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The moon waxes and wanes
Tides ebb and flow.
Emotion moves up and down.
Only achieved ones enjoy
The smooth flow of nature.

Reference:
Moonlight in the Dark Night
by Hua-Ching Ni
ISBN 0937064440

May all creatures, all living things, all beings, be free from hatred, difficulties, and troubles, and may they live in happiness!

Origins of Watsu

Watsu® (Water Shiatsu) began in 1980 in the warm pool at Harbin Hot Springs when Harold Dull started floating people while applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. In the Orient, stretching as a way to open channels through which our Chi energy flows is even older than acupuncture. Stretching strengthens muscle and increases flexibility. Warm water, which many associate with the body’s deepest states of waking relaxation, is the ideal medium. The support of water takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine places on nerves and helps undo any dysfunctioning this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves. The Watsu receiver experiences greater flexibility and freedom. During Watsu a range of emotions can come up and be released into the process of continuous flow. This reprograms receivers to face life out of the water with greater equanimity and flexibility.

Another principle of Zen Shiatsu, that of connecting with the breath, takes on a new dimension in Watsu. On land, the breathing is coordinated with leaning into points. In water, our most basic move is the Water Breath Dance, in which we float someone in our arms and let them sink a little as they breathe out and let the water lift us as we both breathe in. Repeated over and over at the beginning of a Watsu, this creates a connection that can be carried into all the stretches and moves. This Water Breath Dance, and its stillness, is returned to throughout the session.

Experiencing both giving and receiving this most nurturing form of bodywork can help heal whatever wounds of separation we carry and renew in us our sense of connection and oneness with others. For this reason Watsu is Rebonding Therapy. Watsu is used around the world by professional bodyworkers, physical therapists, psychologists, as well as the general public.

Watsu, and the way it is taught, has evolved over the years. In the beginning the focus was primarily on stretching. With the Waterbreath Dance and the greater connection of moves to the breath, a more meditative stillness entered in. The use of flotation devices on legs that would otherwise sink has widened the possibilities and the ease of a Watsu.

Once a practitioner has reached the level of presence and connection that the carefully evolved Watsu Forms instill, they are taught and encouraged to explore the creative potential in Watsu Free Flow.

Reference: www.watsu.com

The world has no constant values, events has no constant guide.

When others act, I am still; When others talk I listen. If you know your nature, you’ll have few troubles; if you know your destiny, you won’t worry.

Reference:
Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics
by Thomas Cleary
ISBN: 9781590306598

p. 14

I compiled this list for Kristina from a recommended book list from her yoga school. Further recommendations are welcome..

Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personnal Experience
by Theos Bernard
ISBN 0955241227

The Gheranda Samhita: A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
Sris Chandra Vasu
ISBN 1436690420

Raja Yoga
by Swami Vivekananda
ISBN 8180900363

Sacred Texts: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
by Swami Vivekananda
ISBN 1905857039

A Search in Secret India
by Paul Brunton
ISBN 1844130436

The Morning of the Magicians (Mysteries of the Universe)
by Louis Pauwels, Jacques Bergier
ISBN 0285635832

The Serpent Power: Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga
by Arthur Avalon
ISBN 0486230589

Tantrik Texts
by Arthur Avalon
ISBN 8177557254

Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (Works of Mircea Eliade)
Mircea Eliade
ISBN 0691017646

Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa
by W.Y. Evans-Wentz
ISBN 8178222523

The Gheranda Samhita: A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
by Sris Chandra Vasu
ISBN 1436690420

Links:
Raja Yoga wikipedia.org

I dwell in spiritual tipsiness, looking into the meaning of mellowness.

I do not know why there is a profound smile on my lips,
neither do I care to find out.

Lighting up me entire body,
filling it to the brim with nothing.

I die to my self.

Not knowing who I am,
or where I am.

Lost to the world,
entering Heaven.

Walking the earth,
returning from bliss.

The spark of tipsiness has lit my life.
How can anything be the same.

Learning how to die moment by moment. In an instant a real human being.

Learn to enjoy boredom and monotony. When you feel bored, it means that it is a really good time and everything is in good condition. This is the most valuable time for you. Most people are unpleasant when things are boring, because they do not know the value of boredom and monotony. Monotony to them is too simple, and they cannot stand it. Those things you consider boring and monotonous can help you come back to yourself instead of pulling you away. By accepting them, you can nurture yourself.

Reference:
Entering the Tao: Master Ni’s Teachings on Self-cultivation
by Hua-Ching Ni
ISBN 9781570621611

Zeitgeist: Addendum wikipedia.org

Background:
Zeitgeist zeitgeistmovie.com
Zeitgeist, the Movie wikipedia.org

Cook Ting was cutting an ox after a sacrifice to be used as food for Lord Wen of Hui. At every touch of the hand, every heave of the shoulder, every move of the feet, every bend of the knee, he slipped the knife along effortlessly and all was in perfect rhythm as though he were performing the dance of the mulberry grove to the flow of the melody of Yao’s music.
“Ah, this is marvelous,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “Imagine skill reaching such heights!”
Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, “What I care about is the natural path which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. Now I go at it through intuition. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and intuition moves where it wants. I go along with the natural construction, strike in the big hollow places, guide the knife through large openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less the main joints.
“A good cook changes knives once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his once a month, because he hacks. I’ve had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I’ve cut thousands of oxen with it, yet the blade is as good as new.
“There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of remain in peace. Undeveloped people cannot do this; there the knife is just as if it had no thickness really. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there’s plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about. And after nineteen years, the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.
“However, whenever I come to a complicated spot, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I am doing, work very slowly and move the knife with the greatest subtlety until the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth flopping to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, my mind completely full with the satisfaction of accomplishing a perfect job, and then I wipe the knife and put it away.
“Excellent,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to solve the problems of life!”

Chuang Tzu or Zhuang Zi

Reference:
Entering the Tao: Master Ni’s Teachings on Self-cultivation
by Hua-Ching Ni
ISBN 9781570621611

Links:
Cutting Up An Ox about.com