One of my favorite places is the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
There are numerous gardens, as well as natural habitat to explore, among other sights.
You can observe a number of quirks with this performance of the forms, most notably some variations with the footwork in the last few forms.
Chathuranga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Stick Pose?!)- a staple of American Yoga.
In vinyasa classes all across the country, countless iterations of “high to low plank” are unfolding. In general, this is probably great news. However, there are surely some statistics to demonstrate at least some kind of measurable effect from all of these repetitions.
According to the ____, and certainly by my accounts as well, all this “Chathuranga” business is causing some injuries among the growing number of Americans attending yoga classes. Repetitive movements and stress on troublesome joints seem to be the most common culprits cited by the ____ percent of people who report having been injured as a result of their yoga practice.
While some people (high Pitta, anyone!?) truly thrive on the ecstatic and empowering action of holding (as well as flowing to, or through,) Chathuranga Dandasana, many Bodies simply don’t need that type of work. Indeed for those among the statistic, it has ultimately proven harmful.
Sometimes we allow the will of the Sangha to string us along. There are certainly instances when it helps to utilize that group energy to inspire and motivate our practice, but it’s useful to remember that Practice is about opportunity rather than obligation.
The “Chathuranga” flow in vinyasa class reminds me of the bottomless baskets of chips and salsa you sometimes get at a Mexican restaurant. You can eat to your Heart’s content, yet still more and more will keep coming. If you have a delicious entree in the kitchen though, you might not want to fill up on just chips and salsa.
I often find that during power-flow classes, even something basic such as a Corepower C1 class, I will politely decline some of the early refill offers on my chip-basket.
As I’m eating the main course, however, I will delightedly dip several chips at once and savor the crunch and the spice (if the salsa is sufficiently bold, that is!).
The unlimited-chips offer isn’t going to be rescinded if we don’t eat enough chips.
It isn’t a limited-time offer.
Chathuranga Dandasana isn’t going to vanish from Reality just because we decide to not play it on a loop.
Even if we’ve been modifying to the most gentle variation we can find, it’s fine to let a “Chathuranga” pass by; it might even feel sublime and divine.
If only once-in-a-while, enjoy the act of not-pushing, of not-racing.
When you partake of the Chathuranga Dandasana, be fully present and committed to it. If we’re careless with alignment and technique, it’s just as well to lay off.
Chathuranga on purpose, with Intention.
Or skip it, with that same purpose and Intention.
It comes back to the familiar refrain we’ve all heard, and many of us have said- “listen to your Body.”
When the Body is not craving chips, don’t eat chips. If the crunch of those tasty triangles is calling, then eat ’em all up!
Here we can see, side by side, the path of the two circles.
On the left, the Negative Circle is drawing in from the top and contacting the Center above the “Horizon”, as shown with the red dot.
On the right, the Positive Circle is drawing in from the bottom and contacting the Center below the “Horizon”, as shown with the blue dot.
Also, we can see an exaggerated expression of the forearm which remains level with, or parallel to, the “Horizon”, as shown with the green line.
Though we sometimes engage with these paths as independent, it is worth remembering that the Energy which ultimately propels them works on a vertical axis. Yin-Energy rises up from the Earth, while Yang-Energy descends from the Sky.
It may be fair to assert that the Positive Circle is generated with Yin-Energy (thus the blue dot is raising the green line), but reconciles in Yang-Energy (thus the blue dot later exerts downward on the green line).
Conversely, the Negative Circle is generated with Yang-Energy (thus the red dot presses the green line down), but reconciles in Yin-Energy (thus the red dot eventually lifts the green line upward).
It might be represented in this manner…
1) On the left- Rotation alternated in both directions
2 and 3) On the right- Rotations repeated on the same side in one direction
The black circle represents our Spine. It rotates, but it does not move (as emphasized by the violet dot- our true “Center”). The Red/Blue dots give us an orientation from which to observe Rotation.
The Green/Yellow lines, representing the Arms, demonstrate drawing the Elbow in and extending outward through the Hand.
