The liberated dance of the Great Yogi Shiva helps with our skillful handling of emotions. Here you apply yoga philosophy to your everyday life.(Dealing with emotions- Shiva’s dance)
The icon of Nataraja shows Shiva as the king of dance. Its archetypal meaning makes it one of the most famous symbols of Hinduism. The bronze-cast Nataraja statues were primarily worshiped in Tamil South India during the Chola Empire (9th to 13th centuries). According to legend, Shiva performed his “ Ananda Tandava,” his blissful dance, at the center of the universe. This mystical place in Tamil Tillai is the South Indian temple complex of Chidambaram. It is said that even Patanjali, the originator of yoga, attended Shiva’s dance here. The cult of Nataraja is alive in Chidambaram to this day. There priests pay homage to the deity and believers dance in devotion.
The dance of creation
The cosmic dance of Nataraja is expressive, irrepressible and wild. This accomplished yogi dances the dance of creation. A dance of arising, remaining, passing away, illusion and redemption. His steps embody the changing primal movement of the universe. Surrounded by an aureole of blazing flames, the coarse matter forms to the pulsating rhythm of his hand drum, the damaru. The matted locks of the primordial ascetic, the sign of a yogin, blow in the whirlwind of his dance. His hair is decorated with the life-giving river goddess Ganga and the dangerous cobra, a symbol of his power over the Kundalini energy .
With a repertoire of seemingly endless steps and gestures, the divine dancer decorates the ultimate sphere of existence. His ecstatic dance is an expression of spontaneous awareness. Like fleeting cloud formations in the sky, the gestures of the dancing god dissolve into the infinite expanse of space. Its basic creative nature immediately produces new forms. Each pose of his energetic dance is a brief flash in eternal galaxies. Shiva dances with perfect grace and all-pervading power. What secret lies behind his limitless freedom?
Shiva’s secret
The key lies in the symbolic gesture language of the four-armed Nataraja. His upper right hand holds Agni, the destroying and transforming fire. The upper left hand holds the hourglass-shaped Damaru drum, with the pulsation of which the world continually takes on new shapes. The blessing and protection gesture of the primordial ascetic is expressed by his right hand bent vertically upwards from the wrist. Meanwhile, the left hand, bent downwards from the straight arm, points to the ground and thus points to the path of liberation.
There, Shiva keeps the primordial demon Apasmara at bay with his energetic stomping foot . This is the embodiment of ignorance and such negative qualities as anger, desire, greed, vanity and jealousy. This is the only reason why he can lift his left, slightly bent leg towards the right side with incomparable grace and ease. This expansive and perfectly balanced gesture is the main feature of the classic Nataraj pose. The blissful dancer and yogin spans the entire living space of humanity and becomes a symbol of perfect freedom of movement.
Dealing with emotions – a dance
The significance of Shiva as a world dancer on the cosmic stage is not the only significance of his multidimensional dance. Shiva doesn’t just dance in the vastness of infinitely distant galaxies or in the holy temple of Chidambaram. Shiva also dances in our hearts. Here his subtle, inner dance directs our psychophysical energies and determines the state of our subtle prana, breath and consciousness.
Are we skilled at dealing with emotions? This is how we can direct our psychophysical energies! Then we live in the midst of our strength. This makes us feel alive and in touch with our bodies. Our minds are awake and clear and we enjoy mental health. We are able to deal with our feelings, even when we perceive them as restrictive, painful or even destructive, because we have brought the ever-lurking demon of ignorance under control. In addition to all facets of life, we also have the ability to change. We move and so do something in the world. We can let go of old habits and past experiences.
But are we dancing our dance of life on an illusionary stage of self-centeredness, with the spotlight constantly on our ego? Then we are subject to a hopeless cycle of hope and fear. Then the dark demon of ignorance dances with us. We don’t really shape our lives ourselves. Imbalance, stiffness, tension, illness and fluctuations in the psyche are just some of the consequences of our unconscious behavior.
The path of yoga
As practitioners of Hatha yoga, we should not only strive for greater flexibility and precision in the asanas. But learning to master our breath and our mind. Precise observation skills are essential for analyzing a physical sensation. But it can also become an important tool for consciously dealing with our psyche. Because when we look carefully and feel deeply within ourselves, we are in close touch with our emotions. This is the first step towards our freed handling of emotions. When our emotions are too painful, we don’t want to feel their intensity. We know endless tricks to avoid confronting our disturbing emotions. Maybe we suppress our anger or passion and deny that we have those feelings.
Or we justify our feelings. To do this, we cling to a subjective reality. “I have the right to be angry”. “It is completely right in this situation to react jealously.” Or “Today I have enough reason to be in a bad mood”. But no matter what tactic we use, we must first confront the disturbing emotion so that we can resolve it. But so that we can look deeply into our hopes and fears, we need a loving attitude. Accepting ourselves makes it possible to end the inner struggle and allow transformation. Ahimsa , the highest principle of yoga teaching, includes this mental non-injury.
The role of breath
In order to bring body and mind into harmony, a method is required. Aside from a positive attitude, breath awareness plays a key role in our emotional and mental state. It is the breathing energy that invigorates and connects body and mind. In order for the breath to flow unhindered, a harmonious basic alignment of the body is essential. Asanas are invaluable here. They help to achieve balanced coordination of feet, legs, pelvis, upper body, shoulder girdle and head. They also increase the quality of your breath.
Because when the breath flows deeply and rhythmically through the nadis , we experience ourselves as more harmonious and liberated. The stress level drops and habitual behavior patterns dissolve. Once we are familiar with our natural breathing movements, we can also use this awareness when dealing with negative emotions. This is by no means easy, but becomes possible with continued practice. If a strong emotion arises, we should not direct our emotional attention outwards and towards the supposed object of our emotion. Instead, we should look deep within. Straight into the feeling. Into the fire of anger, into the tears of disappointment or into the calm of indifference.
Once we have created this access to the feeling, we can breathe directly into the feeling. We then let our breath flow out for a long time. What can this pause and return to the breath do? Then, in a fraction of a second, the freedom arises to decide whether we express a strong feeling. This protects us from blindly living out feelings. We avoid foolish actions, find inner distance and, if necessary, can think about our situation calmly and without regret. This gives our decisions clarity and credibility and also allows us to deal with strong emotions without fear.
Helpful asanas
With regard to an asana practice whose exercise sequence focuses on consciously releasing emotions, twisting postures and backbends can be particularly effective. The former relaxes the diaphragm. The latter bring emotions to the surface and therefore have a liberating effect. In general terms, the “I forces” or ego are located in the area of the diaphragm and navel. If we hold on to an overly rigid self-image, this can lead to severe tension in the diaphragm. This prevents deep breathing.
Read more about the solar plexus chakra .
To do this, practice twisting poses such as Marichyasana III on a well-elevated seat or Pasasana variations. (Pasasana can also be modified, e.g. sitting on a chair, or squatting with the help of a wall). These have a particularly relaxing effect on the diaphragm. Provided that the rotational movement originates from the lower abdominal wall and the lumbar spine remains long during the rotation. The dog, Adho Mukha Shvanasana , which is common in all yoga styles, also loosens the diaphragm and prepares the rotation exercises well. Backbends, in conjunction with a rounded exercise sequence that balances the backbends, have a positive effect on letting go of emotions. By opening the chest significantly, we give our feelings enough space to express themselves. As feelings come to the surface of our perception, we come into contact with their power. We feel liberated, self-confident and full of energy.
see also: The benefits of fitness for the mind
