First, I have to blame Diane Ferraro and Tanya Lee Markul at elephant journal for this post. If you hate it, well, it’s all their fault. If you love it, well that’s their fault too. Both of them created an inspiration in me that I had to get out as quickly as possible. At my age, if I waited any longer I would probably forget it and that would have been a travesty!!!
While engaged in an “internet conversation” of sorts with them regarding my horribly inflexible body and the values of yoga came the inspiration for what seems to be a must do daily asana that simply cannot be found on any chart, website, or book within my reach. I Googled it, went quickly through my various yoga books, and can’t remember ever having it taught in any yoga class, DVD or manual I have ever seen. So, I wish to patent it.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, lithe gurus and rigid oak trees alike allow me to introduce to you what I feel is the fundamental of all yoga poses. It is one that you can do anywhere, anytime, in any position and at any skill level. It is the first one you should do when you awake in the morning, the last one you should do as you drift to sleep each night, and the only one that you should do hundreds of times a day. It is also one that can have an immediate impact on anyone around you, and it is a pose they can copy with minimal instruction.
I’ll call it the “Smayate Pose”. What’s a Smayate pose? Well, get your pens and paper ready because notes are mandatory and a test WILL BE given at the end. Failure is not an option.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, allow me to show you in various forms what the proper Smayate pose looks like. Warning: The following yoga pose is being demonstrated by trained professionals. Neither myself, Diane, Tanya, or elephant journal is responsible for any injury, pain, suffering or trauma caused by your attempt to do this at home.
Well, here it is:
Smayate Pose
Ok, sorry about the resolution, but even in this fuzzy example you can see the pose in its full effect. Now, before you get focused on my son’s arm formation around my neck, or theorize about any mudra that may be going on, look more closely. See how the lips curl
Anyone can do the Smayate pose!
upward on the two of us? See our relaxed eyes? See a certain amount of power in our presence?
That, my friends, is the Smayate pose. It’s a freaking smile people (Smayate is Sanskrit for”smile”)!!! The easiest and least recognized pose in the universe, given to us before any other, is also the most effective and beneficial pose we can do. And get this…come closer as I need to whisper this secret delicately and quickly into your ear while asking you to take a vow of silence. Closer, come on, you can do it…
EVEN A NEWBORN INFANT CAN DO THIS!!!!!
Yes, we should all be masters of this pose by the age of 3, and if we aren’t we need to trade in our original teachers for new ones because they aren’t doing their jobs!!
Smayate can be done anywhere at any time!
Ok, since my last question to the Universe I shared with my friends was “Can Inflexible, old muscleheads be Yoga teachers” I am please to once again suggest to you all that the Universe has answered me in an resounding “YES!!!!” The first pose I aim to teach you, my students, is my patented Smayate pose. The best part is that I won’t charge you a thing to learn it. You simply have to subscribe to my blog, to elephant journal, find me on Facebook, or become a devotee yourself by focusing on the JOY in your life. It doesn’t take a Master to find joy in one’s life, it takes a student. Enjoy being a student even as your light shines on others.
Thank you dear Universe for whispering in my ear once again. Once the ringing stops I will be able to hear what the rest of the world is saying, doing, and singing. Mostly, though, I am thankful for the kind of Masters I get to meet on a daily basis whether in my physical path, internet path, or whatever. I bow to you!
Here is a short video proving that Smayate is so easy even an infant can do it while eating his smashed bananas.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkf08N50ows]
As you can see, it’s very easy and takes very little effort. You won’t need any mat, straps or blocks (unless, of course, they are your “thing”). In fact, you may be feeling the effects of the Smayate pose even now!
Now, take a few extra moments and enjoy the various Smayate poses I have taught below and in this post as demonstrated by the various Masters who have spent a lifetime studying it. Feel free to add your own, and to share with everyone you can!
PEACE!!!!
Chocolaty Smayate Pose
A Pose so simple even my dog has mastered it!!
Smayate Variant #1 (Dork Pose)
Tom, this is so great!!!!!!!!
Thanks Tanya! 🙂