Durga’s Strength: A Navratri Reflection on Yoga Practice

The Various Seasons of Yoga

I’d love to say that now, when my daughter is one and a half, I have a fixed routine for yoga practice. Pre-pregnancy I would wake up at 4.30 to practice. Now those days seem like ancient history. Today my days are a disorganised mix of teaching, practice, working out, trying to get a full night’s sleep, writing, school runs…I’m grateful I can practice with some regularity, but often pine for those days when I turned in at 9 and woke up at 4.30, ready to give my practice my all.

I have started attending RIMYI online classes again, a practice that feels especially grounding during Navratri. More often then I’d like, I end up following along with the pre-recorded Iyengar yoga sessions. I’d love to say it’s an hour and a half I have to myself, a time when I can immerse myself in the yoga. But the truth is Kalindi often joins me on the mat, and wants to type on the keyboard or play with the TV remote. She clings to my legs when I’m in downward dog, or lies down on the mat, making me want to cuddle with her. Often I find myself speeding through a class to avoid interruptions.

This morning’s class was a restorative session, and at the end of the class when we were lying in supta baddhakonasana with our arms stretched out and chests wide open, Raya spoke about Navratri, drawing our attention to Durga’s strength. What he said was perhaps the most relevant thing I’ve heard in a long time.

From Darkness to Light This Navratri

The class was focused on examining how the different positions of the hands make a difference to different asanas, whether a standing asana like ardha chandrasana or an inversion like the sirsasna. He told us about how Gita Iyengar used to speak about a point in the center of the armit and the center of the legpits, which goes dark (figuratively) if a person is depressed or feeling low. Our goal is to keep this area open and aereated. The reason we spend so much time on alignment: to ensure that this area doesn’t go dark for us.

Durga’s Symbolism in Yoga Practice

When he had guided us into the closing postures, Raya told us to think about the the goddess Durga, and her ashtabhuja or dashabhuja avatar. In each hand she holds something of value, something of use. She may hold a trident, a sword, a thunderbolt, while another hand gives blessings. The same goddess, the same figure, capable of doing what needs to be done.

As a mother this hit home, specially in the context of Navratri and Durga’s strength, depicted by her many hands. There was a time when I had fewer responsibilities and I planned my life accordingly. Now there are a few more constraints on me and my life. At times I  feel like I need 8 or 10 hands. But like Goddess Durga, I am perhaps doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.

This was the perfect insight on Durga Ashtami.

Every Navratri I fast as a way to align my body and mind for the festive season. Here’s a blog I wrote almost a decade ago about how I detox during the Navratra season.