"When the mind and the heart are stretched together in expanding self awareness, I assure you, there is instantaneous self transcendence and, therefore, limitless freedom." -Sri Swami Nirmalananda
Ironically, although having studied politics as an International Affairs major in university, as a yogi, it is not often that I find myself engaging with heated political issues. However, the national and international rise in participation of the Occupy Wall Street movement has sparked my inquiry and curiosity.
As a practicing yoga teacher and yoga therapist, my job is all about viewing a system as a whole – that system being primarily the human experience – and offering tangible suggestions and advice for improving the efficiency of that system as it relates to the inquirer or practitioner. While in western yoga the body is the primary vehicle set in motion for that system through asanas, the body system is not exclusive of the mind or soul, which is why a wholesome yoga practice also includes other practices like pranayama and meditation. Likewise, the human experience is also effectively inclusive of external factors such as our relationship to a larger system: a community, a governing body, a society or culture, a planet, the greater cosmic universe. A system is never complete on its own; it must rely on the interconnected relationship with other systems for its long-term survival, just as the physical mind cannot live without the body, a fish without clean water, or the tides without the cycle of the moon.
From this yogic and vedic perspective, the Occupy Wall Street movement is equivalent to the body’s reaction to pain experienced during an intensely challenging asana. Whereas, one part of the body may be enjoying the long-held and deep stretch of the pose, another part of the body may be screaming and begging for mercy.
“Get me out of here! This doesn’t work for me! I have rights too, ya know!”
Herein lies the dualism and karma of asana practice. For most yogis, I think, we take the body’s conflicting reaction to the pose as a message of either curiosity or betrayal. We learn to either adapt, include, or exclude the pose altogether. We deduce from the experience that something must be done, must be corrected, or must be ignored in order to move on. Similarly, the Occupy Wall Street movement is a societal response to an economic pose that simply cannot be sustained within our everyday practice.
As I watched the YouTube video of yogini superstar Seane Corn lead a group of NYC yogis through commandeering prayer and group chant for the participants of OWS, I felt a sense of needing to not just address the uprising response of protesters, but the system of our society and economy as a whole body. Does our liver hate our spleen for being different? Do our feet feel envious of our hands because they are more tactile and versatile? No. Even with the multiplicity of differences occurring everyday in our own body, the body system manages to work together to do its best in giving us an experience of being whole and complete.
So then, yogis, how do we bridge the 99% with the 1% of our social economy just as we might bridge the dualism of a pose that we both love and hate? How does one find balance between the duality of politics and spirituality? Perhaps through awareness in listening... body awareness... breath awareness... mindfulness in the moment... stillness within action... curiosity and exploration.
The vedic masters claim that the bliss of yoga comes from seeing God in all, as all. Through this path, a yogi must continuously practice bridging the values of the ego with the values of the soul in every moment. Whereas, politics is akin to the ego and the body like money to material desires, spirituality is akin to the soul and consciousness as love is to a pure and open heart.
How then do we bridge the body with the soul, or even conservatives with liberals? The answer already exists. It is our ability to listen – to listen ever so closely – to the messages, and to make modifications and adjustments that include and accept. Just as anger is the ego’s expression of the soul’s desire for love, there is a message in everything. When we tune in to possibilities not formerly within our scope of awareness, we unlock a world of potentiality, a fruit-laden tree of sustainable relationships that connect us to a greater system beyond our everyday awareness.
Setu Bandhasana: Bridge Pose
Bridge Pose opens and elevates the sacral, naval and heart chakras. These are our centers for creativity, self-expression, action, acceptance and love. When practicing Bridge Pose with a dristi (focused/intentional gaze), set your internal gaze on allowing more of these qualities into your life, and your external gaze on bridging any dualities that arise for you, such as a conflict between a staunch politician and your desire for a financially secure life, or the conservative peer that scoffs at your liberal beliefs (or vice versa).
Ironically, although having studied politics as an International Affairs major in university, as a yogi, it is not often that I find myself engaging with heated political issues. However, the national and international rise in participation of the Occupy Wall Street movement has sparked my inquiry and curiosity.
