Harmonizing Home with Yoga by munificent Blog entry

Blog: Yoga Path
by munificent

Harmonizing Home with Yoga

Sacred Space in new Place-I have a meditation room at my new place- Yipee

Date: 5/10/2005 10:31:43 AM ( 19 y ) ... viewed 1407 times

Harmonizing Our Homes With Yoga
from Christan Hummel

Using Yoga to Create Sacred Space in Our Homes
The beating of a shaman's drum, the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, stone monuments in Ireland, a Hopi medicine wheel, the ancient art of feng shui – all have something in common: each in their own way are attempts by different cultures to harmonize their space with their environment. Temples throughout time, from Stonehenge to the Great Pyramid, attest to humanity's desire to create sacred space, to open a doorway to bring Heaven to Earth. For thousands of years, humans have been striving towards a sacred union of mind, body and spirit with the land itself.

In ancient Vedic times, it was the natural state for people to be in tune with the core of their innermost being, and thus a natural communion with Nature resulted. The ancient Rishis worshipped the mountains and rivers as sacred, and to their finely tuned senses, the inherent divinity residing with Nature was obvious and deserving of reverence.

Electromagnetic stresses, pollution, and negative vibrational energy currents plague us in a manner unprecedented in human history. Under these conditions, is it still possible to create sacred space? Is it possible to apply the science of yoga and the wisdom of the ancients to promote harmony in our homes?

The ancient practice of yoga, of integration of mind–body-spirit can harmonize us, as well as our environments. As in ancient times, the utilization of yoga techniques to become attuned to nature can help us regain this lost inherent wisdom of how to live in harmony with our environment.

The Earth As Holographic Reflection:

Many indigenous cultures throughout the world have viewed the Earth as a holographic reflection of the human body. Ancient Chinese and Vedic medicine believed that humans possess a meridian system that carries the currents of life energy throughout our bodies. When they are open, flowing and healthy, so are our body’s systems.

The earth contains these meridians as well. They have been known by cultures all over the world for thousands of years. More recently coined “ley lines” by Alfred Watkins in 1921 in England, this concept has now found its way into the common vernacular of our society.

While most homes do not exist on ley lines, there are all other energetic earth currents that influence our home environments. Some of these “meridians” are polluted with electro stresses as well as negative vibrational toxins such as battles, massacres and the like. These vibrations are stored in the records of the land itself, reflecting back to its inhabitants and causing serious illness, even death in extreme cases. Fortunately, these energetic currents respond positively to spiritual impression. As a result, the vibrational stresses of the average home can be transformed through the same yogic techniques that transform those stresses in our minds and bodies.

As Withing, So Without

To bring harmony and purity to our homes, we first have to understand that our external environment is only a reflection of our inner state. In The Upanishads, one of the great ancient yogic texts, we are reminded:
“As is the atom, so is the universe.
As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.
As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind.
As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm.”
From the atom to the cosmos, Nature’s laws and order are reflected. All of life is connected to this same order: the human body, our homes, and the cosmos.

Distortions arising in our physical environment are symptoms of minds and emotions that are out of synch with this natural order. As the ancient science of Sthapatya Ved says:
As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.
As is the human body, so is the body (structure) of the building.
As is the body of the building, so is the cosmic body
As is the building plan, so is the cosmic plan.
So by demonstrating harmony in our inner environment, outer environment will begin to reflect that harmony as well.

While yoga can restore the flow of Ch’i through our bodies, the same yogic practices of meditation, sacred movement, sound, and ceremony can also create balance, flow, prosperity and peace in our homes.

Our ancient ancestors knew that meditation, ritual and ceremony were an essential part of keeping in balance the harmony between humanity and Nature. They routinely practiced a kind of yoga with the land, to keep life in balance. While this is a tradition lost to most of us in our modern culture, yoga holds a key to its revival.