First hot yoga class, yoga instructor recommends a yoga mat liner for Cricket. One with rubbery things on the back side, so she won’t slide around. Yoga instructor kindly points to mat liners on shelf. Mat liner is purchased and brought to yoga room, down the hall and to the left –the hot yoga room. Cricket spreads yoga mat liner on top of yoga mat and admires beautiful colors of abstract design on new mat liner. In session, Cricket in plank position, looks down at yoga mat liner and notices a set of eyes gazing back at her. Curious, Cricket backs up and suddenly sees imbedded in the abstract design are eyes belonging to – Elephant.
Another week goes by. Cricket, again, follows as yoga teacher instructs, Descend from Crescent Warrior to low lunge to plank. In plank position, gazing down at mat, mat liner fabric puckers up, just so, making trunk of elephant pop out, magically bringing life to Elephant! Cricket is taken aback by this and her world stands still for a few moments. For a flash, she questions her reality, but soon understands that Elephant is trying to convey something to her. In the next days and weeks, Cricket’s heart attunes to Elephant and Elephant begins providing clear messages. Small ones at first, like:
Notice my outsized ears…they are indispensable for hearing others, to really listen
And my immense feet… they keep me grounded
My wrinkles, you ask?
They are my wisdom
And wrinkles are your passage rite to wisdom;
you will have no wisdom without them.
Cricket assimilates these messages, but naturally she is elated to hear this last message! Day by day, Elephant’s messages intensify and become more personalized. One day, Elephant with great care and concern points out to Cricket that her flighty nature does not serve her… that Cricket gets swept up by distractions that act as a vortex, sending her up and away and finally landing her down in a foreign land where she has to crawl back home. Cricket is surprised that she is so transparent to Elephant – and that Elephant understands her so well. Elephant continues, What is your intention? First, you must have an intention. Then you must pay attention to your intention. Cricket has many more questions, but before she can ask them, Elephant reminds Cricket that Elephant is now her ally and a model of what being grounded looks like – that it would do Cricket well to follow in her grounded footsteps.
To be continued…
Definition of Ally: An ally is a symbol or representation of a strength that one needs or desires, such as being grounded. An ally is used as a way to nurture and build the desired strength to eventually harness it. Allies are installed with guided imagery in the EMDR process.