Yoga As Liturgy

Second Sunday of the Month Yoga and Meditation at Yoga At Simply Well is under way for the remainder of Winter and moving into Spring--a sun salutation to the changing seasons, the quickening light, the emergence of the new beginnings in the body and mind, headed toward awakening!
A meditation for those of us who have been dormant, yet gathering energy.

One of my favorite Asana is The Rock, or Seed Pose.  Curled up, knees and the tops of the feet on the mat, head tucked in and arms perhaps grasping the heels, the body and mind are in the ultimate act of relaxed suspense.  Supported and energized, calmed and yet poised for movement, as the breath opens the back and the sacrum, all things are possible.  The question becomes: where do we move from here?

We listen to the breath as it travels like water, like a river. 
Any Asana that follows is centered. Focusing on the forehead, focusing on the souls of the feet.
Though this Asana has more than one name, Child's Pose is yet another, I prefer calling it The Rock.  The sound is heavy and grounded.  It presumes that even from something as unyielding as rock, comes life and movement and regeneration, which is surely true.
But sentient beings tend to be impatient, and if we don't see it quickly enough, we turn away to make other discoveries: flowers bud and bloom, wither, die and go to seed...the following year brings seedlings and the process is repeated.
But who chooses to watch the progress of a rock?

Still, there is intimate life here, excitement and drama!
The clip of the Great-Horned Sheep's hooves on Utah sandstone dislodges a few grains here and there.  A thunderous summer storm washes pebbles into the instant river, where they roll and tumble and sing their short song, awash with the sounds of water.
Every pebble is a reminder of impermanence, and of our continuous dance of balance with everything around us.
What creates that unique sound of water as it rushes through a river?  It's what the water comes in contact with, it's the pebbles and rocks along the way.

Come into The Rock some morning, and listen to what moves through you, and don't despair about those dark places of the unconscious that persist in arriving--welcome them, let them move through you to fully inform who you truly are.
This is your symphony!