It's a challenge to bring joy to someone who has been dealt an unfortunate hand in life. Where's the joy for those whose homes have been leveled by recent tornadoes or washed away by the tsunami last year in Japan? How does someone recover from the loss of an organ or a limb, or even the life of a loved one? How can we help others who have survived such tragedies? Is praying for them enough?
The most appropriate response to another person's loss requires empathy---the ability to share in another's emotions or feelings. Since one of my personal goals is to spread joy wherever I am, I have yet to figure out how to sustain the projection of my personality into the personality of the person who is suffering in order to better understand him/her. How do we both get to the joy if we're intricately entwined in each other's lives? How can we help to heal a broken spirit? The answers to these questions continue to baffle me, but I've learned that I am only a small part of the answer! Only the compassionate Spirit of God who resides within us can guide our response to grief, but it surely helps if there's someone there to share it with us and provide encouragement.
Yes, joy can often be a contagious emotion, but it must develop slowly from within the individual. The key is to hope and then believe that there will be reason for joy in the future before bitterness settles in to take the place of grief. To quote the wisdom of King Solomon, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones." (Proverbs 17:22, KJV) Since we were never promised a rose garden in this life we must find our source of joy firmly established not in things, but in the constancy of God. Our close relationship with and connection to the Lord can become a constant that will never be taken from us. Let's look to our Creator for all the answers and the source of our joy. He understands pain and disappointment and death since He experienced all of it for us! He alone is our "Sun Bird" and the nourishment that helps us to cultivate a sunny disposition after the storm. As you practice this week's yoga flow called "Sun Bird" try to breathe in hope and faith in God's mercy and compassion that endure forever. Since this vinyasa flow is safe for prenatal students but without the abdominal compression, it's best to practice under the guidance of an experienced and certified prenatal instructor.
- Physically---After praying and meditating in your most comfortable version of "Child's Pose" (Balasana), inhale forward and up onto all fours ("Four-post Pose"), tucking the toes under the heels for several rounds of the "Cat and Cow" flow called Chakravakasana (described in the December 20, 2010 blog). On a slow and deep inhalation through the nose only lift the front of the ribs up and out away from the lifted tail bone to round the spine into the "Cow Pose" (a concave shape) as the heel of the right flexed foot lifts straight upward into "Sun Bird Pose." Briefly hold this stretch across the front of the right hip with the right knee remaining bent at a 90-degree angle and the hips remaining square and level to the ground for several seconds of breath retention (antara kumbhaka). At the top of that inhalation begin to draw the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles (the bandhas) upward and back toward the spine as it begins moves into flexion (convex), rounding like a cat, while drawing the bended knee in toward the right elbow. On the next inhalation lift the heel of the left flexed foot upward while arching the spine into the Cow-shape; hold briefly and then exhale back into the Cat-shape while drawing the left bended knee in toward the left elbow. Continue the breath-synchronized vinyasa flow movements to change the shape of the spine by alternating the heel lift on the inhalations and drawing the bended knee in toward the respective elbow on the exhalations. Don't omit the five or more restorative minutes spent in "Corpse Pose" (Savanasana) after your "Sun Bird Flow" to seek and relax in the peaceful presence of your faithful Creator.
- Mentally---Notice how changing the shape of the spine into the long concave curve of "Cow Pose" automatically initiates the inhalation of prana (the life force) as you look upward toward the source of your breath (urdhva drishti). Then focus your attention on how the convex "Cat Pose" creates a thorough and complete release of the toxic apana as the spine flexes deeply with the knee compressing one side of the abdomen as it draws toward the elbow. Notice the balance created by the emptying and filling processes.
- Spiritually---As the physical shape of your spine changes, allow the positive energy of the inhalation to flow upward through the body as you're reaching toward/seeking joy. Then allow yourself to let go of the negative emotions of loss as you exhale the grief, fear and sorrow before it turns into bitterness. Remember that only an empty cup can be filled. Breathe in the sunny disposition of hope as you draw upon your faith and trust in a compassionate God, and release all dependency on the stuff that you've lost. Seek God above all else.
"...for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow." (Jeremiah 31: 13b, KJV)
