can be traced in the visible and invisible bodies and in the known and
unknown channels that transpierce our whole body and are known as
nadi. Kundalini is cognate to the experience of samadhi; it is not a
shortcut, a mechanical device that can be activated in order to circum
vent the long effort of integration of the five sheaths of body to soul.
I can assure you that everyone seeks samadhi, and most of us seek
shortcuts to get there. Those of you modestly struggling to join your
hands behind your back (as well as round your knee!) after several
years of practice of twistings, may well exclaim, "What can samadhi
possibly have to do with me?" Well, for a start, from early chapters,
you will have understood that penetration is possible in any asana that
you can perform with reasonable proficiency. You may well be going
further inside yourself with a few good asanas you can do rather than
the one next to you in class, who can do forty with apparent ease. That
does not mean we should not strive continually to extend our range. A
musical composer may not play every instrument in the orchestra per
fectly, but if he wants to write a symphony, he must get to grips with
the potential of each one; he must find what it can contribute to the
whole, from the French horn to the humble triangle. We have a triangle
pose in yoga (Trikonasana), and I assure you that when I lost every
thing in my physical practice in 1979 due to a severe accident, re
learning Trikonasana, from the soles of my feet up, made me a master
of teaching it in a way I never was before.
What do I mean when I say "everyone seeks samadhi"? Not just
through yoga, the slow, sure, safe, and proven method. People seek
samadhi through drugs, alcohol, the danger of extreme sports, the ro
manticism of music, the beauty of nature, and the passion of sexuality.
There are a thousand ways, and they all involve the transcendence of
the suffering ego in a blissful fusion with an entity much greater than
ourselves. When we shed a tear for the two lovers united at the l'nd of
a film, or for a character reformed and redeemed, Wl' art• l'Xprt·ssing
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