Where are you?
With Ganesh watching she whispered, “Can I look at your hands?”
“Sure!” I whispered back. “I think I’ve got it right.”
Mats, humans wanting to stretch, bolsters, blankets, and blocks lined the the wall opposite the elephant. We’d received directions for kurma mudra—a hand placement that looks kind of like a—turtle. Tangling our fingers was a little tricky, but the result left a cute pinky finger turtle tail.
Last night’s yin yoga class, held during the Super Bowl, was focused on turning inward.
“Turtles do pull into their shells for protection,” our instructor said, “and also for restoration and healing. Throughout tonight’s practice, I hope you’ll stay with your body…..
We’re so often pulled in many directions from outside stimulus. Sight, sound, smell. How many times have you left the frozen food section of the grocery feeling hungry….craving melted cheese? Pizza samples!”
“Try to keep your mind within the bounds of your frame.”
Wow!
Was that the third or fourth time I’d heard that message in one day?
Early in the morning while fretting about Henrietta’s refusal of her breakfast I read a De Mello meditation:
This is the explanation the Master gave his disciples: “There are two ways to wash dishes: One is to wash them in order to make them clean; the other is to wash them in order to wash them.”
That was still far from clear, so he added, “The first action is dead, because while your body does the dishes your mind is fixed on the goal of cleaning them; the second is alive, because your mind is where your body is.”
Because your mind is where your body is…..
Still worrying about Henri, and making several trip to the veterinarian in my mind, I received an email with this quote from Eckhart Tolle:
“Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have at this moment.”
I didn’t really have a problem at that moment.
My mind was creating a landscape of problems though.
How interesting to notice!
Then I watched How Do I Love Myself—a short meditation from Thich Naht Hahn.
What did I hear?
BEING IN YOUR BODY IS SELF LOVE
On my mat, I was a turtle in restoration.
Body—I am here.
Body—I am here.
Body—
I
am
here.
Wouldn’t you know….Henrietta gobbled her breakfast like a champ this morning!
And I made all of those imagined trips to the vet for nothing.
Is your mind with your body?
Right NOW?
What we give our attention creates our lives?