Sacred Space
Create a sanctuary for your yoga practice so that you may surrender in to the natural light of your internal healer.
I’m visiting my family in Atlanta, Georgia. Bless their hearts, but my parents don’t practice or understand the transformational experience of yoga asana. (not yet at least) Nonetheless, I continue my daily practice here and I’m learning ways to create a sacred and safe space for my practice in foreign settings. Specifically, I’m learning that sometimes this requires dialogue with others so that they may respect the space and time I need for myself.
Asana Practice: This morning I was practicing in the kitchen of my family’s house and I found myself confronting heavy emotions welling up from the depths of my belly. I stayed present and tried not to attach to any of the stories that came with them. I acknowledged the voice inside of me that yelled for me to run away from my mat, but continued to practice gently. As the tribal beat of the Desert Dwellers pandora music station moved the emotions through me, my asana practice deepened and I began practicing in a sea of bliss.
Fourty-five minutes in to my practice my father came in and began critiquing my etiquette the day before. The comments were benign, but they had an air of criticism and my heart began to sink. I watched as my energy body, soaring moments earlier began to loose motivation and take me deep in to sadness. I continued to watch.
I found myself called to asana I rarely practice and I returned regularly to child’s pose. I indulged my body’s desire to feel secure and safe by doing a long sequence of forward folds (variations onpaschimottana), while taking time to rub my feet and nuzzle my shins with my nose. The sensation reminded me of being a child and burying my face in a loving stuffed animal.
I also offered my body comfort through binding, creating a strong circuit of uninterrupted energy. ( see Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana).
After a reasonable amount of time the emotions lost their intensity and began to fade. At this point I shifted my practice to more solar poses.
While I always want to honor what arises in a yoga practice, I also believe it is important to move through negative emotions. In my own practice, I encourage healing by returning to active, vibrant, optimistic poses after darker energy such as sadness or fear looses its immediacy and vibrancy. In other words, I’m careful not to allow my body to attach itself to something that is moving through me.
Today, triangle pose or Parivritta Trikonasana, functioned as the perfect transition pose. With the perfect harmony between surrender and vibrancy, triangle encouraged a fluid transition in to a more solar activating sequence.
As my practice wound to a close I was left with clarity. I realized that I wanted to share with my father the experience that he had triggered. I explained to him the sacred nature of yoga and how the practice itself opens your heart. I thanked him for the knowledge in his words, but explained to him that he caught me in an extremely vulnerable moment. I explained to him that my yoga practice is my sacred time. It is a time where I dig deep within myself, where I find areas of my physical and emotional body that need to be cleansed and healed. I assured him that his advise is always welcome, but I requested that interruptions be kept to a minimum while I practice in order to honor it as sacred time. He gave me a big hug and it was a beautifully tender moment between father and daughter.
In addition, I was able to receive the teaching for myself that there are both appropriate and inappropriate moments in time and space for certain conversations, and I set the intention to be more aware of my surroundings, and the people in my life, as I present them with information.
Lessons Learned: Demonstrate respect for your asana practice by explaining to those close to you what your practice means to you and how they can support you. Yoga has the remarkable ability to heal both old and new wounds. But in order to heal, it is imperative that you give the energy that comes along with these wounds the attention they not only deserve but demand. Watch emotions as they arise closely, but don’t become lost in these emotions. Be ready to move forward when they have run their course. Giving gratitude to the lessons that well up inside us helps us remain present and optimistic, ready to move forward a little more tender and a little more aware.