The Yoga Sanctuary | Yoga Discussions

Two Things We Often Say to Caregivers (and Probably Shouldn’t)

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Wed, 01 May 2024 17:07:10 +0000

by Linda Lee

We are all likely to become caregivers at various points in our lives, whether it’s for a child who is ill, an aging parent, or a beloved spouse. There are many commonalities between caregivers and individuals who are grieving. In fact, caregivers are experiencing at least a temporary loss of a life that was in the past or was dreamed about for the future.

Like someone who is grieving, caregivers often experience negative emotional, physical, and cognitive effects. For example, they may feel fearful, isolated, and sad; be tired and undernourished; and have trouble concentrating or adapting to their new reality. They may feel like they are barely putting one foot in front of the other as they face overwhelming tasks and obstacles.

These effects may be most pronounced if their loved one’s needs came on suddenly, such as from a traumatic event. They may be thrown into caregiving before they have time to process the changes. Conversely, those who are caregiving for prolonged periods of time may lose the strength and stamina needed to maintain it.

Caregivers may look like the people we always knew, but they are not the same. They are living through a stressful, draining, major shift in their lives. Given this background, let us examine some potential problems with two statements caregivers often hear.

Statement 1: “Let Me Know if There’s Anything I Can Do”

How often have we said this to individuals who are experiencing challenges in life? We make our offer with sincerity and love. We truly want to step in to support them.

Unfortunately, this statement typically goes unheeded. The first reason is that caregivers may not realize what they need. Managing the immediate tasks in front of them, especially if they are in a crisis, may make it impossible to step back and reflect on what may ease their burdens. Secondly, few people find it easy to ask for help, and this request forces the caregiver to generate an idea and make the contact. Those who consider themselves relatively independent may hesitate turning to others. Asking for help requires strength and vulnerability they may not be capable of generating.

Instead, supporters can try to be proactive and a little creative. We can watch and listen for ways to help ease the caregiver’s daily schedule. We may suggest something specific such as, “I want to babysit for a few hours (or bring you Sunday dinners or pick up your groceries) while your loved one is ill to give you more time. Please allow me to do this. It would make me feel good to be part of the care you’re providing.” This type of statement offers a specific idea and makes it clear that we want to do the task. We also can be ready to jump in if the caregiver expresses a wish, even in an offhanded way. Or, if we see that something like lawn care is needed and think they would be receptive, we can pull their weeds or cut their grass without asking. Ideally, such support will continue beyond the initial period. However, if we’re not able to make an ongoing commitment, we can still make occasional specific offers that can help for that moment.

We may also provide support by calling, dropping off a treat, or sending messages and cards. Any of these gestures demonstrate our love for the individuals who are ill and those who are caring for them. Our actions recognize that they are going through a challenging time and accompany them on their journey. We can acknowledge their courage and strength as they face it. We can make them feel less alone.

Finally, supporters should try not to take it personally if the caregivers don’t remember to thank us for what we’ve done. We need to remember the challenges of their situation and know without hearing it that the things we did likely provided at least a few moments of relief and comfort.

Statement 2: “You Need to Take Care of Yourself”

As I was caregiving for my spouse, Carol, prior to her death, I heard this advice regularly from my friends and family. It usually was thrown out to me in love and concern at the end of a conversation. I had said it to others myself in the past, although I only will again after carefully examining their circumstances and what I could do to help them achieve that goal. In theory, it makes perfect sense. You don’t have the strength to take care of someone else, and you run the risk of becoming ill, if you don’t nurture your body, mind, and spirit.

The statement assumes that the caregiver can (or wants to) alter their established pattern and has the means to make the change happen. Everyone who said it to me was familiar with my abilities to strategize and solve problems, so they assumed I could figure out ways to care for Carol and myself simultaneously. I knew I was pushing myself hard, although I didn’t realize the extent of it at the time. I was too caught up in getting through each moment to step back and design a way to ease up. I also admit that my fierce resolve to take care of everything may have kept me from actively examining other possibilities. I had spent a lifetime successfully rising to meet obstacles.

