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Nataraja-asana – The King of the Dance Pose
We practice yoga asanas (poses) in an effort to purify our bodies. The idea is that if we bring our bodies to a healthy state we will be able to purify our minds, getting closer to our True Selves and bliss. If you’re familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs you can consider asana practice as the bottom of the yoga pyramid, a basic survival necessity.
When practicing asanas one may find there are some poses that hit the spot more than others or even find within each asana there is a point of sheer bliss. That AH-HA moment.
Last week I found myself in Nataraja asana (The King of the Dance or King Dancer’s pose) and that AH-HA moment hit like a wave crashing over the beach. It was MY sheer bliss.
The thing is, you don’t have to be in the perfect position, you can be in a position that is suitable for your comfort level and reach that AH-HA moment. Don’t push yourself, that’s how injuries occur. I do urge you to seek out that AH-HA moment with an asana practice. However, let it come to you. It may take a few times but it’s worth waiting for.
Gurudev
Thoughts of you today.
More on the life and work of Swami Satchidananda.
Beautiful chants by Gurudev.
Be a Humble Teacher
Be a Humble Teacher
“If you want to enlighten others, get enlightened yourself. What you read in books is not enough. As a Yoga teacher, you should show your students the way because you know it well. Don’t pose as an all-knowing person. That’s the problem: Are you going to teach or preach? Preaching is not important.
Practicing is what’s important.
In fact, nobody is a teacher; we are all learners. Sometimes, we learn from the students themselves. So be humble and gently impart what you know. Say: ‘This is all I know; this what I’m hoping for. You try. You may even get it before me.’ That kind of humility is important.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
- Sri Swami Satchidananda
There is Thunder In Our Hearts.
image courtesy of lucas byrne
Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill”
Om Namah Shivaya
Bolo Bolo Sab Mil Bolo Om Namah Shivaya
Bolo Bolo Sab Mil Bolo Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya
Jhuta Jata Me Gangadhari
Trishula Dhari Damaru Bajave
Dama Dama Dama Dama Damaru Baja
Gunj Utha Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya
Namaḥ Śivaya has such power, the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondage of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect. Namaḥ Śivāya quells the instinct, cuts through the steel bands and turns this intellect within and on itself, to face itself and see its ignorance.
Sages declare that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. The holy Natchintanai proclaims, “Namaḥ Śivāya is in truth both Āgama and Veda. Namah Śivāya represents all mantras and tantras. Namaḥ Śivaya is our souls, our bodies and possessions. Namaḥ Śivāya has become our sure protection.”
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