Here I am in One-Legged Peacock Pose, down by the river, from my retreat at Buckfast Abbey. For me, the One-Legged Peacock is easier than the two-legged version, because the bent knee and thigh actually provide more support. Place your left bent knee on your left elbow, support the right side of your body with the right elbow locking into towards the right side of the hip, rest the right side of your head on the floor, lift the right leg straight up behind you, and see if you can lift your head and start flying! You might surprise yourself! Embrace your anatomical uniqueness, and your strengths and weaknesses, and experiment with different ways to make it work for you. Sometimes we fly and sometimes we fall, but generally in life, we need it all. There are moments when life feels smooth, we’re floating on air, synchronicities come together, we’re feeling the flow, surfing the wave, and life feels sweet. Other times, we make mistakes, put our foot in it, create or experience friction, feel our engine spluttering and faltering, feel we’ve lost our way, that life tastes bitter, and we seem to fall. Practical experience teaches everyone that, like it or not, life comes with light and shade. If you’ve ever gone on retreat, you’ll notice usually a honeymoon phase, where you feel relieved and inspired, and then a difficult phase, when your foibles and problems come up, or you feel bored, distracted, lonely, lost, or even desperate. At such times we need a new element beyond earth, water, fire and air, and that is metal, or we could say steel, – the spirit of overcoming that says, ‘no matter what, I’m not giving up’. The same strength parents all over the world find to raise children in impossible circumstances. Metal is human made. It’s something we make out of life. Life gives us many things, but we’re here to add something, by our own creativity, arising from within. 🙏🔥🧡🔥🙏
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