There are many songs written with the subject matter of spring, ‘It might as well be Spring’, ‘They say it’s Spring’, ‘You must believe in Spring’, in which the singer’s voice is light and soft and spring is associated with tulips, robins, love and yearnings of the heart, melancholy equally with hope and gladness.
‘You must believe in Spring and love…
And trust it’s on its way
Just as the sleeping rose
Awaits the kiss of May…’
– Bergman, Bergman, Legrand
But as spring rolls around, we might find the mind shifting to darker, more complex and more melancholic musings on the season of rebirth. Bears emerge from hibernation in spring dishevelled and discombobulated and starved, often with a cub or two in tow. The she-bear especially is hungry for life and displays its driving force. She can be very dangerous at this time of year, yet she epitomizes the mothering aspect of nature and purposeful survival.
In many cultures, the bear is emblematic of wildness, power and natural ferocity but also freedom of the individual spirit, unswerving protectiveness and even psychic healing. Bears have a similar anatomical structure as humans and when they stand, seem human with magnified height, bulk, and terrifying strength of movement. Various peoples since palaeolithic times see the bear as capable of straddling the earthly, spiritual and cosmic realms and are therefore creatures of veneration. Bears are also associated with the goddess Artemis, protectress of childbirth and the young. Somehow, in their relentless fury and passion, they ground us, Big Bear and Little Bear dominating the astronomical world and stabilizing us with their presence everywhere on earth.
In our yoga, the bear might signify the desire to reclaim parts of our true selves that have been asleep, neglected, or ignored. Bringing those aspects of our deep nature back to life is a messy and challenging endeavour, but we’re hungry for it and we become ready to fight for it, like a mother bear protecting her newborn offspring. Yoga can help awaken our bearlike determination to slash through obstacles, heal, regenerate and save ourselves.