USING THE BODY

[Pravin Kumar]

Using the Body:

Regardless of what it is if it’s of the mind it creates bondage. The only way this is broken is by using the body as an anchor as the body is simply always in the present moment.

The importance of developing a sitting practice is in how this develops discipline which allows the mind to settle enough so one is in the present more often than not. The breath is used for this because it anchors you in the body which is always in the present. You never take a past or future breath, you can only take a breath in the present, this is why the breath is used. It's the same reason chants are used, when Om is used, you don't Om in the past or the future, you Om right now, when this is done it anchors you in the body which is always in the Now. The mind for most is constantly in the past or future, there are times when it's present, but this is fleeting and mostly occurs because of happenstance. The body is a great anchor to use in a sitting practice because there's no way it can't be present. This doesn't prevent anything from happening, but what it does do is it allows for one's awareness to be with what's happening instead of having resisting energy trying to use something to push it away. This resisting energy is at the core of how addictions manifest.

Besides a sitting practice, I often use the tool of simply looking down at my feet and since wherever my feet are there I am, it also anchors me in the present. This is also why one uses a mindfulness practice, such as walking meditation because as you are mindful of each step, you're anchored in the body which as stated before, is always in the present moment. Life is magical in relation to the things that occur for one's energy to be transformed to form, but there's nothing magical in being present for what's actually happening, as long as one is aware that it's not happening to you, it's just what's happening, you just happen to be present to observe it.

MICHAEL CUPO