinite amount of love to offer us. Every person will have his or her world turn upside down at one point, and usually multiple times. I am not saying that as a threat. I am saying that merely to point out a fact of life. When it happens, as it most certainly will, a part of us may want to stay stuck in feeling that we have been victimized. What did I do to deserve this? Why me? Does the universe not want to give me a break? We can ask those questions again and again and not find any answers. Or we can decide we are done with the asking and we are ready to see our new world, the upside down world, as our new right side up. How can I turn this situation around so it will free me rather than keep me stuck? How can I move forward given my normal reactions of fear and anger and disappointment? The answer is always in the practice. The answer always is to practice. |
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