Sealing the Practice

Saturday 28th March 2009

At the end of practice this morning I descended from Baddha Padmasana into a very long, deep Yoga Mudra…maybe for a couple of minutes with my eyes open at first, to observe the slow, careful descent towards the earth as my body released into the forward bend...then I closed my eyes.
I love falling into the forward bends with my eyes closed, not rag-doll-falling, but releasing-and-softening-falling - the mind lets go notch by notch and the body follows, until I am gently awakened by my nose touching something, it’s final resting place, and it’s always a sweet surprise to find myself there, humbly bowed forward and kissing the earth.
I opened my eyes while still immersed in the full pose, broomadhya drishti, and I stayed, observing the energetics and subtle inner movements that continued their play in and around my body and energy field. Then consciously engaging the inner core muscles, I rose up, released my bound arms and unfolded them into the lovely, mystical Padmasana, root locked, spinal channel clear, transparent and alive, energy flowing cleanly through all nadis and reflowing around the sealed pathways directed by all three Bandhas and hands in Gyan Mudra.
Ten long, deep Ujjiya breaths.

What a perfect seal to the practice.

Then lift off…Uth Pluthi…I haven’t done this pose for ages. I remembered the visualisation of the five storey building, the pelvic floor being on the ground and then lifting it up to the first floor, then the second, then the third floor etc. You rise higher and lighter off the ground with this internal direction and I’m sure you could actually lift off completely and levitate if you carried it on a little too far…10 breaths in full Uth Pluthi.

Then I lowered. Complete, whole, shining, illuminated.

Longing to melt into Savasana…I spied Kosta’s stack of blankets in the corner of the studio. I fluidly transitioned to Dog Pose then rolled up to standing. Noticing that Kosta was finishing too I quietly asked “Do you want some blankets?”
He looked at me perplexed…it was an odd moment.
“Pancakes????”
No, not pancakes, BLANKETS!!!”

Five minutes later I was still laying in Savasana laughing.