When I first started working on my private yoga therapy practice, there were some important decisions to make about marketing. What was the face that I wanted to put out to the world? The gentle dynamism and hidden strength of a SpandaⓇ yoga practice needed to be front and center in my public materials. I got lions on the brain.
The lion on the main page is a peaceful lion. He is chillin out, in a state of rest. The effect of SpandaⓇ breathing techniques can be this control of the rest and digest and the fight or flight modes of the autonomic nervous system. The lion is lord over his environment. He is just hanging out, but he can snap to a fight at a moment’s notice. No one messes with him. He eats when he is hungry.
Spiritual warriorship is embodied in the Hatha yoga tradition by the postures known in english as the warriors. I like to use the sanskrit names for things when I can, because “warrior” does not quite give the true meaning of this sequence of asanas. Virabhadrasana is named after the mythical warrior Virabhadra. A Goddess named Shakti, who represents the primal energy of creation in humanity, was kidnapped by a devil king. Her boyfriend was distraught, so he tore a locke of his hair and threw it on the ground. From that locke and the earth Virabhadra grew up to lead the armies of justice. The quiet lion reminds me of the groundedness and poise of Virabhadra.
There are moments when we have to be a roaring lion too. If we could not be ferocious at a moments notice, our neighbors might take advantage of us. The ability to stand up for one’s self is an important companion to spiritual life, unless you are born some place like ancient Tibet. Some place where all the neighbors are very clarified and the society is structured so that anyone who so desires can take a long meditative retreat at least once in a lifetime. Few of us have that privilege in the world today, but if you feel so called, the tradition of the Himalayan Masters is one nice way to do it.
Even in the reclusive life of spiritual retreat, there is a need for tremendous courage. It is an inward facing courage. The rising of inner divinity is sometimes associated with this sensation of internally facing a ferocious lion. For me that is implied by the face of the resting lion.
Namaste,
Jamie
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