Architectural Intentions

"I have architectural intentions." That's what she told the interviewer.

He was on campus at the University of Wisconsin. He wanted to know what she was majoring in.

Eventually, she admitted "we don't have Architecture here."

His come-back was priceless. "I know. I've seen the buildings."

The interviewer was radio host and comedian Michael Feldman, the star of the Wisconsin Public Radio show Whad' Ya Know?.

He couldn't stop there. He asked, "Do you lean toward a particular style of architecture?"

It seems to me that "lean" and "architecture" don't belong in the same sentence. (Think of the leaning tower of Pisa.) And it's all because of gravity.



I lean toward a particular styel of yoga. The style I prefer is Anusara yoga, for many reasons. At least one of those reasons is Anusara has "architectural intentions," too.

Anusara yoga emphasizes Attitude, Alignment and Action, the "three A's" of Anusara.

When you line up your major body segments with the flow of gravity (like an architect), you become structurally stronger. Ultimately, you can perform your poses with more ease when gravity supports you, rather than dragging you down.

Here's a question: When others see the poses you're building, do they see any evidence of architectural design? Do they see alignment?

Try this. Look at your virabhadrasana 2 pose in the mirror. That's warrior 2 pose. Is your spine vertically aligned? Or, do you lean like the tower of Pisa toward your front hand?



If you have architectural intentions (and you should), you've got to figure out how to true up your torso with plumb.

That architectural wonder, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, should give you a clue about getting on track.

The foundation makes all the difference.

Before you even start warrior 2 pose, you take your feet wide apart and turn them. Assuming you're going to go right first, you turn your left foot in a bit, and turn your whole right leg out.



Most of my students, when they turn their feet in this way, immediately and often unknowingly, drop their right hips. Now the pelvis is no longer level.

Because the foundation isn't level, the spine lists like the mast on a tall ship in high seas.

Level your pelvis--and keep it level--as your come into the pose and the tower of your vertebrae won't lean at all.

That's alignment. And that's good.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you look at a map of Italy, you'll see it's shaped like a foot and leg. Rome is located right about where the knee cap should be. And Pisa is on the upper thigh.

The Sanskrit word for foot or leg is pada. It's one of the most frequently used word roots in all of the Sanskrit names of yoga poses.

Get a leg up on your Sanskrit. Join us for the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up next in Columbia, MO at alleyCat yoga. Click on http://alleycatyoga.com/alleyCat/wkshps.htm#sanskrit for more information.

We also have dates set for Dallas, TX and Annapolis, MD. Click on
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/index.html to register.

p.p.s., "Anusara" literally means to step into the flow of Grace. When you align yourself with the direction of flow in the universe, there's more ease. Find out more about Anusara yoga at http://anusara.com/.

p.p.p.s., Speaking of flow..."the flow's the thing." That's right. It's the flow that makes the difference when you practice the ancient cleansing practice of jala neti. Warm saline, a neti pot, and flow are all you need to get your upper respiratory system tuned up and healthy as can be. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/01/experience-neti-flow.html.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Auspicious Day

I have a very simple yoga tip for you all today.

Go to the Yoga Journal web page and listen to the opening remarks of Sri BKS Iyengar as he welcomes the participants of the Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, Colorado.

Here's the link to the blog http://blogs.yogajournal.com.

He's an incredible master of yoga and teacher.

He says today is an auspicious day. Then he defines auspicious as when "the mind and brain live in poise."

I think you'll enjoy his remarks as well as the other "live coverage" of the Conference that Yoga Journal is providing. They are posting interviews of participants in the Conference as well as audio and video clips.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Energy Shortage

The news media are reporting that Houston, Texas has avoided the horrible devastation that was experienced by the victims of Hurricane Katrina. People are turning their cars around and heading back home.

But emergency management officials, all the way from the President of the United States down to the Mayor, are asking people to stay away. "Don't come back," they're saying. Please wait.

Although electricity is out in much of the city, roads are passable. Pleople are concerned about their property. They want to get back home. Why are they being told to stay away?

Because there's no gasoline. There's not enough energy to meet the needs of the entire city, if everyone returned now.

What should you do when you're low on energy? Restorative yoga.

If you're feeling dull or listless, I recommend you quiet your practice place, gather around you a pile of firm blankets and other props, and settle in for at least an hour of supported restful postures.

Restorative yoga poses are typically performed lying down using props to support your body in various positions. The poses are held, unlike more vigorous poses, for a long period of time, usually from around 2 minutes to 10 minutes.

