It was a nice day off. I have to go back to see whether I stated any goals for the number of classes for this year. If I did, I'm probably falling behind. But I probably didn't: usually my New Year's Resolution is not to make any New Year's resolutions.
And that leads us to the day 250 meditation, which brings up the paradox of savasana. It's a pose. We're often told that its the most difficult pose, especially for Westerners. Why? Because its a pose where we are striving towards stillness. We are trying to attain nothing. And let's face it, in an odd way that just does not compute.
Gates asks what it means to have nothing to attain? I won't go all Heidegger on people, and make a noun or even a verb out of it. (Favorite Heidegger quote: "The Nothing nothings.") I never liked that style of philosophy anyway. And Yoga is always, at bottom, supremely practical. So my stab at answering this question: "It means learning to accept things as they are. It means learning the feeling of sinking into the floor, and growing comfortable with that. It means trying to find new ways to relax. It means learning to be content with whatever you just did in class, no matter how tortuous it might have seemed, because it will be good for you, and being content with it afterwards will be even better. That's my answer, and I'm staying with it at least for now.
1 comment:
And I think that is a brilliant answer indeed.
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