As we move into this new year, 2009, I am finding myself more drawn to the most basic aspects of yoga asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathing). No matter where you may choose to take your yoga practice, one is going to be in the body while practicing it, so we should then really understand the mechanics of the poses and breathing. What is it doing to the physical body, which can be documented by Newtonian science? Further, where, and in what ways, can quantum physics begin to illucidate some of the more subtle aspects?
In my own practice, I have begun to focus on the potential of yoga for postural realignment. I believe this is the most valuable aspect of the asanas, that they can be used to realign (through moving toward balance and symmetry)and rebuild (through muscular training and strengthening) our postural potential. Further, the use of very slow, non-musculo focused forms of yoga which seek to lengthen and strengthen the connective tissue through slow, meditative holding of the postures provides a wonderful complement to the more muscular Hatha styles of yoga. I am beginning to understand how one rebuilds their body.
We all hold unbalanced postures, which over time become imbalances which are imprinted on the skeletal system. Much pain in the body, as well as other health issues, derive from improper skeletal alignment. By starting where you are, and patiently using the most basic asanas to realign your body, over time, the structure of the body can shift. It is much like training a tree.
Our bodies are not just arbitrary things, in a vacuum. No. They stand in a force of gravity, which we resist. Through muscular strength, skeletal posture, and the inner organs of balance within the nervous system, we resist the force of gravity and propel ourselves through the "empty air". Yet, it is not so empty. Every inch of space around you, on earth, experiencing the pull of gravity. Magnetic energy seems to radiate from the earth, while other magnetic forces, such as the planets, and the sun and moon are all exerting their own magnetic influence, creating subtle waves of magnetism. We too are rhythmic, frequency wave producing beings. Our bodies, the actual, physical body, produces waves from three major areas.
These frequencies can be and have been measured with current, accepted scientific methods and machines. (A good place to start - Dr. Gary Schwartz - The Energy Healing Experiments) When they are measured, it is shown that there are three major areas of frequency waves produced by the human body.
These three major areas are the head, the heart and the stomach. The heart gives out the strongest waves, which can be measured up to several feet from the body. The head and stomach give off powerful waves as well, but not as high as the heart. All the organs give off subtle waves, and so do all other "living" carbon based life forms.
So our bodies are carbon based, multi-cellular lifeforms which use a very specific set of structures to resist the magnetic and gravitational forces of the "plane of existance", which we call life on planet earth. As we resist, we build our structure in accordance with our responses to the surrounding forces to which we must resist. Emotions and beliefs govern this process in a surprising way.
When we hold unhealthy and asymmetrical postures, our bodies literally grow in that way. So, to begin yoga, one must work with what you find yourself with. Without judgement, assess where you have been resisting in inbalanced ways, which is manifesting as deformities and potential health issues, in your body. From that honest assessment, you then begin to practice the most basic postures. You learn how to do them as well as you can, and you work toward symmetry. Over time, as you gently and slowly hold the basic postures, you can rebuild your form, because you are applying new levels of resistance, and your body will respond.
Much as we find old, gnarled pine trees growing on windswept cliffs, so too can humans become twisted by the forces around them. Yoga, in this regard, can then be thought of as the training of a tree. We are seeking a symmetrical form which does what the body is designed to do; evenly distribute stress to generate homeostasis.
By practicing and gradually improving our symmetry through holding poses, doing so gently and with conscious awareness and intent, we regrow our bodies into new alignments. Over time, we notice that our understanding of symmetry in the poses creates a constant awareness of symmetry and balance in the body. The physical body is our main tool of interface with "reality". The more we inhabit the body and care for the body and bring balance into our bodies, the more we learn to experience life in a balanced manner.
The key to this is to remember, that like any course of braces, reforming, or training, patience and understanding is required. You don't bend the branch or trunk too far, nor too fast. Anyone who has ever looked at bonsai will know that the masters of bonsai are so patient as to only bend a branch centimeters at a time, very slowly and gradually changing the shape of the branch through resistance and minute and gradual change. There may be times when you hit an edge, and spend what may seem like a long time working on a particular areas of regrowth and realignment. Through all of this, we must be patient and simply do the practices, not rushing for anything, learning how to open the body, safely stretch it out and move.
As one develops a yoga practice, finding your edge can be as easy or as difficult as letting go of your beliefs about what you "should" be accomplishing. I often see a push to "grow, grow, grow" in yoga. (Move past your edge and become a warrior!) Some styles, to me, seem a touch gung ho. I think most people really need to look at yoga as a realignment tool (and that would cover all eight branches or "ashtanga" yoga), and then realize that realignment takes time. We must then muster the courage to not look for quick answers, but to have the patience to slowly retrain our bodies, regrowing them and bringing them into their best expression of symmetry.
No matter what spiritual course you have or don't have, you are going to be in your body until you aren't. So you really should understand it as a mechanical, carbon-based, multi-cellular structure which is resisting and responding to the forces around it. From there, knowing what the human body is designed to do, you use the poses and breathing to bring yourself into greater "interface with the universe" (breathing - improved oxygenation) and "respond more constructively to the forces around you" (realignment through poses) creating postural and structural balance.
