What does your asana say about you?

On the surface, our asanas can look like nothing more than a physical posture we somehow wiggled ourselves into. But if you dig a little deeper you’ll find that each pose reveals a little bit about you, maybe even telling you things you didn’t know. This morning I came across a beautiful quote - “Every asana holds the potency to give us the deep recognition of who we really are at our essential nature.” ~ Bernadette Birney, certified Anusara teacher. I instantly fell in love with this. I feel like it perfectly sums up exactly what I have been thinking about myself lately. I have been noticing things about myself when I am on my mat that have helped me to understand myself a little bit better when I am off the mat.

When I dig a little deeper I notice that the way I think, feel and respond to my asanas are very similar to my reactions in every day activities and situations. Here are a few poses that have helped me learn a little bit more about who I am.

• Downward Facing Dog has reinforced for me how much I love organization. Down Dog was always a bit of a sloppy pose for me. I could hang out there forever allowing myself to sink deeper and deeper due to flexibility in my shoulders without any thought to alignment or form. It was ok, but it never felt … right. It wasn’t until I discovered Anusara yoga that I learned how important alignment is in each and every pose, and for me that lesson began in down dog. Once I was taught the proper alignment for the pose I felt things begin to fall in line inside my body. My bones were lined up they way they were meant to be, my muscles were doing the jobs they were meant to do and everything felt like it had fallen to place. I felt organized. Finally, the pose began to feel good. That is exactly the feeling I like to emulate in my day to day activities. Of course I can be messy from time to time (my husband can attest to that!) But I love when things are lined up and neat, I enjoy making lists, I’m a huge fan of organizing with bullet points and numbers. Organization is definitely my friend and on the mat, that comes out in the form of alignment. When my body is aligned properly my poses feel neat and organized, and that is when I feel the best!
• Extended side angle has shown me that when things get tough I have the urge to quit! There are times that I have found myself facing some challenging tasks that I enjoy and want to exceed at, and then there are times I have faced challenging situations that scared me, annoyed me or just seemed too hard, and thats when I want to run in the other direction. On the mat the poses that make me want to give up, roll up my mat or lay down in childn’s pose are hip openers like extended side angle. I find myself struggling there, trying to keep my alignment right, my breath steady and my mind from wandering, while my muscles are screaming, let me out of this already!!! Similar to my on-mat experience, off the mat I find that while facing tough decisions, having a difficult discussion with someone, or attempting a challenging task that doesn’t appeal to me, as soon as it becomes a little bit too hard or pushes me past my comfort zone, I want to bail. On the mat I try to remind myself to just take it one breath at a time. I make an effort to stop looking for a way out of it, and start looking for a comfortable place to be in it. This is the lesson I need to remember in my day to day activities. One breath at a time. When faced with a difficult situation I cant start looking for the exit sign. I need to start looking inside of myself for the strength and courage to face what I am dealing with.
• Crow pose has shown me that when I put my mind to something, no matter how difficult a task it may be, I can succeed. This definitely goes hand in hand with my lessons learned from extended side angle. From my very first arm balance, crow pose, I was hooked. At first I saw crow pose as a challenge I needed to conquer. It was a difficult pose for me and I wanted it bad. It took me a lot of practice (and a few more lessons on awareness and alignment) before I could finally get up and hold it, but once I did the feeling was amazing. In the beginning it had been all about the physical challenge, but once I could actually do it, I felt so strong and capable. There is something about being able to support your own body weight that is very empowering! And despite the fact I know I have the urge to run from difficult situations, arm balances like crow pose have shown me that if I stick around and give it a good shot, I most definitely can conquer anything I am faced with.

Next time you roll out your mat set an intention to listen to the story your asana practice is telling you. Listen to your body, check in with your breath, notice where your mind has gone. Try to find that connection between your asana and your life.