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Hanuman Workshop with Marty
18 June 2016 @ 12:00 am - 3:00 pm
$55
“The energies of nature are present in the outer world, but they are also present in ourselves, because we are particles of nature. So when you are meditating on a Deity, you are meditating on powers of your own spirit and psyche and on powers that are also out there… When mythology is properly understood, the object that is revered and venerated is not a final term. The object is a personification of an energy that dwells within the individual and the reference of mythology has two modes-that of consciousness and that of spiritual potentials within the individual.”
-Joseph Campbell
Hanuman represents the energy of the bold leap. Hanumanasana, the posture most commonly attributed to him, symbolises the great leap that Hanuman took in many of the stories. Most notably, the leap to the island of Lanka to take a message to the captive Sita from her beloved, Rama, telling her that he was coming to rescue her.
What we don’t always look at is what happens before the bold leap. Firstly, Hanuman is driven by his great heart, by his Bhakti, devotion. The thing that has most struck me about the stories of Hanuman, though, is that he is cursed to forget his divinity, his great and Godly powers, unless they are recalled to him by an external agent. This is what fascinates me most. It represents the fifth of the five acts of the divine: Anugraha. Anugraha means revealing, remembering, or grace. Hareesh Wallis says this of Anugraha:
“When we glimpse, however briefly, the magnificence of our true nature, we begin to inherit our birthright. The gratitude that wells up in response to the inexpressible sweetness of this experience of awakening is such that we can say nothing but, “I am so blessed!” This is grace.”
To me, Hanuman symbolises the remembering that must occur before the bold leap. The bold leap cane be, let’s face it, terrifying. In the face of it, we can feel smaller than we did before, but it calls us to rise up, to stand up and open to all the possibilities of who we are and what we can make manifest. In the stories, one of Hanuman’s powers is that of changing his size to become enormous. A trait I believe to speak to our ability to be greater than our circumstances.
In this workshop, we will start with Ayurvedic Chai and fun myth telling to set the tone of the workshop and set the foundations, we’ll delve into the stories of Hanuman, how they speak so brilliantly to the best of our potential as human beings, and as a means to understand the anatomy of the bold leap in any life endeavour. I’ll share a meditation to help you to transform fear and step into your best possible self in the face of challenge and change. THEN, we’ll flow! This workshop is not “all about the splits”, and that’s not a prerequisite. Sure, we’ll go there, but first we’ll explore a heap of dynamic funky flows and awesome transitions which will bring you to the edge of challenge and provide ample opportunity to experience the energy of the big leap. I can’t wait to see you there!