KARMA YOGA AND
THE PHYSICAL BODY!
"EMBODYING" KARMA !
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KARMA YOGA CAN BE PRACTICED ON THE LEVEL OF THE VERY FIRST DIMENSION OF THE SELF THAT WE ARE AWARE OF THE PHYSICAL BODY. HOW IS THE PHYSICAL BODY INFLUENCED BY KARMIC MEMORY? AND HOW CAN WE USE THE PHYSICAL BODY TO BE FREE OF THE CYCLICAL BONDAGE OF KARMA?
THERE ARE MANY IMPERCEPTIBLE WAYS IN WHICH THE KARMIC STRUCTURE INFLENCES AND EVEN DISTORTS THE PHYSICAL BODY . IT IS NOT MERELY YOUR LIFESTYLE - WHAT YOU EAT, WHAT YOU DRINK, WHAT YOU INHALE - THAT HAS AN IMAPCT ON YOUR BODY. THE SUBTLEST ASPECTS OF YOUR THOUGHT AND EMOTION CAN ALSO INFLUENCE THE PHYSICAL.
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START WITH A SIMPLE EXAMPLE. YOU CAN USUALLY TELL IF A PERSON IS HAPPY OR DESPONDENT IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR FACE. IF YOU BECOME MORE OBSERVANT, YOU WILL FIND THAT WHEN DISTURBED, PEOPLE ACTUALLY SIT OR STAND DIFFERENTLY. OVERTIME, THESE POSTURES TURN HABITUAL AND HARDEN INTO VASANAS, OR TENDENCIES.
NOW, THE MIND DOES DIFFERENT THINGS ON DIFFERENT DAYS. ONE DAY IT IS JOYFUL, THE NEXT DAY, IT IS DEPRESSED, THE THIRD DAY, IT IS STRESSED. IN THE PROCESS, IT IS NOT MERELY DISTORTING YOUR VISION OF REALITY, IT IS DISTORTING YOUR BODY AS WELL.
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THINK OF ALL THE UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT HAPPEN ON A DAILY BASIS THAT ARE NOT IN YOUR CONTROL. IF EVERY LITTLE PCYCHOLOGICAL EVENT WERE TO RESHAPE YOU, YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT A COMPLETE DISTORTION YOU WOULD HAVE BECOME IN A FEW YEARS! THE DISTORTION WILL HAPPEN DRAMATICALLY ON AN ENERGY LEVEL, BUT IT WILL TAKE TIME TO MANIFEST PHYSIOLOGICALLY.
IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY AT PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH A CERTAIN LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL STRESS RECENTLY, YOU WILL NOTICE SMALL CHANGES IN THEIR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. OFTEN, IT THE LEFT EYE APPEARS SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE RIGHT, YOU CAN BE QUITE CERTAIN THAT THEY HAVE BEEN GOING THOUGH SOME EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS (UNLESS, OF COURSE, THEY WERE BORN THAT WAY). THIS IS BECAUSE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BODY IS ALWAYS ASSOCIATED IN YOGA WITH THE EMOTIONAL LIFE OF THE HUMAN BEING AND THE FEMININE DIMENSION, SYMOLIZED BY THE MOON WITH ITS CYCLES OF WAXING AND WARNING.
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DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE KARMIC MEMORY, CERTAIN PARTS OF THE BODY ALSO BEHAVE IN CERTAIN WAYS. YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THIS ABOUT YOUR OWN BODY. YOU MAY EXERCISE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, BUT ONE MUSCLE IN YOUR BODY IS INVARIABLY LESS COOPERATIVE THAN THE OTHERS. YOU MAY CHECK IT OUT WITH A DOCTOR, OR TAKE MRI.
BOTH WILL MOST LIKELY TELL YOU THAT THE MUSCLE IS PERFECTLY FINE. BUT YOUR KARMIC, INHERITANCE SHAPES THE SKELETAL SYSTEM AND MUSCULATURE IN VERY SINGULAR WAYS. NOT EVERY MUSCLE IS EQUALLY STRONG OR CAPABLE.
AGAIN, IF YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE BODY, YOU WILL SEE THAT IN SOME PARTS OF THE PHYSICAL SYSTEM, YOU FEEL NO SENSATION AT ALL. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE ARE BLOCKS OR GAPS IN THE SENSORY PROCESS. THIS AGAIN IN BECAUSE THE KARMA CREATES ITS OWN STRUCTURE. BASED ON THIS KARMIC INFORMATION, THE PHYSICAL BODY TAKES A PARTICULAR SHAPE.
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MODERN MEDICINE IS NOW WELL AWARE OF THE NOTION OF PSYCHOSOMATIC AILMENT. THIS ACKNOWLEDGES THE INSEPARABILITY OF THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL BODIES. AS WE HAVE SEEN EARLIER, FOR EVERY SENSATION, THERE IS A MENTAL FLUCTUATION AND A CORRESPONDING CHEMIC REACTION. THE SAME PROCESS ALSO WORKS IN REVERSE. YOUR PHYSICAL STRUCTURE, CONSITUTION, AND GENERAL HEALTH ARE DECIDED BY THIS RELETLESS PROCESS.
THIS IS WHY YOGA WORKS SO CLOSELY WITH POSTURE, ATTITUDE, AND INTENTION. IF A CERTAIN AWARENESS IS BROUGHT INTO THESE ASPECTS OF THE SELF, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MIND OR IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD WILL NOT AFFECT THE BODY. WHEN YOU ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTRAUGHT, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO HOLD YOUR BODY CONSCIOUSLY, BECAUSE YOUR KARMIC SUBSTANCE IS TRYING TO SHAPE YOUR BODY ACCORDING TO ITS DISTORTIONS. THIS EXPLAINS THE ENORMOUS CARE BROUGHT INTO THE PRACTICE OF ASANAS AND PRANAYAMA (PHYSICAL POSTURES AND BREATHING PROCESSES) IN YOGA.
