And another thing...

Stress takes itself out on your body. Problems with your body add to the stress. Sometimes I forget this. I'm working on it, though.

There's an album of Indian music I particularly enjoy, by a man named Krishna Das. Here follow a few links for your delectation:

Om Namah Shivaya

Mountain Hare Krishna

Mahamantra Meltdown

(I take no responsibility for the video. It's the audio I'm after...)

Long ago I'd put on this album, take off my clothes if it was remotely warm enough, and dance until I fell over. It was beautiful and freeing and spiritually satisfying and like anything that good for me I long ago fell out of the habit.

Noticed at work within the last week that I'm stiff. Not just slept-wrong stiff, nor hurt-myself stiff; I'm not moving right. Somehow I thought of the dancing I used to do.

I'd forgotten how freeing it is, just to turn on the music and let my body move to it. Arms flow gracefully through the air, feet stomp the foor, I spin and sway and I move right and my mind goes away.

Two days ago I danced for a little over seven minutes to Om Namah Shivaya and had to stop, panting for breath, and hit my inhaler. Today I danced for almost twenty minutes, first slow and controlled, then faster, stomping and spinning, eyes closed, hair free, raising my hands to heaven and then bowing profoundly before spinning away again. I especially love his Mountain Hare Krishna and the smooth way it slides into another song far more familiar to most of my readers -- and yes, that's Sting singing with him.

I'm tired, now, and I ache, and I don't have the words to tell you how the dance frees me and yet binds me closer to God. I hope you can hear some of it in the music.