Yoga

Trust the Archer in You!
Pull back your great bow, aim your heart and let yourself fly. 
Its not for you to judge and steer the arrows flight in every moment. 
The presence and the longing in your heart will do that.
Stand for your dreams and let life and love do the rest.. 

Tekla Utterstrom

Archer Pose

“Are you ready for an experience?” exclaimed Sat Siri our main-teacher at the Kundalini Teacher Training in Bali 3 years ago.
I wanted to say no and sit down in easy pose and just be in stillness- I knew this expression of hers.
We were 3 weeks in the Training – I had come to learn that this was her way of framing a challenging exercise. Experience meant a challenge.
She introduced us to Archer Pose. As we entered and adjusted into the pose, she mentioned you will be here for some time. She continued- Let go of the struggle. Relax. Surrender. You can do this for yourself. 
After what felt like a lifetime, I thought I was going to fall and fail. It had just been a couple of minutes.  My arms were shaking, and my legs were filled with lactic acid. I wanted to scream. I got angrier and angrier. I was furious.  This exercise brought out my insanity and the worse in me. How could this exercise be good for anything? I cried.

I remember thinking that I wanted to quit the whole training there and then. I was so challenged. I managed to pull myself together. I prayed for divine help and I kept hearing Sat Siri voice over and over in my head: You can do this for yourself! 

To complete the training, we were required to practice a kriya for 40 days and Sat Siri offered to give us one. 
She looked deeply into my eyes and said two words- Archer Pose. 
I froze. No, I said – I can’t do that. It’s too hard. I could barely do it in class. It was such a challenge. 
She nodded and said- You can do it. 
I kept shaking my head. I couldn’t believe it. Archer Pose for 40 days. 

It’s now been about 3 years since I was given Archer Pose. I’ve practiced it at airports through my travels through time zones, RV’s Bathrooms parking lots in the forest… I haven’t missed a single day. 

 I celebrated my 1000 days recently. I envisioned this achievement with a huge transition within and instead it was just another day with Archer Pose. You see what I have learned during these 3 years, it never ends. It’s a lifelong practice. There is nowhere to go, no one to become. The daily practice is forming you into the person you are tomorrow. 
The victory is that you do the exercise for yourself. There isn’t a big price in the end.  The accomplishment is to overcome the challenge. This is powerful. In the yogic texts it’s said that you Master the Pose when you do it for 1000 days. You become the habit. And in a strange way I feel this. 

As well as in many kriyas there are teachings to be received in the pose.  I’ve learned to still my mind from noise to be able to understand them. One of the teachings that’s been profound is that standing in Archer Pose you are finding your inner structure and your physical body meets the mental body. It’s like sharpening a knife- but you are sharpening your psyche. 

Through Archer Pose I learned to trust myself. I believe in myself with no doubt. I’ve realized that the only thing that’s stopping me from achieving my goals are my own limiting beliefs.

I am still practicing Archer Pose -it saved my life. I healed myself from 10 years of drug -alcohol addiction, I stopped living as a victim and started living my life as a spiritual warrior.  I’ve learned that I can trust myself. 
Since I managed to do this practice, I’m able to face challenges outside of the yoga room.
Archer Pose is my Survival Pose. I understand now that the reason it was so hard for me in the beginning was because I had blown out my nervous system of drug addiction. 
I had no vitality and my body just wanted to quit. 
That’s why my body was shivering. It was so hard. But I kept at it. I imagined myself standing strong and with straight arms and legs strong as steel, even though when in fact I was moving shaking and trying to keep myself together. 
I am stubborn and I don’t give up easily. I am truly grateful for those traits.  They helped me overcome my fear of being challenged and feeling uncomfortable. After months with the practice, I added a layer. I brought intention to the pose. As I looked over the thumb, I started to see the life I wanted to live. I began to embody my vision.

This brought many miracles to my life. Things I never could have dreamt of came true. One of them was to teach this Kriya at Women’s Camp In New Mexico.
In 2019 I taught this Kriya with live Music in front of 45 women at Women’s Camp and we all did Archer Pose Together. I had been a certified KRI Kundalini Teacher for just about a year at that time.
This physical pose as much a mental pose. Whenever I feel out of balance mentally this always brings me back to my equilibrium 
As I reflect on my Journey with Archer pose there has been so many magical moments. Before the practice I always start with warm up exercises and with a strong intention. My intention is to live my dream. To build my own company.To teach yoga and travel as a vegan chef. 

After a year with Archer Pose another dream came through-  I was introduced to Sukhdev and  Shakti School . It was a real dream of mine to become a Shakti school Facilitator.  I am blessed  to be part of such a wonderful growing community. 

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