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The post The Anusara Sadhana: Our Body is Our Source and Temple appeared first on Anusara School of Hatha Yoga.
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Deepening our relationship with ourselves
Written by Gianni Chavez
I started practicing Anusara yoga in late 2008, during a profound personal crisis. As I was navigating the complexities of adulthood, I felt disconnected from life and even from myself. I didn’t realize I had the freedom to choose how to navigate life’s challenges.
Just like the characters in ‘Growing Pains,’ I was going through growing pains. New structures were forming in my life, and as we know, dissolution processes can be chaotic, painful, mysterious, and full of potential.
Anusara Yoga became my sanctuary, inviting me to explore myself in ways I never had before. It’s a practice that connects me with the sublime in the mundane. It’s my chosen family, my tribe, and the community that supports me.
“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.”
~ Rumi ~
Although I’ve been active in sports since childhood, it wasn’t until I started practising yoga that I truly began to inhabit my body. I developed a sense of interoception and proprioception.
This ignited a curiosity to delve deeper into the various aspects of our physical and mental experiences. Immersions with their emphasis on Tantric philosophy were a crucial balm during that period of my life, so much so that I repeated them several times.
I also completed a certification in Human Development Coaching, which helped me understand on a rational level what I was experiencing through Anusara yoga.
The body became the source of all experience, and the mind the infinite potential field of that experience.
Read the article that Lorin Roche wrote for The Anusara Sadhana about the organs of perception.
Recently, I started studying a certification in Psychotrauma. It’s fascinating to see how concepts developed throughout the yoga tradition, such as meditation, pranayama, the Koshas, the Malas, the Kleshas, the vrttis, vasanas, and samkaras, have scientific explanations.
I know this might be something many have discussed before, but the interesting part is that we’re no longer just ‘verifying’ the yoga tradition. Today, science, especially neuroscience, is using the tradition and associated practices to answer and explain different phenomena of the body and mind.
Today, I want to share with you the wonderful opportunity Adam is offering us to learn more about ourselves in his online training, “Deeper Approach to Body Alignment, Positioning and Movement.”
Throughout his life, Adam has studied and researched the body and movement, especially in the field of kinesiology. He’s one of the teachers who taught me to see the body as the source, movement as a behavioral pattern, and the mind as an infinitely moldable space.
By the way, if you find recognizing the body as the source and the temple as fascinating as I do, I want to share with you that Cat McCarthy is preparing a wonderful course on Polyvagal Theory. Stay tuned for news soon.
View his website:
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]]>Movement and Behavior within the Practice of Yoga Asana
How our movement reflects our body-mind relationship
Written by Adam Ballenger
If you are like most modern-day yogi’s you learned to do yoga postures and routines of sequences of yoga postures.
Yoga postures can be symbolic gestures filled with ritual and philosophical meaning or emotional devotion and celebration, they are also the expression and development of movement behaviors.
Walking, dancing, sitting and hugging are all physical behavior. As a behavior they express what’s been learned, what the components (your anatomy) can perform, and what the internal and external environments influence.
We move differently when we are stressed, or happy, when the ground is wet or dry, when we are well-nourished or low in blood sugar. The way we move expresses an amazing amount of information and we can influence the quality of this form of behavior.
Quality movement can be interpreted as being effective in the task desired.
Was I able to sit and stand safely. Was I efficient in that I expended the least amount of resources and energy necessary or did I exhaust myself because of poor movement quality or conditioning.
Was the movement fulfilling in that every time I move there are likely reasons for moving that are beyond the actual task such as was I able to help someone move their furniture – am I a helpful person in that way.
There can be many ways to assess the quality of movement leaving open the possibility that the quality may have coexisting costs and benefits.
Sometimes the cost is physical while the benefit is emotional or vice versa.
Recent scientific discoveries illuminate the muscular system as an endocrine organ, releasing biomolecules only recently discovered that greatly affect health/longevity.
Research is identifying neuro-biochemical changes in the brain during exercise/movement that are crucial to cognition, memory, and psychological health.
The connection with muscle and fascia and how this affects how we move, and our internal health has been a great leap forward from anatomy and biomechanics of recent generations.
Movement involves both holistic systems and functional compartments that affects far more than we have ever understood. The practice of yoga asana can have a focus on the quality of movement over the accomplishment of positions and include methods and techniques to approach common challenges to higher quality and longer-lasting movement capabilities.
Because most adults’ quality of movement declines with age, this is one of the most shared “needs” we have as we age.
