Vrkasana
Tree Pose and the Lord of Love in the Sun
The sun gives light and life to all who live,East and west, north and south, above, below;
It is the prana of the universe.
The wise see the Lord of Love in the sun,
Rising in all its golden radiance
To give its warmth and light and life to all.
Verse 6 to 8 of Question 1 of Prashna Upanishad1
Even as the sun shines and fills all space
With light, above, below, across, so shines
The Lords of Love and fills the hearts of all created beings.
Verse 4 of V of Shvetashvatara Upanishad1
The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.
Seeing him in all creatures, the wise
Forget themselves in the service of all.
Verse 4 of [1] of Part III of Mundaka Upanishad1
THE PRACTICE
Start
Move into your own version of the Tree Pose. That is, place your leg in a position that is comfortable for you – perhaps with your toes resting on the floor, with your foot resting against your ankle, inner lower leg or inner upper leg, or with your leg in the “half-lotus” position. Choose a version that will feel stable and comfortable. Bring your hands into namaste (prayer position in front of your chest). Either close your eyes (if your balance is good enough for this) or let your gaze rest on a convenient spot in your line of sight.
Sun Shines
Imagine the sun is shining overhead. Imagine the sun shining light and love and warmth and life on you and all around you. Imagine the sunlight filling all the space around you – above, below, to the left and right of you and in front of and behind you. Imagine the golden radiance of the sun filling all the space around you.
Shining into you
Lift your arm up overhead and open wide as though to receive the sunlight into your self – the love and light and warmth and life the sun is shining into the world. You may wish to imagine that, like a tree, you have leaves to receive and store the sunlight for transport around your being to where it is needed and for storing in your heart for later use. Or, you may wish to imagine the sunlight shining directly into your heart – filling your heart with light and love and warmth and life. Imagine, feel your heart, and thus your whole being, filling with sunlight – filling with love and light and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy.
In your heart
Bring your hands together and back down in front of your chest. Bring your awareness to your heart space – and feel (or imagine) your heart space full with light and love and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy. Feel (or imagine) your heart full of sunlight, full of golden radiance: feel your heart shining this golden radiance to all parts of your being. Feel (or imagine) your heart radiating love and light and warmth and life to all parts of your being. Feel and enjoy. Bring your awareness back to your heart space – feel your heart still full of love and light and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy.
Lift your arm up overhead and open wide as though to receive the sunlight into your self – the love and light and warmth and life the sun is shining into the world. You may wish to imagine that, like a tree, you have leaves to receive and store the sunlight for transport around your being to where it is needed and for storing in your heart for later use. Or, you may wish to imagine the sunlight shining directly into your heart – filling your heart with light and love and warmth and life. Imagine, feel your heart, and thus your whole being, filling with sunlight – filling with love and light and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy.
In your heart
Bring your hands together and back down in front of your chest. Bring your awareness to your heart space – and feel (or imagine) your heart space full with light and love and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy. Feel (or imagine) your heart full of sunlight, full of golden radiance: feel your heart shining this golden radiance to all parts of your being. Feel (or imagine) your heart radiating love and light and warmth and life to all parts of your being. Feel and enjoy. Bring your awareness back to your heart space – feel your heart still full of love and light and warmth and life. Feel and enjoy.
Peacefully
When you are ready, bring your awareness back to your physical body, your standing leg and the foot connecting you down into the ground. Return the foot of your bent leg back to the floor beside your other foot. Lower your arms. Pause and enjoy how you feel – then repeat the exercise with the other leg lifted into the tree pose position.
1 “The Upanishads” trans by Eknath Easwaran Pub: Arkana, Penguin Books.
When you are ready, bring your awareness back to your physical body, your standing leg and the foot connecting you down into the ground. Return the foot of your bent leg back to the floor beside your other foot. Lower your arms. Pause and enjoy how you feel – then repeat the exercise with the other leg lifted into the tree pose position.
THE SUN NEVER SAYS
Even
After all this time
The sun never says to the earth
“You owe Me”
Look at what happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.
( Hafiz, 12th –century Persian Poet )
ReferenceEven
After all this time
The sun never says to the earth
“You owe Me”
Look at what happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.
( Hafiz, 12th –century Persian Poet )
1 “The Upanishads” trans by Eknath Easwaran Pub: Arkana, Penguin Books.