As a practicing yoga teacher and yoga therapist, my job is all about viewing a system as a whole – that system being primarily the human experience – and offering tangible suggestions and advice for improving the efficiency of that system as it relates to the inquirer or practitioner. While in western yoga the body is the primary vehicle set in motion for that system through asanas, the body system is not exclusive of the mind or soul, which is why a wholesome yoga practice also includes other practices like pranayama and meditation. Likewise, the human experience is also effectively inclusive of external factors such as our relationship to a larger system: a community, a governing body, a society or culture, a planet, the greater cosmic universe. A system is never complete on its own; it must rely on the interconnected relationship with other systems for its long-term survival, just as the physical mind cannot live without the body, a fish without clean water, or the tides without the cycle of the moon.
From this yogic and vedic perspective, the Occupy Wall Street movement is equivalent to the body’s reaction to pain experienced during an intensely challenging asana. Whereas, one part of the body may be enjoying the long-held and deep stretch of the pose, another part of the body may be screaming and begging for mercy.
“Get me out of here! This doesn’t work for me! I have rights too, ya know!”
Herein lies the dualism and karma of asana practice. For most yogis, I think, we take the body’s conflicting reaction to the pose as a message of either curiosity or betrayal. We learn to either adapt, include, or exclude the pose altogether. We deduce from the experience that something must be done, must be corrected, or must be ignored in order to move on. Similarly, the Occupy Wall Street movement is a societal response to an economic pose that simply cannot be sustained within our everyday practice.
As I watched the YouTube video of yogini superstar Seane Corn lead a group of NYC yogis through commandeering prayer and group chant for the participants of OWS, I felt a sense of needing to not just address the uprising response of protesters, but the system of our society and economy as a whole body. Does our liver hate our spleen for being different? Do our feet feel envious of our hands because they are more tactile and versatile? No. Even with the multiplicity of differences occurring everyday in our own body, the body system manages to work together to do its best in giving us an experience of being whole and complete.
So then, yogis, how do we bridge the 99% with the 1% of our social economy just as we might bridge the dualism of a pose that we both love and hate? How does one find balance between the duality of politics and spirituality? Perhaps through awareness in listening... body awareness... breath awareness... mindfulness in the moment... stillness within action... curiosity and exploration.
The vedic masters claim that the bliss of yoga comes from seeing God in all, as all. Through this path, a yogi must continuously practice bridging the values of the ego with the values of the soul in every moment. Whereas, politics is akin to the ego and the body like money to material desires, spirituality is akin to the soul and consciousness as love is to a pure and open heart.
How then do we bridge the body with the soul, or even conservatives with liberals? The answer already exists. It is our ability to listen – to listen ever so closely – to the messages, and to make modifications and adjustments that include and accept. Just as anger is the ego’s expression of the soul’s desire for love, there is a message in everything. When we tune in to possibilities not formerly within our scope of awareness, we unlock a world of potentiality, a fruit-laden tree of sustainable relationships that connect us to a greater system beyond our everyday awareness.
Setu Bandhasana: Bridge Pose
Bridge Pose opens and elevates the sacral, naval and heart chakras. These are our centers for creativity, self-expression, action, acceptance and love. When practicing Bridge Pose with a dristi (focused/intentional gaze), set your internal gaze on allowing more of these qualities into your life, and your external gaze on bridging any dualities that arise for you, such as a conflict between a staunch politician and your desire for a financially secure life, or the conservative peer that scoffs at your liberal beliefs (or vice versa).
- Begin lying on your back with arms by your sides and feet hip width apart.
- Turn your palms face up, offering your intention to accept what is. This will also open the awareness in your heart center as your shoulder blades respond, tucking under your sternum.
- Feel into your footing. Feel the solidarity of the earth beneath your feet. Imagine both rooting into the earth and wrapping around the curvatures of the earth as you go deep within and, at the same time, reach wide toward your distant connections that contribute to the wholeness of your experience.
- Begin building your bridge. First with the tailbone, then sacrum, then belly button, ribs and finally heart center. Rise one at a time, offering a single inhaling and exhaling breath for each center before moving on to the next. Rome was not built in a day. Take your time building your bridge. Rushing through the creative process will weaken your vital points and crumble your opportunity to gracefully construct openness, acceptance and strength.
- Once you enter the full bridge, you are welcome to go deeper with Active Bridge. Firmly engage the palms together by interlacing the fingers under the spine parallel to the floor. This opens the heart more deeply and inspires the body to take on a higher state.
- Advanced students are welcome to enter Urdhva Dhanurasana – Wheel Pose – grounding the bridge into the hands and feet and opening the torso fully to the heavens.
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