As an educator or practitioners of movement, which is something we do when we teach yoga asana, we need to have an understanding of what we are focusing on.
When we focus on the Asana itself, we teach the shape of the pose and use the principles we’ve learned. When we focus on the movement, we look at the person and try to support their what, why, and how (and more 
).
Good movement capability typically leads to better Asana practice and helps prolong our ability to be healthy – or Healthspan.
Improving movement quality allows a person to engage in more movement behaviors that affect brain, heart and body health as well as express their emotional body with greater vigor and resilience.
Check out the next video where Adam shares some Great Neck Work that supports the Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) and Controlled Articular Rotation (CARs) around the neck area.
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]]>The Universal Principles of Alignment for Pregnancy
Written by Jessica Jennings
After my Anusara teacher training in 2000, I was asked to teach a prenatal yoga class for the first time.
I panicked. I knew nothing about pregnancy (except the basics of course), and I had only taken a weekend training with lots of do’s and don’ts, and lists of poses.
But I was so filled with inspiration from the goddess-based philosophy I was studying that I figured I would just spew it at them.
I gushed to my students about their perfect fullness (purnatva). I told them that they were all beautiful, unique expressions of the Divine, that they only need to listen to the wisdom within, and that pregnancy was a transformative dance to enjoy.
And, well… they looked at me like I was nuts.
It turns out my pregnant students had a new ache or pain not just every day… They weren’t sleeping well because it was hard to find a comfortable position. and they had to get up to pee all the time… and all of their joints were weakened because of the pregnancy hormones.
As an alignment geek, I decided to focus on therapeutics in class. We addressed the Universal Principles of Alignment to relieve wrist pain, back pain and knee pain to anxiety and stress.
I felt so grateful for my training when I watched my students do poses without pain for the first time since they’d been pregnant – and feel better overall by the end of class.
But I still felt like I was missing something…
Around that time, prenatal yoga was mostly gentle yoga. However, more and more as a culture we were beginning to recognize that exercise wasn’t only ok for pregnant mamas, it was essential.
Strength and endurance are needed to carry around a bowling ball-size baby, both inside and out.
Yet it didn’t feel right to teach a regular class with adjustments, building to a pinnacle pose and focusing on expanding our boundaries. My students seemed to just want to feel better, prepare for labor, and enjoy this exciting time together.
It wasn’t until I began asking myself this one question that teaching prenatal yoga began to feel more meaningful to me – and useful to my mamas.
The question I asked myself was this: “What is the opportunity that pregnancy brings?”
I knew that it had to be more than just feeling huge and exhausted. As Tantric philosophy teaches us, life is a gift. Pregnancy is a natural part of life, so I figured it must be a gift as well.
I thought about how, over my first few years of teaching prenatal yoga, I had witnessed a transformation in my moms-to-be from anxious, overwhelmed, and isolated to calm, clear, and grounded. They enjoyed their pregnancy more and experienced birth as empowering more often than what I sensed for those who didn’t do yoga.
I realized what these women all had in common, besides being pregnant: They had all made the same choice to slow down, focus inward, and honor their bodies – some of them in a whole new way.
My pregnant students were choosing to turn nurturing energy inward: growing into a mother, not just to their baby, but to themselves.
For me, this led me to understand what I came to believe is the foundational principle of prenatal yoga.
I continued to learn more about pregnancy.I got my Master’s degree in Kinesiology and did a 6-year study at Kaiser Permanente on the effects of prenatal yoga on customer satisfaction (very high)) and birth outcomes (trended positive).
By the time I became a Certified Anusara teacher in 2006. I’d learned so many reasons why the alignment principles were even more essential for pregnancy.
I also learned how the alignment principles had to shift to be really effective for my mamas.
I went back to the Anusara concept of the masculine vs. the feminine.
These complementary opposites appear in most spiritual traditions. We see them as Shiva/Shakti,, yin and yang, or feminine and masculine.
Rather than thinking about them as referring to gender, sexuality or even archetypes, we can see them simply as two categories for the qualities within each of us.
Neither is better than the other. They are in eternal dance with each other, and in fact, can’t be separated from each other. Like the inhale and exhale, or a contraction and expansion, they support each other.
When we are coming from our more masculine side, we tend to be more linear, logical, achievement-oriented, and independent. It’s the version of us that takes action, checks off lists, moves forward in a straight line and says “I got this.”
When we’re connected to our more feminine side, we tend to be more feeling-our-way forward, intuitive, process-oriented, and collaborative. It’s the part of us that listens, is open to guidance, and spirals around, knowing that it’s ok to need each other.
