YOGA is a Prayer BY KELLYN MCGEE I remember the first few times I tried Svarga Dvijasana or “Bird of Paradise” pose soon after I started practicing yoga. I would watch the teacher and other students get into the pose so easily and I wanted to do it. I wanted to fly, in paradise. But I couldn’t. So, I gave up, telling myself, “my body doesn’t work like that.” Recently I attended a class where the teacher hadn’t even cued the pose. We were doing one of its preparatory poses and something about my body felt open, ready. And I thought, “I wonder….” And I got into it. Easily. Now, this first one isn’t quite “perfect” in the “social media” kind of way. But, for me, it’s the perfect expression of the pose because I just let my body get me there. One pose I have been able to get into pretty easily since my first attempt, also early in my practice, is 16
Ardha Chandrasana or “Half Moon” pose. It is my favorite balancing pose. But that isn’t to say it’s always easy or that I always land this variation of it. Some days the best I can do is keep my bottom hand on the mat, or, more modified, on a block. My experiences with both these poses serve as a metaphor for my journey of self-love. The “easy to do” is always an easy choice. But that isn’t growth. And growing in love with self requires stretching, falling, trying again. Otherwise the easy becomes stagnant. But let’s not overlook the “easy.” We should allow — and definitely need – a place of comfort to return to. Without it, we might give up altogether. Soon after I became a yoga teacher a friend asked me to teach her staff after work. Half an hour, once a week. I said yes, even though I was nervous and
