Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kokoro: Heart, Mind, Spirit

Tonight, in our yoga class, I spoke about the integration or union (Yoga) of mind, body and emotions. We took a little time to reflect on the Heart Chakra (Anhata) and the idea of an emotional seat in the heart area. In yoga practice, we often try to cultivate the emotions of peacefulness (shanti) and joyfulness (anata). In life we should cultivate the full range of emotions, understand their sources and objects, understand how they motivate us into acting, remainding mindful of our emotional life. We don't want to become heartless or hard hearted - out of touch with our feelings and emotions, or a mechanical being without feelings.

In Japanese the word for heart/mind/emotion is Kokoro, and in Chinese the word is Hsin (Xin).

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