The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell, mythology expert and philosopher, studied many of the great myths of the world and found that there was really only one story; the Hero’s Journey.

In this story, the hero is separated from their community, goes through a period of initiation and finally returns to their community to tell the story and share their hard earned wisdom.

You can see this Hero’s Journey in many classic and contemporary movies like the Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, the Barbie movie and more.

The myth of the Hero’s Journey is so potent and engaging as it’s part of our own lives too.  When we watch the characters on screen or read about them in a book, we realise that the seed of the hero’s potential is within us all, and is just waiting to be actualised.

We go on many Hero’s Journey’s in our lives.

Sometimes willingly.  Sometimes (more often than not) we’re dragged kicking and screaming.  If we understand our own Hero’s Journey, we can step bravely into the unknown and trust that the trials and tribulations are in service of a higher good.

Let me walk you through the Hero’s Journey:

The Known/Ordinary World

This is the world that our hero lives in.  Life is usually pretty ok and the hero is pretty comfortable with the way life is.  The hero knows how to ‘do life.’

The Call to Adventure

This is where the adventure really begins. The call may come as an internal yearning for change or growth, or we might be dragged into it unwillingly, like in the case of illness, relationship breakup or financial crisis.

Whatever the case, the call comes with the opportunity to step out of the known and into the unknown, and in doing so gain something of value.

Refusal of the Call

Leaving behind the comfort of the known and stepping into the unknown is often anxiety provoking, and it’s not unusual for the hero to ignore or refuse the call for some time.

Eventually the hero feels they have no choice but to listen to and act upon the call to adventure.

Supernatural Aid

Once the call has been accepted, whether consciously or unconsciously, help often appears to aid the hero on their journey. In mythology and movies this often takes the form of an older mentor who presents the hero with a talisman that will aid her later in their quest.

Threshold Guardians

As the hero approaches the threshold, people, circumstance or even the hero’s own fears and doubts block the hero’s path.  They may be testing the hero’s readiness to cross the threshold, protecting them from taking the journey before they are ready.

Crossing the First Threshold

It is at this point where the hero journeys from the known into the unknown.  When the hero crosses this threshold, they do not know what will happen next, and there is no going back.

This can be a very scary and sometimes exilerating leap of faith into the unknown.

Road of Trials

After crossing the threshold, the hero must survive a succession of trials.  While the trials can be incredibly difficult, the hero grows in confidence, maturity and capability as a result of each of these trials.

Helpers and Mentors

During the road of trials, the hero is aided by the advice and amulets of the supernatural helper they met before crossing the threshold, and by helpers and mentors who show up just at the right time to support them on their journey.

Helpers and mentors may be actual people (like a therapist or our teaching faculty at Yoga Psychology Institute!) or they might be the right words at the right time, read in a book or heard in a podcast that aid and support them.

The Abyss

This is often the most challenging part of the journey, where the hero must face their greatest fears and perhaps even death (actual or more likely metaphorical).  The hero enters the dark night of the soul and risks loosing it all.

If we view child birth through the lens of the Hero’s Journey, the transition phase of birthing can be like the abyss. Midwifes often know that the birthing mother is in transition and the baby is about to be born when she the mother says ‘I just can’t do this any more, make it stop.‘

When it all feels too hard and we can see no way foward, then it’s likely we’re in the abyss or the dark night of the soul. And this is when it’s pertinent to remember the old saying that the darkest part of the night comes just before the dawn.

Transformation

As the hero moves through the abyss and overcomes their fears, they undergo a transformation. As old ways of being die during the abyss, new ways of being in the world are born. The hero is rewarded with the holy grail of hard earned insight and wisdom.

The hero’s quest has been accomplished, but their journey is not over yet.

Refusal of the Return

It’s the hero’s duty to return to their community to share the rewards of quest but it can be tempting to refuse the call to return.  Even Buddha, after reaching enlightenment, doubted whether his message of realisation could be communicated and received.

Crossing of the Return Threshold

Eventually the hero crosses the threshold from the unknown back to the known (ordinary life). The hero might do this willingly, or they might be ‘rescued’ or brought back across the threshold by their community.

The Return

Having returned, the hero’s challenging task now is to re-integrate into every day life and to communicate the experiences and wisdom with her their community.  In this way, their quest has not just been for their own personal gain, but for their community as a whole.

Yoga Teachers on the Journey

We all take many hero’s journeys in our lifetime, and often yoga teachers and therapists are guides and mentors on other people’s journeys.

When we have been on our own hero’s journey with mental health, we can return to the world, so to speak, with the experience and wisdom that we gained as we traversed the unknown and the abyss, and bring the wisdom that we gained from this journey to be of service to our students and clients.

If you’re a yoga teacher, and you’d like to learn more about how to support your students on their hero’s journeys, then I invite you to join us for the next Mental Health Aware Yoga training.