I read a book excerpt in the Yoga Journal where the authors Alanna Kaivalya and Arjuna van der Kooij make connections between yoga poses and interpretations of the myths surrounding them. In Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of Yoga Tradition, the authors say that knowing these stories can “enhance our yoga practice, fueling it with symbolism and a deeper, meditative quality.”

Since the English translation of the Sanskrit word yoga means “yoke” or connection, it makes perfect sense to make the mental connection between a fanciful story about an eavesdropping fish who became the first student of Shiva, the enlightened master, and the discipline needed to master matsyasana, the fish pose.

In the article they discuss the pose, the story associated with it and then the lesson to be learned.  The stories, of course, are not to be taken literally but as something to generalize and learn from.

How many other situations are there lessons to be learned from the stories we hear?

2nd Saturdays Downtown is a happening place! The event features street vendors and performers, food, musicians, visual arts, “pop-up” retailers, indoor concerts, and discounts from Downtown merchants, restaurants and clubs stretching the length of Congress Street, including many downtown side streets.  When I came to Tucson 14 years ago we used to frequent Downtown Saturday nights. It’s the same thing with a new name, new organizers, new businesses, and just as much fun.

The folks at Odyssey Storytelling (disclosure: I’m one of them) decided to bring stories to the streets with the newly launched StoryArts Cart. Julie Ray generously donated her former Burrito Files cart and transformation began.  We borrowed a battery run amplifier/speaker and mic from a musician friend, grabbed a couple of flashlights and our video camera and we headed off down Congress in search of tellers and listeners.

We decided a theme would help people when thinking about what to say so we chose Bad Behavior and it turned out to be a great idea.  It seems that lots of people have stories about being bad.

Originally the idea was to have “shows” in a pop-up space where people could find us.  Turns out that it’s more fun for everyone to just stop people on the street and ask them to tell a story.  Sometimes a crowd gathered, sometimes the appreciative audience was Kirsten, Sarah, Adam and me, the Odyssey crew.

We have some rather dark videos with lots of street noise behind the storytellers voices that are great examples of how spontaneity can bring out the creativity in anyone.  I’ll be posting a few to the website soon.

Look for us next month on October 9 wandering down Congress in search of your story.

“The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus” by Margaret Atwood is a book that confirmed what I already believed, an excellent way for a book to get your attention.

Atwood was asked to reinterpret an ancient myth as part of the Canongate Myth Series.  She takes the story of the Odyssey, especially the end when Odysseus returns home after 20 years to reclaim his kingdom that has been managed by his faithful wife, Penelope, and rewrites it from the women’s point of view. We get a glimpse of what life could have been for Penelope and her maids in that culture. Atwood explores issues of gender, class, and politics to address the disparity between what Penelope’s point of view would have been and the tale written about the famous exploits of her husband.

Being born with the Penelope moniker I’ve always been disturbed by the interpretation of the name as “faithful wife”.  It just seems so subservient, too secondary for my personality.  Atwood imagines how Penelope would have been the mistress of the kingdom and sustained it even without the protection of her man. This I could relate to.

Penelope is also a weaver.  The story goes that she would choose a suitor (Odysseus was presumed dead) when she finished weaving a shroud for her father-in-law. She wove during the day and had her maids unweave at night thereby putting off making a decision.  I was a weaver for 25 years – self-fulfilling prophecy?

And now I am the weaver of stories at Odyssey Storytelling. I chose the name to signify a long journey of one’s own invention.  My job is to facilitate people reimagining their lives by telling their true stories in front of an audience.  Atwood and I have the same goals, just different media.

This story first appeared in the “Books that Made a Difference” section of the Arizona Jewish Post on Sept. 3, 2010.