Strain

As you free yourself from everything and everyone, every place and every time, every moment and every year, every planet and every star, you feel this incredible rush of ecstasy. In fact, you enter into another realm, an expanded realm, a realm of light, a realm of understanding. It is inside. Even though we feel it is an out-of-the-body experience, it is within this body. When you have this experience, you become award of how this body is not a barrier, not a obstacle. In this body, there is a ruby. Kabir describes his Beloved as a ruby, so brilliant, so beautiful. This ruby represents the Self within. This is why it is said, the wealth is inside. By detaching ourselves from everything and everyone, we get in touch with our own Self, and the Self within everybody and everything. This is called love. It is for this that you meditate. It is for this you live--to taste this beautiful life inside.

~Swami Chidvilasananda, also known as Grurumayi



Cool, damp, and deary has descended on Columbus...wonderful...yeah, I'm being sarcastic. Not one one of my better traits.

I reluctantly got up this morning to practice. I came pretty close to postponing the whole thing, however, I went ahead and went through with it. I've been feeling strange...and, my digestive system is out of wack. Ok, I won't go into detail. But, its true, when that area isn't functioning at top level it really can affect you...doing a number on me and my wellbeing. Yoga masters have always expressed the vast importance of it. Now I know why...

So, this knot in my back isn't a knot. It seems I've strained something back there...almost where the tip of my shoulder blade is. It hasn't prevented me from doing my practice, but I feel it nonetheless. I must have been in denial earlier because part of me knows why this stain came about. Ha! It came about through my quest for perfection in a posture...which is silly to begin with. Part of that lies with in me still after working through much of all that. Looks like there's a bit of it manifesting in my practice...well, it all starts with awareness. Its a good little red flag, because whenever my focus moves toward perfection, more times than not...I'm not having fun, or enjoying. I love the saying...Its about progress, not perfection...