Animals are so important in yoga practice that many poses are named after them: frog, cat (more than one pose is named for these super stretching beasts!), tortoise, pigeon, rabbit, camel and peacock, to name a few.
Also important in yoga is the image of the serpent, that energy which moves along the spine. This is referred to as the Kundalini, the life-force energy which, when flowing freely and in balance, keeps us healthy, happy and whole. The image is so important that it is used as our medical symbol which we see, for example, on the prescriptions we take to the pharmacy.
We can learn much from our friends in the animal kingdom. Not only do we have stretches and poses that relate to or remind us of specific animals but we also can relate to the traits of these animals in our life and in our yoga practice, perhaps attributes we are attempting to develop in ourselves:
The spryness of the frog
The patience of the tortoise as it takes its time plodding along its path
The hastiness of the hare in times we need to think and be quick
Learning when being cautious serves us and when it does not!
These are the physical aspects we bring into our yoga practice. By watching animals, we also see their ability to be focused--totally immersed in what they are doing in the present moment. Part of yoga is developing the senses and strengthening the nerves.
The cat shows examples of sensitivity to sound, movement, and the benefits of an intricate nervous system, as do birds and many other animals.
Downward facing dog is one of the most telling postures in yoga. Dogs effortlessly lift their tailbones to the sky and touch their heads to the ground, getting a great stretch for the spine and shoulders. For most of us, this pose takes time and practice and we rarely get the head to the floor. We have to get the spine, legs and shoulders really stretched in practice to look like the dog.
By observing the skills animals have that we are working to develop, we can curb any urge to feel separated from our furry-- or scaly or feathery-- friends, allowing ourselves to be humbled by the gifts they have at living, both mentally and physically. There are phenomenal stories about the gift of sixth sense that cats and dogs possess. We humans possess it as well. Meditating at the third eye point between the eyebrows is a key practice in Kundalini yoga, and other practices as well, that helps us get in touch with that sixth sense, the intuition.
Pets can also teach us a lot about love and joy.
Animals, like us, thrive on the air they breathe and the food they eat, and respond sensitively to the environments that they are in. My cat is much happier and mellower in Maine than in a confined city space. Don’t we, too, feel not as well, as calm or as happy when we are in environments with noise and air and even too much people pollution?
Yoga means union of mind, body and spirit but also important is the union, the
Oneness, we have with all living beings. Even the scorpion has a yoga pose named for it.
As we learn to love and be loved by our pets, it can often facilitate real healing, which is also a goal in our yoga practice. People with pets live longer and couples with pets have healthier relationships.
This summer, I had an incident in a yoga class pertaining to animals and how we relate to them. There was a woman at my retreat who had seemed to do her best to let everyone know that she was unhappy with life and with almost everyone around her. Both guests and staff had told me that her negativity was creating some real challenges. She also had problems with my cat. Though she said she was allergic and could get medication if she needed it, she exhibited no symptoms and, basically, it seemed more like just another thing for her to complain about. We had started a Kundalini Yoga class. The theme I had chosen was negativity. About five minutes into the class, my cat appeared in the studio, as he sometimes does, and came and sat by me. Immediately the woman piped up, “Does the sphinx stay?” in a rather sarcastic tone. “Yes,” I quietly replied. In no time, she was up and out of the class that she definitely could have used. I had made my choice. The cat was not bothering her or anyone else and my instincts were to let him stay and let her make her choice about that. Was I right or wrong? Our teacher Yogi Bhajan says nothing is right or wrong, only our thinking makes it so. The woman had a choice to be in the class or not. The cat was not near her. As a teacher, we are taught to poke, provoke and elevate. That is not always comfortable. You might not win any popularity contests, but the true goal in yoga is self-realization and this cannot come without some real looks at ourselves, our behaviors, and how we affect ourselves and others. Having the cat in this classroom gave me, this woman, and the other students a lesson beyond asana.
Remember that yoga is more than just the physical asanas (poses) that we name for animals. Yoga is about our relationship with our mind, watching how the mind of the animal works and the wonders of nature. Here is a quote from a Buddhist card, one of a collection that I often read from at the end of yoga class on topics like the Material World and Meditation. This one is under the topic of Enlightenment:
“It was said at one monastery that the monks could tell when their head lama had become enlightened.
He stopped meditating and started playing with the cat.”
Donna Amrita Davidge and her husband musician Kent Bonham run Sewall House Yoga Retreat in northern Maine with their cat Westy, a beloved slightly blind mascot (animals show us a lot in how they adapt to things like blindness).
June 15 to Columbus Day—we will be open this Christmas and New Years in Island Falls, ME. Amrita teaches in NY City during the winter and spring. Amrita and Kent do workshops on the East coast, as well. www.sewallhouse.com 888-235-2395. Yogic furry friends are welcome.