Denise McClellan
Most Difficult Aspect of My Practice - Backbends
IMPERMANENCE
Nothing lasts forever. As much as we all know this, and do our best to ignore it, life's circumstances do change. In actuality, there is no such thing as "permanent". Kids grow up, people leave, residences are flipped, bodies wear out, pain sets in, companies fold, trees are cut down, life moves on... In fact, the only thing that remains the same is that things will change. But believe me, I doubt however safe it may feel, none of us would want life to always remain the same. It's in the "not knowing" zone of change that really bothers us when it come to impermanence, because the mind always wants to makes sense of everything- to have some sort of explanation, and the ego moves in to support this notion because it wants control. Not knowing something or waiting for an outcome while having no or little information can place our minds in overdrive.
Habitually this can take us into a downward spiral because of all the focus on worry. Change is uncomfortable. It's unsettling. I struggle myself from time to time wanting that sense of "knowing what’s coming.” However, the brain is a muscle which can be conditioned to surrender to the breath. Under good guidance, breath and movement help the brain to integrate into the body. They help re-train neurological patterns, which in turn, gives your adrenal glands a break. So if nothing is permanent, the question is: Does how you think about changes affecting you, or how you react to them, have any impact on your health and even your practice? Lots of people now are worrying about the future and the unknown. On some level impermanence or the changes around them are leaving individuals stressed, even overwhelmed. Please know this too will change.
One of the best and more difficult practices for me and others now is to work on back bending. It not only opens the heart and challenges most of us, but it also relates to the future, or the unknown. We don’t know what’s back there. While executing back bends, we learn to ground, and then trust ourselves in the unknown. We experience staying present- to live our lives now, and know nothing is "good" or "bad" when it comes to change. It just is. Back bends teach us how to trust so the body can respond accordingly, and so the universal elements can move into give us the support we need for change.
(Sit in Virasana during Dharma talk)Start:
Urdva Hastasana in Virasana, interlace fingers behind back
Cat - Cow
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Utanasana
Surya Namaskar A (with modifications & holds, 4 times)
Tadasana
Surya Namaskar B to Trikonasana (with holds, 2 times)
Tadasana
Ustrasana
A wonderful statement about change and how many approach things with anticipation. It is always good to take all anticipation out the door and carry on. Great work!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yogajournal.com/article/philosophy/navigating-change/
Denise, what we see is changing continuously because it is unreal. Through our practices we are moving into the permanent the real : "asatoma sad gamaya tamasoma jyotir gamaya mrityorma amritam gamaya om Shantih Shantih shantih.
ReplyDeletewise words about change! all sorts of change. and i like that this took you to backbends. it is helpful to me as i somehow over the past couple of years and some injuries became fixed in my own ideas of how i could or could not backbend. what you wrote made me laugh about the irony of getting fixed about my backbending since back bends can be great ways of approaching the unknown in our practice. feels like trying to make the unknown less unknown…
ReplyDeleteDenise. Getting to know you in class illuminates the depth of your Dharma Talk. I so appreciate your willingness to open up and share of yourself, exposing both your vulnerabilities as well as your remarkable strengths. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteI have always associated back bending with a fear of being vulnerable, exposed to others. You have given me a new perspective on backbends and new insight into myself - thank you for that!
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise. You've inspired me to try to trust the present moment and go with the flow of life a little more rather than try to control it.
ReplyDeleteVery wise words. I like how you've tied the back bending to this idea of impermanence and change because yes backbends are scary. And we don't know what's back there. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove the dharma talk and reference to the unknown.
ReplyDeleteDenise I loved your Dharma talk about impermanence, it is so true that it scares us but it also reassures us during the bad times... we know it is not going to last!
ReplyDeleteNice, simply effective sequence. Less often more for retraining neurological patterns.
ReplyDeleteVery nice talk about impermanence. I find that backbends require a great amount of presence so I can see how this sequence relates to accepting change and worrying less about the future.
ReplyDelete