WorkingWell

Karma, or whatever natural law  makes sense to you, offers us structure. If we do this then we get that. It’s  predictable. It takes work.

Lila is a Sanskrit word that means play. It’s randomness. Chance. It’s what happens when we’re not setting  goals but open ourselves to the moment. Lila is triggered by love, music,  touch, passion.

The musician, artist, athlete  or scholar in us knows that as we perfect our technique (karma), we open  ourselves to wondrous symmetry and beauty (lila).

At my house, it’s my job to  exercise the dog, tend the yard and flowers, make the meals. From this karmic action, I experience lila.

The pleasure of seeing my  golden retriever dance in the air, leaping after a high bouncing tennis ball.  Draughts of scent from the night blooming white flowers. Fresh sweet corn picked from the field at our dinner table.

The idea is not to get out of  what we’re doing, whatever it is, but get more into it. By diving deeply into the karma experience, lila happens.

A yoga teacher friend returned from a great weekend workshop and was so inspired with the rich meaning in everyday things that she said, “I can find a message in the lines on the road!”. I take that as a direct challenge.

As I drive down the highway, I’m struck by the guidance of the yellow stripes in the center and the white ones at the edges. I have to stay in the middle. Not straying into territory that might bring me headlong into another traveler or off into the uneven, uncertain lay of the land or water.

There are so many choices to take- right turn, left turn, straight ahead, stop and get off the road for rest or play. And yet, the basic discipline is the same. Keep it between the lines.

Sometimes the road is under construction and gets bumpy. The lines tend to waiver all over the place and even get hard to follow. I feel my way along.

Dirt roads don’t have any lines but everyone follows the discipline anyway. Freedom within the common understanding of boundaries.

I’m thankful for the boundaries – lines in the road- of my life. They keep me safe and healthy. At times I struggle against them; at times I wish they were more clear. It all depends on what I need to grow.

I had a routine MRI last week. Because of a strong family history of breast cancer, I qualify annually for this accurate detection radiology test.
 
If you’ve had or heard about an MRI, you may know they put you in a huge eight foot long magnet shaped like a gun barrel and bombard you with loud noises for 30 to 60 minutes. I used all my meditation techniques to get through the experience of claustrophobic enclosure plus the banging, buzzing and clanging.
 
When I got out, I shook myself to get the feeling back in my arms and the fuzziness out of my head and asked the technician, “Why all the noise?”.
 
She explained to me that when I go into the tube, all the cells in my body line up with the field of the magnet. The noises are radiofrequencies that knock my cells out of that orderly line, and immediately the magnet pulls them back into place. It’s this resonance of being knocked out of line and coming back to place that makes it possible to capture an incredibly accurate image.
 
It’s another example of how being pushed out of line or balance and coming back into place yields positive results.
 
Any of a number of daily irritations or a serious life bump in the road knock us out of line. As we regain balance and order, we get a clear picture of how to be happier, stronger, and more free.
 
So bring on the resonance! The jarring us out of a comfortable place!  Who knows what clear vistas are ahead. 

This just in: A new health study performed by Jane Taylor of Hinesburg Vermont shows that GYROTONIC® Exercise heals disc ruptures and eases menstrual cramps!

In her break-through investigation, Jane Taylor, movement therapy patient and Gyrotonic Instructor in Training, reveals that continuous and regular Gyrotonic Exercise alleviates sciatic pain, heals ruptured discs, and eases menstrual cramps.

“I think it’s the biological pump,” says Ms. Taylor. “ Bringing the breath deep into the pelvis and low back while simultaneously elongating the spine makes all the difference.”

The current study supports the results of a related study on healing and back health conducted at various Gyrotonic Exercise studios throughout the world during the past several years. That work compared healing rates of dancers, athletes, and us regular folks engaged in on-going Gyrotonic exercise regimens to those engaged in other healing methodologies and found that patients engaged in Gyrotonic Exercise healed faster and had more fun than those outside of the study group.

Upon making this finding, Ms. Taylor proclaimed that she would discontinue her “Ruptured Disc Recovery” blog, and move her Gyrotonic blog to deeper investigation of Gyrotonic movement for continued health, happiness and longevity.

“I also plan on getting taller,” she states. Further developments and reports will be made under the general Working Well Blog category: “Gyrotonic®”

We’ve all heard the expression “it’s all good” which originated in rap music around 1994. It means anything is possible, nothing is bad, everyone/everything is cool. 

In my limited life experience, I mostly wrestle with minor decisions and situations that I call luxury problems. No less, they can keep me up at night and do involve the life and wellness of family members and friends. 

In  meditation practice this week, insight reveals that nothing is wrong. That it really doesn’t matter. A great openness and peace follows. 

Is it all good? No. But it all is happening. And greeting life with peace makes sense. 

Does this remove the power of personal choice and action? No. But it does remind me there is one source of all action.  Even as each of us goes about fulfilling our intentions with individual  action.

Does any of this make sense? Not sure. But it feels blissful! And that is enough in each moment.