june 7i finally went to yoga again... sandy only goes on mondays, and he's my connection, so i've only been twice in the past year. the instructor, kirin, is one of the most enlightened souls i've ever met, and is perhaps the primary reason i want to go to yoga (the excercise itself kicks my butt, and i'm so inflexible due to college living that it's a little crazy of me to jump into advanced classes, but it's worth it). in the begining of every class she talks about a certain subject... the first time i went, i remember it being one of the most enlightening talks, and perfectly applicable to questions i was dealing with at the time. today she talked about the scientific connection between emotion and health, and how "good" emotions leave our immune systems high, whereas "bad" emotions kick our butts and open us up to sickness.
she also talked about the set of three forces involved: thought, emotion, and feeling. this got me excited, because it is the structure that i've been looking for since probably last year. ever since senior year in highschool i have held the head/heart seperation as an important one in understanding myself and the motivations of people. but recently i have noticed how troublesome a black-and-white, binary structure can be... it has seemed too harsh to me, not forgiving enough to allow a certain freedom. the way kirin describes it, thought (head) is dirrection, emotion (heart) is power, and feeling is where they come together and become action (not necessarily in the "active" sense). thought without emotion goes no where and fades away, and emotion without dirrection will just dissipate and become nothing. when the two come together, it can be felt, and this is the third side to the triangle. it is, perhaps, the spirit that runs with the mind/body. i'll have to think about it more, but so far i really like not being stuck with just head/heart.
once i got back, i decided that i was going to make up for the weekend of profound gluttony and ride to sand castle winery, about 9 miles down the road. i pumped up my tires, tied a bandana around my head, and set out in the 95 degree heat. man, i tell ya, it was a killer ride, and there's nothing better than being greeted at the other end by a free sip of chardonnay. i picked up two bottles of late harvest reisling (a sweet dessert wine, kinda like honey), and headed home. just goes to show what i'll do for wine. it's good to be 21 ;)