Quest for Power

Quest for power: 

politics is certainly a difficult subject to write of these days, maybe it's always been so, but particularly now with a bitterly divided nation, perhaps more so than any other time since the civil way. Sadly. It seems largely tribal, or at least it appears that way to me, tribes in a quest for power to rule with policies that demand the other to conform to their opinions. Of course both sides lose here, even if one seems to be the winner there is resent and plotting for their demise from power. No one ever truly wins in a quest for power over others - the entire nation will eventually lose. 

what we're really talking about here is force, not power, that there are some who literally demand that others believe exactly as they do, or close enough as to belong fully to their tribe. With this attitude there is no working across any politically divided aisle for the benefit of a nation, for people, not even neighbors. Only the belief in power for the sake of power. 

but again, it's more truly, simply force. 

an illusion, no matter how lasting. 

author David Hawkins said this quiet clearly and beautifully when he stated that force creates opposition while power brings unity. It's the difference between healing and ignoring a wound for the sake of appearance. True healing only takes place when proper conditions are met, and then the innate power of the body takes charge, gently bringing us back to wholeness. Healed. That's power, and no amount of force will ever help us heal. 

for me, I'm always struck by the wisdom of yoga, it's complete path, from practicing it's ethical restraints and personal observances at the very beginning all the way to its conclusion of clear seeing, freedom from the afflictions that prevent us from being truly loving to one another. There's a genius of practice here, a real quest for power, yet not over another, or even ourselves, but simply the power to observe the quality of our own mines and then to rest in its natural compassion. 

my own opinion, it's the only quest worth taking. 

~

Peace, Eric  

Uttanasana

Uttanasana: 

few asanas help me feel as good physically as uttanasana, standing forward bend, and it's not even a pose that I'm particularly adept at, having hamstrings that seem to tighten up almost immediately to their original limits just minutes after a lengthy yoga session. But this asana is at the end of my practice, one of the very past postures and by this point I am primed in my approach, loose, and more able to bring my face to knees and hands to meet the floor. It's a beautiful pose when it reaches completion, with chest against the thighs, no bend to the knees, the entire body appearing supple. 

there's a grace that belies the effort given here. 

it's the epitome of yoga. 

which, of course, often causes me to rush success, or at least my vision of success. After decades of practice my expectations still exceed my limits, having an urge to push just a bit further into a pose to meet my ideal of grace and beauty. Uttanasana is the perfect example, not any two sessions bring the same results, with certain days seeming as if gravity is suspended and I slip easily into every pose, and others offering me a longer struggle to gain even the slightest sense of ease. When I'm caught in this pattern, a thought loop, there's a failure to see that each asana offers me an opportunity to display a different sort of grace, one that isn't based upon comparison nor vision of success.  It's the grace brought to every moment of struggle and acceptance, a dedication to imperfect beauty, embracing what my limits are right now without the incessant need of pushing forward. What's amazing is that by working within the structure of what each asana offers, over time I find that am far beyond whatever limits were once imposed. 

there is a certain grace displayed by effort alone. 

as well as our surrender.

uttanasana almost always brings me this reminder, striving to a particular point and then simply letting go, my only results being exactly what this moment offers. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Headless Yoga

Headless Yoga: 

what I most love about sarvangasana, shoulder stand, is the perspective it gives me, how my view is immediately altered by feet reaching through the air and shoulders firmly planted on the ground. It's headless yoga really, an instant recognition of myself as spaciousness, an aware capacity that intimately knows itself as being seamless with the world. 

sarvangasana is known as the queen of asanas, offering near endless benefits from its practice. It's long been a favorite of mine, perhaps because of the ease of my first attempt, naturally arriving to its completion with little effort needed. There are posture that still defy comfort and lack a fine degree of grace even after decades of practice. Yet the shoulder stand seemed to welcome me from the very beginning of my yoga journey, as if gravity would loosen its grip for just the moment of this pose and allow me to gain access to the spaciousness of this view. 

headless yoga indeed. 

right from the start. 

of course I didn't have the words to describe this, only after my encounter with Douglas Harding and the Headless Way did my perspective have a sense of intellectual understanding. But the wonderful thing was that it never needed any explanation, I was seeing, without need or use of words. It was the simplicity of everything being exactly as it is - open, spacious, and aware. 

headless.

sarvangasana is always near the beginning of my practice, and it's a posture that's held for the greatest length of time. I love to flow easily into this pose, as if slipping seamlessly into my natural view, returning to my original sense of the world. It's like coming home. And this often stays for the duration of my practice, a shift of perspective that gives a clear view of reality and every asana after is just a continuum of an infinite practice, causeless, ongoing since the dawn of time. 

headless yoga. 

