The Yogi
The Yogi can come and go from the heavenly realms in his mortal body; he can move as fast as the mind and has the power of traveling through space. There is no other way of achieving this.
-The Gheranda Samhita
The yogi should visualize a sublime ocean of nectar in his heart, with an island of jewels in its middle whose sand is made of gemstones.
-The Gheranda Samhita
The Yogi quickly attains the most beautiful practice who every day has conviction in his learning, conviction in his guru, conviction in his self, and awakening of his mind.
-Gheranda Samhita
This week I read The Gheranda Samhita. It is a classic work, and the foundation of Hatha Yoga. It's basically a conversation between a Guru and a Yogi. It explains in detail, ways to reach perfection. Many of the stanzas are way over my head, and I have no idea what they mean, but I was able to pull some insightful gems from it. The original yogi's stripped themselves of all worldly distractions. They were in a constant search for the truth. Yoga came about to prepare themselves for meditation. They would sit all day in meditation, and they found themselves, weak and fragile. So they developed postures and poses to strengthen the body. They came to realize that yoga and meditation were the same thing. They both required breath. I am trying to do things beyond my capabilities. To bring out the true yogi in myself. I found a tiny bit of it this week. 103 miles of running, 10 hours of yoga, and 6 hours of meditation have brought me to a place of uncomfortable peace. I am becoming stronger in being able to calm the mind during intense movement. My feet hurt and I'm tired. Where do you hold back? What is the limit? Should I do more this week? I have no clue, let's see.....