Douglas Brooks, a professional scholar and teacher of the Rajanaka Yoga tradition, recently blogged that “yoga…makes roots in revelation.”

Yes!

Quite a few years back now, pretty soon after we moved to Colorado in fact, I really opened up to yoga. It was during a tremendously painful and emotional time in my life; one during which my old ways of coping betrayed me. In those vulnerable moments on my mat, I began to heal. Prayer finally made sense to me through meditation. The frightened and protective fist around my heart began to let go, revealing a bruised yet hopeful soul. I was astonished at the depth of teaching and receiving that yoga gave and the insight unveiled by moving through the physical to get to the emotional. It was a revealing experience in what I have dubbed, my “revelation revolution.”

Tell me, how have you drawn yourself back from moments such as these? What insight have you received, and in what form?

Professor Brooks goes on to say, “revelation’s purpose is to reveal what we can and, in a certain way must learn scientifically, that is, experimentally.”

Have you danced on the edge and fallen through or flown? Will you dance with me?

Related posts:

1. mary, mary, quite contrary…

But why the need to escape? Fear of what? Let’s look more closely:

Fear of embarrassment. I can’t do it. My body doesn’t move that way. I’ll look ridiculous. I’ll fall over or down. I’m afraid I’ll pass gas (Yes, I said it. You know that you’ve been afraid of that one! There’s even a pose referred to as “wind relieving pose.” In a public class? No thank you!).

Good ol’ competitiveness. I won’t be able to perform the pose like that person over there. I used to be able to do this when I was in better shape/younger/more flexible/insert here, but now I can’t.

Fear of pain or injury. I broke my ankle a while back and I don’t want to balance on it because I don’t know if it will hold me. I can’t go upside down! I might fall or my arms aren’t that strong.

These are all very, very valid feelings. And they are important. These all keep us from putting ourselves at risk of injury, make us feel in control, and allow us to skirt what we may see as failure.

But what if we could succeed?

What if, by faith, we take a chance and taste the sri? Taste the abundance, the joy, the grace and beauty of falling back into the Divine and being caught by it? Open to something bigger than ourselves by allowing our yoga to emerge from deep inside?

Here are some ways I will dance with sri this week:

• Lean way back in side plank pose (vashistasana).
• Give in to a piece of dark chocolate. Savor.
• Smile at someone, as a gift.
• Skip like a goofball with my four-year-old. In public.
• Grab my husband’s cute booty without giving a flip about whether or not it seems appropriate. And then let him grab mine, even though it’s not nearly as firm as his.
• Practice handstand – one foot further away from the wall.

How will you dance?

Related posts:

1. Music. Sweet, sweet music.
2. Intermediate Class: Pincha Mayurasana. April 22nd.
3. Hip/Shoulder Opening Sequence.