I'm a twin. We are identical twins meaning we came from the same egg and therefore have the exact same chromosomes. We've done time together: 9 months in the womb listening to that same momma’s heartbeat, sharing the same pulse. All this made us feel more at home when we were together than when we were apart. My parents would place us at opposite ends of the crib and by morning time they would find us entwined together, just like we were used to in the womb. We learned to speak late in development, probably because we already had our own twin language that suited us just fine; why would we need to speak anything else? We'd stand up at the ends of our butted cribs jibber jabbering for hours like two neighbors gossiping over the picket fence. There's a connection there, clearly. And it still continues even today.
A while ago, friend loaned me a fantastic book called Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman. It's a great read, hilarious writing about a great topic: Heavy Metal. You gotta know, I'm not much of Metal head. . . well, not until I read Chuck’s book. Growing up, my twin and I shared a music collection of bands like the Cure, The Smiths, and the Pixies. So, I'm reading a fascinating chapter in Fargo Rock City about the very important distinction between the different types of metal bands, i.e. Glam Metal vs. Speed Metal vs. Death Metal, etc. and which band should be qualified by which Metal prefix and what not. That same day, I get an email from my brother who lives out of state and doesn't know I'm reading this book and who has a billion other things to talk about but chooses to ask my opinion on the very important philosophical questions regarding Metal bands specifically which type of band qualifies with which metal prefix. It was like he'd read the very same book. He Hadn't. Hadn’t even heard of it. Yeah. Freaky twin connection.
So a few months go by and we hadn’t talked any further about Metal. But as I was a drafting this story about our freaky twin connection, my brother calls and brings up the Metal conversation again. My first thought was that he'd read my newsletter, but then I remembered that it was still sitting on my desktop in draft mode. Metal was on my mind and therefore somehow on his. Yeah. Freaky twin connection.
And even if we aren't all twins, we've all had this experience to some degree or other, right? Who hasn't been thinking of that friend that you haven't seen in a couple of months or weeks and suddenly that minute received a phone call or a text or email from them? What is that? It's freaky Friday is what it is! Or is it? What is that connection that seems to transmit like a frequency across distance so readily and timely? I don't know but I like the question.
I know the human experience is a complex system and network of everything from bones and blood to neurons and nerves. Then there are emotions and thoughts and the soul, whatever that is. I guess our work as humans, and therefore in our yoga practice (a mirror of our human experience), is to practice and experience the process that unveils how it all works and is connected, not so much to answer the question of "how" but "who" or "what." Who am I and what is this all about? Clues to these bedrock questions are found right at my fingertips as I practice yoga and inquire by listening to my body, mind, and spirit.
One thing that all the parts of human beings and everything else in the universe have in common is energy, vibration, and frequency. I mean every particle and atom in the universe has movement to it. That seems to be the constant, that everything is quickened by some force, right? Energy. In yoga that energy is called prana. Energy is simply the potential to do work. In yoga, the system of energy channels networked together and converging at particular points is called the chakra system. These seven principle energy centers align at different points along our spine. And when one thing that is conditioned, or designed, or just happens to be aligned with something else, those things resonate. Like twins.
This coinciding vibration reminds me of a concept called sympathetic vibration. It goes like this: notes represent sound waves which travel at a certain frequency. Different frequencies, faster or slower, play different notes. I'll be practicing my saxophone in my living room with my guitar hanging on the wall and when I play a note on the sax, an E for example, the E string on the guitar, tuned to play at the same frequency, starts to vibrate. Instead of waiting to be strummed, it finds the similar vibration and starts to vibrate right along with it. I'll take the sax out of my mouth and hear a "ghost note," the residual vibration of the guitar string. Freaky cool. I think we work much in this same way. When people say things that resonate with us, it's like we are predisposed, operating under the same frequency, to feel that same way. Thus we listen to politicians, see a great piece of art, watch a dance, hear a sermon, and something resonates with us; we vibrate at the same frequency. These vibrations gotta be different than light, different than sound, but something nonetheless sends a message. What is it?!
Yoga is where we get to both feel and understand better this idea of prana, vibration, and resonance. In yoga, we refine our listening skills, we clear the energetic channels, and set the conditions for our bodies to ring more clearly. Again, what is this vibration that connects us all? I don't know. But I'd be very interested in hearing your take on it. Click below and comment on this topic. What are your thoughts on the subject? See what others have written. Please share your stories about being connected or on the same wavelength as someone or something else. In the meantime, I'll see you in Yoga.
Join me this month on Thursday nights at the Athleta store in City Creek Mall for some great evening yoga classes 9-10 pm.