As Carol’s abilities declined, life felt like being on a treadmill that moved a little faster each time I added a new responsibility to my days and nights. I was trying to maintain her treatment and medication schedule, help her with personal care, ease her anxieties (as well as my own), keep others informed, get food and supplies, consult with her doctors and pharmacists, cook for us, take care of our house and yard, and work my part-time job. The ever-increasing list of things to do was in direct opposition to a progressive decline in my energy reserves. I was losing weight that I couldn’t afford to lose as I struggled to keep up. Throughout life, we were each other’s rock as well as soft place to fall. I wanted that to continue—not because I was trying to be a martyr, but because that’s what we always were for each other. Unfortunately, what I wanted to do for her and what I was physically capable of doing were beginning to be at odds.

In retrospect, I should have asked for help with errands, accepted more offers for aid, and hired others to do maintenance. Honestly, it didn’t even occur to me to sign up for home deliveries or hire people to do some chores. Some people may not have the option to hire helpers; they also may be working more hours than I was and have other dependents under their care, making life even more challenging.

I can’t emphasize enough that I wasn’t in my usual problem-solving mode. I was in one-minute-at-a-time survival mode. There’s a huge difference. As hospice care specialists Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley said, “Families are frequently tired and it’s a massive job merely to focus on a particular day or a given moment. The future holds grief and loss, so many families and friends avoid looking ahead.”[1]

I worked hard at not looking ahead by trying to keep my mind on the present moment with Carol. The concept of parting from each other was unimaginable. When those painful thoughts appeared, I concentrated on her face or how her hand felt in mine and tried to pull myself back to the present. She was very good at encouraging me to do so. She often said, “We know it’s going to be hard to face what’s ahead of us. Don’t live through it more than once.” Don’t live through it more than once… such wise words, but so difficult to do.

I had a hard time not breaking down (usually I did) if anyone turned the focus on me. I was strong as long as everything was centered on Carol, but if someone asked how I was doing, it was like they opened a door that otherwise was blocked.

I used myself as an example for this self-care statement to show the state of mind the caregiver may be in when we recommend it. Yes, self-care is vitally important, but the reality may not be possible without practical aid.

This is another example of how others may need to be creative in their efforts to support caregivers. As we think about what these individuals may need so they can better care for themselves, perhaps we can take one task off their list or sit with their loved one to give them some time to do it. If they resist help, we may want to keep trying. They may be more receptive later in their journey.

Finally, I would like to turn the focus on the caregivers, who need to be open to receiving the support that’s offered. It may be difficult to be open to it. Many people are stubborn in their desire to be independent and handle everything themselves (myself included). But these offers are gifts of love. They should be viewed in that light and accepted in kind.

Frank Ostaseski, an end-of-life care specialist and hospice founder, reminds us of the ideal goal for all who support the person who is ill:

In caring for someone who is sick, we use the strength of our arms and backs to move a patient from the bed to the commode. We lend the patient our bodies. We can also lend people the concentration of our minds and the fearlessness of our hearts. We can be a reminder of stability and confidence. We can expand our hearts in such a way that it can inspire the individual who is struggling to do likewise. Then we become a compassionate refuge.[2]

It takes a collaborative effort to reach this goal. Hopefully, everyone who loves this individual will realize the value of joining forces to create a refuge that supports each person involved.

This is the first installment in a series of articles Linda is writing for caregivers and family and friends who wish to support them.

Linda Lee, PhD, is a published author and retired professor and research editor. She has offered workshops for The Yoga Sanctuary and other organizations, including Tidewell Hospice. In this series, she will present guidelines she developed following the loss of her spouse, through her training as a Tidewell volunteer, and from the grief literature.

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[1] Maggie Callanan and Patrick Kelley, Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012), 105, NOOK.

[2] Frank Ostaseski, The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully (New York: Flatiron Books, 2017), 125, NOOK.

