Day 210 March 2, 2011

Day 210  Rosa Rugosa

"Hallelujiah" is one of my favourite songs by Leonard Cohen, especially when it's sung by the four Canadian Tenors.  As I started to write my post tonight, this song came to mind.  I could hear it clearly.  The practicing physician and author Dr. Oliver Sacks writes about musicophilia.  This refers to the varying abilities of some people to have an extraordinary relationship to music.  For example, there are people who can hear music so clearly that they can become mistaken and think it is playing out loud while actually it is really only playing within their own mind.  Of course you might think of Beethoven who composed some of his later symphonies while he was deaf.

The practice of yoga asana has similarities to this musical experience Dr. Sacks writes about.  The first time such an experience happened to me I had only been practicing yoga asana for a few years.  I was in headstand in the center of the room.  It was very quiet in the studio, as it always is when a group is in headstand.  A few minutes had passed since we started the pose.  All of a sudden I fell out of headstand and exclaimed to the teacher why this had happened.

I felt like I was lying down resting.  All of a sudden I realized and thought to myself, no Muriel, you're not lying down resting, you're in headstand.  At that moment of realization I fell out of headstand.  I think I was just so honestly surprised by my body's 'mistaken' feeling that it shocked me, so I instantly lost my balance, and fell.

My teacher thought this was wonderful.  He said, yes, that's it.  You are starting to learn.  I was learning how the body reaches a state of relaxation once it is in balance.  Of course an inversion also sends blood towards your head quite quickly and that has a rejuvenating effect also, so you feel rested, even in the midst of your balance.

Interesting perceptions we can have, don't you think?