Whenever you can, I recommend practing restorative poses with an eye pillow over your eyes and a blanket thrown over you, to keep you warm. Your body temperature drops when you rest quietly on the floor for a while.

Nearly every yoga class I've participated in at least alludes to the need for a restorative yoga practice. How? By finishing the class with the relaxation pose, savasana.

I remember discovering early in my studies how incredibly refreshing it was to lie down and relax before going home from my yoga classes.

I was also suprised to learn that I could lie down and get the benefits of restorative yoga any time. When we worked hard in class and our energy and focus were less than optimal, my first yoga teacher would ask us to lie down and be perfectly still for just a couple minutes. Then we would get up and continue with class, with all the energy and attention we needed.

I don't know where Houston will get its gas. But if you need more energy, lie down and practice restorative yoga.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., You've got to be still to benefit from restorative yoga. If you're just learning yoga, go to class and get some practice at lying still in the final relaxation pose, savasansa. This tip is for all of you. If you can't seem to settle down for a restorative practice, get up and do something active. Warm up. Do some sun salutes. Then settle in for some still, sweet restoration.

p.p.s., The classic book on restorative yoga was written by Judith Lasater years ago. I recommend it. It's called Relax and Renew. Follow her instructions on the set of poses she lays out and you'll be recharged.



p.p.p.s., Restorative yoga is prop-intensive. BKS Iyengar is the originator of using props to help with asana practice. His book, Yoga: the Path to Wholistic Health is beautiful and unmatched in 360-degree photography and tips for restorative poses.



p.p.p.p.s., Congratulations to Pierette Bentivegna of Jefferson City, MO for being the first to respond to my offer of a free WristFix report. I'll be sending her a free copy of "Be Wrist Pain Free in Four Weeks" and the Chinese exercise ring that goes with it. You can find out more at www.WristFix.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

The Soft Under Side of Wrist Pain

Do your wrists hurt in downward facing dog pose? Or upward facing dog pose?

It may be that there's something that's come between you and the solid ground beneath you.

If you practice on thickly padded carpeting you'll notice that when you push into the floor with your hands you don't get that rebound effect that literally lifts the forearm up out of the wrist joint. Instead, you get a squishy, sinking feeling that causes the wrist to collapse and compress.

One solution to your wrist pain might be to start practicing on a firm floor, one that doesn't 'give.'

You'll notice, too, that when you get off the padded carpet for your regular asana routine, your balance will improve in your standing poses and your inversions!

Save the padded carpet for savasana.

If you'd like to know more about the rebound effect, see my Daily Yoga Tip at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/09/yoga-toes.html.

Wrist pain can also be helped with a simple change in how you arrange your fingers. See my Daily Yoga Tip about wrist pain at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/07/finger-position-eliminates-wrist-pain.html.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I'll send the first person who responds a free copy of my WristFix report, "Be Wrist Pain Free in Four Weeks" along with the Chinese exercise ring that goes with it. This is a $39.95 value that you get FREE!


The WristFix report and Chinese exercise ring

See www.WristFix.org for more details about the report, the Chinese exercise ring, and how these exercises can eliminate pain, numbness, tingling, weakness and other hand or wrist problems. My email address is info@experienceyoga.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved by Mo Yoga LLC.

Downward Falling Tree

My whole body hurts. It hurts because I've been doing some out-of-the-ordinary physical labor.

Last week we had a storm here with 70 mph winds. When it was all done, my wife and I discussed a new way to make use of our back yard. And it called for cutting down two trees.

Yesterday, I went back there and cut them both down.

Getting a tree to fall down is not that difficult. But doing it without ruining yourself or something of value takes a little skill. (The safety net around my daughter's trampoline took some damage, but the trampoline, and everything else back there, including my house, survived untouched.)

(In case you were wondering, no chainsaws were involved. Hand saw all the way!)

One thing was made painfully clear to me yesterday. While the tree was up, nicely vertically aligned, very little effort was needed to push the freshly cut tree in the direction I wanted it to fall.

But once the fallen tree was on the ground...oh my! It's incredibly heavy and difficult to manage. Lots of heaving, pushing and pulling were needed. Therefore, my whole body hurts. Everywhere.

So what has all this to do with yoga?

It has to do with being upside down in downward facing tree pose, handstand (adho mukha vrksasana).

