Pandoraspace

Day 2 with Faeq Biria: Bearing suffering well

At the end of our class, I approached Faeq Biria to say goodbye and thank you for giving me greater insight into the practice of yoga. When he saw me, Faeq Biria extended his hand, I took it and we shook hands. He then told me that I bear suffering well and that not everyone does. I laughed because I remembered that while I think (I say think because I am not sure if this is the name of the pose) I was doing eka pada rajakapotasana II (one-legged king pigeon pose II), Faeq Biria stood behind me and pushed my foot forward until the back of my calf and the back of my hamstrings were touching. Considering that eka pada rajakapotasana II is a pose where one is required to bend one leg and place the sole of the foot of that leg flat on the floor while the other leg is positioned back with the entire length of it flat on the floor, what Faeq Biria did when he adjusted my leg was extremely painful. It was so painful that I actually grabbed the leg he used to push my foot forward to remove it. When I told Faeq Biria that what he did hurt, he told me that he knew it would hurt but that he was doing it to correct my pose. When he said that, I let go and allowed him to correct my pose. When he released my leg, he asked me if he made me cry and I said no. On hindsight, I should have told Faeq Biria that physical pain does not make me cry. Surprisingly, after that painful experience, my leg did not hurt and I am now able to execute that pose with a deep and lasting understanding of how to do it properly.

It is my wish that, in this life, I will learn to bear painful experiences and use them to gain deeper and lasting understanding about how to live life to its fullest just like I learned how to do eka pada rajakapotasana II.