THE STORY BEHIND THE SPLITS

Towards the end of my teacher training in Bali, we examined our WHY we do what we do. Our reason and biggest motivation to teach yoga. Something that enables us to keep going when things got rough. We were asked to pick a particular asana representing this WHY.

Mine was Hanumansana.

Maybe because I always have loved doing the splits, or because I could not do them anymore due to injuries what felt like a big loss for me. And then finally I relearned it through yoga.
Maybe because of this story behind it. A story of love, faith, and devotion in which I even found myself - a little bit.

Hanumanasana is “my” pose…

When I searched about the story I came across a beautiful blog post which I share with you now:

THE STORY OF HANUMANASANA

The story of Hanuman is one of devotion, courage and triumph of good over evil. You may have heard of this monkey God many times before, representing power and selfless service, but there’s a lot more to learn when it comes to the link between this honoured deity and the allure of the yoga posture.

Whilst we might think of the word ‘Hanuman’ as meaning ‘monkey god’ or something similar, the story actually goes that the deity derived his name from a childhood incident.  When Hanuman was born, he had a strong appetite and mistook the sun for a delicious fruit, upon chasing the fruit he made his way all the way up into the sky (which is where Indra lived), and upon seeing this monkey coming towards him, Indra intervened and struck him on the jaw, thus his name was born from the Sanskrit words Hanu meaning ‘jaw’ and Man or Manu meaning ‘prominent’ or ‘disfigured’.

Other paths believe the monkey god originated from the proto-Dravidian folk religion, and that the word Hanuman is a Sanskrit translation of the Tamil word Aan-mandhi or An-manti meaning ‘male monkey’. Either way – as with all deities, the importance lies much more upon what they represent and how we can bring some of their powerful aspects into our own human lives.

Hanuman’s Story

The physical representation of Hanumanasana can be linked to his ability to leap across huge distances, with a little help from his power of flight, inherited from his father Vayu; God of the Winds. Hanuman is known as the son of the Wind God Vayu and Anjaneya who, much like Hanuman, was a Vanara, an intelligent, monkey-like being who lived in the forest. Appearing, in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata  (Two of ancient India’s oldest texts.)  Hanuman plays a central role in the story of Rama and Sita.

Hanuman took part in Rama’s war against the evil Ravan, and after defeating him, Rama and Sita were crowned King and Queen of Ayodhya. Hanuman was offered a reward for his help in the great battle but asked only to continue being of service to Rama. Because of this selfless service, courage and perseverance, Hanuman is regarded as the ‘perfect’ symbol of loyalty and selflessness.

Hanuman even has his own mantra; the Hanuman Chalisa, in which those who chant the mantra ask for knowledge, intellect, power and to remove any flaws or suffering. The chant also gives thanks to Hanuman and honours him for his intelligence, strength and devotion.

The Splits and Spirituality

For many people, Hanumanasana or ‘the splits’ is ‘one of those postures’, the ones aspired to and praised for their difficulty and range of flexibility. There is however, a huge difference between performing the ‘splits’ and practicing hanumanasana. Feats such as the splits originate from aspects of Swedish gymnastics and early European contortionism; these positions were practiced for purely athletic and aesthetic reasons up until the early 1900s, where relatively ‘modern’ yoga practices developed, and more attention was given to the postures. If you look closely, many of the Yoga postures we practice today are a combination of gymnastics and contortionism, and only a few are Yoga postures in the ‘true’ sense. The biggest difference between ‘the splits’ and Hanumanasana, is the awareness and spirituality brought to it. The two bodily shapes may look the same, but the reason behind the shape can be entirely different.  The splits is practised with the intention to achieve a purely aesthetic shape, and is about the external experience, whereas Hanumanasana is practised for the internal experience, or Antara, meaning ‘interior’, ‘internal’ or ‘within’.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons of Hanumanasana then is devotion to practice and patience. Although we now live in the age of instantaneous gratification, with TV ‘on demand’, ‘ready’ meals and ‘instant’ access, our bodies have not yet evolved quite as much. They still require time, kindness and encouragement to change and attain such levels of somewhat extreme flexibility. Perhaps what we ought to acknowledge also, is the fact that Hanumanasana or ‘the splits’ does require an extreme range of motion in the hips, and isn’t appropriate for everyone’s body.

Devotion

As with all deities, we can observe their own characteristics and ‘powers’ and bring them into our everyday lives by focussing on those particular aspects. Hanuman’s primary characteristic is devotion and total selfless service, which is one of the most important aspects of a Yoga practice, known as Karma Yoga. When we practice with a sense of devotion, we make the practice not just about how it can benefit us, but how it can benefit the world around us too. Each time you leave your Yoga mat, you take with you the person, not the posture. You take the quiet mind, the open heart, the focussed mind, and the more considerate temperament.

Getting on the Yoga mat each day doesn’t have to be about throwing shapes and standing on your head, it can be about taking some time for yourself, setting an intention for the day and devoting your energy to something bigger than yourself. When we devote our time and energy towards helping something bigger than ourselves and the world around us, we allow our Yoga practice to really flourish and make a difference off the Yoga mat. Hanuman is said to have physically taken his heart from his chest and offered it to Rama as an act of pure love and devotion. Embody Hanuman’s devotion by performing a few acts of kindness and ’selfless service’ each day, without the need for benefit or recognition, but as a way to share some of your own heart with the world around you.

Courage

Leaping across those huge distances must have taken a huge amount of courage from Hanuman, and we can bring some of that courage into our own lives by taking a ‘leap’ of faith every now and again. Trusting in yourself helps to develop courage, so take some time in your practice to move towards a few postures that you may have always found a little scary at times, these moments of fear are the ones that help to build courage. When you’re not on the Yoga mat, take the leap by trusting in yourself and letting your voice and ideas be heard. Be courageous by showing your heart as hanuman did, say what you feel and act from your heart.

Power

Many deities represent some aspect of power, and with Hanuman’s ability to grow in power and size, he can help us embody the courage it takes to be our most full and powerful selves. There are often times when we hold ourselves back from fulfilling our potential – whether in a physical, energetic, intellectual or social way. We have the opportunity to make the most of each conversation, each encounter and each moment of the day, but all too often we allow these opportunities to be our biggest and best self slide by. Invoking Hanuman before an important task, event or something you’re a little afraid of can be a helpful reminder to show up fully and be your biggest and best self.

[Source: Hanumanasana: The Monkey God & the Story Behind the Splits - Yogamatters Blog]