Friday, January 15, 2010

Rose Red Sunrise into Shining Day

I awoke to a take-your-breath-away sunrise ... the kind that, once gone, is hard to reimagine. I rushed to find the right practice spot; a place where I could watch the rosy-red glow gradually fade to peach, pale pink, and white.

Chiripa--just out of bed herself--sped around the room. I could hear the sound of tiny claws climbing chairs, racing across carpet, and batting dangling strings. Near the end of practice she climbed the chair directly in front of me and eyed me closely.

I watched Chiripa carefully. I remembered that my previous cat, Hiziki, was well aware of energy and often positioned himself near my feet during practice and next to my body when I utilized the Chi machine. Chiripa responded too. She seemed to feel the power of Joyous Breath as she--literally--crouched beneath the downward push of my palms and the exhalations of my breath.

While I passed Clouds she looked as though she would catch my hands if she could, though not in an aggressive or hunterly way. During Healing Sounds, though, her behavior shifted into Resting. She seemed to catch the Chi from my palms, take it in, and relax. Her eyes blinked slowly and her demeanor changed from aggressive predator to sweet, tired little kitten. When I completed Cosmic Consciousness Pose, she was up and running again, dashing around the room at the speed of light-kitten.

Perhaps because of my playful, fast-moving kitten's antics in the background or the speed with which the beautiful red-rose sunrise shifted into day I felt that my practice moved quickly too. An after-practice check of the clock revealed otherwise. Now as I sit at the computer and reflect on a practice packed with so much energy and beauty Chiripa lies, sleeping, in my lap.

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