A Yogic Journey

by Penny Meaux Edwards ( a.k.a pennimo )

When entertaining the idea of writing travel articles about yoga destinations or about destinations that inspire yoga, I began a gentle sojourn through the vista of my mind’s eye.

I heard my chanting deep within ruins of pyramids near my alma mata, Universidad de las Americas in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico where I first studied yoga. I saw myself blossoming into Lotus at sunrise in an ancient Greek amphitheater in secluded Bodrum, Turkey (a.k.a. Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) where the spirit of a mighty Amazonian Warrior guided me. I recalled the wisdom of yogini Jasazzi in Ocho Rios, Jamaica where she opened my charkas so vividly that the heavens hurled a magnificent sphere of energy right into my forehead as I lay meditating on an ocean balcony beneath the stars. I felt the kiss of Kwan Yin, Goddess of Compassion, on my lips during a session with a psychic medium in Singapore. I smelled the jungles of Bali where I practiced an amazingly deep Sun Salutation at the magnificent Hindu Mother Temple. I absorbed the warmth of sunrise at the Sun Gate in Machu Picchu, Peru while writing poetry in Cobbler Pose on a terraced hillside. Images began swirling into one another blending sounds, visions, teachings, smells, sensations and inspirations into one essence. What a truly precious path my life on earth has been. How do I begin to choose from so many journeys? Which shall I share first?

And then it came to me. It became crystal clear that I must share the most important journey of all. The story about a place to which all of these journeys have led. A place I know my readers will recognize and recall as lovingly as I do. It is the journey to self. The mode of transportation and type of accommodation does not cost a penny. The best journeys in life are free.

Meditation
 
Meditation is a place I go
each and every day.
It is my own space of tranquility
where time does not get in the way.
 
I need this place of oneness
with me, myself and I.
It is where I nurture my trueness
as though led by an omnipotent eye.
 
This eye sees the essence of heaven
dwelling deep within my girth.
A vantage point of going within
traveling far beyond this earth.

And oh … the images I see there
make my words pale by compare.
Truths revealed in this journey
are too eloquent to capture or share.
 
But just let me try to paint you
my images of the Great Divine
where castles of peace protect me
and moats of pure water reside.
 
Sky glistens like sapphires.
Grass glows like emeralds so fine.
Air breathes crystal clear clarity.
The smell is so sublime.
 
So lay yourself down for a moment.
Envelop yourself in your space.
You know it is there … within you.
Just unlock it and enter with grace.