Churning Nature, Quiet Consciousness
By Jennie Williford, CIYT, Level 3
Working on twists reminds me of the story of Mount Meru and the
churning of the ocean of elements to extract the elixir of life. In the
story, which can be found in B.K.S. Iyengar’s The Tree of Yoga,
angels and demons are directed by divine Vishnu to churn the
ocean filled with all the elements of Nature to bring about balance
and renewed peace in the universe. Adisesa, the king cobra, is
used as the “rope” attached to the mountain after it is thrown into
the cosmic ocean. The work of angels and demons together
produces the elixir of life.
For the upcoming highlight class, I reflected on my journey with
twisting asanas and compared it to this story of transformation.
The physical work of churning in Parivrtta Sthiti has taken me
through many obstacles to a deeper balance of mind and peace
of consciousness.
Sometimes, this story is used to describe the movement of the
inhalation and exhalation in pranayama. For me, it also
represents the process of transformation we may go through in
asana. First, we embark on the practice of twists physically, then
deepen our understanding and experience of them consciously.
We actively encounter positive and negative elements of our
Nature while physically twisting and moving the ribcage and
spine, like the angels and demons that churned the ocean with
Mount Meru. In the story, the initial churning produces a
heaviness of Mount Meru and creates a poison of all the
elements. In twists, we at first tend to crumple or contract. This
restricts our breath and can make us feel heavy and stuck,
poisoning our consciousness.
Throughout their challenges, the angels and demons gain support
for their churning from the divine Vishnu. Vishnu lifts Mount Meru
from deep underneath the churning ocean. Likewise, we rely on
our inner Self to support and uplift us as we persist in the
struggles of our external practice. Within the experience of
heaviness or discomfort in our twists, we must renew a
connection to a supportive inhalation and exhalation to open and
continue the transformation.
The continued churning of Mount Meru ultimately transforms the
ocean of poison into the elixir of life. As we continue churning and
opening, and opening and churning, through our practice of
twists, we can transform an agitated and contentious physical
twist into a deep well of peace. The internal divine consciousness,
the true elixir of yoga, eventually has no other choice but to reveal
itself.
Whether you find twisting dominated by your angels or demons, I
hope you are inspired by this mythological reminder that all the
cosmos lies within us. The real story is in how the push and pull of
the work of our external Nature enables the uncovering of our
Divine Truth within.
Jennie’s Spotlighting Level 3 class will be on Saturday, Sept. 28,
at 1 p.m. CST. Members Register here. Non-members register here
Find ALL Spotlighting Level 3 classes on your benefits page through IYNAUS Become a Member here