Reviews
“This book contains the insights of an extraordinary woman who dared
to look deeper into the practice of asana to experience wholeness, which is
the essence of yoga."
– Sharon Gannon, co-founder of the Jivamukti Yoga method
“Swami Radha's book has been on my bookshelf since it was first published.
The language of yoga, as spoken by Swami Radha, speaks to my heart.”
– Amy Weintraub author and yoga teacher
Excerpt
Foreword by Swami Lalitananda
 A STUDENT IN A HIDDEN LANGUAGE CLASS once said to me, “I
have done many kinds of yoga and learned how my body works. This is the
first time I’ve done yoga and learned how I work.”
Hidden Language Hatha Yoga is both deeply personal and brilliantly
universal. Through attention to the symbolism of the asanas, we can
discover layers of meaning and make connections that change our lives.
Because we are listening to the body, our reflections take on an honesty and
reality that the mind can’t deny. As we move into an asana, it becomes
clear
where we are holding tension, where we are protecting ourselves, where
we are open. Starting from an attitude of acceptance, we can encourage
movement and bring in curiosity. What is holding? How does it relate to the
symbolism of the position?
Symbols resonate with meaning and allude to a richness
that continues to be revealed as they are explored. They always hold further
mystery. When we realize that the names of the asanas and the physical
positions themselves are symbolic, we are standing at a doorway. Through
the Hidden Language process, Swami Radha offers us a key.
Bringing reflection
into our Hatha Yoga practice, we learn to listen
– not just to the body, but also to our thoughts, intuition and memories.
We observe and acknowledge images that may arise in our minds, connected with
the symbol. By being aware of the interactions between our body,
our mind and the symbol, the pose deepens. Yoga is suddenly more than
a workout at a certain time of day. It becomes relevant off the mat. The
insights gathered in practice can be carried into action. Life starts to change.
Yoga comes alive.
I began to study Hidden Language when I attended a workshop
Swami Radha offered on spiritual practice in 1981. Instead of sitting and
meditating, we were asked to reflect on the symbol “mountain.” She
gave
us examples of the meaning of mountains in different cultures. I remember
after class that evening I climbed the only high point in the prairie town
where I lived. What is mountain? What is it to be high, to rise up? What
is it like to see mountains in the distance? What do I feel when I stand still
and just be? What is my experience of time? How do I endure through
time? What lasts?
The workshop was a turning point for me. I already loved yoga, but
now it was tantalizing. It was inviting me not only to understand myself, but
to transcend my limitations. And there was more. Swami Radha suggested
that each of the asanas has a mystical meaning. What could that be?
Years later I was offering a weekend workshop on the mountain
pose using the Hidden Language approach. Students repeated this one
simple standing pose again and again, and yet by the end of the workshop,
I could see that we were just beginning to tap into the endless possibilities
for self-discovery. I learned that we all have power of choice, and we can
choose to go to a higher, more elevated place within ourselves. It became
evident that Hidden Language Hatha Yoga can take us to higher levels of
consciousness.
Although Swami Radha is no longer alive, her teachings survive
through time. She was a mountain – solid in her wisdom, willing to take
a stand for what she knew was valuable. Her training began in Rishikesh,
India, in 1955–56 when her guru, Swami Sivananda, asked her to discover
the mystical meaning of six asanas before she returned to North America.
She first published Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language in 1987 after she had
expanded on her personal experience and wanted to share the potential and
value of what she had discovered.
That year I was involved in the first teacher training course in Hidden
Language Hatha Yoga at Yasodhara Ashram, using the first edition of this
book as a guide. I was touched by how deeply the process could take me,
and by the magical alchemical transformation that happens when the
physical, symbolic, psychological and spiritual elements interact. I have
been practising and teaching Hidden Language since then and am always
humbled by how the same symbol – mountain, tree, eagle, bow – will
elicit
a different response each time I practise, reflecting exactly where I am, like
a
clear mirror.
Wherever Hidden Language Hatha Yoga is offered and practised,
expect depth, reflection, clarity and support for the Light within. expect
support for your own authority and understanding. expect to take yourself
seriously and to live yoga as a union of your body, mind and speech. You
may even discover that the mystical can be experienced now.
This revised edition of Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language stays true
to the original, but has additional material from Swami Radha at the end of
each chapter that offers instruction for starting your own practice.
May all who read this book discover the
benefits of the teachings.
Many blessings,
Swami Lalitananda
 SALAMBA SARVANGASANA
THE SHOULDERSTAND
“Position God in Paschimottanasana on the floor, in Sarvangasana on
the ceiling. In
the same manner, you can think of the inflow or outflow of breath in Kumbhaka
as
though His Totality had engulfed your entire body.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
Sarva means “whole, entire.” Anga means “limb” or “body.” Salamba
means “with a prop or support.” From a relaxed lying-down position,
the legs and torso
are brought to a vertical position with the weight on the shoulders and head.
If
necessary, the hands may support the back. In the final stage, the arms are
held
vertically by the sides of the body.
THE SHOULDERSTAND is an inverted posture. There takes place in
the body a reversal of its functioning, with the mind being drawn into the
body because, as in the Headstand, there is no choice. Being upside down
also demands a greater sense of balance, a different kind of control of the
muscles, and strength in the spine.
