Category: Tidbits of Wisdom

It is day 5. And while I almost convinced myself that I didn't have time and couldn't prove the benefit so maybe I should just stop now, I didn't stop. I followed through – one more time.

It happened like this. I received the gift of coaching from Danita at 9:00 and was pointed inward toward celebrating “jeanne”, being present with this being, just as she is present with others. Then I began my Pilates workout with a teleseries interview with Leonard Jacobson filling my ears. The conscious combination of presence with my physical body while hearing about the critical need to “be present” to life each and every moment was quite the setup for Savasana!

My 30 minute resting pose held two significant thoughts:

• As the awareness of my body as energy returned, I began to focus that energy on the parts of my body that needed healing. And I wondered, “Is this how miracles of healing happen?” When all our energies are focused in one place, is the intensity so great that physical shift must happen?
  
• Shortly after that, my concentration left me and I decided to leave the pose. I put my legs into the air as if to do “legs up the wall” without the wall. In less than a minute, my buzzer rang. Is my being learning what “enough” is?

I'm going to leave you to do your own exploration as you choose. And, I'd like to invite you into the series of free interviews that offered me the gift of presence this morning. You will find them at:

The Sacred Awakening Series
There are many recordings out there, each free to listen on-line or download. The one I listened to today is here:

Leonard Jacobson of The Conscious Living Foundation
If you are fed, please spread the word!

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Just a few notes from today's experiment. First, what happened today? The short version is that I went to 6:00 am yoga with the intention of playing my flute as folks arrived and again as THEY were lying in Savasana. In between, I would do my own Savasana.

What has happened in these few short days is somewhat unbelievable – or not! What was at first (to me) a “No – I couldn't go to the studio and lie in Savasana for an hour!”, has turned into, “Of course that's an option! Why not?” And, after last Friday's live music, it occurred to me that I, too, could provide live music. “Why not?”

What's really happening? Is the extended meditation time, quiet mind, and peace, making me more open? Is it making me more aware, more able to see what is mine to offer? Is it making me more flexible – and not in a physical way? Since I'donly been to 6:00 am yoga once before, today was definitely a stretch. Is this new practice changing me? Maybe!

As for my Savasana today, I will admit it was challenging to settle with the guided yoga instruction present. Because I understand the class flow, it was as if I was watching the clock – unlike my experience of two days ago with a CD I'd never listened to start to finish. And I am definitely aware that I have a difficult time tuning out human speech. You may not share that challenge! But it is quite possible that I am not cut out for Savasana at the studio.

However, once I got fairly settled today and could sense the energy flow in my body, I was gifted with the physical sense that perhaps I could experience more inner energy during my actual practices than I have in the past. My focus has been so much on the outer, the pose, my body structure and alignment. What would it be like to feel this inner energy buzz during my practice? Yes, I want to find out when my foot is healed.

Have you experimented yet with longer Savasana for yourself?
Have you taken a break during your practice in child's pose or Savasana when others aren't?
What would shift in you if you did?

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Once again, though not with 100% ease, I laid in Savasana. This time, 30 minutes, in silence except for the ticking of the clock and the egg timer I'd set. My mind worked a bit … for awhile. And its activity led me to realize that I was not my mind. I was observing it as it was thinking.

Another thing I noticed was how my body reacted to my thought. My mind strayed to that broken toe and I imagined it getting hurt, breaking again. In that instant, my body cringed uncontrollably. The physical muscle memory was so strong in response to a mere thought.

[I must say that this experience of Savasana crossed over into my spiritual walk in a MAJOR way. If the notes here seem cryptic or crazy, then take what you like and leave the rest!]

Gradually, I found myself noticing my body as separate from me. I was aware of the space around it and aware that the body, itself, is more space than matter. I noticed other bodies and imagined the “selves” that occupied those bodies in the space – with me.

And this is when the awareness of our unity … our oneness in the greater reality of life … became real to me. This is a spiritual concept I've been around for a long while – even written songs about it:

The Web of Life lyrics and recording
Yet, I don't always sense it with my life. I don't always pause long enough to be aware of it! So I wonder:

What would we create together in this lifetime if we focused on the unity in the space?
What if we paused more often, long enough, to notice that the space is real?