Here's what I notice when I spot new students in handstands. As the legs are moving through space, coming up from the floor, finding their place directly over the arms and torso, there's a degree of comfort that the new handstander feels because he or she can clearly feel in the arms and hands the weight of his own body.

But once you're vetically aligned, you immediately feel lighter. You "grow up."

For most, this is startling. It's so startling, many react by flailing their legs. Legs akimbo, of course, throws off your balance and you come careening toward the floor, just like the two felled trees in my back yard.

It all happens so quickly, few notice it. But I almost always point it out, because many believe they're not strong enough to do the pose. Strength is a factor, of course, but believe it or not, once you're vertical, you feel light.

I notice it myself more clearly in headstand, sirsansana. It feels 'safer' when my body weight is shifted forward. In that position, I feel my weight strongly in my elbows. But as I shift my weight backwards, so that I'm perfectly aligned over my head, the weight in my elbows, and my head, both get lighter! It often frightens me.

It frightens me because in this perfectly aligned position, the tiniest adjustment shifts my body weight significanlty. If I over-adjust, over I go and down to the floor, where I'm heavy.

The long term goal of my practice is to make very precise subtle adjustments that keep me upright.

By the way, you do this all the time when you're upright. You just make them with such skill and familiarity, you rarely notice.

Don't just sit there. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Tips for Toes, Abduction Instruction

I promised in my last Daily Yoga Tip I'd give you my recommendations for how you might practice toe abduction (spreading the toes) more successfully.

But first, the "why?"

You should regularly spread your toes because if you're like most of us, your feet are trapped inside shoes and socks most of the time. While they're in there, the toes can't move freely and naturally. The normal muscle tone and coordination starts to break down. From there, it's the domino effect. You start to have real troubles with your feet like collapsed arches and bunions.

Spreading your toes also broadens your feet and makes your more stable.

Lastly, toe spreading also improves the overall tone and control of the legs. This control of the legs is vital in standing poses. You establish a stronger connection to the earth.

It's probably even more important for folks who are new to inversions. I notice that students who are just starting to experiment with the upside-down poses forget about their legs. When you look at them, you see their legs are limp and ineffective.

Try spreading your toes when you're upside-down and the legs wake up and become more useful. You can use your legs to pull your body weight up. You lighten your own load.

Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps takes on new meaning!

Here's my suggestion:
1. Establish a baseline. Take your shoes off. Stretch your legs out in front of you while sitting on the floor. Spread your toes. Notice how effective (or for some of you, ineffective) you are at spreading your toes.

2. Warm and stretch the feet. Cross your legs and put the fingers of your right hand between the toes of your left foot. All of them. All at once. If you're dextrous, you'll be able to wiggle the left fingers between the right toes at the same time. Now wait. Let the feet warm from the heat of your hands. And dig the fingers deeper between the toes to open the space between each toe over time.

3. Look. You've got to look. I am amazed at how many of my students don't focus their attention by looking. They glance for a moment and then let their eyes wander to something else. Please look at your feet. You need to find out whether the signal you send with your nervous sytem arrives at your feet. You'll be able to see this only if you look. I would not trust how it feels for a while.

4. Spread the bones in the body of your foot. This is the BIG tip. If you attempt to simply spread your toes apart, you'll have some success. Try it. But you'll really be able to move your toes wider apart if you try to spread apart the long bones in the main body of the foot. They're called the metatarsal bones. See the difference?


Don't just spread the toes. Create space between the metatarsals, too.

5. Compare to your baseline. Look for and acknowledge progress, as compared to your baseline performance.

6. Practice this regularly. If you can do it every day, do it.

7. Go barefoot. Unless you have plantar fasciitis, you should go without your shoes AND SOCKS as much as possible so that when you walk your foot naturally splays and gets stronger, more flexible, and more coordinated.

Here's to good foot health.

Don't just sit there. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., My friend Lauren Lyerla is conducting a very special workshop for adults who are interested in giving children the gift of yoga. I hope you'll contact her and join in the fun and effective instruction.

A Taste of YogaKids" One-Day Workshop for Adults
September 24, 2005, 9am – 5pm, St. Louis

• Yoga techniques you can use right away with the kids in your life.
• Help kids stay healthier, learn better, focus longer, stressless, and have fun!
• Based on Multiple Intelligences theory, YogaKids educates the “whole child” using yoga as a pathway to learning.
• No yoga experience necessary.
• Great for: Parents, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Yoga Teachers, Educators, Healthcare Professional, Psychologists
• Includes “YogaKids: Educating the Whole Child Through Yoga” by Marsha Wenig and certificate of completion.

