...I’ve got all my yoga books arranged on a windowsill...I’ve read a whole bunch...and most have a lotta good stuff in ‘em...even if they also, sometimes, include stuff that makes me gag...and, no, I’m not talking about that vastra dhauti thing where you swallow the twenty-foot-long cloth...though, yeah, that’d probably make me gag, too...
...one instruction you see commonly in books on yoga and/or meditation is practice in a part of your house that you don’t use for anything else...to which I tend to reply, with, uncharacteristic as it might seem for one so pious and reverent as myself, some sarcasm: why just a part of my house? Why not tell the servants to clear out one of my guest cottages?
...nonetheless, in my new place, small as it is, I’ve managed to reserve a tiny room to be, if not technically a yoga room, as I’m not gonna be using it exclusively for practicing yoga, at least a relatively yogic room....that’s where the aforementioned books are, along with some poetry, and various art objects, that big round piece of coral I found kayaking in St. Lucia, a couple candles people gave me, and an incense burner, arranged on the broad windowsill...and there’s no furniture, just some cushions on the floor, and my small moon and stars rug and purple yoga block and yoga mat...and some mellow artworks on the walls...like Alfred Sisley’s Meadow...see above...and it’s where I’m sitting typing this with my laptop on the rug right now...
...if I really wanted to be all cosmic and spiritual about it, I’d point out that the room is at the front of the house, in the middle, on the third (top) floor...and has windows that, if anything was, would have to be called the building’s third eye...
...the idea, really is simply a peaceful space...no work I don’t really want to do, no reading political blogs and leaving ranting comments, no cranking up the old Stones, Clash, or Kings of Leon albums and stomping around...that has probably more to do with what my intentions are before going in than anything else...simply the conscious decision to go into a space that’s specifically set aside for cultivating that ever elusive opposite of angst...
...and, I gotta admit that, today, coming in for the first time since it’s been officially the mellow room rather than simply the one room without boxes and crap piled everywhere, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at what I’ve found...
18 comments:
Mellow sounds good! Uncluttered sounds even better!
I love that your mellow room is situated in the third eye region of your house. Excellent vibrations!
Happiness is a mellow room :)
Knowing that you have this room makes me want to cheer. Just reading about it is soothing :)
jealous
I'm feelin' all peaceful 'n stuff just reading this, drjay, for which I thank you, as I'm getting ready for my family's arrival... hmmm, that 20-ft. cloth doesn't sound so bad. Kidding...of course.
I like your exclusion of "...work I don’t really want to do" from your peace place. Sounds like a good move to keep the icky stuff from seeping into your mellowness and tend to what is needed, not required.
Enjoy!
Calm places are great but they're hard in small spaces. (Apparently rhyming isn't, though.) It's a good thing to strive for.
Nice posting. Do you know about these yoga books?
http://www.YogaVidya.com/ss.html
Since I retired-I used to work from home-and my daughter moved out, my whole house has become this magical retreat. Sometimes I can't believe how quiet and peaceful it is. Walking up and down the stairs, making breakfast, going to the bathroom, whatever, has all become one long meditation.
Love this post! I'm a big believer in space being important after years of believing it didn't matter what I surrounded myself with or how things looked. To note, I hung a photograph of a man in front of a movie marquee for the Exorcist with a huge scar on his face above my computer -- it was a haunting photograph that I loved, but I realized it was in my love/relationship corner (according to a friend who knew about such things) and it definitely seemed to fit my love life at the time. As for writing, I make my office as beautiful and peaceful as possible and spend as much time there as possible to give the space more energy to help my work. It's been the best thing I've ever done for my writing. I like the idea of a yoga space!
This space sounds lovely! I had a good meditation pillow/corner in my old apartment, but this one bedroom I'm currently in doesn't have enough space for me to have a clutterless area.
Clarity begins with one small spot of clear.
Good for you. Everyone needs a tranquil place and space. The art with this gives off that vibe too.
Ouch!
Moving definitively would make my top 10 list of things I most dread :(
I just stopped to say hi!
I have started writing a book so my blog socializing has gone down the tubes.
but I can't quit because I feel I would let down the friends I've made :)
I'm venting to you cause you would understand my predicament.
Any way:
Thank you for stopping buy and for your nice comment!
namaste!
*shrug* if the clean lines and quiet space are what it takes then fill your life with clean lines and quiet spaces...I never notice if the space I am in is filled or empty, I am just not that functionally observant.
Ah, that comment about the servant's cottage made me laugh! Yes, I really must break ground on my new meditation palace one of these days...
Actually I did something similar recently, cleared out a little space in my apartment for my sketches as sort of a studio, it is very helpful to my concentration to have a dedicated space. Reminds me of that Clash song Back in the Garage.
I think yoga can be a part of everyday life that works in all situations. Some people can't go to a quiet, pristine place to do yoga. Of course, it's a blessing to have a yoga session separated from the bustle of everyday life. But for yoga to truly integrate it needs to be absolutely portable and tolerant of one's daily needs.
Jay, I have also read that piece of advice in meditation books--to save a particular room for only that one activity. I actually disagree with that sentiment, having lived in ULTRA tiny San Francisco apartments for so long. There, it is impossible (for any person of average to below average income) to find a place where you can allow a room for only 1 purpose that you use so little (relatively speaking--I don't know about you, but I only meditate/do yoga for 2 hours a day, *at most.*). I'd much rather see advice given as to how to transform oneself so that you can go to that place of meditation and clear out all the other energy. I feel we should be able to do this on a psychic level, if not a physical one.
Anyway, though--your new place sounds great and you seem to be settling in well. Good on ya, mate! (I'm channeling Svasti).
Ha ha ha!
Melinda
Yes, those books can make some mighty assumptions about class and income.
Glad you had the space to spare though.
Still De-Junking my place. I have kids though, so its a whole other issue at that point.
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