Thursday, July 16, 2009

Purifying the Body

I read a recent post at one of my favorite blogs, Sexual Alchemy, in which someone commented that she hated the concept of purifying the body. I understand where she was coming from, rebelling against the notion that there is something wrong with the body so that it has to be purified before it can be sacred. I'm not at all saying that there is something wrong with the body, BUT . . .

I do like the idea of purifying the body in a different sense. I consider the body to be like a fine instrument, and just like a fine instrument, it needs to be kept in tune. The more pure the body is, the more sensitive it is, and the more refined I can be in my use of it.

An example of this is taking a nice long bath. When I am done, my skin is soft and very sensitive. It picks up sensations more easily than when I haven't bathed in a while. It enhances my sensuality.

One way that I keep my body pure is by noticing how what I eat affects my energy and my sensitivities. I find that eating lots of veggies and fruit to keep my body alkaline helps a lot in how I feel. Then I'm more inclined to use my body in pleasurable ways that lead to an ecstatic expansive experience. If I eat meat, it grounds my energy more than I'd like, so I avoid it. This is a practical choice, not an ethical one. I don't consider it morally superior to be a vegetarian, I just like how it feels. Broccoli has just as much life force as a cow, in my opinion. We take life each time we eat.

Yoga is another way to keep the body pure. As I move through my daily practice, the twists and stretches open the body so it is available for energy to move. Often I only spend a short time doing yoga, but even that is useful.

I could go on about all the ways I keep my body pure, but I think I've made my point. Caring for the body, as a beautiful temple for the spirit, keeps it sensitive, responsive and open for energies to move through.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to Say but you have never done Yoga, what you do is just a set of some Postures. Yoga is not about postures at all.

The word Yoga itself means connecting the individual soul to the ultimate supreme soul.

Also, as you might know that our minds have a huge impact on our bodies. So, just simply forget about purifying the body without purifying the mind first.

Any sort of Yogic practice and purification stuff can be taken into consideration only after following the Yama & Niyama in full.

To know more just search for the above terms in google.

To have a life changing insight on the true sense of Spirituality, that will prove everything to you with logic just go to "www.jkp.org"

I'm just a devotee and do not get any benefit from the above stuff just incase you might think otherwise.

Go Break The Illusion Of Maya - Change Your Life

Anonymous said...

Go check this direct link http://www.barsanadham.org/icn/ to view the speeches daily on your TV Subscription. These are in Hindi but may include English Sub-Titles. Also, navigate through www.jkp.org in full and get the complete juice out of all its sections.

Only, then you will be able to make a knowledgeable decision about letting it go or moving forward to change your life for good.

After all this golden chance of human birth is achieved only once in trillions of years, so its worth not waiting that long to give this a try the next time.

Kevin M said...

I think it's unfair to say she has never done Yoga. From a few sentences you seem to climb the Ladder of Inference and arrive at a conclusion that is unsupported by the original statements she made. I suspect you are probably reacting to the phenomenon that many Americans use the asanas in Hatha Yoga as mere exercise, without a spiritual or meditative component. Given her spiritual orientation, I suspect that her practice of Yoga is quite in tune with the concepts your refer to. Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps you be believe the only "true Yoga" is Raja Yoga? Or am I climbing the Ladder of Inference, too?

Selena Truth said...

Kevin,
Thanks for your comments. I agree with them.

And to "anonymous": Isn't it a little arrogant to tell me I have never done yoga without knowing what my spiritual experiences have been? I understand your frustration with the way that yoga is viewed in this country as a set of physical exercises. I share that -- well, not frustration, but an awareness that yoga is so much more than asana. I live by the yamas and niyamas. I've had many experiences of merging with the Divine, which is really what yoga is about.

If you really want to convince people that your way is right (which I'm not recommending), you might try not insulting them to start with. It doesn't create much openness for the rest of your message.

Blessings on your path. May it serve you well.

zzswitch said...

Getting back to the blog itself: I get what Ms. Truth is saying. The term “purifying the body” means 2 very different things here—one implying that the body is pure by nature but can become polluted by outside sources (Ms. Truth’s definition) and the other implying the body is impure by nature and must be purified of its inherently sinful nature (the definition the Sexual Alchemy commentator complains about). The S.A. comment is likely a reaction to the teachings of most patriarchal religions that the body itself in impure. The S.A. commentator is opposed to this idea of innate impurity. From her blog, Ms. Truth seems to agree that the body itself is not inherently impure. I’m guessing that the S.A. commentator might even agree with Ms. Truth’s idea—that the body can become polluted by external sources, and thus needs protection (in the form of proper diet . . . etc.) and cleansing(in the form of hatha yoga, etc.) to rid it of impurities. I find myself agreeing with both the S.A. commentator and Ms. Truth, and I think they probably agree with each other in their concepts if not their use of words.

Women Awakened said...

I find that daily practice of chakra cleansing is very important to me, as a sort of "energy hygiene". If you aren't running your own energy, you are likely to be running someone else's.

Anonymous said...

This gave me room to pause.

Growing up in the Mormon church the phrase of the body as a temple is common, but it never made sense to me because any they see pleasure derived from this temple is strictly restricted to procreation. After all is said and done, due to this twisted mentality of sexuality, my body has been tainted by a sexual frustration rooted in distorted believes about the body being impure. I don't believe this, but one some level my subconscious still acts upon this idea that the body and sexual pleasure is impure, and it sabotages me. I want to embrace the sacredness of my body and sexual pleasure but don't know where to begin. The idea about diet choice keeps coming back to my mind and finding diet is a hard habit to change. Anyways thanks for the food for thought, I find your blog and perspective fascinating. I will add you to the links on my own blog.

james said...

Oh, the sanctified arrogance of the young devotee!

Yes its true, there are many levels to yoga. Some consider the physical postures of hath yoga to be the lowest form; yet there's no question but that that the physical postures CAN help a person enhance their SPIRITUAL energy flow, provided they have the LOVING ATTITUDE for it... something Selena clearly has, while the arrogant commentator does not.

Sigh.

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