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Writer's pictureElizabeth Reumont

One Becomes Many, Always the One


A short story of Embryology goes something like this:

Once, there was an Ovum. It was single-pointed, perfect and complete in every way. Along came a sperm and fused with the ovum, and in an act nothing short of a miracle, the story of dimensionality began. One point became two, two became four, and an explosion of geometry occurred as

</blockquote simultaneous geometrical patterning resulted in a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted sentient being. As human beings, both our bodies and our minds are highly developed and complex. The mind, with its seemingly limitless capacity to wave and wander is not unlike our own developmental process with fractals of mental activity splitting and dividing before huge, seemingly nonsensical leaps are made to create something new entirely. In fact, the mind's activities can end up taking over our very existence if left untamed. A great many people pride themselves on their ability to multitask, continually chasing after the 'firecrackers' of thought almost as if an escape from focusing on the present moment. This leads us to feeling uprooted, detatched from where we came from and who we are. In fact, we are just as perfect and complete as we were as a single cell. In all our complexities and superficial differences between other wings it can be easy to forget we all come from that same perfect cell. Yoga, the state of fusing two things together as one, happens in the present moment (see Atha Yoga Anushasanam, YS I.1) when the mind is unattached to memories of the past or expectations about the future. In Sanskrit, the word for moment is ksana, or point. Our lives are a long, uninterrupted sequence of these moments strung together. The word for an uninterrupted sequence of events is krama in Sanskrit. When the mind isn’t focused on the present moment we are unaware of these specific points in time, and life can feel more like a fluid continuum, or a chaotic unravelling than defined moments. It isn’t until we are questioned to reflect back on our life when a given krama has completed, that we are able to see events as specific moments (see kshana-pratiyogi parinama-aparanta nirgrahyah kramah -PYS IV.33). The vinyasa (vi-order; nyasa-conscious placement) yoga practice is a krama in itself, an uninterrupted process of ksanas with a beginning and end that allows us to practice being present in each moment. We experience each asana build, reach its apex and dissolve into the next, led by the breath and a focused intention outside of ourselves, existing outside of space and time. Regular practice on the mat may inspire us to enjoy each moment in our lives as they take form, blossom and dissolve. This in itself can improve our focus and clarity, and more importantly, cultivates gratitude and compassion off the mat. Afterall, each and every one of us came from a perfect and complete cell and that cell makes us who we are today; perfect and complete.

This is perfect. That is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect; the remainder is perfect. May peace and peace and peace be everywhere. -Invocation to the Isha Upanishad<;;;/blockquote

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