For more information, contact Lauren: Lauren.Lyerla@YogaKids.com, (314) 579-9243
To register: Please call 800-968-0694, or visit www.yogakids.com
Tuition: $149 ($169 after 09/16/2005)
Led by YogaKids Trainers Lauren Lyerla and Meg Krejci.
Workshop will be held in the beautiful, light-filled chapel of First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, 5007 Waterman Boulevard.

This workshop is educational, practical, and loads of fun.

Feet Don't Fail Me Now

In my last Daily Yoga Tip I mentioned the B word, bunions.

Bunions are a pretty common foot problem. In the medical literature they're called hallux valgus, a name that seems as appropriately unpleasant as the foot problem itself.

Hallux valgus is a progressive problem. It starts with a mis-alignment of the big toe. Instead of pointing straight ahead, the big toe crowds over toward the other toes.


bunions

Eventually, this problem progresses so that the joint at the base of the big toe changes, and ultimately the bones of the foot change.


bunion x-ray showing bone changes

Most people with bunions have a fairly large bump that protrudes out from the inside of the foot.

People who've got buinions are usually very unhappy with the way their feet look. They lose proper foot function. And many have foot pain, which you know, even if you've just stubbed your toe, can be debilitating.

Yoga can help. But first a little anatomy terminology.

When you spread your toes apart, thats abduction. When you squeeze your toes together, that's adduction.

The mnemonic I use isn't a pleasant one, but it works.

Think of the word abduction in it's common daily use. You hear it on the news in the police reports. When there's been an abduction, someone's been taken away, forcibly, from his or her family.

So abduction literally means "to carry away from."

When it comes to anatomy, you simply need to figure out from what. The "from what" is the mid-line of the body or body part. In this case, when you abduct your toes, you carry your toes away from the mid-line of the foot.

When you adduct your toes, you bring them toward the mid-line of your foot.

When you practice abduction of the toes, you start to reverse and correct bunions, without surgery.

Here's a quote from an English translation of a respected peer-reviewed medical journal: "[U]nsatisfactory outcomes following hallux valgus surgery are not rare." (Rev Med Suisse. 2005 Jan 19;1(3):258-63)


foot surgery = no fun

Since bunion surgery frequently fails, why not try a regular practice of attentive toe abduction?

Between the big toe and the second toe are muscles that, when contracted, pull the big toe toward the mid-line of the foot. These are adductors.

On the other side of the bid toe are muscles that, when contracted pull the big toe away from the mid-line of the foot. These are called abductors.

People with bunions are known to have a muscle imbalance. The adductors of the great toe are strong and hyper-contracted. They pull the big toe towards the other toes. The abductors are weak and over-stretched.

When you spread your toes, you strengthen the big toe abductors and stretch the big toe adductors.

Over time the big toe comes back into normal alignment. The likelihood of this reversal of bunions is higher if you start practicing toe spreading before degenerative changes to the joint and bones progress.

Look down right now. Take off your shoe and focus on your foot. Now try to spread your toes.


toe abduction

It ain't easy.

Read my Daily Yoga Tip tomorrow and I'll give you some tips for spreading your toes easier and making progress faster.

Don't just sit there. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Did you notice above how I gave you some clues about how to remember the difference between abduction and adduction? That process is called association. You take a new idea and associate it with something with which you're already familiar. That's the technique we use at the Experience Yoga workshop.

But who wants to spend the day "applying a technique" when it's boring drudgery? Not me.

Learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses can be fun and unforgettable if you have experiences that are unforgettable.

Join Sallie Keeney and me for our Experience Sanskrit workshops coming up in Columbia, MO at alleyCat yoga on October 15; Dallas, TX at Surya Center for Yoga on Noveber 5; and March 4, 2006 in Annapolis, MD at Golden Heart Yoga. Find out more about the $50 workshop at www.ExperienceYoga.org. Register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/index.html.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Yoga Toes

The next time you're in a room full of yogis, look down. You'll notice a couple things.

First, everyone's barefoot.

Second, yogis have broad feet with lots of space between their toes.

That's good, right? Well, not so fast. I know wide feet are good.

But lots of people don't want their feet to be any bigger. So they look at me with trepidation when I say, "if you do yoga, your feet will get broader."

I suppose you'll want wider feet only if you know why you should want them.

I'll start with the simple stuff. A broader foot equals a more stable foundation. Your balance improves. That's good.