The “Tai Chi Walking” exercise is well-known and widely-practiced.
A walking meditation…
It’s worth remembering that
what we’re really practicing
is a single Step.
Many times.
Returning
to the steadfast
wuji.
The image above shows the foot positions for the right side of the Yang Style short form after the commencement, through the Grasp Bird’s Tail Sequence.
We can see clearly that the footwork is generally quite simple, and only involves four unique positions. Also, we can see the consistent presence of a “channel” between the feet, ensuring that the feet do not become tangled.
The (Lunar New Year) Chinese New Year celebration begins this week. Our current year of 2016 is the year of the Fire-Monkey.
The term “Monkey Mind” is often used to explain our tendency toward overwhelming mental activity, or non-stop thinking (for good and for bad). A Monkey, however, does not mind!
A Monkey-year is purported to often be a busy one, with much to see and do. Although Balance is still useful, and some of us may tend to require more rest, relaxation, and opportunities to escape the Monkey Mind, many of us may discover that the heightened buzz of activity is easily accommodated.
Whatever the case may be for you this year, with the additional association of the Fire element, don’t be afraid to do what you do full-on. Surge forward toward goals, enjoy little things with great joy, and shake your tree branches from time to time!
Think about it. Imagine it.
The faintest touch; fragility.
Could you feel the wings fluttering through your fingertips? Could you feel the tiny but fervently beating heart?
“Listening” is a skill.
Ting Jin is the term often used to suggest Listening in a physical/kinetic manner.
True skill in TaiChi depends, at least in part, on cultivating TingJin. When we can “hear” what is being “said” we can take correct action.
This is the purpose of Sensing-Hands or Tui Shou excercises. Not to develop our own action (the form exists for that) but to practice Listening, to utilize TingJin.
In meeting with several teachers and associates today, the topic of Meditation came up.
Recently, Meditation has also been mentioned more often on SocialMedia and in other arenas of dialogue. Of course, this includes the voice of non-meditators, some of whom feel a sense of peer-pressure (if not the pressure of pure smugness and superiority) from the pro-Meditation crowd.
Today’s conversations helped me appreciate the diverse possible approaches to Meditation. Certain systems of Meditation exist with specific instructions and time-tested methods. Some traditions and lineages of Yoga are examples of this, though Modernity has also spurred a large blurring of lines and borders between different traditions.
In any case, if we were to avoid asking the adherents or advocates of a particular system or brand of Meditation, we would find that Meditation itself can be practiced and applied (or at the very least, conceived of) in many ways.
There are Buddhist perspectives that suggest manual labor to be among the best of Meditations.
Many Yoga classes invite us to use Savasana as a Meditation.
TaiChi CHuan is often marketed as a “moving meditation”.
These are all active attempts or efforts at Meditation;
what of the inadvertent or unassuming Meditations?
Riding a bicycle down a smooth road on a sunny day. Fishing a lazy stream in the late afternoon. Lounging, legs-up, on the sofa as gentle breezes whisper in the branches outside the window.
Meditation might be more properly thought of as an Experience.
Any Experience during which we are wholly (or transcendentally, to look at it from the other side of the coin) engaged, fully attuned, whether by way of keen mental-acuity, or that broader body-based proprioceptive perspective, being truly In-The-Moment is the bottom-line of Meditation.
Surely an exception to the Rule might exist, but I believe Everybody pursues Meditation, whether they realize it or not.
A Runner’s High. The first bite of a sumptuous meal. A job well-done.
Meditation, in it’s truest form, is something that happens without our recognition more often than not.
See if you can catch yourself meditating from time to time. The people who claim to not want anything to do with Meditation might find that they already DO meditate, and perhaps more often than many people who have bumper-stickers declaring their Practice.
Meditation as a Practice in and of itself is certainly not Everybody’s cup of tea.
Meditation as a general category of States-of-Being, however, is something inherent to the Human condition. It is simply a part of our Natural Experience.
Yin-Yang-Yoga 