...as follows...

and one more nugget

"Desire, when grounded in Universal, is life-affirming and positive."

i think that even patanjali would have to agree with that one. it answers my ever-lingering about the imperfection of the tantra philosophy. why celebrate the ego? sure it's funner and more joyous and you spread more joy in the world (hmm = all solid reasons in fact) - but it's such a slippery slope, that gosh-darned ego. and it always bites you in the end!

but this quote has a caveat...the caveat! root your desire in the Universal, in Shiva, in the Love and Truth that this world is. it's the same same but different: Patanjali says to tell your ego to f*ck itself - focus instead on the Divine and shed that f*cker.

word.

but then here comes this tantric philosophy - ok to have desire, just root it in the Universal - thereby shedding your selfish wants and needs, plugging in to something greater - and voila! you've tricked the aspirant into shedding the ego, living for the greater good.

although one cannot truthfully say "just" root desire in the Universal - it is still a discipline to constantly turn your attention to something greater. but ranks high in the gamut of rewarding habits. for sheezey.

and just one more - you still run into the "problem" they warn you about in the sutras ("they" = Patanjali), which is once we achieve union with the divine, the Very Good Little Yogi doesn't even have attachment to that, and to be vigilant b/c once you start getting super special powers you damn well better be a Very Good Little Yogi. better not get attached to how awesome you are, all close up to the Divine and sh*t. [sorry for the cussing, ab, but it's tantrika ;]

ok ok i go, with just one wee reminder of another time/space that was all tantra, all the time:

........

friday night is the new monday night

what better to do on a friday night than stay in and rediscover my yoga teacher training notebook from anusara immersion iii in 2007? at the middle age of thirty-one, my friday nights invariably consist of staying home in my sweatpants...seems more like a monday, and i'll reckon that's how it should be.

i came across my quiz - questions like: what does kidney loop do in plank pose? my answer: counters the tendency of the mid-back sag, and keeps energy flowing through the body. could one not argue, dear beard, that kidney loop HOLDS THAT SHIT TOGETHER? i mean take kidney loop away from your plank pose and we've got a belly that pokes down, a cow pose in plank pose (it makes me cringe, and slightly nauseated to be frank). your arm bones grinding on their socket joints. dumping into the lower back with no support from said arms...head likely crunching into the neck.

yeck! no more of this imaginary (but unfortunately not imaginary enough) scenario. bring back the kidney loop - and voila! a full and hearty back body, well positioned to base the shoulders - give some lift to the back body so that the shoulders can tip in and allow the heart to melt with fullness instead of sogginess. [i'm not sure if we have any followers anymore, but if we do: i'm sorry, this likely sounds like maniacal drivel, which, i don't deny, it kind of is ;]

and then of course we have our friendly pelvic loop - which may really be the centerpointe of it all, and it probably is. but the kidney loop in plank is unsung! two indianan cents would be appreciated :)