union

I'm trying to find a way to get more in touch with my body. I know that sounds silly, because I'm right here, I'm mostly body. But I rarely feel it, only when it aches. I rarely revel in the wonder that is my body. Even in its overweight and decrepit state, this body is miraculous. This body moves through the day, executing the tasks my mind endeavors it should take. But do I take even a half hour out a day to honor this wondrous creation? This miracle of biology, this manifestation of a union my mother and father engaged in 48 years ago!

People like me don't give our bodies enough credit, hell, we don't give them any credit! Like a bad parent, the only time we really pay any attention to them is when they rebel. But I want to be a good parent to my body. I want to revere this envelope where my soul resides. I want to travel through my time here in a nice vehicle, not a clunker. And it was a nice vehicle. I just didn't get frequent tune-ups, neglected giving it the best fuel, and never took it on any carbon runs.

The problem is that I think of my body as a separate entity from my consciousness. But it is not. My body and my mind are one. Why isn't that part of my normal state of being? Why does everything my mind indulge in exclude my body? And what is the condition of working out known as the "zone?" Is that a union of mind and body?

The word "yoga" means union. And with the stretches and breathing you are supposed to attain a union between your mind and your body. The times I have practiced yoga consistently, I have felt this union, but only briefly. My body tends to take over my mind and vice versa. I can never find that balance. But that doesn't mean I won't keep searching. Maybe the key was in the breathing. The breath. The praña. Life force. Because don't let the arrogant mind forget that the body gives life to the mind and the mind animates the body. They need each other. Yin and Yang.

As long as I have this body, and as long as I have this mind, I will keep trying to get them together, no matter how hard they fight me to stay separate. Maybe it will be fleeting, maybe lasting.

My body and I. Hopefully we can find a way to get closer, to share this great experience known as “life” to the fullest, and come to a satisfying and lasting communion. My mind needs to give my body a little more time. I have to convince my mind that there is something in it for her if she works out. She’ll be smarter, perform more efficiently, and stay more in tune. I hope I can trick her into exercising more and bring these two together, for both their sakes.