listen to your breath observe the inhale to the turning point – the exhale to the turning point – repeat
extend crown from root lift arms with the breath feel opening around the heart
then if you have time…
take three or four of your favourite āsana
sit see how you feel feel your breath feel the life in you
say thank you
job done
gardening takes a few minutes. each day some small contact with the soil, sowing, planting, watering, pricking out, nurturing… the results are bountiful.
yoga takes a few minutes. every day some small contact with your practice. the results are bountiful.
‘gardening, like yoga, requires continual attention.’ Gary Ward
ancient traditions, including the Indian traditions that gave rise to yoga, understood that there is a principle of life which drives our human and non human lives, to propagate, to grow, and to survive. yoga calls this prāṇa. a Sanskrit word meaning ‘that which goes everywhere’ it has come to mean both breath and the dynamic bio-energy of the universe.
prāṇa is “the vitalistic principle of nature that animates the world and brings the elements to life” sebastian pole.
it brings us to life too – we human beings, who are no more and no less than one species amongst millions, taking our place in the natural world.
prāṇa is our life force, just as much as it creates and composts the fields and forests, leads the tides to rise and fall and drives animal behaviour all over our planet. by it we are woven into the cloth of nature just as surely as the cow parsley that triumphs in our hedgerows.
the yoga we practise, works to encourage the flow of prāṇa in our bodies, harnessing the same dynamism that sends rivers flowing to the sea and leads the nettle from root to stinging splendour in a matter of days. using the familiar practices of the body and breath can recharge our prānic batteries and enhance the flow of energy in our system along with healing herbs, nourishing food and good lifestyle.
finding time to practise yoga will help to renew us – physically, mentally and energetically and will remind us that we are all inherently connected by the same life force.
“only one thought is of absolute importance and that is your connectedness with being.” eckhart tolle
vasiṣṭhāsana is a side opening hand balance and not one of the ‘bread and butter’ postures that are central to our practice. But it can be good to challenge the body sometimes. The side plank does that as it strengthens the wrist, tones the spine and has an opening effect on the upper body. I was inspired to work with this posture having seen the film ‘Dancer’ about the life of the ballet dancer Sergei Polunin. Here, is a link to the key passage where Sergei uses steps similar to both the modified and full versions of vasiṣṭhāsana at the beginning of the dance.
I hope you enjoy watching the soaring leaps and artistry as much as I do. Click on ‘Read More’ below to watch the video…
the Studio re-opens today, the Spring equinox, after the birth of Grace last week.
And energy is definitely rising. The lettuces in my greenhouse have suddenly expanded – hearts opening and leaves standing up to the light softly – tender, a new green.
Our yoga practices can reflect this time of birth, soft new growth and awakening as we offer ourselves intelligent expansion in practice. Working with a delicate awareness of our own needs is part of this – but expansion isn’t the holy grail of yoga practice. I was interested to read this article this week http://www.jbrownyoga.com/blog/. Opening can feel good but tender response to ourselves in practice is far more valuable. At this time of year we can use krama of the breath and āsana which offer opening to the body softly in new ways, while building strength too.
yoga teaches a type of work for the body – how to move, settle, breathe, fold, spiral, stretch and extend in a particular way.
from careful and honest practise grows a tender, refined response to what our body needs, not only from the mat practice but from our everyday routines – sleeping, eating, working, playing.
we can use this sensitivity to help us embody yoga – it feels particular and true.
tune in to your body on the mat. This is one element of our exploration in yoga.
There is deep wisdom within our very flesh, if we can only come to our senses and feel it. Elizabeth A. Behnke
recently in the late evening class on a Thursday, we have spoken about the current fashion in language for exaggerating and whitewashing experiences with the use of off the shelf phrases such as ‘excited for’ (looking forward to) ‘passionate about…’ (serious about) and ‘perfect’ (OK). This type of emotional inflation is a problem for us all, as one student remarked “Good used to be good enough but now it seems nothing short of outstanding will do.” But if it’s always outstanding, what stands out about it? You get the drift.
this is not just me being picky about semantics (as if!) I am reminded of the workshop I attended in London a few years ago with A G and Indra Mohan on the subject of Yoga and Mental Health.
mohan urged us not to get elated or depressed at the results of our actions but to remain level. He said “Don’t open a bottle – good or bad. Stay steady in your mind. Good mental health is not getting elated or depressed. Remain balanced.” He suggested that inflating internal excitement or misery serves little purpose. Would we not do better to foster peace, contentment and joy, however outmoded they may be?
yoga gives us the tools to help us with this. The third strand of kriya yoga is īśvara praṇidhāna. Mohan offered the translation – ‘staying steady with the results of the actions’.
Peter Hersnack’s translation was ‘trust in Life’. Trusting in Life seems to me to be a wonderful idea to carry us calmly through the very darkest week of the year.
“The deeper interconnectedness of all things and events implies that the mental labels of “good” and “bad” are ultimately illusory. They always imply a limited perspective and so are true only relatively and temporarily.” Eckhart Tolle
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
This week at the Yoga Studio, we will be practising yoga by candlelight in aid of one of the charities helping people who are homeless in the UK – Crisis at Christmas. The theme of the practices is peace. Maybe you are coming along, but even if you are practising at home, I hope you can light a candle and take some time to feel the peace of the present moment.
Maybe you have found peace from moving the body in yoga, from meditation, chanting or relaxation. The great thing is that with so many techniques at our disposal we can all find a way towards peace – at Christmas and all year round.
“There is no standardised means to find our peace, but it is available to each and everyone of us as life itself. No guaranteed methods can be given and we all must find what works for us. If yoga is our means, we can negotiate our peace with its tools. Yoga must be adapted to our needs, and no standardised approach will work. Our careful adaptation of movement guided by the breath develops clarity of mind and intimacy with our own body and life. Intimacy with our life soon develops into intimacy with others. And here is the peace. “
