PHILOSOPHY

NATARAJASANA

In all cultures the powerful images of gods and goddess have the capacity to take us to the deepest places in ourselves. The myths and stories surrounding these images have the potential to take us to the truth of our hearts.

THE LORD OF THE DANCE

The image, myth and symbol of The Lord Of The Dance, Shiva Nataraj is one in which all serious yoga students eventually come to understand. Nataraja’s dance is evocative because he represents our dance with life. Just by looking at a murti; a statue of him, we are drawn in to question what he represents. As Yogi’s we long to understand the true meaning of our lives. Why do we practice,what meaning and value does it give to our lives? How do we choose to engage life and dance our own dance?

The myth and symbol surrounding Nataraja is a means to go deeper into the most profound questions we have about living. For example, one of the places Shiva likes to dwell in is in the cremation grounds. Here he watches the decay of bodies. In observing closely the process of death; in contemplating his own mortality he is called to live; to engage fully. Its a bit like when we take savasana (corpse pose) at the end of practice we fall into deep silence and stillness. Paradoxically, the deeper we fall into this death the more we feel the spanda; the vibration of our own heart beating, our blood flowing and consequently we feel our aliveness at the same time we feel our inevitable decay and death.

In studying Nataraja, we are drawn to understand the dance of life is a precious one. Nataraja begs us to look closely at our lives, our choices and to deepen our preferences (Apeksha); what our heart truly yearns for regardless of others opinions. In deepening our understanding of who we truly are, we can offer more fully from the heart our gifts; our artistry to each other and to the world.