“If one is hurt by the arrows of an enemy, one is not as aggrieved as when cut by the unkind words of a relative, for such grief continues to rend one's heart day and night.”
— Lord Siva, Bhagavat Purana
— Lord Siva, Bhagavat Purana
"The yogi is a warrior against his own ignorance" Richard Rosen
Why do we practice warrior pose in all yoga classes and all yogic traditions? Why do yoga teachers keep telling their students about the myths that underly the Virabhadrasana I, II and III? It is a just a myth, even if it was something real, it is so old, who cares?
The answer is we do. Because through these myths we gain a reflection of our own lives, our deepest desires, drives, obstacles and limitations. The story behind the Warrior poses is a story about love, pride, attachment, shame, vengeance, sadness, violence, compassion, renunciation, all those feelings alternating and interweaving.
As Sianna Sherman an Anusara Certified, International teacher (and great story teller I must add!) likes to put it “Once upon a time, a long time ago..... but also happening at this moment in our own lives...
.. there was King Daksha, he was a King that thrived on rules and regulations. King Daksha had a daughter Uma/ Sati or Shakti. To the Kings disappointment, Sati decided to marry Lord Shiva, the Lord of Universal Consciousness. King Daksha didn’t approve off Lord Shiva because Shiva was his exact opposite, he didn’t like rules, he was a yogi with long matted hair, he visited cremation grounds, ha danced and sang where and whenever he felt like it, and was often intoxicated.
Daksha threw a party , a sacrificial ceremony and decided that he would show the couple his discontent and maybe his daughter would come back to her senses, so he invited all the members of the Universe, but not Sati and Shiva. Shiva, being the Lord of Universal Consciousness was able to deal with his emotions and just didn’t care at all. Sati however, was very upset, by her fathers behaviour towards her and her husband and his lack of respect towards their marriage. She asked Shiva to go to the party anyway, but Shiva said “why go where I am not invited, I don’t want to upset your father more”, so Sati went alone.
When the Kind saw Sati at the party he asked her why she came since she was not invited. They started a discussion about Shiva and Daksha kept insulting him in front off all the other guests who at some point started laughing at Shiva. Sati was enraged, she decided that since her body was given to her by her father she didn’t wan’t it anymore or anything to do with him. She went into a deep meditative state and through yogic practices set herself on fire / or threw herself into the sacrificial fire and died (depends on which text you are reading).
When Shiva found out he was furious and he started to pull his hair out, one of his dreadlocks fell on earth and created the Warrior Virabhadra. Following Shivas order Virabhadra violently stormed into Dakshas castle, cut off the Kings head and killed all the guests. It was chaos (like the chaos you will feel if you try to stay in a Warrior pose for a few minutes!!) Shiva arrived at the castle to see the damage Virabhadra had made and absorbed Virabhadra back into his own form. Shiva became known as Hare (the ravisher)..the story goes on as Shiva goes through a wide range of emotions from fury to sadness..He gives Daksha his life back by putting a goats head on his headless body. Why did shiva do that? What are the symbolisms in this story and how can we relate it to the ”right now in our lives” ? Shiva simbolises the Higher Self who slays the prideful ego (King Daksha ) in the name of what else but LOVE (Sati)!
So next time you argue with your loved one.. remember Virabhadra the Warrior who is strong because he comes from God. He is here in the present moment to slay our ego and free us to say ..
” I love you”
Thank you for reading my blog..please contact me with your ideas and feedback.
May you all be well and have a great Warrior Week, fighting a good fight. a dharmic fight that will help shift your life towards your Highest Intention.
As you may have guessed we will be doing Warrior poses and sequences this week at Yogalife, you are welcome to join us!
Namaste
Nefeli