Beyond that, we should consider exactly why yogis have wider feet than most non-yogis.

Yogis spend a good amount of time with no shoes and socks on. Shoes and socks cram the toes together. They prevent free and independant movement of each individual toe.

When toes are crowded together, you can't use them properly for walking, standing, or running.

If you don't use the muscles and connective tissue of your feet, they start to get weak and dysfunctional.

Bunions are a perfect example of this.


bunion

Just in case you think this is a bunch of hooey, runners and hikers, who put many miles on their feet, fully embrace this information.

Injinji, a sock manufacturer, is marketing "tetrasoks" to runners and hikers. These five-toed socks fit over each individual toe, like a glove and, accroding to Men's Journal, strengthen your feet "by forcing toes into the natural spread formation you get running barefoot."

Don't miss that. Your toes are meant to spread wide when you walk and run. If allowed to open up, your feet will bless you with a more natural, balanced stride.

Another reason yogis' have wide feet is the purposeful action they create with their bodies. In this case, action is specifically produced in the feet and legs.

In mountain pose, the basic standing position for yoga, some of the lift in the torso that lengthens the spine and creates space between the vertebrae, comes from the "rebound effect" of projecting the feet and legs into the floor.

When you lengthen the legs and press down evenly through the four corners of the feet, you create a natural broadening of the foot and lengthening of the toes.

You can create this action in the feet even when your feet are up in the air in inversions (ala shoulder stand) or in poses like thunderbolt poses, where you're sitting on your feet.


yoga toes

Yoga is good for your feet. You can see it when you look down at toes that are long and spread wide apart.

Don't just sit there. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., My favorite Sanskrit word is angustha. Angustha means big toe. So, when you're doing supta padangusthasana, you're lying down (supta), reaching out to grab your big toe (angustha) on the end of your leg (pada). We have all sorts of fun like this learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. It's coming soon to you in Columbia, MO, Dallas, TX, and Annapolis, MD. Register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/.

p.p.s., Don't forget our Experience Neti Flow workshop coming up in October at Show Me Yoga Center in Jefferson City, MO. Click here for more information http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/01/experience-neti-flow.html.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Timings...for a Change

I went to a very long meeting today. I knew before I got there it would be long and mostly boring. So I decided to stand at the back of the room instead of sitting, just for some variety.

After about an hour, I started to hurt. Low back pain.

So, I squatted. Sweet relief. My back immediately felt great!

In the squatting position (malasana, or for those of you who like to squat with a twist, pasasana) it's easy to tuck your tailbone, lengthen your low back, and draw your navel back. Just what I needed to relieve the pain.


malasana

Why did I have pain from simply standing? Because my sacrum was lifting up, my low back vertebrae were compressed, and my pelvis tipped forward so that my abdomen was spilling out in front of me.


pasasana, with a little support from the Coke machine

But here's the deeper question: Why didn't I know those things were happening?

I'm not sure I know the answer. But I'm guessing that I simply wasn't aware. I wasn't paying attention. I wasn't tuned in.

Hold it!

That's it. Hold it.

If you want to reveal weaknesses in your poses, hold them longer.

They're called timings.

I wasn't aware of my hurtful posture until I held the position for a long time. Then it was revealed. Back pain greeted me.

I experimented a while until I could figure out what would make the pain go away. Now I can apply more diligently what I learned in mountain pose, to other poses, and to my daily life off the yoga mat.

Try timings for a change.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Sallie and I have received so many emails asking if we would sell the orange I DO YOGA wristbands as a fund raiser to provide relief aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Of course we will. We have been so overwhelmed by the generous response of the yoga community to provide assistance to the victims of the Asian Tsunami. It's just incredible.We know the response will be a generous one. If you'd like to help out, click here http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/idoyowrforhu.html . Every I DO YOGA wristband sold generates a $1 donation that goes to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief.


The orange silicone I DO YOGA wristband for Katrina Relief.

We know from experience that many of you find the idea of buying something to generate proceeds for a charitable cause to be objectionable. I hope you'll go directly to the American Red Cross site and make a donation that is appropriate https://give.redcross.org/?hurricanemasthead.

p.p.s., "Mala" is Sanskrit for garland. "Pasa" is Sanskrit for noose. So the poses mentioned above are garland pose (malasana) and noose pose (pasasana). Both of these poses begin in a squatting position, which I affectionately call "squatasana." You can have this kind of pose naming fun with us at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. Our next one is in Columbia, MO at alleyCat yoga center. You can register for this workshop, and our others in Dallas, Annapolis, and Jefferson City, MO at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/ .

