In our culture, we are continuously being fed images of “perfection” especially through the media. What does it look like to have a perfect body? What does the perfect life look like? What does the perfect holiday celebration look like?
The words of songwriter Leonard Cohen suggest a deeper perfection that is inherent within the apparent imperfection. In his song “Anthem” Cohen sings, “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.”
In Sankrit (the ancient language of India) the word for perfection is Purnatva. It is also the word for wholeness. When we practice yoga, the intention is not to try to look like a picture in a book — an ideal image of what a yoga pose should be — but rather to do the pose from the inside out. When we bring the totality of our Being into the expression of a yoga pose — we ring the bells that still can ring — and in that way, in that moment, we express our full unique self, we come to know ourselves more fully, we experience our own innate perfection.
There is an innate perfection in the beauty of the trees, a newborn baby, the glory of sunrise, and there is an innate perfection in each of us. May our yoga practice help to unveil the perfection inherent within each of us, and from that wellspring of wholeness may we recognize the perfection of the body we are inhabiting, the life we are living, and the celebrations we are experiencing.
Geri Portnoy: Theme for yoga class on Saturday, November 27, 2010
