Shikoba Nabajyotisaikia!

October 6, 2015

This pose is Gate Pose or Parighasana. 
Have you ever had those moments where you went your whole life never hearing about something and then all of a sudden, you hear about it 2 times in one week? I cannot remember who first told me about this tribe in Africa, but Preem Sadasivananda mentioned it yesterday at his talk on yoga and relationships. There is a tribe in Africa where when someone does something harmful, they take the person to the center of the village. For 2 days people in the village will tell the person all the good things they've done in their lives. They believe people are inherently good and when someone makes a mistake, they look at it as a cry for help. The band together to uplift the wayward person so they can remind them who they really are and reconnect them with their true nature. 
Shikoba Nabajyotisaikia!
Shikoba = "so I exist for you"
Nabajyotisaikia = "I cherish you, I respect you, you matter to me"
That is such a beautiful practice. When we criticize people they contract and close off in order to protect themselves. Who likes to be criticized anyway? But when people praise us or show us kindness we feel more deeply connected with them and thusly don't want to do anything to harm them. I wonder how much strife, hatred and anger could be assuaged by adopting this practice from Africa. It's such a lovely reminder that love conquers all. It softens our hard edges. Soothes our guilt. Calms our harried nerves. Criticism and self-hatred take us further away our true nature. For we are all good people. We just need to be reminded of it.