Retreat, Reset, & Rejuvenate

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 12:40:19 +0000

by Jennifer French

Hmmm, it feels like something’s wrong. It’s hard to put a finger on what. Some vague feeling of losing track of ourselves. Worn down by our daily routines and obligations, an undetected general fatigue builds up gradually over time…Or, maybe life throws us an unexpected curve ball, striking us with a family sickness, a loved one’s death; we are overwhelmed…Or, perhaps, life is idling fairly along, a little miss here and a little miss there, but overall, we are… “just fine.”

These are all signs that we are overdue for a tune-up, a routine health maintenance, a little preventative soul care to recharge our life force. This is when it might be in our best interest to create some space from our day-to-day life, leave our worries behind, and reset ourselves. Ah, yes… a retreat.

A retreat is an occasion to step back from our mundane world and find the time and space to focus inward. There are many types of retreats to meet a wide variety of interests—writers’ retreats, artists’ retreats, spiritual retreats, walking retreats, silent retreats, and more. The common element among all of these is this concept of “retreating.”

The word retreat itself comes from the Latin retrahere, which means to pull back. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines retreat as “the act or process of withdrawing.” The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a quiet or secluded place where one can relax and rest” or “a period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.”

These definitions lead us to the heart of what going on retreat is fundamentally about: taking the time to pause and go inward to get in touch with our deeper selves, needs, desires, and goals. It is a time to readjust our perspective on life.

Climbing upward out of the twists and turns of the dense forest path into the crisp, blue mountain air, it allows us to rediscover clarity and a bit of peace. We then can bring back a fresh perspective into our daily lives, allowing us to again meet our more immediate challenges with grace and equanimity.

As we may imagine, the longer the retreat, the more intense the experience tends to be. Longer retreats are often designed with plenty of unscheduled leisure time throughout the day, so we may stroll and nap as we please. Others can be intensives that might have full day schedules, carefully constructed for participants to get the very most out of this precious, self-care time.

Just as there are many styles of retreats, there are also many ways of approaching a retreat. We can travel faraway, or we may choose a shorter more convenient experience close to home. There are lots of opportunities to pack up our bags, get on a plane, and travel miles and miles away, creating that much-needed clear boundary of space around us that is so often hard to find when at home. This is what comes to mind for most—an exotic spa in a tropical locale. In an ideal world, we would be able to jet off several times a year to foreign lands to refresh and replenish. Does this mean that we must travel long distances to have an effective or transformative retreat?

Closer to home, we could attempt to simply turn off the phone and the television, let our friends and family know that we won’t be available for the next few days, and create the space right where we are. But all too often this can be a disappointing challenge as we are so easily drawn back into the world around us and the things that need to be done… the floor that needs to be cleaned, the emails that need to be answered, the dinner that needs to be made, and on and on it goes…

The long-weekend or day retreat is a fantastic way to keep both the fun and the adventure and, at the same time, greatly benefit from the structure and guidance of a formal retreat leader. Through her knowledge and experience, the retreat leader helps to create a truly healthy and revitalizing opportunity. These long-weekends or single day retreats often offer participants a kind of reset, a pause that we can more easily sneak into our life to help keep us centered and balanced. These shorter retreats tend to be a bit more focused, with practices and activities to help direct the experience and enhance the intention of going inward. Sometimes these practices are self-practices which may include periods of individual silence for reading, writing, and contemplation. Other times there may be group practices such as yoga classes or meditations. These more accessible weekend or day-long experiences combine the best of the faraway with the best of the closer to home: the critical separation of personal space with ease, affordability, and the focused guidance of a retreat leader.

In the end, the why, where, and how long of going on retreat can only be answered by you and your individual needs. Whatever your reason for wanting to retreat, for wanting to pause and connect inward, it is your reason. The new and unexpected challenges, the disorientations, the loss of one’s sense of self, and the general fatigue of routines and obligations often push us toward the great need to get away from it all. Yet once we realize the power of retreating, we can then use this profound tool as a form of preventative self-care, allowing us to find the ability to meet all that life brings us with a rejuvenating sense of peace, clarity, and equanimity.

