photo courtesy of Google.com
Tonight, I performed a 50-minute self yoga practice (in my living room!)–a mix of different poses with vinyasas intermixed. I mostly followed a sequence that was featured in Yoga Journal magazine, but I also did a few poses from class that came to mind and that were my favorites. After about 40 minutes or so of practice, I laid back in savasana (corpse pose) and allowed myself meditate for as long as I needed.
This meditation was absolutely A-MAZING, (emphasis on the A).
It was different from any other time that I have meditated. I’ve never really had a problem doing meditation. In fact, I was surprised that my mind slipped into it so easily when I first gave it a try. Maybe there were a couple of times here and there where I wasn’t completely focused or in the moment and couldn’t seem to lay still for too long. But this time, my mind was entirely engaged. I felt a strong and intense energy in my head, clearing out the clutter in my brain and sweeping away the negative thoughts that had been residing there just moments before.
My body felt light as a feather throughout, and there were a couple of instances when I wondered whether I was still on the ground, laying on my yoga mat. I felt the strange sensation that I was sort of floating; lifted away from the earth. Maybe this was simply the feeling of my mind being free. A few thoughts bounced through my head during this deep meditation, but they weren’t distracting; they were just passive thoughts which I observed without judgement. It was like standing in an empty room and speaking, only to hear your voice echoing off the walls and then quietly floating away.
Minutes passed. I could have been laying there for 20 minutes, or maybe just 5. I have no idea. In the midst of it, time was absolutely frozen and I wasn’t bound by its chains.
After a while, I felt the energy grasping my mind diminish very slowly. It was little by little; a very gradual release of the engagement of the meditation. When I felt that I was ready to come back, I wiggled fingers and toes to wake my body up (just like we do in class) and then I opened my eyes and entered back into the physical world.
Now, I feel like a new person. I’m full of optimism and happiness. I am motivated again, to continue down my path of fulfillment.
I am now entirely convinced that I should be making yoga a part of my daily routine. It opens up the channels of creativity and allows the body’s energies to become unblocked. Yoga and meditation are surely the best stress treatment there is and a necessity to complement a healthy lifestyle.
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More about meditation: http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2600
Practice at home, with help: http://www.yogatailor.com/ or http://www.gaiamyogastudio.com/?linksiteID=UO85MF6im_8-eIlb4.tDiicnPPSIDLInGg
Namaste!
