The Odyssey
I'm almost done with reading Homer's The Odyssey. I've been a lover of Greek myths all my life but I've never actually read this book cover to cover. I keep seeing parallels between Odysseus' journey and my own journey towards the Anusara certification. They were both so long, epic roads filled with adventures, internal monsters and enduring hope towards getting to our own Ithaka.
I was surprised in my reading of The Odyssey of so many things. For instance the book is not linear; it begins half way with Odysseus' son Telemachus telling the story. The book starts in the middle of things which gave the name to a literary technique called "In media res." And isn't that how our own personal stories go? We're always in the middle of things when a challenge hits. Where does one begin to tell a story?
Also, The Odyssey is famous for all it's monsters: Cyclops, Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the Lotus-Eaters, Laestrygonians... As a child I memorized all of the monsters, and was terrified and enthralled with them, especially the Sirens. Little did I know that as formidable as these monsters were, the one who most challenged our hero was not a monster but a beautiful demi-Goddess named Calypso. In her company he ended up staying 7 whole years. How interesting to me that his biggest challenge was not something demonic or catastrophic, but rather a beautiful, comfortable distraction in the form of a demi-goddess that kept him for 7 years.
So as I look at the challenges I face I notice that the more dramatic and traumatic they are (car accident, family member's death or illness) I've survived them and moved through with graceful alacrity. However, it is those pernicious, seemingly not-a-big-deal thoughts of "I'm not good enough; I'm not worthy; I'm not as smart, as talented as everybody else" that get lodged into my bones, keeping me stuck for a very long time. Those are the hardest obstacles to surmount.
I've been teaching the last few classes on remembering your intention, especially when things get challenging. There were many a moment in these last four years where I truly believed that I was not going to be certified. But I just would remember why I was doing it in the first place, and that would give wind to my sails.
Theme: Remember your intention.
Focus: First principle of Anusara (Open to Grace)
"Set your foundation with commitment for your journey on this next hour and a half."
"Find your breath. Let that be the first thing you do before you engage."
"Remember why you are here."
This is the template that I've been playing with this week.
Since I teach both advanced and mixed level classes, plus I really really try to teach to the room, the template changes depending on the class...
Child's Pose, Down Dog, Uttanasana
Suryas
Tadasana with arms on the back plane, fingers interlaced, open the heart.
Urdhva Namaskarasana
Crescent,
Down Dog
Uttanasana
Chair,
Standing Back bend
Uttanasana
Parsvakonasana
Parsvakonasana variation with arm on the inside
Bound Parsvakonasana
Prasarita Padottansana
Forearm Balance
Sirsasana 1
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana 1 prep. Add thigh Stretch
Eka Pada Virasana
Camel
Bridge
Urdhva
Urdhva to Camel
Urdhva to standing
Janu Sirsasana
Parvrrta Janu Sirsasana
Omega
Savasana
Anusara Poster Project Poses: Omega, Parivrrta Janu Sirsasana and Parivrrta Upavista Konasana
Highlight: My brother who is NOT a yoga fan walked into my class yesterday at 6PM Black Dog with his girlfriend Garie. They came in just as I was guiding the class to close their eyes for centering. I was so happy to see them and to see him that I instructed everyone to open their eyes and say hi! He said right then and there, "I heard that there was a new certified teacher in town! So I came to class!" How cute is he?
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