Since
very early in our relationship my husband and I have had what I call a
super-conscious connection. When we were
first dating he would often arrive to pick me up wearing the same outfit I was
wearing (no, he’s not a cross-dresser, I mean like jeans and a white button
down and black boots kind of thing). On
a practically daily basis for the last 15 years at some point during the day I
have the thought “I should call Arj”, reach for the phone and it is already
ringing. Or we’re sitting in silence in
the car and I’ll think, “gee I’m kinda thirsty.” just as he turns to me and
says “hey, you want to find a Starbucks?” And then we look at each other and
say "Did you send or did I?"
It's never clear who was the first to think it, it’s just like we share
a brain sometimes.
This is what I think of as sacred
dialogue. I
have this most often with my husband, but also with other people in my life as
well. It is not something that can be forced or you can "try" to achieve with someone - it just happens naturally with those you trust and allow yourself
to be vulnerable and open with. There are lots of names for it
actually: coincidence, synchronicity, etc. but it is really an opening up of
yourself to the greater wisdom of the Universe that comes from both beyond and
inside yourself, and when you’re with someone who is willing to open up to this
wisdom as well, the communication that passes between you is seamless and seems
to come from beyond just the two of you. It’s like when you walk into yoga
class and your teacher starts talking about exactly what you need to hear that
day when you haven’t talked to her in a week.
Shiva
and Parvati’s marriage is the archetype of sacred dialogue. Dialogue always starts with a question or
inquiry, in their case usually of Parvati’s asking. And the answers come not because of a
concentrated intellectual conversation, a “figuring out”, or a hierarchy of
knowledge on Shiva’s part, but because there is such a strong mutual love and
trust that wisdom simply arises. Parvati
wants to know the secrets of the Universe, how to know Shiva’s (and hence the
Universe’s) essence in the most intimate way possible, and in turn she awakens
in Shiva the inspiration to reveal that Truth.
In Awakening Shakti,
Sally Kempton describes this sacred interaction this way: “Dialogue happens
when, like Shiva and Parvati, we recognize our fundamental unity, our
interdependence. Instead of being a
conversation between separate individuals trying to find solutions with their
minds and from their egoic selves, dialogue happens in a shared space of
presence. It comes from the inspired, revelatory, transformative energy that
shows up when a group of people allows boundaries to come down and real mutual
vulnerability to emerge.”
Asana
practice is the opportunity to awaken this level of intimacy with our
bodies. I am often asked if yoga can help you lose weight. My answer is always
yes, but not for it’s calorie burning abilities. Much of the time we are
required by jobs, families, and general cultural pressure to ignore much of
what we feel. When we come to the mat, we become more sensitive to our bodies,
which spills over into other facets of life like eating. We can judge more easily when we’re full, how
certain foods make us feel later on, and in this way become more discerning
about what we put into our bodies, which can lead to weight loss if that is
what is needed. In this same way it
guides us to more life-affirming, healthy practices in all aspects of our lives.
We let the boundaries down, release our self-imposed and society-imposed
thoughts about what our physical form should look and feel like, and move
guided by our own innate wisdom and intuition, whether it is to find a deeper
pose or heal an injury.
Likewise,
meditation practice is the opportunity to cultivate sacred dialogue with with
our breath and the One who breathes us. When we are truly open and
receptive, wisdom spontaneously arises, and meditation practice is what can
guide us there. On a purely scientific
level, meditation moves us beyond our sub-conscious and into
super-consciousness - it’s the direct line to the Divine, from where all wisdom
flows.
Again,
Sally Kempton: “We replicate Shiva and Parvati’s conversation every time we sit
together as lovers, as teacher and student, or in a group and seek revelation,
transformation, or the insight for change. Shiva and Parvati symbolize the
moment when we get spiritually naked together, when our love and trust is great
enough to let us be vulnerable and thus make space for revelation to arise.” Each
time we come together in a yoga class or sadhana,
we open ourselves up to sacred dialogue.
We lower our defenses because we are in a safe shared space, and our
collective intention to transform and be transformed, to expand beyond where we
even thought possible, is matched by those around us, and consciousness grows
exponentially. In this blessed place we
more easily open ourselves up to how we are actually feeling in the given
moment, both physically and spiritually, and truth emerges within that opening.
Off the Mat:
Invited
sacred dialogue in all your relationships, starting with your relationship with
yourself. Get spiritually naked! Begin each day with an
inquiry, ask the Universe for guiding wisdom in some facet of your life, and be
open to the answer in whatever way it might come to you.
On the Mat:
Be
in deep, honest conversation with your body.
So often we have the same conversations, whether they are with our
beloved or our hamstrings, and we hear only what we expect to hear. Be really open in your practice, don’t assume
it will be the same old thing. In my classes this week we worked on waking up
the sahasrara or crown chakra, which
is the gateway to wisdom. It is the
energetic opening that invites connection with a higher intelligence. So we
practiced several poses with hands interlaced on top of the head, guiding a natural inward
curve and length to the neck, moving towards Sirsasana (headstand) and Dwi
pada viparita dandasana.
For the Anusara Junkies:
Open
to Grace:
Open to a deeper breath and….
a
deeper
conversation with your body, your heart .
open
to wisdom that wants to download itself into you.
open
to the dialogue, a conversation, not about being right or selling your opinion,
but a real honest discourse with your body, your breath, your heart.
Be
in conversation with your breath and with your body.
Muscular
Energy:
Firm muscles inwards, into a place of inner wisdom.
(In
Dog pose or other arm balances) Draw from hands into heart, the seat of your
inner wisdom.
Shoulder/Skull
Loop:
Extend from the palate back and up to the top of the head, waking up the crown
chakra to wisdom from the universe.
Extend
the vertebrae in your neck, making space for wisdom to flow in
Organic
Energy: Send
your inquiry out to the Universe in the form of your pose, let your whole body
reflect your opening to divine knowledge.
