9.29.13

 

                                                                                   om khagaaya namaha

lately i've been thinking alot about intention.  you hear the word thrown around alot, especially in yoga class.  hell i throw it around alot too. 'take a moment and set an intention for you practice,' or 'remember the intention you set at the beginning of your practice.' etc. etc.  intention has become a mental exercise.  you set your intention with your mind in the beginning, you come back to it in the end.  you visualize.  you focus your thoughts, this is how we've become accustomed to recognizing, willing and working with our intentions.  

intention in action is much much more than this.  intention is a visceral, physical push.  it is a willful act of mind and body working as one.  those who have pushed their practice to another level by manifesting their mental intentions in their physical bodies know what i'm talking about.  you can set as many intentions as you want to; if you don't feel your intention in every sweating, straining ounce of muscular will you aren't quite there yet.

as a society we've obviously widened the gap between our physical world and our day to day reality.  we've become removed from our food, our weather, our climate.  we seek to ease physical feelings of discomfort or chaos with pills, booze, food and whatnot, instead of examining what they mean to our overall organism.  and it's understandable.  physical reality can be a bitch.  i've lived many lives and the one lived close to the earth, off the grid and in sync with the daily cycles of sun, moon, tide, was by far the most rewarding and also the most inconvenient and physically challenging.  when i think of my time in the wild i think of marvelous beauty, breathtaking simplicity, elemental purity, and deep deep physical discomfort. 

the only way through this discomfort was to accept it as part of the intentional living i was taking part in.  

this extends to everything.  the only way to achieve your intention is to live it.  to physically manifest it and to accept the discomfort it may temporarily cause.  so on a grander scale; the intention is to live simply, with nature, off the grid.  the result of manifesting that intention is hard physical work, intense amounts of effort and time for very basic necessities and foregoing simple luxuries like daily showers or refrigeration.  on a smaller scale; the intention is to do a handstand.  the result is sweat, work, muscle fatigue as you build a strong upper body to support you, doubt and frustration as you fall on your face (over and over) and the glory of achievement when your mental intention, your will and your physical effort unite to bring you into that perfect balance of inverted energy.

experiment with this, it doesn't have to be as challenging as a handstand.  in your next practice set a small intention and then physically enact it every single time.  or if you're not into yoga, set an intention for your day and then walk the walk.  two ideas:  in yoga, set an intention to completely engage your feet, hands, toes and fingers in each and every pose.  focus on their placement, alignment, force, energy.  focus on placing them with efficiency, beauty and strength.  in life, set an intention to be more positive, even during a challenging day.  in every reasonable circumstance say yes instead of no.  and then take it further and say absolutely.  is that your umbrella?  absolutely.  do you want to volunteer for ______?  absolutely.  want cheese with that?  absolutely.

anyway these are just ideas playing around in my mind.  obviously your intention is your own.  but no matter what it is, show up on every level; follow through physically to manifest mental realities.  and when it gets uncomfortable?  accept it and don't give up.  don't let the temporary discomfort keep you from the glory.

namaste bitches, xx


work bitch (twerk remix), spitney brears