Stay in the Know…

The Yoga Sanctuary regularly offers retreats of all lengths from the simple (and local) day retreat to week-long adventures afar. Be sure to stay connected! Follow our Facebook Page or sign up to be the first to learn about our next retreat!

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Tadasana: The Mountain Pose—The First Pose You’ll Ever Learn

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 11:00:58 +0000

We once had a guest here at The Yoga Sanctuary named Tea Roman. Tea is a musician and yoga teacher who leads participants through an amazing sound journey that also includes a bit of yoga asana (posture). Just as he was beginning to guide us into some simple posture work, he proclaimed that we were about to learn the hardest pose of them all, one that takes most people nine months or so to learn. We got to our feet and stood tall and erect in the Mountain Pose. This was the pose he was referring to. And he was right! From the day we are born until the day we stand on our own two feet, it takes us roughly nine months to learn…

Let us dive into this “hardest pose of all” poses by starting at the beginning and looking at the name, tadasana…

Rich in symbolism, tadasana comes from the Sanskrit words tada (mountain) and asana (posture, or seat). Mountain Pose is the essence of stability and foundation, and as such, contains the building blocks for every other posture in yoga.

The posture itself “promotes the stillness, strength, relaxed power, and stability we associate with mountains,” says Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas. She explains the inseparable relationship between mountains and rivers, both represented by the Indian god Himavat, who represents the Himalayas and is also considered the father of Ganga Devi, the goddess of the Ganges, India’s most sacred river.

“When we stand in tadasana, the head, being nearest to heaven, is where we receive the blessings that flow through the rest of our body like a river,” she says. The even stance of Mountain Pose—the lengthened spine and steady base—sets the tone for practice.

In India, there is a mountain called Mount Kailas with two lakes—one shaped like the sun and the other like a crescent moon, which represents hatha (ha = sun, tha = moon) yoga. Mount Kailas is considered the seventh chakra—sahasrara. The two lakes have been likened to the two streams of energy (ida and pingala nadis) that rise up one central channel (sushumna nadi) moving toward the highest level of consciousness. Mount Kailas is considered a sacred mountain.

When we stand in tadasana, we are equally grounded and arising. Our base is firm, yet we reach upward toward the heavens. Our spine is situated as it would be during meditation, ideal for the free flow of prana (life force) throughout the body. Take the time to connect to this energy in tadasana. Doing so can help you to maintain it throughout your practice.

Try this:

Stand with your hands on your hips and begin to shift your weight from right foot to left foot. Allow yourself to move from heel to toes, inner and outer foot. Shift your feet a bit further apart and then closer together. Try to find a sense of balance between each foot. Let your feet land a comfortable distance apart so that you feel that you have a strong and solid base beneath you.
Let your arms then release alongside your body, relaxed and comfortable.
Become aware of where your feet contact the ground beneath you. Try to sense the three points of each foot: the very center of your heel, the mound of your big toe, and the mound of your little toe. Press into these three points. See image.
As you continue to press down into your feet, begin to feel a strength come to your legs by energetically lifting upward.
Let that lift carry all the way up your spine and to the crown of your head.

The Three Points of the Foot

Tips:

Do you feel a little off balance or unstable?

Widen your stance!

Do you feel like you are holding tension in your shoulders, neck, hands, or jaw?

Notice how hard you’re trying to work your legs. Sometimes this effort shifts into other parts of the body. Notice… then see if you can relax unnecessary effort. Breath easy and soften.

Is there discomfort in one of your hips, knees, or ankles?

Try adjusting the alignment of your feet. Sometimes the structure of our bones means that having our feet parallel can affect things all the way up to your hips! Explore your foot placement and see if that changes anything for you.

