Body

I just erased a half done blog about an article I read about Tantra, an ancient eastern philosophy. It was starting to sound pedantic and heady. Since Tantra is about embracing experience fully and seeing everything as divine I decided to delete what I had written in honor of Tantra. The article is helping me to understand that different parts of me are not beter or worse than others. In non-dualistic Tantric philosophy the body and physical experience are seen as an aspect of the spiritual whole, not a second class citizen to be transcended in order to be holy. Today I was aware of the gorgeous warm sunny day and the movement of my body through space within it. I was so grateful to be in a body to be able to have this physical experience. This is very heightened right now because my body has been in pain from various injuries for the past few weeks. Walking through the park I felt grateful to be moving without pain. I realized how much I take for granted that my body doesn't hurt when it doesn't. When my body isn't in pain I am free to think about other things and forget I have a body.I want to start appreciating my body when it isn't screaming for my attention. Through my injuries I have learned to be more mindful of what my body is doing so I don't unconsciously hurt myself. This is the next step- to begin to honor my body because I have one. What would that look like? Some people who really enjoy making love understand paying attention to being aware of sensation and focusing on the body. I am a beginner in this area. It is very challenging for me to relax and get out of my head. I look forward to becoming more skillful at surrendering distractions sexually and being able to be more present. I have had glimpses in my life that making love can bring me closer to a sense of oneness with all there is- being in a body is a prerequisite. Gary is a good teacher. I am grateful. More later on sexuality. That's about as vulnerable as I can handle being right now.
Getting regular body work would be another way to honor the body. It is easy for me to get body work when I am hurting and I rarely get a massage or other body work when I just want to relax and treat my body kindly. Yoga and walking or any kind of physical exercize done with the idea of honoring the body rather than whipping it into shape also shows appreciation.
Noticing the things I do that aren't kind to my body would be helpful. What do I feed my body and how much sleep do I give it? Do I push myself beyond my energy instead of resting?
What is your relationship with your body like right now? How could you use your daily life to consciously honor your body?