The Topsy-Turvy of Inversion
19 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Consciousness, Flow Yoga, Inversions, Vinyasa Yoga, Yoga Benefits, Yoga Meditation, Yoga Philosophies
I recently attended a holiday event in West Palm Beach, FL called The Festival of the Trees. Twenty-five pine trees were decorated in the style of famous artists or art genres. As I approached one of the displays housed in an outdoor pergola, I observed the christmas tree was hung upside down and decorated. It represented the “Dada Art Movement” that coincided with the outbreak of World War I. This genre was a way for the artists (Dadaists) to speak out against the irrationality of a capitalist society that they felt lead to WWI. At first the tree was amusing, but then the discomfort set in, as I felt the grey-green coldness of the underside of the tree limbs and pine needles, branches folding in on themselves, the silver glass ball decorations dimpling the otherwise smooth-ish surface, seemingly not embellishing it. It was not how a tree should look – or what we have come to believe is the ”correct” way to display a decorated tree: the preferred version with gravity softly opening the branches out and down the way nature intended with a rich, dark Evergreen warmth. Just as the Dada movement was meant to act as a vehicle for social commentary on basically anything conformist, presenting a completely new, and chaotic way of looking at art and life in general, this tree was “chaotic” in a simplistic, non conformist way.
In yoga, we find this same opportunity in inversions - to look at things in a completely different way. Perhaps not so much a social commentary as a spiritual one, inversions awaken our inner dialogue to consider approaching life in a different way on a personal level; shaking up what we know to be comfortable spiritually and physically. In the physical realm, inversions allow us to literally change our visual perspective, as well as the way in which the body is supported (on our hands, head or arms) which can alone open the doors of personal change. However, being upside down also has the scientific/medical benefit of taking the more toxic properties of our digestive system below the naval center, and with gravity, moving them towards the “fire” or “Agni” above the naval center where we can literally burn off the excess that no longer serve us. Spiritually, inversions invite chaos as a way of releasing habitual routines and perceptions, allowing for growth through adaptation, and consequently a transformation of our understanding of pretty much everything.
Glancing at the Dada Christmas tree over my shoulder as I turned to leave, having made my peace with it, I snickered at the similarity of my own experience in the completely different medium of yoga with the Dada art movement several decades before my time. While the movement lasted only about 5-6 years, the ideas that it presented have been replicated and repeated continuously throughout history in different forms, even in my world of yoga. The topsy-turvy tree with topsy-turvy inversions . . . questioning everything obvious, offering change.
