Day 50
Timer on…
Well…I’ve made it to 50 Days…that is a lot of yoga in a row…crazy…I don’t think I’ve ever done anything this many days in a row…I am sort of proud of myself…19 days to go…
So…when we last met we were finishing up with Trataka of the Shatkarma part of the series:
The purpose: “As a staring meditation, trataka is the technique of sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) which is supposed to develop psychic powers. With the ability to cease the restlessness of the eyes seeking something of the other, by fixing the gaze, the restless mind too comes to a halt. Trataka is said to enhance the ability to concentrate. It may increase the power of memory and bring the mind in a state of awareness, attention and focus. This exercise acts on the centers of smell and sight; it stimulates the nervous system. It is said to control the ciliary (blink) reflex and stimulate the pineal gland.”
Hmmm…the pineal gland is back…and I already forgot what it does…I am very lucky that I did not go into medicine…okay…re-looking for this guy…
The pineal gland is also at the base of the brain near the cerebellum, but it’s across from the pituitary gland. This helps my circadian rhythm and sleep/seasonal patterns.
Pituitary gland…I am also blanking on that:
I guess it is at the base of the brain…and it regulates stress, growth, reproduction and lactation… Again, this process is to help regulate the stress of mourning…so…again, so far this poses that feels easy, has been one of the most beneficial.
That pose was the Fish Pose…So…I guess the end of the series, for me…is trataka and it also has the benefits of dealing with the issues in my brain that have created the holding on of emotional and physical weight…and it is being helped out by the Fish Pose earlier in the series.
I will also say that I really enjoy the trataka at the end of the series because I sometimes am able (and, lately, more often than not) to create two candles in my vision and it feels good to have double-vision at the end as I am staring and focusing on the end of my practice about my Dad…it feels like two of us are there at the end every night.
My entire life I always felt like I could feel him; I didn’t need him to tell me he loved me or how he felt about me in words…I could just feel it. I know it seems silly, but that psychic love, that agape, that divine love…feels present again, every night with trataka…and I am able to say at the end of it “Namaste”, which means, literally, bowing to you…and I am bowing to my Dad…as an actor/theater person…it seems fitting that I should always be giving a curtain call to may Dad. I have never liked curtain calls, but…my teachers throughout all my studies in theater always reminded us that the curtain call wasn’t for us…it was for the audience and we had to honor the fact that they needed that time to clap. My Dad loved being in the audience watching me. One of my first acting teachers, Cheryl-Ann Rossi, used to say that her favorite thing about watching a performance with me in it, was watching my Dad watch me…I miss that…I never really got to “watch” him watch me…but I could always feel it…so…at the end of this practice I “bow to him”…this is for him… It is also wonderful that right before I “bow to him” I get to have double-vision and feel like he is a part of me, again, and we are “staring” together, focusing together on one thought. I think that wherever he is, he must miss me, as much as I miss him.
That's all for today…
Timer on…
Well…I’ve made it to 50 Days…that is a lot of yoga in a row…crazy…I don’t think I’ve ever done anything this many days in a row…I am sort of proud of myself…19 days to go…
So…when we last met we were finishing up with Trataka of the Shatkarma part of the series:
The purpose: “As a staring meditation, trataka is the technique of sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) which is supposed to develop psychic powers. With the ability to cease the restlessness of the eyes seeking something of the other, by fixing the gaze, the restless mind too comes to a halt. Trataka is said to enhance the ability to concentrate. It may increase the power of memory and bring the mind in a state of awareness, attention and focus. This exercise acts on the centers of smell and sight; it stimulates the nervous system. It is said to control the ciliary (blink) reflex and stimulate the pineal gland.”
Hmmm…the pineal gland is back…and I already forgot what it does…I am very lucky that I did not go into medicine…okay…re-looking for this guy…
The pineal gland is also at the base of the brain near the cerebellum, but it’s across from the pituitary gland. This helps my circadian rhythm and sleep/seasonal patterns.
Pituitary gland…I am also blanking on that:
I guess it is at the base of the brain…and it regulates stress, growth, reproduction and lactation… Again, this process is to help regulate the stress of mourning…so…again, so far this poses that feels easy, has been one of the most beneficial.
That pose was the Fish Pose…So…I guess the end of the series, for me…is trataka and it also has the benefits of dealing with the issues in my brain that have created the holding on of emotional and physical weight…and it is being helped out by the Fish Pose earlier in the series.
I will also say that I really enjoy the trataka at the end of the series because I sometimes am able (and, lately, more often than not) to create two candles in my vision and it feels good to have double-vision at the end as I am staring and focusing on the end of my practice about my Dad…it feels like two of us are there at the end every night.
My entire life I always felt like I could feel him; I didn’t need him to tell me he loved me or how he felt about me in words…I could just feel it. I know it seems silly, but that psychic love, that agape, that divine love…feels present again, every night with trataka…and I am able to say at the end of it “Namaste”, which means, literally, bowing to you…and I am bowing to my Dad…as an actor/theater person…it seems fitting that I should always be giving a curtain call to may Dad. I have never liked curtain calls, but…my teachers throughout all my studies in theater always reminded us that the curtain call wasn’t for us…it was for the audience and we had to honor the fact that they needed that time to clap. My Dad loved being in the audience watching me. One of my first acting teachers, Cheryl-Ann Rossi, used to say that her favorite thing about watching a performance with me in it, was watching my Dad watch me…I miss that…I never really got to “watch” him watch me…but I could always feel it…so…at the end of this practice I “bow to him”…this is for him… It is also wonderful that right before I “bow to him” I get to have double-vision and feel like he is a part of me, again, and we are “staring” together, focusing together on one thought. I think that wherever he is, he must miss me, as much as I miss him.
That's all for today…