Every Light Casts a Shadow
“ The asanas are useful maps to explore yourself, but they are not the territory.”- BKS Iyengar
In the current Teacher Development program we have been having a year-long discussion about alignment yoga and its up and down sides. Many of the students began the program concerned that alignment instructions interfere with students' intuitive and sensory experience, providing so much direction for movement that the natural impulses of embodiment can be obscured, while others saw alignment as a valuable way to ensure safety and minimize injury. Some students saw value in the mental focus that alignment yoga offers, while others felt the specificity of the instructions kept them in their heads and not in their hearts.
The thing about "alignment yoga" is that, in the beginning, it can feel like a barrage of instructions that are intended as an imposition of form on the body, oftentimes at odds with the practitioners direct and felt sense of themselves within the pose. In the beginning "good alignment" doesn't feel right and it most certainly does not feel easeful or familiar.
And truth be told, I have been in some alignment classes that were so dogmatically delivered that no allowance was made for postural deviation, personal history, and individual agency. And, I have also experienced the frustration that comes from trying to keep all the "points" straight in my mind and in the execution of the posture. And, as many of us know, when perfectionism gets activated in a detail-oriented approach, joy of movement is often obscured during the lesson.
And while the idea of "good alignment" could, and should, be unpacked-- because I believe optimal alignment is a bit of a myth and most certainly a moving target--I do believe that there is tremendous value in learning a road map for postural practice. I also believe that the possible pitfalls are not reasons to abandon the project of learning a method of organizing one's body, focusing one's mind, and approaching asana in a clear and deliberate manner. For the record, I believe the capacity to follow alignment protocols and the capacity to feel one's body directly and accurately are not at odds with one another.
And, even though I am speaking here about postural practice, I see the correlations in other domains of personal growth and spiritual practice. Structures and forms provide a valuable road map. Direct experience sometimes confirms the map and sometimes provides feedback to the map maker that revisions are needed. Personally, I have used many road maps over the years of asana studies— Iyengar yoga, Anusara yoga, Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga. Each system has offered me insights and given me opportunities to study with knowledgeable and impressive practitioners and teachers.
And, every exploration has had a shadow side.
Off the mat, anyone who knows me nows that I have also explored many methods and traditions of spiritual practice. I have called God by many names and have always found myself in the company of amazing people, inspiring teachers, and philosophical premises that have expanded my capacity to show up wholeheartedly.
And, every exploration has had a shadow side.
Perhaps the biggest hallmark of aging (and I like to think maturing a bit along the way) is that the shadow elements no longer serve as reasons to stop engaging the process of practice or learning and studying the maps the Great Ones have given. I am no longer looking for a light that doesn’t cast a shadow. I no longer let the shadows determine how I feel about the light. Instead, I know that light and dark come together in this realm, that every teaching can be exploited, every high comes with a corresponding low, every peak has a a trough, and even the most detailed map can only outline the journey and point the way. And, as far as I can tell, part of walking the path directly is learning to live in the paradox authentically.
So, yeah,
Something like that.
(Oh, and if you want to spend a year talking about things like this with me and an amazing cohort of practitioners and teachers, please join the 300-hour Teacher Development Program that beings in January 20224.)
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