My “final exam” required me to do one hundred prostrations
on the stone walkway surrounding the monastery’s temple.
For those non-yogis in the crowd, here’s what a prostration
involves. You hold a half pound smooth
stone in each hand. You wear a smooth
leather apron. You stand straight, raise
your rock-holding arms over your head, click the rocks together, and then dive
forward headfirst, sliding on your slick leather apron. The same action you would take if playing
baseball and sliding into second base. When you come to a stop, you hop to your
feet, and do the same thing again. One
hundred times. At 14,000 feet. Where the air is rare. It’s a real “Whew”
experience.
I finished my one hundred prostrations in two hours. I was literally sucking wind at the end.
For my “graduation present,” the Shaman gave me a beautiful fire
agate prayer bead necklace which he had blessed.
I said to the Shaman, “Holy Master, I have a god
daughter. She’s fourteen years old and
has been doing yoga with me since she was eleven. She would adore one of these necklaces. Could I please have one for her?”
We both wear our fire-agate prayer bead necklaces Western-yoga
bracelet style, wound three times around our wrists. We are definitely two of
the coolest yogi’s in our yuppie downtown Boston
studio.
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