At Prasada, we love stories, images, and metaphors. When we don’t understand something, we love to make an analogy and then see how it might be the same or different. It helps us find a path to understanding.

In today's class, we'll explore the pose Warrior III, which can feel like a slow walk up, up, and up. Tedious. Requiring careful attention, so you don’t slip off the path's edge. Wondering if you have the strength to make it to the top. Then you make it all the way up and catch the breathtaking view.

There was no way to have imagined the vast space and how far you could see. No way to describe how tiny you feel and the overwhelming reverence of the bigger system of the world, and life, that you are part of. Awe is joy standing perfectly still, in this moment, and connecting to your breath.

As you stay in that place of beauty and absorb every drop, you know this is a place that lifts you and carries you through those climbing times. The times climbing toward the next dream or view, or the time making your way back down the mountain, completing the journey of this particular life experience.

This view, this feeling, fuels your courage tenfold for what is next. If you allow it to happen, all of this is possible inside one yoga pose.

Warrior III is not always an easy pose. And like climbing to that stunning view, it takes practice and patience to get there. It is a one-leg balance posture, and in its full form, you have an extended leg and reaching arms. It requires presence and honed attention.

Most importantly, it requires courage. Courage to climb into it, to stay there in full awareness, and then to climb back down.