Yoga!!!

As we do our yoga for longer periods we may start to see more clearly the way 'we' function as people. We may begin to see that we have needs and wants, and that in some ways we are unfulfilled. This sense of dissatisfaction is felt for some of us as a literal pain. People who know no better will invest allot of time and effort escaping from this feeling. This is where the accepted social addictions to booze, caffeine, and cigarettes may play a role. We want to get high so we may smoke a bit if weed etc, and some but not all of us may go on to so-called harder drugs into addiction/s.

But if we invested at least half of the energy we may have invested in the past into escapism into facing the 'cause' of these feelings of pain and discomfort, we may be well surprised!

MAYA = ILLUSION

We are all to some extent trapped in our own reality, we are 'island universes', each operating through our own personal programmes. I use the word programmes as it seem to me to make more sense from the perspective 'in modern parlance' to our expanding familiar use of computer systems/softwares.

The brain and nervous system are the hardware and all our conditioned thinking , habits etc, are our software.

When we do asana practise we are releasing chronic tensions from our muscles, joints and organs. As we relax more the blood and lymphatic fluid move more freely through the body carrying nutrients to the organs and waste away from them. This makes us feel better, we may begin to detox.

When we do pranayama, apart from the 'esoteric' effects of this energy on the systems, we are also using our mind and breath in harmony to create an integrated feeling inside of ourselves, i.e, the mind and the breath become united and rhythmically synchronised. This leads to a deeper sense of relaxation and peace.

As time goes by and as we release more of the chronic tensions from within the 'deeper' conditioned muscles, we find that we can stay still for longer periods of time.

Once we become willing to sit still for the purpose of concentration/meditation we are ready to step into a new realm of consciousness, new from the point of view that most of us have never sat still for very long at all, ever.

We sit still, this is important, and we wait literally for the next breath. If you have never done this before you may find it completely difficult. Th biggest distraction, we start to realise is our own chattering, constantly chattering, mind/ego/personality.

Aha! Now we are getting to the nub of it all. No truer was the term, 'it's all in the mind', when it comes to the practise of sitting still.

'Sweet dream are made of this' Eurythmics.

Om Om Om