Day 219 – Today’s reading is about training in the sense of strength, physical endurance, and mental endurance. In this passage, Rolf touches on the divinity within our miraculous moveme
nts as athletes, dancers, yogis. While he does not differentiate too much within this passage between the three components of his yoga practice–strength, physical endurance, and mental endurance–he does make it clear that “life is dancing in…[and] through” him during while practicing.
nts as athletes, dancers, yogis. While he does not differentiate too much within this passage between the three components of his yoga practice–strength, physical endurance, and mental endurance–he does make it clear that “life is dancing in…[and] through” him during while practicing.In Rolf’s meditation practice, he reiterates much the same sentiment, writing: “Within the rhythm of my breathing lies the secret that I am every being and every being is me.” As attention for us in our practices that involve strength, physical endurance, and mental endurance moves into the breath and the rhythm of our practice, there is a magickal moment, which Rolf writes is “a moment of awakening.” And because of this awakening within our practices, we begin to understand “the vastness of the moment in which we exist.”
Lately, I have been doing more journaling/blogging and reading than practicing of any kind of movement, mostly to give my body some time to heal and figure out where movement of any kind fit into my day-to-day life, which has always been filled with strength, physical endurance, and mental endurance.
I find that I judge myself pretty hard about a lot of really petty things sometimes and need to remind myself of “the vastness of the moment in which we exist” on sometimes an hourly basis. As the school year ends, I can easily say that my students remind me of the bigger picture quite often; where I used to be judgmental and obsessed with making “readers,” I have come to realize that the “vastness of the moment in which we exist” does not come until we have “a moment of awakening” and that doesn’t necessarily come from reading (especially what we read in class mostly) for most people. I have to look at myself with softer eyes and hope that my students will, too, because I know I push academics and literacy pretty hard, not completely unlike I push all aspects of movement that involve physical and mental strength and endurance.
All and all, this simple read was actually quite profound. I’m sure this theme resonates with Rolf, who has trained as an athlete (and soldier) and teacher. The idea that our practices, whatever they are, should ultimately lead to a “moment of awakening” each and every day and our affirmation in the “vastness of moment in which we exist” will innervate us.
space365 