I'm obviously into forces these days.  My second last post talked about the importance of recognizing that our own personal will is but one of innumerable forces acting on our lives at any moment.  This post is about learning to cooperate with and see ourselves as a dynamic play of forces in yoga practice.  Through this, we come to know ourselves as something other than the rigid, crystallized entity we call our ego.  

The first force we must cooperate with is the grounding force - we must root before we can sprout.  This means yielding.  We must learn to yield our body weight into the points of contac we have with the floor.  We must learn to yield the stubborn will of our egoic structure by coming into total presence- experiencing the moment as if from the very cells of our bodies.  Only in this way will the tensions knotted into our muscles by years of egoic striving begin to soften. 

In Warrior II, for example,  this yielding means relying on the bones of the  legs for support.  This "bi-pod" of strength draws support directly from the  earth, and allows the upper body to yield it's characteristic tensions from the  brow, jaw, shoulders and ribcage.  Yielding to the downward pull of gravity we come to trust the earth, and our roots.  Only then can we come to experience the  upward moving force acting on the spine.  Until we yield our tensions, a false up-"tight" force is what holds us, not the natural, soft uprising of a spine sprouting from it's deep roots.   This gentle upward moving force is not rigid,  it is fluid and can be supported by the engagement of the deep core body.  Lifting the pelvic floor and engaging the low belly in and up slightly energetically propels this force to the crown.  Two forces suspend this pose - can you find yourself dwelling at their balance point?  

Once the core is engaged in Warrior II we have gathered our attention, energy and blood flow in the deep center of gravity.  To balance this inward moving force we expand through the 6 points of our
periphery:  the crown, hands, tail, and feet.   Drawing inward and expanding outward, begin to feel the place where the two forces are equal and be suspended there. 

Feeling the grounding and rising, inward moving and expanding forces can you let go of all that you think you are and become this play of forces?  As you become sensitive to these you will become sensitive to the myriad of other forces working in you - the movement of the breath and emotions, the electrical flow of thoughts, the deep stirring of your soul.  Let go of your identity and feel the inner current of life moving, heaving, tingling - ushering you moment by moment closer to your One True Self. 

An osteopath friend told me a few months ago that my daughter tends to hinge at her hips and neck when she moves rather than moving her spine.  This comes as not surprise given that I have a rigid spine compared to the hyper mobile joints at my hips and shoulders.  Wanting to create balance in her body, I've been campaigning somewhat to get her to move from her spine more - "Look Rowan!  Can you roll like a ball?  Can you wiggle side to side like mama?"  I've seen some change in her ability to round her back more fully into flexion, but generally it's not been significant. 

As I was chasing her around the basement the other day, watching her half nudey body scamper in front me I suddently got a flash of the numerous influences that coalesce to create her.  She is a magnificent work of art born of forces that act on her in innumerable ways.  The rigidity of her spine is influenced by the force of genetics, habit, emotional countenance, birth conditions, her imitation of me, our daily activities (which are influenced by innumerable forces in themselves).  It gave me great satisfaction to know that my efforts to raise her in the best way I know how is only one force of many that create her complexity.  I can influence the course of her journey significantly, but I am not in control (much to my ego's chagrin).  So I add the force of my  love and care to the vast pool of influences and watch as they swirl her destiney into manifestation. 

I will never forget the impact of this insight.  It reminds me of the bigger picture of my life and the ways that I think that my idea of how things should be is only one force amongst a vast number trying to exert themselves on the vessel that I call "me".   History, ancestry, hormones, the unconscious, the weather, my hydration levels, social connection, thoughts, emotions and instincts are but a few of the significant influences that affect me on all layers of my being.  Can I be present to these layers?  Can I know the impact of the forces that dance my being into existence?  Yoga can help to tune in our awareness of these inummerable forces and with our intense attention start to see them more clearly.  This insight can inform our choices to become increasingly intelligent.  We can begin to see where the force of our own will belongs, not as master, but as a collaborator with the vibrations of a larger reality.