A yoga practice is a living, body prayer. After the grounding and creative forces of Earth and Water have facilitated the fire-space, the flames take over and purify the practitioner's whole being, burning through fears, anxieties, and other barriers to Living in the Flow.
But then what?
After the fire, the air is cleaner and freer. The energy still moves but to a subtler rhythm; the rhythm of the heart.
Air in yoga practice feeds the closed heart, creating and maintaining a force that will break through a walled heart and restore the balance. Heart-work paves the way for transcendence and liberation, forging two, key connections- that between the body and mind of the practitioner and that between the practitioner and the rest of the universe. Metta meditation, vinyasas involving extended arms with gently squeezed shoulder-blades, and meaningful pranayama all flourish soooo much better when the body-mind-spirit-space has been cleared by the flame first, making room for the heart to open.
When the smoke clears, the heart-light shines.
I'm fascinated by the metaphor, even as a non-yoga practitioner.
ReplyDelete