~Body and Mind as two expressions of Consciousness~

Below is a piece written by Kyla's yoga teacher Patty Townsend.  The piece speaks about mind-body oneness, the aproach of true yoga, and the underlying field of consciousness.  Patty's studio is located in Amherst, MA, offering an approach to mind-body practice called Embodyoga.

Yoga means unity.  The practice of yoga is not a return to unity because we never left it.  Unity is what is happening, but it may not be our experience. 

Yoga consists of the practices that bring the embodied experience of unity into the forefront of each individual practitioner’s personal awareness.  Using body and mind we turn our awareness inward.  We direct the flow of consciousness back inward and onto itself. This practice of inner sensing and inquiring leads us through the grossest levels of body and mind and we gain access to the deeper, subtler expressions of life that we are.

This is as absolutely valid in the body as it is in the mind.  Every cell is awake, alive and present.  Full realization is not just a state of mind.  Full realization is a full body-mind-consciousness experience.  Each cell is as awake and alive as every other.  Each aspect of personality is radiating in clear and perceptible expression of its true nature and is only lightly veiled by the colors of individuality.

In the mind we follow our thoughts, qualities and traits inward to discover their source.  In the body we follow sensations, qualities and traits to their source.  The body-mind field is the field of chitta – consciousness.  Body and mind are utterly and inextricably linked.  We can enter the body through the mind and we can enter the mind through the body.  As consciousness exists in every cell it is entirely reasonable to consider delving deeply into the field of consciousness by delving deeply into the field of cellular awareness.

As we deepen our experience of body we come to realize that there really is no separation between body and mind at all!  What we find at the subtle levels of body is consciousness and what we find at the subtle levels of mind is consciousness.  In fact wherever we go in to the body-mind system ultimately leads us to the same source - the limitless field of pure-being, cosmic intelligence.

Well-said...

 

Eka