WorkingWell

Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, had ten heads. And all the heads agreed on everything.
 
In his youth, Ravana showed great learning and devotion to Brahma and was granted the gift of a wish. On the path to become the demon king, he asked for protection from destruction by the gods. All the ten heads of course agreed Ravana couldn’t be vanquished by lesser beings.
 
I’m glad there is only one me with one head. What if I went to a party and encountered a roomful of Andreas? Everyone with my ideas, habits, and preferences Yikes! In a moment of self-frustration, I once said to my husband, ”You can leave the room and get away from me. I can’t!” I wouldn’t want to be at that party!
 
Sameness and uniformity are actually positions of weakness. We see this in the natural world, and in our own bodies, where diverse elements create a web of beauty and delight.
 
Though Ravana triumphed and carried the scars from battles with various gods, it was a man and an army of monkeys that eventually destroyed him. Ravana’s downfall was his lack of dynamism.
 
So…. why is it that we seek for others to think and act like we do when the delight and balance in life is that they don’t? 

After going to the Warhol exhibit, I came back to the apartment to surf Martha Graham (American Choreographer and Dancer, 1894 - 1991) and found this amazing quote:

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.

This quote sums it all up. This is why I practice yoga. This is why I practice Gyrotonic®. This is the quality I want to bring to my work with people - whether they are recovering from an injury or just keeping supple. It’s all about breaking down the barriers that block our joie de vivre.

I’m in Montreal in the middle of my Foundations training in Gyrotonics. The training is going incredibly well.

One the first day, though, I hurt my back and was in pain again. But I was delighted to realize that it was just a muscle strain. I recovered very quickly. This is an amazing improvement.

I have the weekend off and went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I was surprised to find that the exhibit was about rhythm and movement. What a  poignant exhibit to see during Gyrotonic training!  It was a particularly perfect exhibit to see during this training as everything had to do with spirals and life energy, just like Gyrotonic!

I was particularly moved by his print of Martha Graham. For me, this print embodies the work I’ve done this past week in the Gyrotonic training!