Bakasana B for 5; the thinking beyond thinking
Posted in ashtanga yoga, zen on 05/10/2010 07:35 am by karenBakasana B rolls around. Try the first one — plunk! Uh oh! I can’t do this anymore! Second one — kinda plunk. Hmmm. Third one — no thinking about how to do it, just jump. Catch it, then fall back. Think, “Lean forward just a smidge.”
Fourth, no thinking but a little forward-leaningness tucked in my tummy. Nail it. Hold for 5 breaths.
Cool.
***
Listened a bit this morning to Taigen Dan Leighton of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, a Soto zen school in Chicago. Taigen Dan Leighton translated one of my very favorite zen books, Cultivating the Empty Field, which are the writings of Zen Master Hongzhi.
Anyhow there was some discussion of “the thinking beyond thinking” and also how we “express the dream within the dream.” These are common zen concepts, but I’ve got to tell you, Ashtanga practice has helped me see into them more clearly than just doing zazen.
I know there’s always discussion among practitioners about doing more sitting meditation, and I think that’s just fine. But if you are thinking that sitting meditation is better than moving meditation, well, I’d say you’re setting up opposites. A little zazen or some more Ashtanga will probably help you see that. 