Cleansing Detox Retreat Day 4 #2 - Imageries

The Yoga Barn is like a tucked away oasis. Like many of the ubud establishments, the unassuming entrance and reception opens up to a wider compound. in the case of Yoga Barn, the small downward trail led to an open space and airy verandah where 2 main yoga studios sit. Our open -aired studio where we meet everyday is further in, at the edge of the compound across the small padi fields from the main yoga studios.

Every morning, as I cut across the padi fields to get the studio, under the nice morning sun, it never fails to give me a sense of a peace and tranquility.

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At one particular moment today, I looked up from my notes during the midst of the session and suddenly noticed that the tall grasses fringing the studio were.. Really distinct and sharp. Distinct as in the individually blade stood out from one another instead of being one clump of tall grass. Sharp in the sense like watching a 3d tv show.

Wow.

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Images of food did come to my mind many times outside the sessions - I had fish & chips, fried bee hoon (with super big serving of luncheon meat please!), chicken rice, sio bak, pasta that I had at Kafe on Sunday. But the thing is.. I wasn't feeling hungry (the cleansing and bulking shake took care of that). When the mind is calling up images when the body is not hungry, somehow puts the question what exactly craved the food - the body or the mind?

I took a really long walk around town this evening. Since it was dinner time, many people were having their meals from the street side cafes and restaurants. I wasn't hungry, I do miss the pleasure of tasting, savouring food, the texture the flavour, and other things that are pleasant Imageries related to food, like eating with friends, the comfort of food at the end of work day, good food to sooth away any work angst.

I think my relationship with the food that I eat has just went through a paradigm shift.


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During yoga nidra today, we were guided thorough some imageries in meditation when suddenly the image of a lone wolf, standing on a cliff ledge looking down at me, flashed in for one second before my mind brought me back to the original guided imagery.

There is a book in class that list down symbolic meanings of animals that appear in your dreams or vision, and under lone wolf, it told me what I probably knew all along. How cool was that.