Found Exhortation
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Vinyasa Krama?
The movement from one moment to the next is always a transition. How then do we sequence most optimally?
In response to requests, here are some photos of the garden in its current state.
The vine on the left is grapes–there are many dozens of bunches forming. The vine on the right is a kiwi. I planted it four years ago, and finally there are some fruits–at most a couple dozen, but it’s a start. There aren’t enough strawberries to bring inside, but there are always a couple to eat when I am out working.
Current herbs: cilantro, basil (thai and genovese), Mexican and Greek oregano, parsley, sorrel, tarragon, lemon balm, spearmint, kentucky colonel mint, garlic chives, savory, sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, stevia, and dill. Greens include mesclun, arugula, kale, chard, and are ready to eat now.
Snowpeas are on there way (and I ate snow pea greens with garlic scapes and herbs for dinner tonight). Beans are blossoming; cherry tomatoes and cucumbers have formed, as have a couple of zucchini and a variety of peppers. Blueberries are ripening and figs are just starting to bud on the new growth. Carrots and turnips are mostly just a promise, but I expect at least a few. Leeks and spring onions are poking through, but don’t seem to be getting along with this year’s weather patterns.
What’s growing in your garden? (Even when I lived in an efficiency apartment in school, I had herbs growing in pots. And sprouting is its own kind of gardening and only requires a kitchen counter.) A garden can be made wherever you are, if you want one enough.
The movement from one moment to the next is always a transition. How then do we sequence most optimally?
I spend a lot of words on this blog extolling the benefits I have perceived in myself and in my students from the various yoga practices. I also candidly admit (when asked) that not all practices are for every one and certainly not all of the time.
It probably seems obvious that challenging asana would not be right in the presence of certain injuries or illnesses, even if asana practice, which is good for our strength, balance, and flexibility, among other things, is generally beneficial overall. Being an advanced practitioner entails in good measure being sufficiently sensitive and aware of our edge day by day and even moment by moment in our practice so that we expand our capacity to live life to the fullest without blowing past our edge out of ignorance, carelessness, or ego and needlessly injure ourselves.
What is more subtle is finding the same edge in meditation. I am not talking about physical discomfort sitting for meditation. That can be easily remedied with appropriate props, for example a cushion or chair. There can be such a thing as too much meditation or not the right type of meditative practice for certain practitioners or under certain circumstances. Going deeply into the self beyond the surface level of thought can release things that had been buried. We may not be surprised if we have nightmares or anxiety dreams when life is presenting us with lots of challenges and difficulties. It may be more shocking, though, if negative thoughts or emotions come up when we sit for meditation. Meditation is supposed to be benign and health-optimizing.
One way to deal with the shock is to stop, but then we lose the wonderful benefits of meditation. What is more optimal is to learn where is our edge in meditation, just as we do for asana. As we get more proficient and experienced with meditation, if things are coming up that are difficult to handle, we learn when to shorten our time sitting, when to add in more physically comforting and boundary-enhancing asana, and how to release the negative stuff that is arising without it impacting our lives or relationships.
The challenge is that it is precisely the steady, intense practice over time that gives us the insight to know when the practice is too much at a particular time. For me, finding the edge where I can expand perfectly can be a challenge, but is ultimately and completely worth my while.
For some of the alleged dark sides of practice, try entering into your favorite search engine “meditation side effects.” Then read with appropriate skepticism; it is the internet after all, and you should be as skeptical about the claims of the negative aspects as you might be or once have been of the potential benefits of the practices.
