In Sanskrit, dhanur is an archer’s bow. The most famous and well-beloved archer in the yoga stories is Arjuna, friend of Krishna.
Krisha as the driver, Arjuna with his Gandiva bow
The poses in yoga are named in groups: animals, plants, birds, structures, yogis, Gods and sages. In the very name of a pose we can begin to look for its symbolic meaning. As we move into the pose and take on its shape we feel the somatic hidden meanings of the asana. We have the amazing opportunity to become an explorer, making our own discoveries within the richness of each pose.
B.K.S. Iyengar, author of “Light on Yoga” and creator of Iyengar yoga has said “the yogi’s body assumes many forms resembling a variety of creatures.” One of these creatures is the dog. Dogs and humans have lived side by side for thousands of years. We see dogs as faithful, loyal, watchful and loving.
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To learn about the lion pose – Simhasana, we must be introduced to 4 characters from Hindu mythology. Vishnu, Narasimha, Hiranyakashipu, and his son Prahlad.
Narasimha kills Hiranyakashipu
Krounchasana is heron pose. At the time of this post, its mid-February. It is a good time to look again at the goals we may have set for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and re-evaluate, recover, renew, or even reject. It takes stepping back and allowing a wide view of what we really want, being open to new discoveries while we are working on the goal and a course correction when needed. That’s the message in the graceful, expansive flight of the heron.
blue heron photo from fox haven jounal
In a previous class I told you the story of the early life of Hanuman and how he was changed into a monkey. I won’t retell any of that story here, but a version of it can be found here.
I will take up the story of the renamed Hanuman, the monkey God and servant of Ram. At Rexburg Yoga we will be having this class on the week of Valentine’s Day and it seems very appropriate because Hanuman and Ram had a most amazing heart connection. This loyalty and trust is unparalleled in the Hindu mythology. Hanuman did everything in the service of Ram. Ram’s name was engraved and embedded in Hanuman’s every heartbeat.
Ram and Sita in Hanuman's heart
Historically, carrier pigeons were once used to link all the main towns and cities in Syria and Egypt. This was the sole source of communication. In Roman times the pigeon was used to carry results of sporting events such as the Olympic Games and this is why white doves are released at the start of the Olympic Games today. In England, prior to the days of telegraphs, pigeons were often taken to soccer matches and released to carry home the result of the game. Their use as a messenger in war time resulted in many pigeons being awarded honors by both the British and French Governments. Incredibly, the last ‘pigeon post’ service was abandoned in India in 2004 with the birds being retired to live out the rest of their days in peace.
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A warrior was born for protecting and serving. The requisite was not only to fight against evil and injustice of all kinds, but also to protect everyone’s honor both in battle and at all other times. Each warrior was trained in all necessary weapons of war, but each had his favorite weapon in which he was most skilled. In stories about the warriors of ancient India, three weapons, in particular, were used: the sword, bow and arrow, and the mace.
We prefer to run away and avoid snakes of all kinds but especially the cobra. Yet, the Hindu mythology of the cobra describes how this creature is our divine friend and one to help us work through fear of change and death into the new life.
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In the world of Gods things can happen almost instantly including the actions of Gods, sometimes not well thought out. Virabhadra is a great warrior who rose out of the ground from a lock of hair of the God Shiva. He is fearsome. He has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, carries a thousand clubs all in the apparel of a tiger skin.
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Observing the ocean is a rare treat and I took advantage last week while traveling with our HS band. There’s probably a symbolic message from the ocean to illustrate every yama and niyama but the first one that came to mind was Santosha or contentment.
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email: leslie @ rexburgyoga.com
208-569-7437
email: shellyspratling @ gmail.com
208-206-8390
