The crow got its drink from the pitcher of water by following a plan.
Bob is working on Paschimottanasana and his short hamstrings are preventing him from moving very far into the pose. His hands are only getting just beyond his knees. It does not matter what he does he can get no further.
His yoga teacher tells him to embrace the crow and improvements will come. He tells him the Aesop fable about the Crow and the Pitcher of Water.
The Crow and the Pitcher
A Crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew to it with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach and thus saved his life.
Moral – Necessity is the mother of invention.
There is another interpretation to Aesop’s fable: small incremental improvements will get you to your goal.
Let’s see how the crow’s plight relates to Bob and his yoga pose.
Set a goal
The crow’s goal is very clear. He needs to get a drink of water from the pitcher but he can not reach the water.
Bob also has a clear goal – to hold his toes in Paschimottanasana. Like the water in the pitcher, his toes are far out of his reach. When he folds forward he can only reach just beyond his knees.
Both Bob and the Crow have a plan for reaching their goals.
Develop an action plan
The crow has a very clever plan. He is raising the water level by putting small pebbles into the pitcher. This plan will take a long time to complete since each pebble raises the water level only a small amount.
Bob and his yoga teacher have a plan as well.
Bob’s teacher tells him to listen to the feedback from his body as he moves forward. Bob’s teacher tells him to find his Edge, that comfortable but challenging place when he is stretching his hamstrings. It is this place, the Edge, that will give him the most benefit and avoid injury to his muscles.
Bob is bringing his bottom ribs forward. This movement focuses on stretching his hamstrings and creating length there and he has found his Edge. Just like the crow this action plan will take a long time to complete. Each stretch does not make a lot of difference for Bob.
In the beginning neither the crow nor Bob can see any difference, but they both stick with it.
Execute the action plan
The crow continues to put small pebbles into the pitcher. After many pebbles have been added to the pitcher the crow can tell that the water level is rising. The crow is encouraged and realizes that his efforts will soon bear fruit.
Bob continues to move his lower ribs forward each time he does Paschimottanasana. After many months of consistent and regular effort his hands are now almost touching his ankles. His hamstrings continue to complain about the stretching and lengthening that is happening to them.
Bob can see that he will soon reach his goal of holding on to his feet.
But I want to get there faster!
The crow wants to get his drink of water now. He is frustrated by how long it is taking. He with some difficultly manages to pick up two pebbles in his beak. He takes them over to the pitcher and lets them go but they fall to either side of the pitcher. He has less control over two pebbles.
Like the crow you can attempt to move faster towards your goal as well. You ignore the feedback from your body and move beyond your Edge. You ignore the pain coming from your hamstrings as your hands mover close to your toes. Then it happens the stretching becomes too much for your hamstrings and they tear.
It will take your hamstrings a long time to repair themselves. Now when you do a forward fold you will not be able to go very far. Your Edge has moved further away from your goal and not closer.
Pay attention to the feedback from your body and you will eventually reach your goal without injuring yourself.
Reach your goal
The crow continues to add still more pebbles to the pitcher. After each pebble he checks to see if the water is within reach. Finally he is able to reach the water with his beak and get that drink of water that he so desperately needed.
Bob continues to work on his forward fold in Paschimottanasana and after several more months he is finally able to hold on to his toes. Bob has reached his goal as well.
Summary
The crow applied consistent and regular effort to reach his goal of getting a drink of water from the pitcher.
Bob embraced the crows approach and applied consistent and regular effort to reaching his goal. Like the crow dropping pebbles into the pitcher, each time Bob practised the pose he took a small step closer to his goal. Bob paid attention to the feedback from his body and stayed at his Edge when he stretched. This prevented him from getting injured.
What the crow accomplished in one afternoon is going to take Bob a lot longer. Stretching and lengthening muscles is a long and slow procress that will take many months to complete.
Next Step
The next time you are getting frustrated about not being able to complete a yoga pose remember the crow and work on the small steps that will bring you to your goal.
Additional Reading
Read Goldilocks and the three bears discover the edge, to find out more about using the Edge in your yoga practice.
To learn more about Pashimottasana have a look at 3 ways to protect your Hamstrings in Pashimottasana
For some discussion about the frequency of your yoga practice read How yoga gets you off the treadmill of boredom.
Aesop fables show up in yoga all of the time . Here is a list of Aseop Fables in Yoga.
