At the 7^th Annual 2010 Yoga Conference in Mexico City, Gannon gave a talk called “Shiva Came to Mexico” which made a strong impact on the yoga community.   This month’s Higher Practice is a revised interpretation exactly one year later, as this11-11-11 Michael will again be teaching at the 8^th Conference (Encuentro) hosted by Instituto Mexicano de Yoga.

Today I want to tell you a story called “Shiva Came to Town”.

Shiva is part of the Hindu God Trinity – Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.

Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the Destroyer.

When things are dead or dieing.   When energies are old.  When a process has run its course.   When the Universe needs space for something new.   When energy needs to shift for change of the greater good… Shiva transforms.   He becomes Nataraja, the King of Dance, or the Lord of Dance.

If we look at the image of Nataraja, we can see some interesting symbolisms:

– The drum in his rear right hand represents the rhythmic sound to which Nataraja dances.  The sounds of the Universe or Creation.

– His rear left hand holds Agni (fire).   This flame represents his powerful destructive energy, which destroys self-ignorance.

– Shiva’s right front hand is in the Abaya mudra, representing fearlessness.

– His left front hand sloping downwards represents grace and draws attention to his left raised foot.

– The left foot is raised in the position to give a blessing.

– Shiva’s right foot is standing on Apasmara, the dwarf demon, which represents ignorance.  In this way, he is holding back ignorance so that new knowledge can be born.

When Shiva transforms into Nataraja, he starts to drum and creates the thunderous sounds of creation.  He then starts to dance, which generates great internal heat (Agni).   This heat starts to generate the flame in his hand.  As he continues dancing, he starts throwing fireballs to all the places in the Universe (or within our Self) that need to be destroyed, and shit starts to burn.  Then things can be reborn, rebuilt and recreated.  So that everything can change, transform and grow.

Shiva comes to town whenever it is time, whether we are ready or not.  Whether we like it or not.  He doesn’t check in with us to see if we are ready or willing to dance.

We can associate Shiva Nataraja energy to many of the powerful transformations that are happening on the planet in recent years — Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Hurricanes.  We may also attribute this Shiva The Destroyer energy to the greatest personal life challenges, which affect our work, our family, our relationships and our lives.

When these great transformations happen, many people experience great loss.

People lose money, their business and their jobs.  Some lose their dreams, their nice cars, boats, and homes.  Some lose their peace of mind, their security, loved ones, and their health.

Most of us have great resistance to the changes that come with this type of destruction and with losing our things.  We become attached to the way we want or think things should be.  Or attached to our stuff and our life as we know it.  So it is not easy to deal with the changes created by these transitions.

I have created my own little mantra that I use in times like these:

ACCEPT…  LET GO…  ADAPT… EVOLVE!

Using this mantra, it becomes the process I strive to go through each time Shiva comes to town.

The sooner we can get to a space to ACCEPT the destruction of Shiva’s dance, the sooner we can be open to seeing the bigger picture or purpose.  To allow the rebirth and rebuilding that is now possible to happen.

Only once we have LET GO, can we start to rebuild, to transcend.

(CONTINUED FROM NEWSLETTER)

We can start by trying to rebuild what we had before, and if it works again, fine.  If not, also fine.  Then we ADAPT and do something different or we go someplace NEW.

So that we may EVOLVE and be reborn.  It is NOT the end of the world.  And if it is, …GREAT!  Then we have no reason to worry about anything!  We just fasten our seat belts, hang on, and enjoy the ride while it lasts …to the next world!  IF there is one?!

I don’t know about you, but I cannot control any of the dances that Shiva brings to town.  BUT, what I can control is my mind.  And if I can’t, at least I can learn to control it.  I can learn to control HOW those things affect me.  To control what I do, feel and think when Shiva comes to town.

Now, you need to be careful with this power of your mind!

In your effort to Let Go of destructive encounters, be sure to leave them in the past.  There is no healthy reason for you to dwell over it in the present.  As the only way they may return is if we invite them back… in our mind!

But, don’t make the mistake of repeating over and over in your mind, “no earthquakes, no earthquakes, no hurricanes, no hurricanes, …” because all the Universe hears is, “earthquakes, earthquakes, hurricanes, hurricanes …” and that’s what it sends you!  So don’t even take any energy there!

How can we prepare ourselves to better manage these surprise visits from Shiva the Destroyer?  How do we handle dancing with NataRaja?

Well, we can practice Asana to prepare ourselves.  We create challenging situations for our body on the mat.  We stretch, we twist, we fold, we jump.  We do balancing poses that are actually derived from NataRaja’s dance.  We struggle to balance, we fall.  We take a breath and try again.  We feel and observe what the practice is doing to our being –Physically, Mentally and Emotionally.

We can practice Pranayama to prepare ourselves.  Flooding the body with life force and scrubbing the mind clean to control the senses, we move into a state of Pratyahara, or sense withdrawal.

We can Meditate to prepare ourselves!  Observing our breath, observing sounds, observing sensations.  And when the mind wants to react to these sensations, we remain still, …present, …and balanced, so that we may develop equanimity.   These yogic practices are our tools and our training to deal with the more powerful sensations in life.  Even the sensations that come when Shiva Nataraja does his dance of destruction.

Then we can better embrace the change and transformation that we are experiencing in each moment.

We can even literally apply this mantra in our asana practices — ACCEPT…  LET GO…  ADAPT… EVOLVE!  We recognize and accept where we are in a yoga pose, and let go. Then, by Adapting and Evolving, we can start to rebuild our experience of that yoga pose… eventually achieving that pose.  OR, we may remain in the Accept/Let Go state of ‘maybe this pose is not going to happen for me now… Or for a while….  Or maybe even forever in this body.’ And that is fine! Then we can eventually move into the rebirth stage and get a different body.  More flexible, or stronger, or better balanced… or maybe not.  They are both fine!

I invite you to look inside yourself right now. Please stand up and close your eyes.  Try to find where you might be holding on to something in your life right now.  Or where you may be holding onto someone.  Or to a belief that is not serving you.  Maybe it is something that is dead or needs to be destroyed.  Resolve to Accept it and Let It Go.  So you may Adapt and Evolve.  So that something may be rebuilt anew.  So something different can be born or created… and you can grow.

If it is something that has happened in the past that you have not accepted, …resolve to accept it and let it go during your next yoga practice.

If it is something or someone that you are holding onto currently in your life, that you need to release,  …allow yourself that opportunity today.

If it is a belief about something that is not serving you, …allow your practice today to free you from that limiting belief.

Now, let’s rock out our yoga practice today and destroy some shit!

So that we can be REBORN on the other side.

Shanti Out,