“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” George Orwell
How we perceive reality is affected/tainted by a personal or singular viewpoint—our position, past experiences, present role, ambitions, cultural conditioning...
“To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.” Mary Oliver
Utthita Trikonasana with belt— spreading the front and back chest through the stretching the arms. The perception of stretching the arms apart is often not accurate. We may throw the arm behind and strain the shoulder instead of stretching to their potential wingspan. By hooking the belt between the crook of the thumbs the practitioner can study the true effect of their actions in the attempt to spread the arms (and therefore chest and back chest) completely. The belt slackens when the hands are actually closer together. What we think we are experiencing is not necessarily reality. With skillful practice we can train ourselves to see more clearly and beyond a narrow viewpoint (such as stretch experienced from one part of the body). I learned this mode of practicing this pose from my teacher, Manouso Manos, in 2006. This weekend at the Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics Training, he is asking us as teachers to study and practice exploring what it would be like to be in someone else’s condition to understand how to help them. “You have to be willing to put yourself on the line. Not everybody has the ability to override their prejudices.” Manouso Manos
It takes an expanded mind and heart to reach beyond the narrow experiences of our small self. We are so much more.