I often collaborate with Sarah Deco, a professional storyteller. She comes and tells stories during yoga retreats. The reason why is that I’ve found stories are a simple and powerful way to understand the deeper teachings of yoga, and then embody those teachings. I asked Sarah if she could write a little something about the power of story and why it works well with the physical practices of yoga. She said:
“Creating story and narrative enables us to organise the welter of information that floods in to us from our senses. It is an essential part of making sense of our experience. Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, become stale or limiting and we need space to find new narratives.
Yoga creates space in our physical being and in our awareness. It allows us to open to the experience of the moment. This state of opening creates the possibility to explore and embrace new narratives which can shift our everyday experience, and ultimately the way we see the world.
Ancient stories, myths and wonder tales of the kind we will be hearing at the August Bank Holiday Retreat are distilled over generations. They represent in symbolic form the experience of being human beings in human bodies, and living through the journey of our lives. The symbolism of these stories facilitates the inward movement to the centre of our being – the goal of yoga.
The archetypal nature of the symbols and images allows us to clothe them in the meanings that are relevant for each of us at our own stage of our particular journey. They also allow us to see that in many ways we all travel the same journey; journeying inwards in this way allows us to feel a deep sense of connectedness not only with ourselves but with each other.”
And so combining the power of myth and story with yoga practices can help us to understand and make sense of our reality in a way that is positive; it can shift our experience especially if we are feeling stuck or anxious. The potent environment of retreat creates the space needed to enter the heart and experience new depths to our being that unlock the potential of what it means to be fully awake to each moment.
Here is taste of a short story from the yoga tradition…
Vishnu the great god was sitting high up in the seventh heaven looking out over the world and appreciating its great beauty. In his hands he held the Stone of Wisdom a shining jewel which held all the eternal truths of the universe.
He let it fall from one hand to the other, appreciating it’s shine and weight, playing with it. Then he leant back on his couch threw the stone up into the air. Admiring it’s magnificent sparkling beauty as it fell through the air, he forgot to catch it! Down, down, down it fell until it reached the earth, and landed with a deafening crash shattering into a million of pieces.
Instantly people came running from here and there and everywhere and gathered up the beautiful sparkling fragments of the broken stone. Meanwhile a great wail sounded through creation. It was the lament of the great god Vishnu for his beautiful sparkling jewel. The sound drew forth Hanuman, the Monkey King.
‘What is the matter great lord Vishnu?’ he asked.
‘Oh misery, misery I have dropped the great Stone of Wisdom!’
‘But it is good that the stone has come to earth,’ said Hanuman.
‘No you don’t understand, the Stone of Wisdom has broken into millions of pieces.’
‘But, surely that means wisdom for all, and that is a very good thing,’ said Hanuman.
‘I am not sure my friend,’ said Vishnu. ‘Now everyone will think that he alone has the whole truth, the only truth. People will think only their piece of wisdom is right.’
Join Anna Ashby and Sarah Deco in Camden…
enter the heart: a bank holiday yoga retreat
Monday 29 August, 1000am – 5.30pm
Price: £75 (includes lunch)
book now
Anna Ashby has been studying and practicing yoga for over 25 years and teaching for over 15 years. She is one of London’s leading yoga teachers and a dedicated triyoga teacher. She is a founder and senior faculty member of triyoga’s teacher training program and holds the highest level of certification from Yoga Alliance both in the UK and in the US (E-RYT 500/Senior Teacher). Anna’s teaching style has evolved from her study of dance, in-depth training with established, classical yoga systems that focus on alignment, and a dedicated meditation practice that developed while she lived for 12 years in a yoga ashram in upstate New York. For more information about Anna’s schedule visit her website www.annaashby.com