The
yoga perspective recognized that each of us is made up of a great many
forces, feelings, limits, possibilities and passions. These aspects
exist within my body and my mind and collectively define the boundaries
that I usually identify "me." Therefore, at any point in time, an
infinity of limits and edges await my exploration and growth. Physically
these limits are experienced as muscle tension, restricted movement,
and pain. Psychologically, limits are experienced as dogma, ignorance,
and fear. These limits have the potential to continually change and
restructure themselves.
For
example, if I sit on the Floor and try to reach over to touch my toes, I
notice that I can only reach to within five inches of my toes before I
experience tension and slight pain. At this point I am experiencing one
of my boundaries. This point, this "edge," is a highly important place,
for within the cosmology this edge is considered to be the creative
teacher. If I approach this teacher/edge with love, sensitivity, and
awareness, I will discover that my teacher/edge will move and allow me a
greater range of motion. If I shy away from approaching my
teacher/edge, I will learn nothing new, and, in time, my own
dogma/tightness will contract upon itself and will grow even tighter. If
I try to blast past my edge, I might fool myself into thinking that I
have learned and expanded, but in fact what sometimes happens is that I
am only impressing myself with a temporary surge of ambition; this
feeling, too, might contract upon itself with insecurity, tension, and
fear. Physically, when I approach my edge gently and consciously, my
body responds by focusing energy and attention on this spot, encouraging
the blood and energy to bathe the related muscles and organs with
vitality and life, thus allowing me the experience of true growth and
self-nourishment. But if I do not try to reach my edge, my body, having
no point of focus, will find it difficult to isolate the place and
nourish it, and little growth and improvement will follow.
The
implication of this yoga perspective is that health, dis-ease, love,
and personal growth are all aspects of the way in which you deal with
yourself and your own potential for growth. So, rather than seeing the
body and mind in terms of how they relate to each other pathologically,
with primary focus on therapeutic release From trauma and unconscious
conflict, the yogic perspective the opening and freeing of the body's
energies as explorations in search of self-awareness and higher
understanding"
Ken Brentwald / Yoga Journal / Jan-Feb 1978
Additional yoga resources: Rodney Yee videos in the library, local studios (e.g. Lotus Garden … $14 for 14 days introductory offer!), and Sivananda (near Grass Valley) for weekend or week-long stays.
How to defy the effects of aging? Superagers (4:41 video) or NY Times text. Hint: Being a “superager” ain’t comfortable.
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