By Chaya Spencer
When a heart is so fierce and committed to freedom and joy,
it seems no hardship can quash it for long.
That is what I learn from our long time yoga student Herb Benkel who
returned to yoga this week with his new prosthetic leg and foot after an epic
journey. A yoga practitioner of 33
years, Herb has been through the literal wringer (read Herb's story here) - through numerous surgeries
attempting to save his leg, then 7 surgeries in six weeks last fall first to
amputate the leg above the knee, then to remove more and more infected tissue
and bone. Without enough femur bone, a prosthesis
would be impossible, and Herb would be wheelchair bound for the rest of his
life. It came down to the absolute wire
with only 3- 4 inches of femur remaining - just barely enough, though not
really enough, to allow for the prosthetic leg and foot. It hasn’t been an easy journey. There have been times of real darkness,
despair, and frustration. Yet through
all of it, Herb has kept his spirit bright and strong. He attributes his positive attitude to
yoga. I attribute it to Herb. He has kept his heart open and rested back in
the community of family, doctors, friends and the Anusara yoga community he is
part of at Shree.
 |
| 1.28.20 Herb and his chair yoga class friends (photo courtesy Chair Yoga class instructor, Susan Walsh) |
In Anusara yoga we practice using a system of Universal
Principles of Alignment. When I think of
Herb I think of Shoulder Loop and Skull Loop.
Shoulder Loop starts at the center of the palate and moves
back and down to the bottom of the shoulder blades, then forward through base
of heart and up the sternum to the palate.
Skull Loop starts at the same place as Shoulder Loop at the
back of the palate, moves up the back of the skull and forward down the
forehead back to the palate.
Working together, they lengthen the back of the neck and
position the head back directly on top of the spine while simultaneously
keeping the chest broad, lifted and open.
When we practice these two loops in our poses as well as in our daily activates,
we invite our hearts to stay open to the moment before us as well as the
situation ahead. Our heads rest back on the headrest of our community and
our own inner forces offering us support and strength, joy and connection.
Through countless setbacks, Herb has maintained this
courageous stance towards life. He is my
hero. I am deeply inspired and moved by him and his journey. He says it was just about
survival, but he did it with such a positive, uplifted attitude and
outlook. I was amazed over and again by
his stance throughout. One of our advanced level students said she plans to attend the chair class just to be near Herb. His positive attitude is spreading!
Yoga is an invitation
to flower in our own particular way at our own particular time. Of course, we have a choice to allow the
flowering or to shut down and pull back.
Herb flowered. Will you? Will I? As David Whyte writes:
THE SUN
Sometimes
I look out
at everything
growing so wild
and faithfully beneath
the sky
and wonder
why we are
the one
terrible
part of creation
privileged
to refuse
our flowering.
I look out
at everything
growing so wild
and faithfully beneath
the sky
and wonder
why we are
the one
terrible
part of creation
privileged
to refuse
our flowering.
…
THE SUN
From ‘The House of Belonging’
© David Whyte and Many Rivers Press
From ‘The House of Belonging’
© David Whyte and Many Rivers Press