Some things to work on:

To really create the strength and stability that tadasana teaches us to bring into other postures, you might try using props! Try holding a block between your thighs to engage the power of your legs. Or combine the use a block and a strap by wrapping the strap around your legs while holding the block. We’ll explore both techniques plus some others in our tadasana videos, so keep your eyes open for updates below!

And don’t forget:

Sometimes you’ll hear teachers say to bring your feet together so that they touch or to make your feet parallel. While that might work for some bodies, it doesn’t work for all bodies. So let yourself explore and maybe try different foot placements. But in the end, take the pose in a way that feels best for you and your body.

Videos:

Check back as we add practice videos exploring:

How to take tadasana with props
A simple practice to develop tadasana
Ways to move when in tadasana

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You can connect with Jennifer directly through her Instagram page!

Exploring The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Sutra 1.4

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:30:35 +0000

Building on the first three sutras, yoga sutra 1.4 states, Vritti sarupyam itaratra: When one is not in Self-realization, the Seer takes on the identity of the fluctuations of mind (thought patterns). That is, when we are wrapped up in our thoughts, unable to stay present, we become our thoughts.

This is most easily understood by considering an energetic action. Consider that when you become wrapped up in negative thoughts, those thoughts consume you. Your emotions take on a negative tone. Your words and actions often follow suit. You become the physical manifestation of those thoughts. Likewise, when you become wrapped up in happiness, your emotions, words, and actions follow. While you might think that becoming wrapped up in happiness is a goal, happiness, too, is finite. It comes and goes.

Instead, by not attaching to your mind chatter, you can effectively take a step back and observe them for what they really are—fluctuations. This practice can help you to notice your thoughts, and to notice when you are attaching to your thoughts and getting wrapped up in emotions, words, and actions. By becoming the Seer, or observing these patterns in yourself, you will become less affected by the day-to-day happenings in your life. You will be able to see them with more clarity.

Yoga sutra 1.4 tells us that when we are not in a state of yoga, the mind is attracted by the external world, the root of all suffering. It lays out the consequences of not practicing yoga, as defined in yoga sutra 1.2.

Exploring The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Sutra 1.3

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 14:27:55 +0000

Following up on yoga sutra 1.2 (essentially, yoga is the cessation of mind chatter), yoga sutra 1.3 states, Tada drashtuh svarupevasthanam: then the seer abides in itself, resting in its true nature, also known as self-realization. This sutra explains the ultimate result of yoga—the discovery of one’s true nature.

Once we are able to calm the fluctuations of the mind, our perception of reality becomes clear. No longer clouded with thoughts of the past or the future, reality sharpens and we finally understand our true nature. We recognize our connection to all that is. We recognize that our current state is just as it should be.

What a relief to know that this practice—this work we do on and off the mat to find that place where our minds become quiet and we become more aware—will bring us back to a place where we can finally, and again, realize our being-ness. This shift from doing to being happens gradually (and can also happen at a moment’s notice)—and it has nothing to do with idleness. It is a perceptual shift that changes our very interaction with life and with the people and situations we encounter.

These early sutras help us to understand right away the profound nature of the yoga practice and how it can transform our lives for the better. What better way to begin the book than to inspire us to begin—right now—to practice. This realization is not to be viewed as a far-away, barely obtainable goal. It is within you at this very moment. You have only to uncover it.

You are enough, just as you are. What you do and who you are matters.

Exploring the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Sutra 1.2

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 14:15:00 +0000

In yoga sutra 1.2, the second sutra of book one, Patanjali lays out the definition and purpose of yoga. Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah: yoga is the cessation of the modifications, or fluctuations, of the mind. This sutra gets right to the heart of why we practice yoga. No time is wasted. We learn right away what yoga is and why we practice it, while the rest of book expands on the topic and offers ways to go about calming these modifications of the mind.

