Monday, August 29, 2011

"When the Storm Hits"

If we depend entirely upon events to stir up feelings of happiness, then we're vulnerable to the volatile mood swings that seem to be a part of life.  It can be exhausting and even destructive to expect to be able to create new experiences constantly in order to remain upbeat and happy.  
When the storm hits and there are delays, or even destruction of those temporal pleasures, then what do we do?  Is our faith in a loving Creator strong enough to trust that He will carry us through to end every storm with "a silver lining?"  How can we experience true and pure joy in the middle of unpleasant events that are often beyond our control.
My daily prayer is that everyone of us can learn to "rest in hope"---hope that our situation will surely improve with hard work and time, and of course faith, though it be as tiny as a mustard seed.  Faith, like a muscle, will atrophy and wither if it isn't fed and practiced regularly.  Many mornings when I awaken and just before I drop to my knees in prayer, I like to practice a tip-toe version of "Mountain Pose with Bound Hands" called Tadasana Urdhva Baddha Hastasana in Sanskrit.  During this reaching upward I imagine my faith to be grounded as a mountain and growing strong and tall with each breath.  Practice this week's easy targeted pose every morning for the next week and watch your toes, the arches of your feet, all the leg muscles, your back and core muscles, as well as the arms, develop and flourish like a sturdy tree.  Add the spiritual dimension to practice true yoga and  mark the maturing of your faith muscles.
  • Physically---Upon awakening and just as your feet hit the floor, bring them together until the inner big toes touch and ground down firmly into all four corners of each foot.  Through the nose only draw in a long and deep ujjayi (victorious) breath with gratitude for a new day while sweeping  the arms out to the sides and then upward, rising up onto all ten toes and interlacing the fingers at the top of that inhalation.  Hold that energy (prana) in during a brief pause at the top of that breath (a breath retention called antara khumbhaka) while drawing up the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles (the bandhas or "locks") for spinal support.  During the exhalation, roll the thumbs down and forward as you press the palms upward with extended, straight arms and legs, muscles hugging bones for support.  This also squeezes the blood vessels to increase blood flow throughout the extremities.  Hold this posture called "Mountain Pose with Bound Hands" called Tadasana Urdhva Baddha Hastasana for 3-5 breaths, if possible, without losing balance on the toes.  Exhale to lower back onto all four corners of each foot and try this 3-5 more times without an emotional response.  Simply observe. 
  • Reject any negative responses to losing balance and simply practice this rising and lowering for several rhythmic breaths before exhaling into a "Forward Fold" (Uttanasana described in the April 27, 2009 blog) to relax the entire back of the body.  Inhale to look up into "Upward-Facing Forward Fold" and then exhale back into "Plank Pose" (May 4, 2009 blog) to continue with a "Salutation to the Son," or simply lower to the knees for prayer as you focus your attention on the practice of developing the faith muscles.
  • Mentally---Objectively observe how your skeletal alignment greatly affects the ability to balance and stand tall on the toes.  Trust the wise design of a strong skeletal support created by a loving God who wants you to stand as tall as you can, even in the midst of the roughest storms that howl around your environment.  Practice gazing up at your hands (hastagrai drishti) for a greater mental and physical challenge.
  • Spiritually---As you draw each deep breath into the back of your throat, and the energy rises up through your lungs, imagine you're drawing in the gift of faith, though it be as small as a mustard seed.  Envision this faith and trust in your Creator growing stronger and spreading throughout your body, up into your arms and flowing out through the palms of your hands to others around you.  Exhale all doubts and negative thoughts as you feed your faith, "rest[ing] in hope" after this yoga practice by reading the words spoken by Jesus and recorded by the apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke.
"I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins (your mind or conscience) also instruct me in the night seasons.  I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope." 
(Psalm 16: 7-9, KJV)
"The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field. Which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."     (Matthew 13: 31-32, KJV)
Be encouraged in your faith by reading each apostle's account of Jesus' parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:31-32, and Luke 13:19.         Namaste, plf