Friday, July 29, 2011

Savasana

There is an adage in yoga which says that the benefits of hatha yoga are manifested during the state of rest, repose or savasana - the corpse asana. I realise now that this applies to all my non-yogic states as well. That the  rewards of living are in fact the very moments of suspended non-living. It is in moments of quiet stillness that we traverse towards our core. This silence is the muting of the chattering mind, the non-reacting to the animated, surrounding us. It is the act of death in the practice of intense living - the savasana of the alive. Loose limbed, unknotted, free - this is a state of singular attention which is not confined to closed eyes, padmasana posture, moving inwards...I grow when with attention I sweep, wash dishes, eat. I suppose this is what the masters say when they speak of Zen - walk Zen, sit Zen, work Zen.

Bunan says:
Die while you are alive
  and be absolutely dead.
Then do whatever you want:
   It is all good.
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