Week Two ~ Yoga Stories, Anjaneyasana (Crescent Moon Pose)

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a lovely June bank holiday weekend. We are back at Thrive this Sunday 7th for yoga ~ Hatha Flow at 5pm and the Soft Stretch at 6:30pm :) I have a few spaces available for drop in at the moment, so please get in touch if you'd like to join! If you're curious to know more about the different classes offered and which one might be for you, you can always send me a message with questions or read a little more about the yoga term by clicking the website tab above.

As per tradition, this weekly letter is less about advertising classes and more about sharing a little bit of yoga's rich philosophy and history, to anyone who might be interested. I like to keep my yoga classes light, accessible, and embodied, which is why I choose to share a lot of the philosophy here. I also love to design my sequences creatively around themes - to keep it fun, and so that even in the simple learning of the physical flow there's a potential sense of deeper meaning. Yoga is a whole person practice ~ meaning your body, mind, and spirit all come along for the ride. But, it can be nice and important to start with the body...

…ah, gotta lift my hand out and reach up. wait ~ did she say right or left hand? ah, okay, a nice stretch in my hamstrings. Whoo, tight. Oooh, noticing my breath...gosh, maybe I'll breathe slower...I feel a bit calmer...what was that thing I was so worried about again? Okayyyy woah, hang on, gotta focus on my balance now.It can wait...

It works! For years, my yoga practice was primarily a physical one. And that was enough. Sometimes the best mental health practices happen in the body. 

Buuuuut, maybe you're ready to go deeper and to understand why yoga is and should be taught as so much more than just stretching and breathing. In which case, please keep reading! Our philosophy theme this term has been 'the stories behind the poses' ~ where each week we take a look at the myth behind a familiar yoga shape. This week we are looking at Crescent Moon Pose, Anjaneyasana ~ often referred to as the high or low lunge. 

Here is my retelling of the story of Anjaneyasana ~ Crescent Moon Pose ~ a shape that embodies both the strength of a warrior son and the deep wisdom of his devoted mother. 

Many moons ago, in a time when demons roamed the earth and great yogi masters levitated atop mountains while river goddesses flowed down their backs, there were monkey people living in the Himalayan forest. These people were called the Vanaras; an intelligent society with long swinging tails and a love of trees. A chieftain's wife, Anjana, was a strong and beautiful monkey woman who often took charge of the village when her husband was away. She was incredibly knowledgeable, intelligent, compassionate, and wise, and the community depended on her and trusted her. 

Anjana was devoted to Lord Siva, the great yogi who lived in the mountains. She prayed to him daily, and her heart was full of love. Anjana's only unhappiness in life was that she could not bear a child with her husband, Kesari. She prayed to Lord Siva day and night for a son, and spent long meditations imagining her child's tiny face and tiny feet, the thoughts filling her soul with joy and expectation. She whispered to Lord Siva that she was ready and grateful. 

Lord Siva heard her prayers and decided that she deserved to have a child; a great child. His child. Meditating in his mountain hut, he asked the god of wind, Vayu, to carry his seed along a cool breeze. And thus Anjana bore a son with not one but three fathers; the great chieftain, the yogic master, and the god of wind. 

The little monkey boy was named Hanuman, and he grew to be a strong and capable warrior. Despite having three fathers, he loved his mother most of all and spent his life devoted to her, learning from her and absorbing her wisdom. Hanuman was the epitome of masculine energy, strong as an ox and skilled in martial arts, but his mother taught him that water is stronger than rock, even when the rock appears to have more strength in the outer world. She taught him that true strength comes from the inner world; it is fluid, flexibible, and nourishing. Water is feminine energy and the rock is masculine; while the great boulder may be strong, so too can it be split open over time by a soft and constant flow of water.

The great warrior must understand that true power does not come from emulating the rock; not from unyielding or stubbornness ~ it comes from softening into flow, and finding the path of least resistance. Only with devotion, surrender, and selfless service to the bigger picture, can true strength arise and create meaningful change.

Hanuman became a great and noble warrior. He moved mountains and even gained the ability to fly. But he always credited his mother with his success, for she taught him that the path to strength hides in the surrender. The universe is for you, it has the power to grant you every wish, instantly, and all you need to do is yield to it.

Food for thought! As always, so many yogic stories revolve around this balance of feminine and masculine energy within one person. In the physical pose of crescent moon (the high/low lunge) there is an alignment of up and down directions, a balance of engagement and release. The pride of the warrior marries itself to the open surrender of the feminine. It is a water shape if ever there was one. Let's practice!

Every midwife knows

that not until a mother's womb

softens from the pain of labor

will a way unfold

and the infant finds that opening to be born.

Oh friend!

There is treasure in your heart,

It is heavy with child.

Listen.

All the awakened ones,

like trusted midwives are saying,

welcome this pain

it opens the dark passage of grace.

Rumi

Le grá,

Macha