Garudasana

Garudasana:

garudasana, eagle pose, this is the asnana that brings me the most challenge right now, a mixture of balance, strength and flexibility in a single standing posture. This isn't a pose that I commit to in the same way as standing bow, where the fall becomes the edge to my commitment, taking it just to point of tempting gravity with my devotion to its hold. No, garudasana is different all together, it requires a mindfulness of parts before I sense its flow, that right before I reach the seamless expression of its completion - I must first devote myself to every aspect of this post. 

garudasana is a journey.

every time I seek to hold this pose.

physically there is a high demand for strength involved, flexibility through the hips as well as upper body, and balance at every point. To complete the pose with any degree of satisfaction every aspect must be met in order, no part ignored for even a moment, a mindfulness that holds it all together. I love this pose for its demands, how I am asked to commit to each part before I'm able to even imagine its completion, trusting that there is a seamless connection here that exist through every aspect, and my that my faith will result in full expression of the pose. 

it's called eagles pose, translated from Sanskrit, yet in yoga traditions it more related to a mythological creature, king of birds that caries Lord Vishnu through the air without need of ever landing. This bird knows the secret of the winds, carried by currents that require little effort from its powerful wings, having faith in the unseen forces of the air. 

that's what I commit to...

faith, 

that the currents of this pose will flow together, each aspect carrying me towards the full expression of its completion. Sometimes it seems that I miss the entirety of life  through my involvement with each aspect, committed to parts and forgetting the currents of faith that flow beneath me, with reality already being a seamless whole, every point an aspect of its expression. 

garudasana, eagle pose, mythical in flight...

reminds me that I'm whole.

~

Peace, Eric