Again I stumble on something that I have experienced before - having spontaneous free flowing asana, but this time I am embracing it fully as a way to enter a trance-like state...

Let me explain.  My own Yoga practice has always been a source of inspiration for its own sake.  Sometimes I go for a few days without doing my own practice, but I cannot live without it, so on most days - I practice.  Sometimes I have a specific practice to do that has been planned.  Other times I feel like just doing "whatever".  And during those times I have the most wonderful experiences.  Poses begin to flow out of my body without me having to think "what's next."  It is a stream of consciousness as expressed by the body.  I feel as if Life Force is streaming through me, expressing itself through me, and it feels... beyond words.

I have been practicing Yoga for twenty years, and last few - almost daily, and my body has become a work of art in a way, able to express things beyond words, and asana has become, at times, an artistic expression.  It is always surprising to me that my body can do some of these things, the ease with which I am able to go deeply, profoundly into a shape, and at the same time - into a state of mind.  It has been such a gift.

When we are beginners, we need structure, discipline, alignment, proper form.  But as years on the mat go by - there comes a time of liberation from the rules, where one can feel safe thanks to years of honed skills: safe to play, to go wild, to give in to abandon and erupt in spontaneous, boundless joy.  I think it is the same with any art form.  You study the basics, the fundamentals, but you become Master of something when you can enter the moment of Yoga, or Union, with it - being one with your action.  The painter - one with his paining.  The singer - one with her singing.  The Yogini - one with her Down Dog...