How to hold your body
Awake awareness
If you consciously walk a tightrope, you have no choice but to be aware. If your intellect is constantly choosing between good and bad, it has become a prejudiced intellect. And when it is busy sorting the world into good and bad, you will most definitely fall off the tightrope.
Don’t take the tightrope literally. You could just try bringing a certain precision into the physical movements of the body. (If you have a hatha yoga practice, it should happen anyway).
For instance, if you see a straight line on the floor, try walking in perfect alignment with that line, maintaining an easy gait. This is not about becoming self-conscious, but about becoming precise into every movement, every gesture. This is one way of dipping your intellect in awareness.
The body responds the moment its in touch with earth
That is why spiritual people in India walked barefoot and always sat on the ground in a posture that allowed maximum area of contact with the earth. In this way, the body is given a strong experiential reminder that it is just a part of this earth. Never is the body allowed to forget its origins. When its allowed to forget, it often starts making fanciful demands; when it is constantly reminded, it knows its place. This contact with earth is vital reconnection of the body with its physical source. This restores stability to the system and enhances the human capacity for rejuvenation greatly. This explains there are so many people who claim that their lives have been magically transformed just by taking up a simple outdoor activity like gardening.
Today, the many artificial ways in which we distance ourselves from the earth—in the form of pavements and multistoried structures, or even the widespread trend of wearing high heels—involves an alienation of the part from the whole and suffocates the fundamental life process. This alienation manifests in large-scale autoimmune disorders and chronic allergic conditions.
If you tend to fall sick very easily, you could just try sleeping on the floor (minimal organic separation). If you can find a tree that looks lively to you, in terms of an abundance of fresh leaves or flowers, go spend some time around it. Have your breakfast or lunch under that tree. As you sit under the tree, remind yourself: ‘This very earth is my body. I take this body from the earth and give it back to the earth. I consciously ask Mother Earth now to sustain me, hold me, keep me well.’ You will find your body’s ability to recover is greatly enhanced. Or if you have turned all your trees into furniture, collect some fresh soil and cover your feet and hands with it. Stay that way for twenty to thirty minutes. This could help your recovery significantly.
