The Wooden Sword is a great story for today’s times. It’s the story of a man who keeps losing his job becuase of a powerful King, but he always has faith in God and the present moment, so everything turns out all right.
I used this Jewish story from Afghanistan for the Boulder Jewish Community Center’s family camp with Adventure Rabbi at Glacier View Ranch in Ward, Colorado this weekend. We had our Storytime Yoga ritual of puppets warm-ups and songs and breathing, followed by the telling. I used the story as a theme to move through the asanas, making it lively for the children as well as technical for the parent’s benefit. We grounded ourselves in standing poses, used warrior III pose with our arms moving as a sword to cut through any negative thinking. After all, it was the man’s attitude that helped him survive. No worries, just go on to the next thing! Even as things got more difficult, the man always relied on his intuition. The Jewish tradition even has a term for this, being present and showing up to life. Each pose we recognized that life is temporary: things change. Poses change. Time passes. But the breath and the body keep us present. Grounded in the body keeps us safe and connected to all things and our energy. Watching the mind and using the sword of discrimination (viveka) cuts through negative thinking.
During relaxation we surrender to the divine. We let go of our ego minds and let God move us with the dharma.
Visit the telling of the Wooden Sword on You Tube! Storytime Yoga!
Namaste,
Sydney
Family Yoga with the Wooden Sword folktale
by Sydney on August 17, 2009
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