I have a BA in Visual Arts, two yoga teacher training certificates (500+ hours) and over twenty years of practice. Yoga assists me in navigating my place in the world and to be my most energized self. I am studying Sanskrit to better understand Indian philosophy and clarify contemporary yoga practice.
“Wash the dust of life off of your soul” has a lot to do with Indian Philosophy around PRANA (life giving force) and what our body does with it. To put it simply- at some point I heard someone refer to the body at the “PRANA shield”. What this means (to me) is the natural filtration of the body has to hold onto some of the muck in order for it to not fully throw off our system. By working with yogic practices we clear off the shield assisting the flow of energy throughout the body. In this case the body and the soul are equated.
Another way we can assist the removal of energies coming from dealing with the excesses of society is by becoming immersed in the Arts. Eyes locked on a painting for hours. Reading a poem other and over until you commit it to memory without really meaning to, similar to all those songs you know the lyrics to when they are playing but if someone randomly asked you to write them down this would be like trying to write in another language. Complete Immersion. Creating art has it too, some call it being in “the flow” but from my personal experience I have began to believe it goes beyond the space of physical creation and can connect to a much more “other worldly” type of phenomenon given the allowance to do so. I am sure there are more things that one can say “wash the dust of life off your soul”, these are the ones that stick with me most.
Two things which have been in my life for an extraordinary amount of time are Art & Yoga. Both have held space for discipline, daily doings, spiritual practices, therapy, income and most of all determination to experience what this life has to offer.
When it comes to Art I am exploring digital drawing, painting and collage. Which all started with the piece on the right (there are others on the front page). I am sensing an interesting type of freedom in working this way but at the same time miss the sensory inputs from the hands on processes of making physical pieces of Art.
When it comes to Yoga I have expanded and brought awareness to a variety of kinds of Yoga. For clarity purposes when I say “kinds” I am not speaking about the various so described “styles” of yoga. I am specifically referring to schools of philosophy as well as that which is named in the Bhagavad Gita. I am of course not even close to anything like an expert, nor do I want to be, what I am meaning is I explored, a lot. While I love my physical practice, contemplations and breath works I am spending a fair amount of time studying Indian Philosophy via the study of Sanskrit.
This has assisted me in broadening my understanding of my own practice but also in how it has been expounded to me. The methodology and inner workings of our body and energetic system are fascinating to me and I have found that Sanskrit is the way for me to attune as much as possible in this lifetime. Specifically speaking, pairing this knowledge with active practice and allowing this to move me closer to a more purposeful life. There’s a saying I have been hearing lately which I believe will be helpful to you as it has to me: “ICHA (purpose) KRIYA (action) GYANA (knowledge)”. What this means (to me) is that true knowledge only comes AFTER taking action on the purpose.
When it comes to being creative as in making art in some way (drawing, painting, mixed media etc) I have always had this easy connection to wanting to do that. The drive to create has been very strong. While in the last couple years or so I have lost this connection to this ease, the ability to do it hasn’t waned at all. Which is interesting. This to me is like when you hear people say everyone is so creative when they are kids but then life throws a wet blanket on it. This has been a very interesting experience which brought me to a much more grateful position in regards to what I choose to do with my creativity. What kept this in line was hands down the practice of Yoga, in particular Asana and the study of Chakras. A whole world to explore.
I love you, go live your life
FAERN