It is not the width or the strength of the
shoulders themselves that
allows one to do the Shoulderstand well; it is rather the flexibility of the
neck and throat. This flexibility permits the head to remain flat on the floor
while the body is perpendicular. The throat is the seat of self-will. This
asana is very difficult for many because it involves the bending of the will.
The pressure of the body in the Shoulderstand makes the veins in the head
swell. The discomfort forces the mind to focus. And the security that we
just thought we had found, sitting or standing, is once again shaken when
the feet and legs are taken off the ground and the bend is shifted from the
lower body to the shoulders.
When we think of shoulders, we think first of our own, and how
much in life we have to shoulder – responsibility, pain and loss. We
may become aware that self-importance often causes us to shoulder
responsibilities that are not ours.
But it also becomes evident that the shoulders and the neck are able
to carry the burdens they need to carry.
The back of the head being pushed against the ground is rather like
being up against a wall. There is compression on the neck and head; and
the gravitational influences that are always present become more noticeable.
This reversal of the weight and its pressures may bring to attention the
wrong choices that have been made in life.
Standing in an unusual position such as the Shoulderstand is like a
warning to be prepared for the unusual or extraordinary that happens in
other moments of life. The tool of discrimination becomes important once
again.
One cannot stand forever on the shoulders. Remember as you move
back into another position that life is movement, that nothing lasts forever,
and that there is always something changing in the body as well as in the
mind. As you come down from Salamba Sarvangasana, ask yourself: “What
burdens can I put down? What burdens are no longer mine?” By focusing
on these questions you may walk lighter on the path of self-development.
Dramatic moments of life may bring us the opportunity willingly
to take on the burden of someone in need, lending them our shoulder as a
support in time of trouble. While thinking about the meaning of this asana,
we can see the need not only for our own independence, but also for our
interdependence through interaction with others. It is then we realize that
we are indeed only shoulder-width apart.
WHEN
EVERYTHING IS COMFORTABLE AND PLEASANT, human
beings become complacent. It is being under pressure that makes us sit up
and think of what has yet to be done to reach our goal. Awareness is not
increased one iota unless we are put under pressure.
Pains in the neck are either self-created or come from others who will
not bend to our will. The surrender that we must make to the asana is a
symbol for the surrender of our self-will to the most High. As the physical
pressure is released, the body comes into balance; similarly, as the ego lets
go of the weight that, in its self-importance, it has imagined, the burden
is
removed. As convictions and strong opinions allow themselves to be swayed,
we realize that there is no up, there is no down. The authority of the selfwill
is undermined.
Sometimes this pose has been called the Candle pose. The image of
the candle summarizes the Shoulderstand very beautifully. You can help
to “lighten” yourself. Let the spiritual flame burn day and night
in the
tabernacle of your heart, the meeting place of the two worlds in which you
live. Let the self-will be the first offering brought to the altar of life
itself
– consideration of others will lead you to acceptance and love.
PRACTISING
SALAMBA SARVANGASANA
1. GETTING STARTED
When you are in the Shoulderstand, your body is upside down and you
shoulder your own weight. The pressure that is felt in this position can help
you think of what has yet to be done to reach your goal. The asana involves
bending the will.
As you work with Salamba Sarvangasana, supporting yourself with
your shoulders as you lift up the legs, observe how the physical position
relates to the symbolism of the Shoulderstand. Keep your awareness alive
through observing, feeling, seeing, looking within and looking without.
Take stock of what is happening physically, emotionally, psychologically
and spiritually. Ask yourself questions such as: “Where am I? What are
the
obstacles? What is being revealed?”
2. OBSERVING THE BODY
In this position you shoulder the entire weight of your body. Shoulder
that weight in the most natural way for you. Instead of demanding the
fi nal position immediately, listen to your body intelligently with care and
concern. Observe your body in this posture. Record your observations.
Examples: inverted, reversal, upside down, balance, control,
strength, fl exibility, pressure, discomfort, compression,
gravitational infl uence, secure, adjusting, relaxing neck and
shoulders, working abdominal muscles
3. KEY WORDS
Reflect on the word “shoulderstand.” You can also think of the
two words
separately, “shoulder” and “stand.” What thoughts and
images come to
mind? Write your key words or main associations.
Examples: shouldering responsibility, pain, loss; carrying my
own weight, carrying burdens, choices, unusual position,
supporting others, interdependence, being under pressure,
bending the will, looking into my heart
Do the Shoulderstand with one of your key words or ideas in mind.
4. QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
Focus on one of the following questions while in the Shoulderstand. move
in and out of the pose, letting thoughts, body awareness and insights arise.
Write about your experience.
- As you move from standing on your feet to standing
on
your shoulders, ask yourself: “What security do I have to let
go of to reverse my position?”
- Make a list of responsibilities that
you shoulder in your life.
What is your main responsibility? Go into the pose carrying
only that responsibility.
- In the pose, if you shift the weight a little,
it may be
easier for you. What would shifting the weight relate to
symbolically in your life?
- When you are coming down from the pose, ask
yourself:
“What are my burdens? What burdens can I put down?
What burdens are no longer mine?”
- How can you lighten up? What is
it you need to lighten up?
5. GOING FURTHER
Practice the divine light invocation
The Shoulderstand is also called the Candle pose. To help bring Light into
the pose you can do a standing meditation called the Divine Light
Invocation,
before going into the Shoulderstand.
© 2006 timeless books
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