The Anusara Sadhana: Ritual is the Story of Yoga

Ritual is the Story of Yoga

Written by Madhuri Martin & Judtyth Hill

What does Storytelling have to do with Anusara Yoga? 

While teaching the early 2000’s with my dear friend and co-rabblerouser, Judyth Hill, we were repeatedly asked this question. Admittedly, our vision of bringing voice, writing, poetry and story, into those early classes, workshops and teacher trainings, received significant pushback. Yet, very quickly, our students realized that yoga practice, done well, is a process of becoming conscious of our constant creation and re-creation of our ever-changing story. An aptitude with story provides considerable insights into how to successfully approach our yoga practice and teaching. 

Nature, Yoga Practice, Ritual, and Narrative Structure

Nature moves, constantly, cyclically, web-like, in an identifiable pattern of Beginning, Middle and End, with the end of one cycle becoming the beginning of another. Great yoga teachers develop the skills to become accomplished leaders of ritual (meaning repeat), by being ardent students of beginning, middle and end.

What is a Beginning?

Kinesthetically, a beginning has excitement, it has mystery and a tipping-into sort of feeling. At the beginning of a teaching or story, we want to expand the edges of our language to create that energy of the unknown, engendering curiosity, engagement and a willingness from our students to surrender into what is about to happen. 

Psychologically, we need beginnings so that we can grant ourselves the compassion and forgiveness inherent in a new beginning.

If we can grant ourselves permission, than something can start over. We find ourselves facing the decision of what to bring with us on this next journey, and what must be left behind. 

Where’s the Middle?

The middle is a place of deeper discovery. The conversations shift away from the excitement of introduction, into a depth of exploration. The middle holds everything of value. Our job is to constantly re-create discovery and potency in our middles. Here are some tips and tricks:

- Stay in the kinesthetic, use speech that evokes a feeling, texture, color, a smell, a sound, a visual description, a taste.

- Speak in a way that is hydrating and awakens curiosity. Play, like Shiva, in contrasting acts of concealment and revelation. 

- Notice language, word choice, intonation and sequencing. Is it drying or hydrating? Is it dull or juicy? Monotonous or dynamic? 

Engagement is requisite! This is one of our big Tantric teachings, “The universe is already free. We are not here to become free; we are here to become engaged.”

The middle is the place where everything happens, where nothing is insignificant, this is the substantive magnificence of our practice and of our lives. 

How do we End? 

In any teaching, story, or practice, there is a sub-cycle of repeating beginning-middle, that engenders the deep engagement that is critical for the end to work. 

There has to be some unknown piece that stays unknown until the very end. A marvelous mystery that is introduced at the beginning, held all through the middle, and resolved at the end. The end is a completion that establishes the space for the next beginning. 

A master storyteller is more than a teacher, she transports the listener, body, mind, heart and soul, on journeys that hold us captive and forever transform us.

Storytelling is not an unapproachable skill for the charismatic few. Story is in all of us. The study of story is present in the study of our yogic practices. We can start our study each morning as we sit for pranayama, giving attention to the rhythmic unfolding pattern that develops as our asana progresses from stillness into moving poetry that transcribes itself as we transform, moving poetry that transcribes itself as we transform. 

Madhuri and Judyth created a beautiful and powerful practice to dive deep in one of the aspects of our true nature which is Freedom (Svatantrya) Their invitation with this practice is not to shut off our feelings and our thoughts, but to figure out why having them is Divine.

As we become more conscious in our perception, we discover the relationship between ourselves and our interconnectedness with everything else. Tantra encourages us to taste the depths of our own experience, to touch the deep inner joy, caring and concern that motivates every other concern..