What's with all the bowing?

April 9, 2012   |   12 Comments

_Eastern_Sun Screen Shot 2012-04-09 at 2.07.35 PM

At the end of meditation or yoga practice, it is common for the teacher to bow. Maybe you bow back, maybe you don’t, but it’s worth taking a look at the gesture in any case.

Bowing has actually become a semi-normal part of pop culture. I’ve seen politicians bow after making a speech, actors on sitcoms bowing to indicate some kind of affinity with yogadom, and pals who bow as a way of saying “hello”, “goodbye”, “good point”, or “awesome”.

While some might think of bowing as indicating an affinity for the worlds of eastern thought, others of us may find it a bit questionable, like, “why should I bow to you?” Isn’t bowing some kind of subservient gesture?

Well, who knows. But I thought I’d take this moment to say a few words about what I mean when I bow to you at the end of our practice.

Traditionally, bowing involves touching palms and lowering your head. It is quite beautiful. In my tradition of Shambhala Buddhism, we bow in a somewhat different way, with hands on thighs. This is called a “warrior’s bow.” It’s almost like you’re making of yourself an actual bow (as in bow-and-arrow) and in bending forward, you are releasing the arrow—of goodness, kindness, curiosity, bravery—the weapons in the warrior’s arsenal.

For our purpose, let’s look at the bow as consisting of three parts. Play around with this and see how it feels to you. If you would like to bow at the end of our practice, please give it a try. If bowing just feels too strange and foreign, by all means, do NOT give it a try.

The first part of our bow has a quality of gathering, or rising up…you touch in with what you aspire to. It could be gentleness, courage, joy, or greatness in any form. You could simply touch in with your basic, indestructible goodness. This is always an awesome start, maybe the best one of all. I am good. I am worthy. I am valuable. Like that.

The second part, the slight bend forward, has the quality of vulnerability, of giving. As you bend, you feel what you are offering and let it go. My teacher, Sakyong Mipham, describes this as like when treetops bend in the wind. You feel something and respond. As you go forward, there should be a quality of completely released.

The third part is when you rise back up. You haven’t held on to anything so there is a feeling of complete freshness, openness, and new beginning. Once again it is dawn, and once again the great sun rises in the East.

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12 Comments

  • Posted by:  John

    Wonderful writing Susan – your weapons strike true …

    • Posted by:  Susan

      Thank you, John!

  • Posted by:  Leila

    dearest susan thank you for once again a BEAUTIFUL article… i ALWAYS bow DEEPLY and with HUGE GRATITUDE towards my teacher at the end of a yoga class – i LOVE IT… love showing my gratitude, my vulnerability, the touching of my forehead to mother earth… it has always been deeply rewarding for me in so many ways… thank you again and again for your wisdom and for sharing it in such a gorgeous way xxx:)))

    • Posted by:  Susan

      Leila, thank you, thank YOU. I also love showing my gratitude–it feels so good, no? Much love and deep bow, S

  • Posted by:  carole kohl-duggan

    A lovely gesture. I have made a bow in circumstances and situations in my life when the wish has been to show respect and humility with sincerity.

    • Posted by:  Susan

      Perfect…

  • Posted by:  Lucie

    Just that you know….I always bow to the computer screen (you 😉 at the end of each meditation. :))

    • Posted by:  carole kohl-duggan

      And I bow to you too Lucie-with a smile!

    • Posted by:  Susan

      I love that, Lucie!! Thank you and deep bow– xoxo, S

  • Posted by:  Susan

    And to you, Carole!

  • Posted by:  Michael

    Dear Susan, I’ve bowed alot over the years, primarily in various martial arts classes (and more recently, yoga classes) without giving it much thought. On Saturday morning, I was in the changing room after one of these classes, and noticed a sign on the wall which discussed an alternative way one can approach taking off shoes before entering the dojo (and which reminded me of your bowing blog). In short, the message was to think about leaving all one’s pre-existing hostilities, aggression and anger and in the shoe rack along with your shoes so you can enjoy the class with a fresh mind. So it occurred to me that we probably do numerous, relatively simple things throughout the day, such as bowing or taking off shoes, without realizing that we can do these things in such a way so as to project some positive meaning for ourselves and others.

  • I think everything published was actually very reasonable.
    However, think on this, suppose you were to create a killer post title?
    I am not saying your content is not solid, however what if
    you added a title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean What's with
    all the bowing? – Susan Piver :Susan Piver is
    a little boring. You could glance at Yahoo’s home page
    and note how they create article headlines to grab viewers interested.
    You might add a related video or a related picture or two to get eople interested about what you’ve written.
    Just my opinion, it would make your blog a little livelier.

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