Apricots Aplenty in the Yoga Borgo Garden
Well, it’s been awhile since my last blog contribution. It’s been a tough summer for me. I am happy to say that I have for now finished my chemo after 9 months of it. There is really no description of it other than “gnarly” which is American slang for “unpleasant” which would be a rather light definition. Well, now we move from chemo on to Radiation Therapy and we will see what healing that brings.
And speaking of healing, I tell you, in my opinion, there is no greater healing tonic than getting your fingers into the earth and getting some of that earthly healing potion under your finger nails. Many people even say we actually absorb many micro-nutrients from the soil. Me, I prefer to think of it as magic. I haven’t found any evidence to prove or disprove the theory but if plants can absorb the nutrients, why not us. I know I always feel wonderful after time in the garden dealing with plants, compost and organic earth. Time in the garden, even if it is just with the potted plants, always brings a certain excitement of anticipation of once again joining in this healing process. And with it, everybody wins…the earth, the plants, the gardener and of course the lucky ones that later get to eat the fresh and delicious bounty that comes.
This year I have to admit though that the garden has mostly been Sada Sat Kaur’s domain. My energy just has not been there except to help out with the occasional watering. Yet still I get great joy from her updates of what is growing and abounding.
Here are a few lines from a poem called “God’s Garden” by D.R. Gurney that expresses to me the joy of the garden:
“The warmth of the sun for pardon,
The sounds of the birds for mirth;
One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on Earth.”
When I read these lines, I sigh with a feeling of relaxation, joy and the knowledge that whatever comes, everything is going to be all right. And reading these words, I want to be in the garden, in the warmth of the sun letting the healing songs of the birds surround and embrace me.
As my cancer journey continues, I am always looking for new healing modalities. At the present, I am fully committed to my Western medical protocols but I also add alternative practices where the two are not contraindicated. As I mentioned earlier I just finished my chemo after nine months and I am looking forward to upping my dose of alternative therapies and gardening, even if most of my gardening is vicarious. Thank God for this season that brings this gift of to me. Gaia, Mother Earth, is our greatest healer, nurturer and supporter. Our garden is one of my greatest connections to her and her healing wonders. The healing process can become very self-involved and sometimes I just need a way to let go and lose some of my self-absorption. And Gaia and gardening can be just the tonic I need. Right now I don’t have quite the energy for the garden I used to but everyday seeing and enjoying the harvest from Sada Sat Kaur, brings to me a deep sense of healing and satisfaction and again, the knowing that everything is going to be all right.
Here is another piece of gardening wisdom:
“I like gardening — it’s a place where I find myself when I need to lose myself. “ Alice Sebold
When we let go and lose ourselves in the moment, then what we need or are looking for can appear. A lot of people call that “mindfulness”. Just be present, get out of your own way and let life come to you. Healing is like that. Sometimes, you just gotta let it go, so it can happen. For me, the garden, or in the case of this year the idea of it, helps create that space.
Gardening can be uplifting and inspiring as we watch and nurture plants to grow. At the same time, it can be very humbling especially when the plants don’t grown as we hoped they would. It is all a part of nature and the cycle of life and the continued lesson that we cannot control everything. We do all we can and hope for the best. And that is a good standard healing attitude. There are no guarantees but our hopes and intentions make a big difference. It is as well the process and not just the outcome that is the healing. Thus, fingers in the dirt, head in the sun, and let the heart be in nature. It feeds and nurtures the body and soul.
The beauty to me is that it is a never ending process…there is always something to look forward to and we hope that our expectations are well met…and like life, sometimes they are and sometimes they are not and we learn to bow and accept what God and nature give us.
There is a lot of rotating in gardening. Rotation of crops, rotation of techniques…sometimes what worked last year just may not be happening this year. And life and healing are like that too so we rotate therapies, meditations and modalities as one of our biggest constants in life is change.
We learn to let certain areas go fallow…finding zero…reboot…let energy rebuild and new things come. It is very much like meditation…finding the zero point so that the universe and the genius within us can arrive and be discovered.
Recently, I have just found a “new” mediation. It is actually from 1980 so it is not all that new but certainly newly discovered by me. I love going through old meditation manuals and finding new discoveries that have missed my attention before. I would like to share it with you here. It is called Balancing the Red and White Blood Cells and Opening the 4th, 5th and 6th Chakra. That name just popped out at me. This year I had difficulty with my Red Blood Cell count so I had 5 blood transfusions, and then problems with White Blood Cell count so lots of intravenous anti-biotic solutions to bump up my immune function. So, when I saw that title, I thought, that is for me! Also, who can go wrong with an open 4th (heart) 5th (throat) and 6th (3rd eye point)? As well, it is an easy meditation and only 11 minutes, so I am all over that. If you are so inspired, try it and enjoy it! Here are the instructions:
Meditation to Balance Red and White Blood Cells and to Open 4th, 5th, and 6th Chakras
Instructions:
- Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine.
- Hands are in Christ Mudra. In each hand, extend the Jupiter (index) and Saturn (middle) fingers straight; curl the other two fingers down and lock them with the thumb. With the elbow bent and relaxed near the body, raise the right hand up to the side as if taking an oath.
- With the left hand in the same mudra, with the two outstretched fingers, touch the heart wherever you feel the Heart Center is. Make the outstretched fingers as straight as possible for a better electromagnetic field around you.
- Eyes are closed or focused on the tip of the nose.
- Breathe slowly, meditatively and with control taking the breath from the nose up to the third eye point and then down to the heart where the fingers are.
- Recommended time is 11 minutes.
To End:
- Inhale and exhale deeply 3 times and relax.
Comments: The breath must touch the entire area and you must feel it. It is called meditative breathing; it is not praanayam. It is very effective in opening up the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Lotuses (Chakras)
Love, Peace and Light to You All,
Sada Sat Singh