Did you happen to watch the Olympic snowboard half pipe competition? It was fascinating, considering the daring tricks each athlete performed, the run that resulted in an injury for Yuto Totsuka (who is evidently okay) and the emotional gold medal win for Shaun White. But there was something else about the competition that I found intriguing – The repeated discussion the commentators had about how hard American snowboarder Ben Ferguson’s first trick was.
His first trick wasn’t a McCrazy something and it wasn’t a whole bunch of twists; it was sailing into the air and having mastered the ability to stay perfectly still until gravity brought him back to earth. It certainly didn’t look as hard as twisting, turning, or grabbing one hand through to hold his snowboard. It looked effortless on the runs he did it perfectly, just a beautiful soul pausing in mid air. I think the commentators kept pressing on the difficulty so those of us watching would truly appreciate how hard it is to stay perfectly still and simply have faith in that doing of ‘nothing’.
Its such a beautiful lesson in life. Countless yogis tell me that savasana is their hardest pose. Not some crazy arm balance or vigorous vinyasa or extended inversion. Just laying there for 10 – 15 minutes, letting their mind go still and letting themselves simply be. But the benefits are huge. Just like gravity will, without a doubt, bring a flying snowboarder back into its hold, so will the universe embrace your Self when you allow it to be freed from the mind’s endless stream of twists, turns and grabs. And when you do let go, you are freed seemingly in mid air to just be. I AM. THAT is the heart of yoga and THAT is what yoga nidra can help you do.
