Range is of the Ego, Form is of the Soul
Sometimes enlightenment comes through unexpected sources.
Alan Finger, co-founder of ISHTA Yoga is quoted as saying, “Range is of the ego, form is of the soul”. He uses the word ‘soul’ in his book Introduction to Yoga interchangeably with ‘spirit’ and ‘higher consciousness’. It’s a lovely quote and I repeat it often. However, I have only recently felt the depth of its meaning.
This post is going to be a bit of a book endorsement. I always browse the pop up book shops in shopping malls that appear before Christmas. I discovered a gem called The Wisdom of Tea by Noriko Morishita. It is a book about the culture of the Japanese Tea Ceremony. When our son lived in Japan we visited him and he took us to the Ninamaru Palace in Kyoto. In the gardens there is a tea house and we experienced a formal tea ceremony. After reading The Wisdom of Tea, I now know the honour and respect that was shown us. I wish I had had the knowledge then to fully appreciate the ceremony .
In the book the word ‘Tea’ is used to describe the whole ceremony. Noriko, the author, tells the story of the decades she spent learning Tea. There is a section called ‘Form and Spirit’ (pg 14). Every move made during Tea is measured, deliberate and full of mindfulness. How one holds the utensils, how one wipes the utensils, how one pours the water from the ladle. Her teacher explains:
“In Tea, form comes first. You shape the form first to provide a vessel for the spirit, which comes later.”
As a young woman in her early 20s Noriko is ready to explode with indignation and thinks:
“But creating an empty form without spirit is nothing but formalism! Isn’t that just forcing people into a mold? Surely there isn’t even a fragment of creativity in simply going through the motions from start to finish, without understanding the meaning?”
After learning Tea for some time Noriko’s teacher performs the ceremony herself for her students. Suddenly, Noriko understands:
“The paper screen slid back.
Kneeling at the threshold, Sensei placed her hands together in front of her knees, looked steadily at her gathered students, and then gracefully lowered her head. Just as it seemed that she had paused for a moment, she gradually raised it again.
It was as simple as that. Yet it pierced my heart.
She had resembled a bird crouching with flattened feathers for a second before fluffing them back up again. Sensei had just demonstrated her respect for us. Modestly, humbly, but without a trace of subservience. A bow was not merely the act of lowering the head. The simple gesture of bowing contained … a world of meaning. The form was the spirit. Or rather, the spirit had taken form.” (pg 42)
After reading that, I too suddenly ‘got’ it. I had previously taken Alan’s quote about range and form in a literal sense. I thought it had to do with how one looked in the pose and how one felt in the pose. That is very much the point of view of the ego. In reality, ‘form’ refers to the fullest expression of the pose that can be achieved with grace and control. From there it is possible to experience the higher Self within the pose. You are not contorting yourself into a pose. You are the pose and the pose is you. Your spirit has taken form in the pose.
Eureka!