Practice at Dawn

Last night was most satisfying. Recently, my meditations are rather shallow and a strange drowsiness is engulfing me everytime I try meditation for long hours. My master passed away six years ago. So there's no one to turn to for instructions. A week ago I dreamt of my Guru. This dream had a deep impact on me. I began to consider taking up the practices he taught me. He used to encourage me to meditate at midnight and during the hours of dawn. I looked around the house and found my rosary beads. After four long years last night I spent the whole night doing Japa. When I began the session, I had a splitting headache and feeling very ill. I continued the mental discipline with the rosary anyway. I couldnt sit straight because I was feeling too tired. So I leaned on a pillow and stuck to the practice.As the morning light appeared, I went to the roof and sat on an prayer mat. I started doing japa again with the mantra master taught me. I was now feeling a lot better. After an hour, I decided to do some pranayama. I was thinking about doing it for almost a week now, as I was feeling a loss of breath quite frequently. Anyway, I started with my own style, anti-acidity breathing. Next, I began doing Nadi-cleansing pranayama. (last time I did it some six years ago!) I had my armpit rest (Yoga-danda) to help open the proper channel. But I was feeling breathless. Some difficulty was there in the practice. I found my brass water receptacle (with a nozzle) from a shelf. I cleaned it; it was quite dirty. I went to the kitchen and boiled some water with a teaspoon of salt. Then I added some cold water in it. I poured this warm liquid into my snouted receptacle. After almost 8 years of being out of practice, I performed Neti. I put the nozzle to one nostril and tilted my head. To my surprise, the water came out smoothly through the other nostril. I alternated the nostrils several times and my sinus was clean at last.I went to the roof again and performed pranayama again. Smooth and perfecto! :) I completed 20 cycles, as tradition goes. The sun was up and sparkling now. I glimpsed at it now and then and did some more Japa. Happiness was engulfing me, my physical sensation was one of perfect well being. The wind carried a strange divine fragrance. Happy happy happy.