Water

“It’s just like water. I ain’t felt this way in years.” - Lauryn Hill, Just Like Water

The body is made up of more water than anything else, which clearly opens the door to introspection on how we address the water aspects of ourselves. This means that we could literally see ourselves as water and mimic the ways that it moves or stills to deal with our continence. Water like spirit is necessary for life. But the glory of its presence is natural until we are no longer in the body or can no longer take in enough water to sustain its functioning. We can live without food, but we can not live without water.  Though I do not believe that water ends, as presence does not end, water may not be flowing through the body, but as we have it in the body, it is the symbol of presence. When we are done with it, it will be used again. It will still be present.

It is interesting to consider this idea in areas of the world where water is scare. People have traditionally lived to avoid this fact if they can. Recently at Downtown Church, I was given an even deeper look at this; animals know, just like we do, that where there is water there is life.  When Jesus was dying he said: “I am thirsty.” OM. The truth is that life is sustained with water; it is life. It moves, flows around or between, becomes stagnant, stills, freezes, falls, drops, sprays, pounds, can clean, can be polluted, holds, pushes, pulls, grows, crashes, reflects…. Since this is so, so do we if we are mostly made of water. So being able to observe this and then choosing to address our moving or stillness as water, we are consistently provided great perspective and understanding.

The Practice

1. Drink more clean water. Fill up. The more full we are of what we are, the more presence we will be. Eating more of what is alive is imperative. Eat more fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. They, too, are packed with water, some more than others.

2. Consider how you move. Naturally, how do you move about your space on a daily basis? Do you…flow…, drop, pound…? Can you relax, or be still? With practice, we can cultivate the movement or stillness that we desire; remember we are mostly water. The good thing about our standing is that we can move or still as we choose. We do not have to wait for someone or something to appear to make this happen because we are, very importantly, all the elements as well.

3. Consider how you interact with others. If you are water, so are they. Do you crash into people, move around them, or flow with them? Relationships can be challenging, mostly because they give a detailed description of how we inhabit space in the world. What we notice in others is in direct relationship to the things, which are sometimes hidden deeply, within ourselves. Like water, we are always looking at a reflection when we attempt to see who we are.

4. Take up the practice of dealing with yourself; deal with your water. One of the practices I love to enjoy with my yoga-teacher-friend, Ginger Doughty, is patting the body. Sit on the floor with your legs out-stretched. With a flat hand, begin to pat the body. This does not have to be hard. Pat yourself, as if the back of a baby when trying to make them burp. Pat yourself everywhere. Don’t leave anywhere un-patted. Then, become still and feel the water of being.

5. Breathe deeper, into your belly first, as opposed to the chest first, and fill up every crevice of the body with the thought of the full breath going out in all directions, through torso to limbs. Exhale fully. Squeeze your belly in and up as you exhale. Air affects water. The air element, the inspiration in the heart, welcomes movement. Breathe more fully, especially when you are feeling low, energetically or emotionally. Breathe vital life force, prana, in through the air and allow it to move you to higher ground. Breathe spirit in. Like air that rustles stagnant water, you can, with deep, focused breathing, move the water and invite clean water into its place.

6. Be still. There is a time for everything. Allow time to just be. Get your fidgets out of the way and find a comfortable position to be in. Let this pose be one where energy can move, be on your back or seated. Use blankets, pillows, blocks, or the wall if you need to support the body. Lie or sit in the still of your presence. Though even small moments of meditation can be flavorful, taking the time to notice your water essence in stillness is the work here. And you can do this as you take rest or as you wake. Observe the slowing water. Slow down to feel. Feel to observe.

Follow the water; it is where life is. And it comprises so much of who you are. The tan or clarity of your water tells the story. Your thirst for or distance from the water tells of your life perspective. Tend to the wellbeing of your water.