~

Peace, Eric 

A Yogi's Smile

A Yogi's smile; 

a slight smile, just a small turn of lips at each corner as an asana is held, a yogi's smile. At first this comes as a reminder, serving to remind us to relax during the most stressful aspects of a pose. It's only later that this smile becomes quite natural, playing easily against the lips, a sign of deepening practice and the joy that comes through motion and settling into the stillness of our minds. 

a yogi's smile. 

in numerous ways it's a contradiction, so many things happening at once that would seem to keep a smile at bay. Even the simplest postures require some degree of concentration, and there are quite a few that demand a high degree of concentration. Yoga is the way of effort, not an easy path, a lot is asked of us and perhaps a smile might be a trivial matter in light of all we do. But really, it's a conscious smile, a recognition of our effort and how it eventually leads to grace. 

at a certain point...a yogi's smile is quite spontaneous. 

a natural response to silence found. 

there's science behind this too, a chemical reaction, hormones released that cause a joyful effect of practice. Yoga makes us happy. What's discovered is that stress doesn't have to be a reactionary affair, that we are not always at the mercy of its call, with little options of our response. Practicing yoga is the lessening of our emotional patterns, over time we become less pulled into reactions and more considerate of situations that once demanded a reflective action. 

we ease into the response of a yogi's smile. 

compassionate. 

natural. 

spontaneous. 

~

Peace, Eric 

A Single Cup

A single cup: 

I used to drink several cups of coffee a day, at least two, sometimes three first thing in the morning and then in the pre-Covid days it was a ritual to go to the book store cafe for coffee and a bit of socializing with friends. These days it's a single cup, strong, but never more than one. With this reduction comes a mindful quality to its preparation as well as every sip taken. This been a flavor gained now that was absent to me before and it's one brought to me by attention, an awareness shown though the ritual of carefully preparing my one cup for the day, giving thanks for it's taste and place within my morning. 

sitting at my desk, 

sipping mindfully between intervals of writing...

a single cup is all I need.

this has become part of my practice, yoga really, fitting in seamlessly with my breathwork and meditation, water boiling as I move through my early session of asanas, and then drinking at my desk as I write whatever words the morning holds for me. My first hours of the day slide by in this fashion, unremarkable in its regularity, and yet....

such a beautiful feel to it all. 

I love every aspect of my practice. 

and a single cup of coffee helps me bring some focus to my routine, nothing is taken for granted here, not the motion of my body as I ease my way through sun salutations, nor each sip taken as I wait for words to arrive. One cup reminds me to be grateful for all I have, so much given, and it took the cooperation of the entire universe to bring this cup of coffee to me, from proper alignment of the sun to just amount of rain and the many people who work for its production. 

this community of effort is all contained within a single cup. 

and my ever sip reminds me to be grateful. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Tree Pose

Tree Pose: 

vrksasana, tree pose, and this posture is about stability, poise, reestablishing our deepest connection earth through our commitment to finding balance. It's a simple asana yet tree pose is deceptively difficult in performance, and to me it seems to hold the entire essence of yoga as stated in Patanjali's sutras - chitta Vritti nirodha, that yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind, or regaining our most natural composure. 

standing as a tree,

rooted to earth.

reaching through the sky. 

it's a beautiful posture, and for a minutes hold on both sides I am sometimes blessed with just an instant of  true poise, my breath grown soft, spine long and arms stretched upwards, balanced on a single foot with the other one pressed strong against my thigh. Of course if I even think of celebration I am immediately  thrown from the pose, having lost my sense of poise to ego, and once more need to reestablish my connection. What I find is that if I reach that moment of balance, when everything seems to flow towards an ease of strength and balance, a subtle smile plays natural against my lips, spontaneously, as if the earth itself is smiling through me. 

there's no ego involved. 

at least for the moment of that smile. 

the vast majority of my practice is spent falling, physically from a postures hold, and mentally from nirodha, stillness of the mind. What I truly practice is returning, coming back to a posture countless times and reconnecting with my inner smile, one that signifies my deep connection. 

it never matters how often I might fall...

nirodha always waits for my return. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Exactly As It Is

Exactly as it is: 

mostly, just allowing myself to meet nature exactly as it is each morning, bringing less with me to alter the immediacy of the landscape, with eyes and feet adjusting to the predawn pace. It's the simplicity of a morning walk, an extension of my sitting mediation now given to motion, with no need to go any faster than the light of stars and moon allow. 

my walks have become earlier now, missing the sunrise by at least an hour and walking mostly in the dark as I attempt to avoid streetlights and house lamps. I almost crave the dark, solitary, as if a need need to retreat even further within, even as I embrace the early morning world. And that seems to be the point here, not the avoidance of people or artificial light, but just a short return to the natural world, a truer silence and softer light, easing my way into the busyness of the fast arriving day. 

mostly, it's about allowing myself to meet nature...

exactly as it is each morning. 

mindfully, 

and not forcing my pace upon the world. 

only by this does nature heal, if we keep altering it with our preference and demands it becomes tame, true wilderness retreating ever farther from our view. And yes, there is true wilderness close at hand, as even my suburban landscape reveals to me a hidden landscape in plain view, mostly unseen as we hurry through our days. This is why I wake so early, before any rush begins, seeking to delay what's unavoidable, matching my pace with dawn's slow arrival and basking in a starlit world. 

allowing myself to meet nature,

exactly as it right now. 

~

Peace, Eric