Ok. Here it is: superimposed on the same Lankan coin (pls. see last Saturday’s post): Maya Devi’s pose, in honor of all women. hurriedly shot during lunch break, wearing the “lucky color of the day”: violet, executed after morning yoga class at the Dojo with yoga teacher Isla Rosete, then getting back to the office and clearing my tray of incoming pending work.
(apologies to the ancients for the execution…i did my best. Horizontal line naman, di ba — i can see a zero-degree straight there; well; i think i leaned forward a little bit to make a flat line with the legs, that’s why it looks like that; just a little teeny weeny bit.)
also known as Lakshmi’s pose, more commonly known as baddha konasana or butterfly or cobbler.
this is a modern-day rendition (a thangka) of a Buddhist female deity.
Look at one of the ankles, the inverted one. Try executing it – oops, no, don’t, if you’re not learning the asanas (poses), it might look impossible.
The ankle is turned up. It looks like a combination of two yoga poses, a combination of this pose (photo below)
the “inverted ankle pose”, [my term. Officially this is called one of the Janu poses, janu meaning knee although based on personal experience, this one actively involves the ankle more than the knee (not an expert; just based on experience)] and with half of the Maya Devi pose (i already named it Maya Devi’s pose, although some writers call it Lakshmi’s pose, same thing. Hay naku, o sige, let’s see if you want to sue me)
as depicted in some art pieces of Buddhist goddesses (the tara’s ), it is a surprise that this combination-pose was never made into a yoga pose. (well, maybe not a surprise.) Will look it up some more, i could be wrong, maybe it’s present in the other series or in the other schools. But in the meantime…
out of curiosity i executed it.
One time, on a brownout day, maybe on a dare, i could photograph and post an execution of it, and name it after the female Buddhist deity; perfectly legit — there’s a female deity that’s depicted with it; and it’s based on research. it will be named Green Tara’s pose, or if you want the Sanskrit version, it will be named syamatarasana. Syamatarasana. i named it just now.
