by Stephanie on May 19, 2012
I.4.
At other times, when yoga does not happen and when the mind is busily occupied with the movement, there is a cloud of confusion in the undivided, homogeneous intelligence. In the shadow of that cloud, there arises false identification or cognition of the movement of the mind-fragment and hence distorted understanding. The single concept or idea or the single movement of thought is mistaken as the totality.
ACL Surgery Post Op Day 5
I’m not feeling the connection today to this Yoga Sutra today, which is perfectly fine. The interpretations and insights should not be forced. The whole journey of yoga for me has unfolded and shifted and swayed and moved in the most magical of ways that sometimes it’s great to just say I don’t know.
I’m still using my cool Thermal Ice flower cooling system even though I don’t have to. It’s so toasty now here in AZ that it feels great after taking my dog Karma out for a walk. The whole crutches thing isn’t ever going to quite catch on in a fun way like cookouts on the beach.
I’m grateful that my wrists and hands are strong from so many arm balances and Chaturanga’s so that I can easily move around on my sticks.
I wrote a letter to the donor family thanking them. What a lovely program the hospital is involved in to make sure I got my message to the family. I feel so grateful. Today it simply is a matter of lugging around this brace and making peace with the pace of this process.
The photo shown here is Karma helping me pass the time attached to the cool water system. Hope you and those you love have a great and healthy weekend.
~ Namaste
Stephanie
by Stephanie on May 17, 2012
I.3.
In the light of non-volitional, non-moving and therefore spontaneous and choiceless awareness the undivided intelligence with its apparent and passing modifications or movements of thought within itself is not confused with nor confined to any of these. Then (when yoga thus happens), the seer or the homogeneous intelligence which is ignorantly regarded as the separate experiencer of sensations and emotions, and the separate performer of actions, is not split up into one or the other of the states or modifications of the mind, and exists by itself and as itself.
Day 4
How easy it is for me to compare this experience to yoga. Showing up on your mat is half the battle for most people. A lifelong love of yoga has given me the ability to show up for some really challenging things and the outcome is always so positive in ways I can’t even imagine. Showing up twice already today for my exercises feels like getting onto my mat and getting to work.
Breathing through each exercise has only been interrupted by my buddy, Karma, who keeps trying to help by laying her head on my leg. Breathing has been important and the rhythm of the breath calms me while doing them. There certainly is a parallel to “going to your edge” in a pose and going to your edge in these exercises. I want to do just enough to work through what I need to, but not push past. It’s hard to tell where that is in some of the exercises.
It certainly has applied to the third Sutra, above, that the “performer of actions” (me) is grounded. It takes all my focus to do the exercise correctly. Same as with a yoga pose – and something that we all stray from because of monkey minds, to-do lists, things before or after class – that we must not split into one or the other.
Thanks to Karma for showing up with me and for my dear friend, Ivy, who supplied love and lunch AND dinner today.
~ Namaste