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I am in awe … truly. Continuing the experiment of listening to the Universe and slowing down, I brought myself to an extended Savasana at home just now. I was fresh off a conference call where a woman described “supreme self-care” as listening to your intuition at all times and acting on it. Now I believe I practice pretty radical self-care already! Yet somehow, adding “listening” and “intuition” to the mix, was another universal pause for me.

I selected a CD of acoustic guitar music, one I'd never listened to start to finish, and noticed that it was 46 minutes in length. Definitely long enough, I thought, not knowing if I would remain in Savasana for the whole time. And here are today's reflections:

• I was definitely restless for awhile, almost quit very early in the process.
  
• I hung in, physical relaxation came, some of the inner energy awareness appeared.
  
• Spent some time focusing on sending healing energy throughout my body, picturing that broken foot and a few other pains, healed.
  
• My inner voice reminded me of my commitment on that phone call to “receiving” and I found myself picturing that I was lying outside surrounded by every creature imaginable (from worms, believe it or not, to lions and elephants and fish). Every one was there to serve me, gift me, and allow me to receive. And I also felt the presence of flowers and sunshine.
  
• Then the ideas came – ideas I'd never had before for ways to experience more presence, ways to bring it to others. Creativity was flowing. And, truthfully, I wanted to get up and “record it” so as not to lose it! I reminded myself that what I needed to remember would be there when I was done.
  
• And here is the most awe-inspiring piece for me. Just when I was ready to listen to that urge to move, return to present moment doing, get up, … truly in that very space of 10 seconds, the CD ended. I had been lying for 46 minutes!
  

And the gift of letting go of activity, listening, allowing intuition to have its way with me, had happened. If you know me at all, you know that sitting still is NOT my forte! Yet, I am here to share that there is power in it.

What do you hear when you pause long enough to listen within?
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The long and short of it is: with a broken foot, my yoga practice is a bit “limited”. But the Universe filled the gap! Today was a special day at Empower Yoga, and the classes had live music. Bemoaning the fact that I couldn't practice and would miss the music, a wise friend challenged me to 60 minutes of Savasana or “final resting pose”. I've been trying to do 15 minutes/day meditation at home and that is challenge enough. But 60???

Add to the challenge, today was the first day of Empower Yoga's “21 Day Off-Your-Mat Reflection”. Danita selected Savasana as the pose of the day and my job was to invite all the yogis into a question. So early this morning, I'd posted:

“Deep inside – beneath thought, beyond emotion, in physical stillness, lives intuition.”
What do you hear when you listen?
I really didn't have much choice! So when the 4:00 class time rolled around, I took my foot, my mat, and my willingness to the studio. And 60 minutes later, after beautiful guitar playing and chanting, and a class going on around me, I realized I had, indeed, listened for 60 minutes.

This is what I “heard”:

• Early on, it was the words of the instructor, the eyes of the students (of course they weren't watching me!!), the skills of the musician, the temptation to move, my “what have you gotten yourself into?” thoughts.
  
• Gradually, I found myself moving in and out of those awarenesses, and sensing my body getting heavy and relaxing. Once I did tend to an itchy nose … and once I adjusted my head. But I was surprised how easy it was to remain still! I noticed rumblings in my digestive tract, sensed my body doing its work that I so often take for granted.
  
• Somewhere, the heaviness in my body seemed to become an energy awareness. I would feel it resonate with the music, then be interrupted when the instructor was close to me and talking.
  
• When sacred chanting was added to the guitar music, my first impulse was to sing but I had no voice (as a singer and guitar player, this doesn't usually happen to me!). When I allowed myself to “hear” (read that as: “experience”) his voice, I found that each phrase sent a wave of energy up and down my body. I literally felt as if water was washing over me and then receding.
  
• I was fairly “in the moment” much of the time, rarely distracted by the to-do list and life's planning. Perhaps 45 minutes into it, I had the realization that I'd forgotten to feed the parking meter! I was surprised that it took 45 minutes to realize this oops — but then watched as I let it go with ease.
  
• When the rest of the class met me in Savasana, I couldn't believe the hour was over.
  
• And when the instructor asked us to wiggle our fingers and toes and move to seated position … oh the heaviness I felt! My body wanted to rest awhile longer.
  

This was an amazing experience for me. I “heard” energy in a way I'd never before listened long enough to sense. I was at peace.

I would recommend this to all of you! Try on Savasana for class someday. You might like it.

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