Jan 16, 2013
NYC
On my way up the stairs to my apartment, I bumped into a neighbor I hadn't seen since last year. We wished each other Happy New Year, and he asked about our renovation. "Almost done," I told him. "Should be finished the last phase, the kitchen, by the end of next week." He was surprised, and shared with me an old Russian saying, roughly translated, "You can start your repair, but never finish."
Of course, this applies to a physical structure, like a building, house, bicycle, or car. These things require consistent upkeep, being perpetually worn down by nature. My first thought was of the body. It, too, is ever in repair: unable to find completion, that 100% charge of the battery. That's not really its purpose, though.
The body dies. Your physical form was always supposed to be finite. After age 20-something, the body stops growing and begins maintaining, hoping to live day in and out until you find a mate and create a new body for a new consciousness. Then your Earthly-dimensional form can fade away, having replicated. That's the body's set of instructions, its mandates. If you've spent any time in meditation, caring for young or old people, or have had a near-death experience (some psychedelics count toward this one), you may have discovered- we are not the body.
The animating force within, the conscious divinity, needs no maintenance. It is already infinite. Through practicing how to breath, we learn to let go of tightness in the body and mind to allow this inner, subtle consciousness to grow strong. That's the point of yoga. It is union, weaving together the body, breath, and mind. Discover that practice, and in time, you'll uncover a body of stress and fear to find one filled with joy and peace.
See you in class.
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