There is a class of asanas called Neverland Poses. You may not have heard the name. These are poses that are beyond the imagination.
Someone wrote in the other day, saying that she’d never ever felt anything relaxing in Double Pigeon, or Fire Log pose. The same is true for me. Although it’s true I no longer feel that anything will actually fracture while in Double Pigeon, the idea that my knees might fall comfortably toward the floor is beyond contemplation at this point. Until I looked for the pose on YouTube last week, I’d never seen anyone do it comfortably. It was as shocking as watching those videos of bridges collapsing during earthquakes. Even an earthquake could not loosen my hips to that extent.
Double Pigeon is one of my Neverland poses. It doesn’t mean I’ll never do it (in fact, I intend to do it at some point). It means that my imagination can’t yet wrap itself around my deeply ingrained resistance.
Full Lotus is a Neverland pose. Dancer is one, too. When I went home recently for Uncle David’s funeral, I dropped by The Yoga Station, just to make myself feel happy. Tamara, of the husband-and-wife teaching team Tamara and Tomasz, lived in Mysore for two years before opening the studio. I asked her to do her favorite pose for a photograph. (That’s her, above.) She whipped into Dancer as though it were more comfortable than brushing her teeth.
I acted casual. I couldn’t breathe. It was astounding. Some day I will do this, I thought. I may not look like Tamara. I may not become 6 feet tall or lose 40 pounds or grow long, yogini hair, but I will do my own version of this pose.
If you end up in Neverland with me, say hello. I’ll be the one hanging out in Double Pigeon, just to pass the time.
Do you have a Neverland Pose? Have you ever reached Neverland? What I mean is, can you do any pose, now, that you could not imagine doing before? Inspire us, please.
Thanks to yoga for reality and for imagination. And thanks to you, always, for the conversation,
kristin