And the mind had been in charge for too long
I knew it
But things were the way they were
Because that’s how it is sometimes
And we tell our body
Just wait
Soon
Hold up there
Don’t break
And it waits
Patiently
As the mind has its way
And our heart creeps right right right away
And our lungs lose capacity
And our stomach fills with acid
At the audacity
Of some of the food that mind throws into it
Healthful
Becomes salty
Sweet
Overbalanced
Undernourished
And the heart creeps creeps away from the centre
I’m old now
At least 47 summers
And another one coming
So I’ve learnt
When to stop
Put down the mind
And bring my body back into line
I know a place now
Which isn’t very far
Where the wise woman blows sage smoke
Brushes with bird feather
Playing drums and crystal bowls
Works the leather of my skin
Back into suppleness again
And my organs weep
As I lie bathed in sweat
Then rest in bubbling hot water
Up to my chin
Gazing up into a vast black universe full of silver pin pricks
Picking out the Milky Way
The saucepan
That’s really all I know but I imagine the others into some sort of picture
A sickle moon
And a frog
Croaks
I eat nourishing food
Let my soul say anything it chooses to this woman
Who gently holds space
For all her kind
The essence of grace
She listens
And accepts my words
Replies with her own
And the two mix and mingle
Like fireflies above us
Circling as we eat and chuckle
I wake to the stars again
At 4am
By torchlight
Ellie adds wood to the fire
And then I sweat again
Work yogic energy through my veins
Afterwards I sit rolling in heat listening to the refrain of my breath
Feeling the slick slide of moisture where it pops forth and then trickles down the hills of my body
And the sun paints the sky outside
And my heart
Returns to centre
My whole body sighs
With pleasure
So many people reach for a wine
A whisky
A scotch
And perhaps it helps stop the body from screaming
The mind torturing
For a minute
But if you take the time
Do the real body work instead
You heal
And
Properly refreshed
Are ready to go on again
I spent the night at Meraki Reach. I feel incredibly blessed that Ellie and her husband Russel have taken the massive financial leap to open this retreat.
More in the magazine – perks of the job of editor I guess. My staff came with me as well which was a little annoying because they wouldn’t stop talking but eventually …
They all shut up
As we left
A little voice asked “when are we coming back?”
I said
Soon.
Excellent and sounds just the tonic!
It was lovely!
Good 😉