Yoga_Journal_USA_Your_6Week_2017

PHOTOS: KATRINE NALEID; MODEL: AUTUMN ALVAREZ; STYLIST: LYN HEINEKEN; HAIR/MAKEUP: CHRIS M

CDONALD

Marichi, the namesake of this column’s

asana, means “ray of light.” Devout Hindus

revere Marichi as one of the Seven Seers,

the semidivine poet-sages who, at the cre-

ation of the world, first “heard” the eternal

word of Brah man. In its purest form, this

word of divine sound is inaudible to the

human ear, so Marichi and his cohorts trans-

lated it into human language: Sanskrit.

These thousand-some mantras were

collected in Hin duism’s holiest book,

the Rig Veda.

The Rig Veda wasn’t initially a “book.”

Scholars place the inception of the

Ve das as an oral tradition of hymns

somewhere between 1700 BCE and

1400 BCE. They were put into writ ing

between 300 BCE and 200 BCE. Amaz-

ingly, the Rig Veda existed well before

the advent of writing, and so for more

than a millennium the Vedas were

memorized and passed down orally

from one generation of Brahmin

priests to the next. An English transla-

tion of the Rig Veda in my library runs

650 pages of small print, so these

priests performed an impressive feat

of memorization.

good to know

DON’T Twist with pelvis

dropped back.

DO Maintain a long spine.

benefits

contraindications

Massages abdominal organs,

including the liver and kidneys

Stretches the shoulders

Strengthens the back

Tones abdominal muscles

Lower-back or neck injuries

High or low blood pressure

Migraine or insomnia

pelvis. You’ll end up more or less fac-

ing your inner right leg.

You often see pictures, like the

opening one in this column, of the

yogi’s arm pressed against the out-

side of the bent knee. If you are new

to this pose, don’t do this. Most of us

lack the flexibility to do this while

still keeping the spine long. Bringing

your arm to the outside of your knee

forces you to hunch over your bent

leg, which immediately shortens the

spine and not only obstructs the

twist but can strain the lower back.

Instead, wrap your left arm around

your leg, hug it into your torso, and

press your right hand into the floor

just behind you, pushing your torso

up and forward (see figure 1). Pressing

The hymns open a window into a world

that existed at least 3,800 years ago.

They tell us about that world’s geo graphy

and history, its social and family struc-

tures, people’s clothing and adorn ments,

their food and drink, their oc cu pations,

and their entertainments. A popular pas-

time was gambling. This is reflected in a

hymn that most of us can immediately

empathize with. Some times called the

“Lament of the Gambler,” it reminds us

that although we’re separated from the

Vedic people by many centuries, we

aren’t so different from them after all:

“Because of a losing throw of the dice,

I have driven away a devoted wife. My

wife’s mother hates me... The gambler

goes to the meeting hall, asking him-

self, ‘Will I win?’ and trembling with

hope. But the dice cross him... [they]

goad like hooks and prick like whips;

they enslave, deceive, and torment.”

“My wife’s mother hates me!” Sound

familiar? Many hymns speculate about

concerns that are still part of our lives:

the creation and destiny of the world,

death and the afterlife, and the mean-

ing of sacrifice. R. R.

preparations will help you get a feel

for the sensations and actions that

I’m describing.

TAKE IT SLOW

From Dandasana, bend your right

knee and set your heel just in front of

your right sitting bone. Keep your

left leg straight and firm, pressing the

thigh actively down against the floor

and reaching through your left heel

and the base of your big toe. Press

the inner right heel and base of the

big toe firmly against the floor. Imag-

ine now that the left side of your sa-

crum is pressing into your pelvis, and

twist your torso to the right. As you

do so, draw your belly up and in, and

lift your back ribs away from your

82 YOGAJOURNAL.COM YOUR 6-WEEK YOGA GUIDE TO BUILD STRENGTH