Śiva the Destroyer
It’s June 1, 2020 and it feels like the country is on the brink of something. In the midst of a pandemic that’s kept us at home for months, this country is experiencing civil unrest like it hasn’t seen since the 1960’s when Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated. Since early 2017 the ugly racist underbelly of this country has begun clawing its way above ground. And it’s not just individual racism we are seeing rear its head, it’s egregious displays of systemic racism that are becoming more prevalent. From mass incarceration to lack of healthcare resources (black Americans are suffering from the current pandemic more than any other racial group) to income disparity we are seeing the racial gap widen - and all of this in what many would call a post-racial America.
Today David McAtee was shot by police in Louisville, in the midst of protests surrounding the murder of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the Louisville Metro Police, as the rest of the country erupts over the killing of George Floyd. These three black brothers and sisters were killed by police officers in less than 3 months. Unfortunately these killings are not at all rare. In fact, black Americans are 3 times more likely to be killed by police officers than white Americans, yet black Americans are 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed and therefore not a threat to police. From 2013 - 2019 police have killed 22 people (in Louisville), 12 of them black compared to just 7 white.
So, what does any of this have to do with yoga, you wonder. Well, friends, it has EVERYTHING to do with yoga. Yoga is about taking a good, hard look at ourselves. Yoga is about disentangling ourselves from the illusions we are living in. The illusion in question right now is the illusion that we are in a post-racial America, the illusion that we don’t still live in a culture in which the system is designed to benefit some at the expense of others, the illusion that we ourselves don’t harbor unconscious racial attitudes and bias . If our yoga is to be a true practice of yoga we HAVE to take this hard look at ourselves. We HAVE to be honest with ourselves. We HAVE to do this hard and uncomfortable work. The ultimate goal of yoga is liberation, and our liberation is bound to each other. I’ll never be free until we are all free.
This is where Śiva (Shiva) enters. Śiva takes many different forms, but his best known form is as the Lord of Destruction. Śiva is the force of disruption. We call on Śiva when we need systems in our lives or in our environments disorganized, so they can re-organize in a new and better way.
We are in need of Śiva’s destructive force right now. We need his help to dismantle our biases. We need his help to dismantle our individual racism. We need his help to dismantle the system of white supremacy we’ve been living under for long enough. Perhaps we can see this physical destruction we are witnessing now as Śiva’s destructive energy entering our realm. Perhaps we can see this physical destruction we are witnessing right now as necessary to dismantle a system that so badly needs rebuilt from the ground up. Let’s welcome the powerful energy of Śiva into our lives in this moment, let’s welcome it in to destroy our own prejudiced beliefs. In her book Myths of the Asana yoga teacher Alanna Kaivalya says that Śiva is “a reminder that ferocity exists not only to destroy but also to allow us sufficient strength to achieve integrity, compassion and love” When we open ourselves to the pain and discomfort the Śiva energy can bring we are rewarded with integrity, compassion and love. So do the work, invite Śiva in, let him destroy all the fear, bias and prejudice that lives inside you. This is truly your yoga in action.
Recommended Resources:
Skill in Action by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
Emergent Strategies by Adrienne Maree Brown