So what are modifications of the mind? Simply put, it’s the mind chatter that draws our attention away from the present moment. When you are in yoga class, focusing on your breath while feeling the movement of your body and suddenly you wonder what you’ll have for lunch, or you remember a conversation you need to have with someone, or you look over at the person next to you and wish that your pose looked like hers, your mind is fluctuating—you are no longer present. These are the modifications of the mind that yoga is trying to quiet.

This goal of yoga is simple but not always easy. Our minds are so conditioned to follow thought strands that take us from topic to topic, anywhere but where we currently are. Becoming caught up in our thoughts feels natural to us because we do it almost all the time. Quieting this chatter, using the tools of the yoga practice, can feel almost impossible at times. This is one reason why many people find meditation to be intimidating. “I could never sit still and do nothing,” they say.

But with practice, over time, quieting these fluctuations starts to feel natural, even effortless. Space opens up in our minds as we learn to remain focused on the breath, the body, the moment. And in this space can be planted the seeds of insight—those realizations that bring us closer to our true nature.

Exploring the Myths of Asana—Savasana

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Tue, 31 May 2016 12:44:50 +0000

At the end of a yoga asana practice comes what many find to be the best part of the practice—Savasana, or Corpse Pose. Often, Savasana is referred to as Final Resting Pose or Final Relaxation Pose, but at its essence, Savasana is about surrendering deeply to an energy that prepares us for the inevitable—our death.

The idea of facing death makes most of us, especially in the West, squirm. Facing our ultimate demise is something we would rather put off for another day. But yoga encourages us to consider our death each and every time we come to the mat. The symbolic practice teaches us to surrender our efforts. All that work we have done on the mat is ultimately not for us. When we devote ourselves to the practice with non-attachment to its results, we surrender to whatever might arise. That ultimate surrender is realized when we lay down, close our eyes, and let go.

This symbolic practice shows us now only how to live, but also, ultimately, how to die. When it our time comes, we can either bow out with grace and acceptance, or fearfully fight the inevitable. Savasana teaches us how to get comfortable with our mortality, which gives us a renewed vigor for life itself. When you know—truly know in your bones—that you are going to die one day, how will you choose to live?

Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas, states it beautifully, “We come into this world with empty hands, and we must leave with empty hands. Being conscious of death in a yogic way does not turn us into curmudgeons, but instead allows us to live every moment in freedom and joy.”

Exploring the Myths of Asana—Siddhasana

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Sun, 01 May 2016 18:18:32 +0000

Siddhasana, or Accomplished Pose, does not look like much from the outside, but the ability to hold this pose for long periods of time is known to be a marker of meditative excellence. In a sitting position, with the left heel placed against the groin, or perineum, and the right ankle placed over the left, Siddhasana represents the ability to sit upright in a state of perfection, or siddha.

The siddha is one who has “perfected” yoga and achieved mastery over the gunas. There are three gunas: tamas (darkness, destruction, chaos), rajas (excitement, activity, confusion), and sattva (goodness, harmony). One who is sattvic has overcome the pull of tamasic or rajasic behavior, abiding in the peace of his own true nature. In this state, according to the Yoga Sutras, one can attain great mystical powers called siddhis. But these powers are to be used appropriately, as the story of Durvasa teaches.

Durvasa was one such siddha who had achieved such siddhi powers. One day he came upon the court of King Ambarish, who had been fasting for the day. When it came time to break his fast at sundown, Durvasa was nowhere to be found. King Ambarish did not want to be rude and eat before his guest, so he drank some water to help ease his hunger. When Durvasa returned and discovered the king had taken water before him, he was furious. With his siddhi powers he created a demon that he sent to kill King Ambarish.

But King Ambarish was a devotee of Vishnu, the god of preservation, and was not attached to his wealth and kingdom because he knew that it was all temporary. Because of his devotion, he was protected by the chakra of Vishnu, a spinning vortex of energy. As soon as the demon came for the king, the spinning wheel instead killed the demon and chased Durvasa away. Durvasa sought help from Bramha, the god of creation, Shiva, the god of destruction, and Vishnu himself. Only Vishnu offered advice, “Only if my devotee Ambarish is willing to forgive you make the chakra withdraw.” Of course, King Ambarish forgave Durvasa and the spinning chakra retreated.

