Quirkles and Samskaras Go Together

This morning I started out thinking about samskaras and ended up in a field of dandelions :D

Several things come to mind, here......

First of all, my recent discussion with a friend about how, I try so hard to discipline myself to do something "productive" (subjective, of course) and I end up taking pictures or journaling or sweeping my siddhi or lying in a field of dandelions!

Oh!  Back to samskaras...  What are they anyway?  

"Samskara is a Sanskrit word which roughly translates as a habit or pattern, in this context it can be seen as a habit or pattern which exists at the physical level or one that exists due to how we perceive and think."

Hmmm...

Thinking about samskaras led me to some absolutely stunning photos of patterns in nature!  Yet again, I got "lost" for some 30 minutes.....lol

 For my friend, Elizabeth, who loves dandelions.  
Isn't this simply breathtaking?

If you happen to be one of my students, you already know that one of the foundations of IYT is the belief that humans exist on many levels, i.e., the "koshas"...in a nutshell...the combo meal of physical body, energetic body, emotional body, wisdom body, and bliss body.  

"When any of these "bodies" is individually or collectively injured and our experience is not fully integrated, a samskara results."

Hmmm.

Here is just one very simple example, of many:

"The body inherently seeks balance. (LOVE THAT!) When we are physically injured, the body ‘copes’ by borrowing resources from other places; in the quest for survival the body re-creates balance. Different muscles are called into action to support the injured area. As these muscles are activated, and others are de-activated so they may rest and heal, we unconsciously change the way we move and hold the body. This coping mechanism remains long after the injury is healed and becomes a ‘habitual’ movement pattern. This manifests as the chronically tight neck, that one hip that just always seems out….the list can seem endless at times. Most physical trauma has an emotional component whether that emotion is present at the time of the injury or develops as a result of the injury. In either case, if these emotions are not processed they remain locked in the physical and energetic bodies."

Hmmm.

Read that again.  (I did!)

And if that's not enough to getcha thinkin, try this on for size....

"Emotional injury is stored in essentially the same way. A traumatized child will learn to hold their breath in order not to be seen or heard. When our self esteem is injured we learn to close our hearts and develop rounded shoulders, or we become quite military in our bearing, armored against attack. The practices of Yoga offer us a gentle way to open and explore these injuries to the bodymind."

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa!

There is so much more to learn about samskaras.  If you are interested, check out Yoga Journal or the IYT website......otherwise, I could ramble for days!  ;)

My main thought is this:  What happens when we decide to change some of those samskaras (no matter how we go about it)?  

I just wonder ---- what does that invoke IN YOU?  What picture comes to mind?  Devastation?  Or a living, breathing creature in flight?  Just curious......

And, by the way, I think I just need to declare to myself and the Universe...

I.

DIGRESS.

ALOT! 

Heh.  Maybe that's my own samskara.  One of many...

And also a great idea for a T-shirt!  ;)







*excerpts from "Healing and Releasing Samskaras – A Somatic Approach" by Sandra Coombe