Happy 2009!
In my own practice, I have begun to focus on the potential of yoga for postural realignment. I believe this is the most valuable aspect of the asanas, that they can be used to realign (through moving toward balance and symmetry)and rebuild (through muscular training and strengthening) our postural potential. Further, the use of very slow, non-musculo focused forms of yoga which seek to lengthen and strengthen the connective tissue through slow, meditative holding of the postures provides a wonderful complement to the more muscular Hatha styles of yoga. I am beginning to understand how one rebuilds their body.
We all hold unbalanced postures, which over time become imbalances which are imprinted on the skeletal system. Much pain in the body, as well as other health issues, derive from improper skeletal alignment. By starting where you are, and patiently using the most basic asanas to realign your body, over time, the structure of the body can shift. It is much like training a tree.
Our bodies are not just arbitrary things, in a vacuum. No. They stand in a force of gravity, which we resist. Through muscular strength, skeletal posture, and the inner organs of balance within the nervous system, we resist the force of gravity and propel ourselves through the "empty air". Yet, it is not so empty. Every inch of space around you, on earth, experiencing the pull of gravity. Magnetic energy seems to radiate from the earth, while other magnetic forces, such as the planets, and the sun and moon are all exerting their own magnetic influence, creating subtle waves of magnetism. We too are rhythmic, frequency wave producing beings. Our bodies, the actual, physical body, produces waves from three major areas.
These frequencies can be and have been measured with current, accepted scientific methods and machines. (A good place to start - Dr. Gary Schwartz - The Energy Healing Experiments) When they are measured, it is shown that there are three major areas of frequency waves produced by the human body.
These three major areas are the head, the heart and the stomach. The heart gives out the strongest waves, which can be measured up to several feet from the body. The head and stomach give off powerful waves as well, but not as high as the heart. All the organs give off subtle waves, and so do all other "living" carbon based life forms.
So our bodies are carbon based, multi-cellular lifeforms which use a very specific set of structures to resist the magnetic and gravitational forces of the "plane of existance", which we call life on planet earth. As we resist, we build our structure in accordance with our responses to the surrounding forces to which we must resist. Emotions and beliefs govern this process in a surprising way.
When we hold unhealthy and asymmetrical postures, our bodies literally grow in that way. So, to begin yoga, one must work with what you find yourself with. Without judgement, assess where you have been resisting in inbalanced ways, which is manifesting as deformities and potential health issues, in your body. From that honest assessment, you then begin to practice the most basic postures. You learn how to do them as well as you can, and you work toward symmetry. Over time, as you gently and slowly hold the basic postures, you can rebuild your form, because you are applying new levels of resistance, and your body will respond.
Much as we find old, gnarled pine trees growing on windswept cliffs, so too can humans become twisted by the forces around them. Yoga, in this regard, can then be thought of as the training of a tree. We are seeking a symmetrical form which does what the body is designed to do; evenly distribute stress to generate homeostasis.
By practicing and gradually improving our symmetry through holding poses, doing so gently and with conscious awareness and intent, we regrow our bodies into new alignments. Over time, we notice that our understanding of symmetry in the poses creates a constant awareness of symmetry and balance in the body. The physical body is our main tool of interface with "reality". The more we inhabit the body and care for the body and bring balance into our bodies, the more we learn to experience life in a balanced manner.
The key to this is to remember, that like any course of braces, reforming, or training, patience and understanding is required. You don't bend the branch or trunk too far, nor too fast. Anyone who has ever looked at bonsai will know that the masters of bonsai are so patient as to only bend a branch centimeters at a time, very slowly and gradually changing the shape of the branch through resistance and minute and gradual change. There may be times when you hit an edge, and spend what may seem like a long time working on a particular areas of regrowth and realignment. Through all of this, we must be patient and simply do the practices, not rushing for anything, learning how to open the body, safely stretch it out and move.
As one develops a yoga practice, finding your edge can be as easy or as difficult as letting go of your beliefs about what you "should" be accomplishing. I often see a push to "grow, grow, grow" in yoga. (Move past your edge and become a warrior!) Some styles, to me, seem a touch gung ho. I think most people really need to look at yoga as a realignment tool (and that would cover all eight branches or "ashtanga" yoga), and then realize that realignment takes time. We must then muster the courage to not look for quick answers, but to have the patience to slowly retrain our bodies, regrowing them and bringing them into their best expression of symmetry.
No matter what spiritual course you have or don't have, you are going to be in your body until you aren't. So you really should understand it as a mechanical, carbon-based, multi-cellular structure which is resisting and responding to the forces around it. From there, knowing what the human body is designed to do, you use the poses and breathing to bring yourself into greater "interface with the universe" (breathing - improved oxygenation) and "respond more constructively to the forces around you" (realignment through poses) creating postural and structural balance.
Happy 2009!