Fierce Transformation

You've not heard from me in a week. An accidental vacation? Maybe. I think I've been stunned. Was it Wittgenstein who said, "what cannot be spoken of, must be passed over in silence"?

I've not known what to say.

Even with the vivid commentary and images we are given, it's hard to imagine the suffering and destruction experienced by those most directly impacted by hurricane Katrina. Maybe I should say it's hard to identify with the suffering. I've never been close to anything like it.

I was struck especially by the typically calm and detached news anchors who, in response to the needless sufferring of the victims of Katrina, came unglued on the TV screen and vented their frustration and righteous indignation.

Mistakes have been made. Tragically, people have died. We will undoubtedly see change in the near future. Those who were supposed to be responsible will lose their jobs. Heads will roll.

I am certain that in my very first yoga class I was taught a simple standing pose we called "proud warrior."


This is Amanda (or is it Ananda?), the mountain-top warrior. Wouldn't you want her on your side if you were facing trouble?

For this pose, the feet are positioned wide apart, then turned to point toward one side. Then you extend your arms out, like you would for better balance. Then you lunge, one leg bent and one leg straight, like a swordsman or fencer.


See the "proud warrior" on the right? It's a beautiful pose. And notice that she's going for disrupting transformation! She's going for her opponent's head!

You can see and feel the power of this pose the frist time you do it.

It didn't take me long to realize back then that this pose was just one of three powerful poses dedicated to the mighty warrior Virabhadra.

Virabhadra literally means "auspicious, blessed hero."


the mighty Virabhadra

It was confusing to me that the peaceful art of Yoga, which is aimed at bringing the joy that can only be attained in union with the Divine, honors fierce warriors and destroyers by naming not just a few poses after them.

The dissonance of this eventually wore off. It rolled right off my back...until I read the story of Virabhadra for myself.

Virabhadra was created when an angry Shiva yanked a clump of matted hair out of his scalp and threw it down. When the hair hit the ground, up arose the mighty warrior Virabhadra. That's the striking and somewhat amusing part of the story.

From then on, it's nauseating. Fire and smoke. Beheadings. Unimagineable destruction. Well, unimagineable until this past week.

The events of the past week are what recalled the story of Virabhadra to my mind.

A radio reporter said Thursday that the people in the New Orleans convention center were "living like animals." People were starving to death.

Dead bodies were lying out in the open. Packs of frenzied marauders were firing guns at rescue helicopters attempting to deliver food, water, and medical supplies.

Things change quickly during a disaster.

Even the seasons remind us that all of existence is cyclical. There is creation, followed by sustaining, then destruction. Then creation follows destruction, and the cycle repeats.

Transformation, new birth, requires that which is old to pass away. The seed must dry out and die before it is buried. Then comes new life. It's a cycle.

People come to yoga because they want something to change; they want transformation. And if you want something new, the old must be destroyed.

Think about this. If I want the benefits that come from a regular practice of yoga, the old person who never practices, must pass away. Then the the true you emerges.

Maybe that's why warriors are honored. We've always called on our warriors to help us face our harshest circumstances and survive in our most dire straits.

May each of us live bravely and give generously, like a fierce warrior, taking great risks during this time of tremendous change.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s. Daksa lost his head that day when Virabhadra destroyed the sacrafice to avenge the death of Shiva's beloved, Sati. But it was replaced by the head of a goat! Sati was reborn through meditation as Uma.

Some of these details make the story of Virabhadra unforgettable. And unforgettable is what you want when you're trying to learn and remember the Sanskrit name of the yoga poses you practice.

Join me and Sallie Keeney at the next Experience Sanskrit workshop in Columbia, MO on October 15, 12:30 to 4:30 pm at alleyCat yoga. We'll tell the stories behind the yoga pose names, and more. You'll have fun and finish asking for more! More Sanskrit? Yes! More Sanskrit.

Register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawocomooc.html for the Columbia, MO Experience Sanskrit workshop.

p.p.s. Sallie and I are coming to Annapolis, MD on Saturday, March 4, 2006 for the Experience Sanskrit workshop. Click on http://goldenheartyoga.com/Workshops.html for more details. And we're staying an extra day for a two-hour asana workshop on Sunday afternoon.

I am looking forward to seeing some of my old friends from the Washington, DC area in the new year.