"A happy and serene mind allows us to pursue our quest as well as live with artistry and skill. Does not the American Declaration of Independence talk of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness? If a yogi had written that, he would have said Life, Happiness and the Pursuit of Liberty. Sometimes happiness may bring stagnation, but if freedom comes from disciplined happiness, there is the possibility of true liberation." ~BKS Iyengar, Light On Life
The final day of Kquvien's Weekend Workshop turned out to be a playful one. Mr. Iyengar lists curative poses in the back of Light On Yoga. KQ gave us a few of the cures for arms and abs listed on page 489. The list itself elicits laughter until you experience the poses.
Chaturanga Dandasana, Bekasana, Eka Bekasana, Visvamitrasana, Ekapada Koundinyasana after the sixth or seventh try it felt good on the arms, shoulders, and abdomen. One student exclaimed after doing Bekasana, "It makes me happy." The student then asked if it might be wrong to feel happy. KQ immediately exclaimed, "No." Reverend Jaganath Carrera notes in his book Inside the Yoga Sutras that, "Cheerfulness is a characteristic of sattwa. Cheerfulness is included not simply because it is an anticipated outcome of practice but because a cheerful mind has the energy and perseverance necessary to proceed to the highest states of spiritual experience."
Kquvien's students will all admit; she brings fun into the challenge of yoga. She doesn't shame you. She has great humility when she demonstrates her poses effortlessly. Poses you know she practices day in and day out to unearth from her body. "Approach it like your in Olympic training and every second counts." We all have mental, physical, emotional, and financial hurdles to overcome day in and day out. Kquvien impresses on us that the path of yoga is here for us always and forever. Take your time, but spend it well might be her motto. She ended class by putting us in the wonderfully serene Bhishmasana pose. She told the story of Bhishma from the Mahābhārata, India's longest epic poem. Talk about issues: this prince gave up his throne so his stepmother and her son could have more power. He went into exile where one version of the story has a warrior princess he'd been betrothed to had he kept the throne shoot 52 arrows into back out of spite. He didn't die right away, and he wouldn't let anyone move him. He made a bed of all his arrows and rested there content to his last breath. May we all make a bed of our troubles in 2018 and rest content with those we can not change.
Thank you for a great weekend, Kquvien. Namaste
To learn more about Kquvien DeWeese visit her website at kquvien Yoga .
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