Foundation

Foundation. 

Like a mountain. Solid. Stable. A place from which to move.  It brings to mind strength and perhaps the wisdom of ages wreathed around the brooding brows so high in the sky.  A place from which to build and grow.  It gives one the impression of a safe haven to leave and perhaps return to. A high place from which to gain a clear perspective of what lies all around and allows a hint of what might yet be.

Foundation is a heavy word and rightly so. It is the base from which we move, the initial condition of all of our thoughts, actions, dreams and hopes. If the base is not firm or somehow gives us a false perception of reality, the whole structure then is in danger of leaning, ready to collapse (as in Tower of Pisa), resulting in an interesting tourist attraction, an oddity over-which to scratch ones head or just a jumble of rubble to add to the evening skyline. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 5th ed. 4th usage states foundation is: "The solid ground or base (natural or artificial) on which a building rests." 

That is just one of seven descriptions in that particular tome of definitions and one that seems (to me) to fit what I intend to write about, especially as regards the practice of Yoga (but not exclusive of any other form of body-mind engagement) and concerning in particular the branch of physical yogasana.

For me, the primary foundation is the initial condition of who you are as you enter your practice as you understand it. Either when you first encounter the practice of yogasana or in your own daily practice.  As you walk into the studio or into your home practice area you might ask yourself like Spock's mom asked him in Star Trek IV,  "How do you feel?".

That's a very tricky question, but to mindlessly engage in a series of postures that are by their very design meant to trigger all manner of responses in you, knowing how you feel might save one from presuming too much (or to little) from a given practice.  Everything you are currently, every experience you have had or imagine you have had is lurking somewhere in the tugley wood of your brain.  Everything.  Simply stepping onto your mat does not guarantee anything other than stepping onto the mat.  Guess who is stepping onto the mat?  You are!  In all of your tattered glory, all that is you shows up at the same time!  You can argue with me about the tattered glory part, but most of us are still wandering around in the grasses of delusion looking for our lost shaker of salt.

So you step onto your mat, feathers preened, wardrobe in order and mind wide open for samadhi. Check in with how you feel.   Angry, sad, depressed, happy and all the other of the multifarious emotions that are the simple and wonderful construct of you.  Be aware that you are human and this (yoga) is a practice of transformation of you.  In short, to relieve the pain of ignorance.  Asana are the branch that is designed to transform the physical aspect of the ignorance you are currently clutching. Some play with the common Encinitas euphemism that ignorance means we don't understand that we are "spiritual beings having a human experience."  Really?  Could you be a little more vague?  So keep it simple, we are a very highly evolved hominid called homo sapiens sapiens.  The smart ape. Our species survived a horrific ice age and several of our simian cousins didn't. That takes some level of intelligence with a dash of moxy. We accomplished this without anybody's input from Encinitas either.Yet there you are, on your mat in all of your hominid glory waiting for class to begin.

"Now we begin the practice of yoga", states Pantajali in his awesome Yoga Sutras.  Ahhh, the meat of it at last!  Personally I think he meant his whole system (2.28-2.45), not just asana, which is a popular Western misconception.  I mean really, am I going to be practicing Parshva Kukkutasana (a posture that looks like something portrayed in the movie "The Thing") on my steering wheel to calm the whirling of the mind in rush hour traffic? Hmmmm? It may very well make my mind like a still pool, but the fool on their Iphone may well become a babbling texter in one flash of recognition. Critical here is the intention.  Begin!    Take that step up the Mountain that is none other than exactly who you have always been.  Don't worry about change, transformation or enlightenment, the postures will do the work for you as you engage in your practice.

Enough said.  You are human, get over it.  Step into your practice aware of how you feel and that in the context of your body-mind.  It is your own personal vehicle of liberation. Know thyself and know what you feel comfortable with and what you don't (that's very important).  Beware of people selling Snake Oil.  The label is attractive but don't step behind the wagon to see what the carnival hawkers are brewing it up with.  Better to just walk away.  Remember that Yoga is designed as a life practice to meet you right where you are. Vigorous physical asana are fine for the young and adventurous. Meditative practice is preferable as we get on in years and no longer need to prove ourselves. Find what works for you from right where you are, that ever changing panorama of this vast universe we are so intimately a part of.

So go ahead, where you are, step into your life, take a deep breath from the foundation of you and now we begin the practice of Yoga.

In the meantime, can you hear the wind whisper through the golden birch leaves?