My two-and-a-half year-old granddaughter is in a phase where she's become a bit of a control freak. And yet, since we love her so-o completely, we're all delighted to make her wishes our commands (within reason, of course!) When we're role playing at least a hundred times a day she'll say, "No, you supposed to say..." because she wants to control the outcome. She obviously has a very clear idea in her head about the way things are supposed to be.
Aren't we all just a little bit like that regarding our own situations? We usually have clear expectations of the way our lives are supposed to go, the way people are supposed to treat us, how our children should turn out, the way our leaders and teachers are supposed to act, and even the way our yoga poses are supposed to look. Yes, we're way too attached to the outcome and the way things are "supposed to be." STB (supposed to be) doesn't exactly represent the yogic philosophy of detachment.
In an ideal world, things would be more controlled. We would be able to obey Jesus' instructions in Matthew 5:48 to be "perfect even as [our] Father which is in heaven is perfect." But we live in a fallen world and at some point we must learn to accept (maybe even embrace) the imperfections all around us. This week as we practice "Diva or Goddess Pose" (Utkata Konasana) let's accept the physical imperfections in our hips---too big, too small, too tight, etc. In some sense, hopefully we're all growing and evolving toward perfection, so let the process of change begin on the physical level.
- Physically--- First warm the muscles and joints a bit with a few rounds of "Salutations to the Son" (Refer to the April 27th, May 4th and 11th, 2009 blogs) and then practice the hip-opening "Gate Pose" (Parighasana is described in the May 19, 2009 blog.) for a minimum of five breaths on each side. Since we're not all gumby's with elastic muscles and joints, at first we'll use a padded chair without arms or a stool as a prop for 3-5 breaths to support our "Diva or Goddess Pose variation." Begin in a wide stance with the feet firmly grounded and turned out about 45 degrees or more, depending upon how open your hips feel. Inhale as the arms are sweeping out to the sides and upward to acknowledge your perfect Creator. At the top of the inhalation ground down into all four corners of the feet, and then lift the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles (the bandhas) to provide core support as the tail bone presses downward and lowers onto the seat placed behind you. Allow the hands to release onto the thighs just below the hips and manually, but gently, encourage the femurs (large upper thigh bones) to spiral externally (away from center) for 5-6 slow and smooth belly breaths. After that first inhalation, lower the chin onto the lifted and expanded chest in jalandhara bandha while gazing down toward the big toes (padhayoragrai) to align the knees over the ankles.
- After remaining in the supported variation of "Diva or Goddess Pose" for a few minutes you may be ready to ground firmly into the earth while lifting the arms in an "Upward Salute", drawing up the locks like a drawstring and then exhaling to push the prop back and away a few inches. During each inhalation you're grounding down into the feet while lifting up through the crown of the head to experience a sense of lightness and ease as you support all of your body weight in this low squat with the thighs parallel to the ground. Allow the hands to now rest lightly on the knees in jana mudra---thumb and forefinger lightly touching as the last three fingers relax in a slight curl---to represent the infinite knowledge and perfection of your Creator. Then inhale the arms again in an upward salute to acknowledge God before lowering the elbows to bend at 90 degrees at shoulder height with the palms facing forward. Always finish your practice with five or more minutes relaxing in the restorative "Corpse Pose" described in the January 24, 2009 blog.
- Mentally---Use each deep breath to bring healing and openness into the hips as you ground into the earth with your feet. Become more and more aware of the energy (prana) rising up through your core to create a sense of lightness and ease as you practice mindful breath control called pranayama.
- Spiritually---Simply because we know how challenging it is to achieve perfection does not provide us with an excuse not to grow toward perfection. We're all "supposed to be" perfect eventually if we want to become one with our Creator. While physically practicing "Diva Pose" for openness and perfection, with our hands relaxing in the jana mudra gesture, we can spiritually remind ourselves of God's perfection and our never-ending efforts to achieve it. Perfection is an evolutionary process, not a sudden transformation. We are not born goddesses or divas. Sometimes we must accept the human quality of "good enough" if it's truly our best effort in the moment. Sing "keep on keepin' on."
