Yoga / Life and beyond

A class on Tuesday mornings.  A wait-listed member (ME)  found a spot and spread her mat for yoga.   I’m sharing my Tuesday musings with you here.

With the normal format completed, it was time for Shavasana.  In more ways than one, this is my favourite.   The most challenging yet easiest.  It’s difficult if you have to go blank, but it’s simple if you have a stream of thoughts.

A little backstory for today.  A message about the death of a lady in the next block, a communication to inform everyone, most likely triggered this cascade of thoughts that burst here on my mat.   Despite the fact that I did not know her personally, the knowledge that she would not be a part of this planet anymore was something that got me thinking.

Who would choose to die? Unless you live a horrific existence, hardly many.   Many of us, like myself, are terrified of death.  My fear of death, however, has nothing to do with the world in which I live.   I am not afraid of parting with material possessions, relationships, or bonds.  As the story progresses, I’ll get to my worries.

For a few minutes, lying there like a dead body (Shavasana) is good because you know when the time is up, Sir will instruct us to stir, become conscious of our breath, turn to the right, and sit up.  It’s described as rejuvenating and meditative.   On a yoga mat, I still need to enter that contemplative state.   I’m doing my best and will succeed sooner than later.

As promised, I’ll return to my anxieties of dying.   I am afraid of the darkness and the trek that must be undertaken alone.  I’m curious if the pyre flames pain because they will burn my skin to the core, does my soul has a heart and mind even though life has ended.  If it does, it will feel, and if it feels, it will hurt.   No one knows because no one has returned to tell us the story of how what we get from the moment you were reported dead to wherever we ended up. I’m curious if there will be boarding gates and sign boards.   What are the requirements for admission to what we call hell or heaven?   Will it be our karma / deeds or the power of our bones that we have left behind on this planet?  Will the genuine and honest receive express access, or will they face the brunt of walking the straight line, as on Earth?  We’ve all had loved ones who have died and whom we missed while we were still alive.  Will we be able to see them again, hug them, and tell them about what they missed?

It’s amusing, but someone has taught us how to be decent in order to get to reach heaven after death.  It is being modified, repacked, reconstructed, and taught to children, and those children, as adults pass on these lessons further….again, adjusted to suit the times in which they live.  Nobody has authenticated it or issued us a certificate of authenticity.  A chain that will continue indefinitely.

If possible, travel alone. If you want to go on an adventure and see a new place.   However, travelling alone after death is unsettling.   Also, as they say, ‘you come alone, you go alone’ which means we have no choice.

Time heals, and the death is inevitable if you have life.   Those we thought were irreplaceable in every aspect are replaced as time passes and life moves on.

It’s time to wake up, feel my breath and shake up, and return to the real world, good or terrible.   As I rolled up my yoga mat to leave the class, my mind and thoughts lingered on the hazy grey line that separates life from death.