“In the end, the mystical powers of Durvasa proved to be less powerful than the devotional path of yoga that King Ambarish had been following,” states Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas. “The true power of Siddhasana is its ability to give us the space to meditate on the power and beauty of selfless giving and unconditional love.” The same can be said for the attainment of peace within the yoga practice rather than the attainment of the perfect yoga pose. Yoga is an inner, not an outer practice.

Exploring the Myths of Asana—Balasana

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 11:16:46 +0000

Balasana, or Child’s Pose, is one of the most-loved yoga postures for the simple reason that it feels so good. The fact that it’s often taken after a difficult pose may even increase its appeal. Balasana is like a refuge. A breath of fresh air. A release. It’s where we can let go of all the stress and just be. Perhaps that’s why it’s called Child Pose after all. The innocence of childhood is graced with a feeling of ease.

In fact, many say that children are closer to divinity because they have not yet forgotten where they come from. The myth of Balasana touches on this very idea. Krishna, who is Vishnu incarnate (Vishnu being the god of preservation, one of three main Hindu gods), during childhood displayed the behavior of a child who did not know his own divinity, a playful forgetfulness known as lila. Not to be confused with maya, or the illusion that tells us our mortal experiences are real, lila is experienced when one is fully grounded in his or her own divinity, but can then forget it in a way that brings about lightness.

According to Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas, “This is one of the paradoxes of yoga philosophy: First we need to remember our divine nature, and when we are established in it we need to forget it again in order to stay engaged in the world.” In other words, we must be in the world, but not of the world. Child’s Pose represents this balance.

We can use children as our teachers. Witness the full attention a child gives to each moment. They are not burdened by their past or worried about the future. They live in the moment, just as yoga teaches us adults to do. Taking the time to find our own childlike—yet godlike—nature is a worthwhile endeavor. “Balasana invites us to cultivate this childlike quality,” says Kaivalya. Keep this in mind next time you come into Child’s Pose.

Exploring the Myths of Asana—Vasisthasana

The Yoga Sanctuary - Jennifer — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 17:52:25 +0000

Vasisthasana, or Side Plank Pose, is named after the great Indian sage Vasistha. The story begins with King Ram, who was an incarnation of Vishnu, one of three main Hindu gods responsible for the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe. Vishnu is the maintainer.

King Ram appeared on earth to restore dharma, or righteousness. But after his travels throughout the world, where he witnessed many devastating events, he fell into a deep state of depression. Vasistha saw this state of mind as a great opportunity, however. According to Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas, “One must first see cracks in the ceiling before one can start to see the light shining through it.” King Ram was actually on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough, he just didn’t know it.

King Ram was skeptical. His lack of vision clouded his perception, but Vasistha showed him that it was this clouded vision that would help him to find clarity. Thus began a dialogue between King Ram and Vasistha that became the Yoga Vasistha, one of the main yoga philosophy and mythology texts.

The Yoga Vasistha teaches about jivanmukta, the state of the soul who is liberated while living. Jiva is the individual soul, expressed through the different aspects of human life; and mukti means liberation. “The magic occurs, explained Vasistha, when the individual soul merges with absolute freedom, so we can be, as the saying goes, in this world, but not of this world,” states Kaivalya.

Ram became one of the most well revered kings in Indian history. He even appears as the main character in India’s epic, the Ramayana. Vasistha’s teachings are thought to be responsible for Ram’s great achievements and success in life.

The symbolism of Vasisthasana is evident in the pose itself. A careful balance on one hand, the pose requires focus on what’s important. Clouded vision often arises at first, but clear focus is required to truly maintain the posture. With the body facing one direction, only part of the whole truth is seen. One must turn to complete the pose on the other side to view another perspective. This aspect of the pose reflects the challenge King Ram faced when he met Vasistha.