Dan Nevins - The Power of Story
Healing Wounded Warriors On and Off the Mat.
If ever a man represented Virabhadrasana in all its expression it’s my friend and colleague Dan Nevins.
As Director of Warrior Speak for the Wounded Warrior Project Dan travels the country helping real life warriors find their voice through the power of story.
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“I tell my soldiers, ‘Give me six months. Tell your story. Then tell it again and again and again.’ It gets hard before it gets easier. But at six months something magical happens – healing arrives.”
Virabhadrasana
In yoga this name literally means Warrior Pose.
In fact there are more variations of this pose than any other.
In Warrior 1 the hands are raised to the sky – meaning one point of source energy flowing through the Warrior.
In Warrior 2 the arms are extended front and back – the rear arm represents the past and the front arm represents the future. As warriors we are focused on the breath in the present moment.
In Peaceful Warrior – the back arm slides down the rear leg and the front arm raises overhead. The gaze is lifted and in truest warrior expression the heart is exposed.
Finally in Humbled warrior (possible my favorite pose), both arms are bound behind the back, head is bowed deep and low.
The best of Virabadrasana is represented in Dan:
His purpose and intention is clear – one point of source energy flows through his actions and words. He has a canny ability to access the past and look towards the future while staying solid and grounded in the present moment. There is a sense of peace that flows from his vulnerability – Dan shows his pain, he exposes his heart and lets it be a source of access to your own healing. And never have I met a more humble human.
Dan shared his story with us during teacher training. Some of his best tips to sharing your story:
Stand in your Power.
Use your body language – let the audience know that you can be trusted to be the hero of your own story.
Move with Purpose.
Use your limbs and your facial expression as you move to make connection with your presence.
Look People in the Eyes.
For each new thought send your gaze to one specific person and make a connection. See everyone in the room. Each individual.
Use Your Voice.
Let the words come out. No one else on the planet can tell your story for you. Use your air pipe and own it – share the ugly parts and the brave parts and all the moments that were in between – with your unique voice.
Dan teaches yoga to Wounded Warriors and Weekend Warriors alike. He challenges us to use the time On the Mat to heal our lives Off the Mat.
Here are three powerful questions Dan asked our teachers. Try them on and see where you can use your own story to heal yourself and others:
What is something that is easy to do – that you haven’t done – But you need to do?
When you do this easy thing – What will be the immediate result?
What’s possible now from taking this action?
I’d love to know what opens up for you. Try it on and let me know in the comment below.
To learn more about Dan Nevins, visit his website!
Join us, February 21 at 6PM as we welcome one of our favorite humans back to Nashville. Dan Nevins is a certified Baptiste Teacher and leader. He has brought his unique expression of the practice all over the U.S., from studio settings, to large events of 1,000+ students.Friday night Dan will teach an inspired Power Flow and stay after to meet the community. Space is limited please reserve online.
Watch Dan in action here.