Our more masculine qualities are essential in getting things done – everything from errands to building a house. Moms are in their masculine often: checking to make sure rooms are baby-safe; picking up the right kids at the right place and getting them to the right activities. All this requires self-reliance and logical, linear thinking.
For co-creative acts, like writing a poem, starting a new relationship or having a transformative pregnancy, the feminine qualities are the foundation – listening, sensing, following a deep desire within.
Society doesn’t often reward the feminine.We get kudos for buying a new house, getting a promotion, or completing a project.
We don’t really get rewards for taking a step back from life, letting ourselves not know what’s next, and being a great listener.
And yet, as yoga teachers, we know that this is the only path to know our Selves.
Pregnancy is a time when many women slow down, turn inward, and begin to honor what they hear in a whole new way.
What I came to call “Finding the Feminine” was for me the gift that pregnancy brings.
[Create a new section or make a division between the previous example and this new example]
Nine years after starting to teach prenatal yoga, what I was teaching felt so fundamentally different from my regular yoga classes that I decided to give this method a name.
I choose the name Ma Yoga because the root “Ma” in so many languages means mother:
And “Ma” has another meaning as well.
In Sanskrit, “Ma” means “the highest, most powerful and wise” – as in “Maha Vaha Srota” – the Great Digestive Channel, and “Ma Kali” – the mother of all goddesses.
I asked my philosophy teacher Dr. Douglas Brooks, and he confirmed that the root “Ma” contains both meanings.
It also made sense to me in the context of prana–life force–which has three major qualities:
I began to see that nurturing energy opens the door to our power and wisdom.
As a new mom myself, I knew that the challenges of pregnancy and labor were temporary, compared to the isolation, depletion, and stress of motherhood.
Nature gives us 9 months to step away from the fray and learn how to love ourselves, honor our body’s’ wisdom, and stand strong in our power.
And of course, we can all Find the Feminine – learn to treat ourselves with the same love and care that we would a little one we love. We can all (male and female, young and old) learn to love ourselves fully.
For me, this is the opportunity pregnancy brings: When we learn to mother ourselves, we step into our highest, most powerful and wise “Ma” Self.
While the Universal Principles of Alignment turned out to apply physically to pregnancy beautifully, the way I taught them shifted for prenatal yoga.
I focused less on aches and pains, shoulder blades and tailbones, and dove deeper into the essence of the principles: the five natural elements.
The feminine is holistic. It’s not about separating and isolating parts, but rather seeing and experiencing ourselves as an interconnected whole. And according to yoga, we are made up of these five elements, and nothing else.
Connecting my mamas to space, earth, water, fire and air within themselves became my guide as a prenatal yoga teacher.
The five elements allowed me to help students align with their highest Self, while giving them a powerful experience of all that they needed to have a transformative pregnancy, labor, and postpartum period.
When I focused less on just the physical, the shifts happened on all levels: physical, mental/emotional, energetic, and spiritual.
As I continued working with the energy of the five natural elements, I realized they are actually the keys to not only understanding prenatal yoga, but to any co-creative act. When we lay them down as “steps” over the journey of pregnancy, we understand what to emphasize.
As we go through them, think about whatever you may have gestating within you,whether it’s a baby, a project, or a new way of showing up in the world. The five natural elements – or what I call “the Five Sacred Steps” – can be your guide.
Below is a deep dive into the Universal Principles of Alignment: their element, how this element plays out in nature, the feminine aspect of this principle, and how it supports pregnancy:
Universal Principle of Alignment: Open to Grace
Element: SPACE
Garden Metaphor: Clear away brush for planting
Sacred Step One: Find the Feminine
For Pregnancy: Make Space for Baby
As my birth mentor used to say, “If pregnancy doesn’t teach you we’re not in charge, labor will. And if labor doesn’t, our baby will.”
The first principle is essential to teach our students even before they are pregnant,especially if they are having fertility issues.
When we remember there are bigger forces at work, and we are at most “co-creating”, we let go. Our groins release, our energy settles, and prana can flow with more ease.
Even in the first trimester, before everything has stuck, it’s important to remind our students that “naps are the new productive.” It’s time to start listening to your body, letting go of micro-managing, and allowing nature to do her magic.
Because of the high rate of miscarriage during this time, we want to encourage our students to back off more than any other time throughout pregnancy.
This is not because we could “jump” the baby away, but because loss happens, and we don’t want to add to their experience of self-blame because they did a pose that didn’t feel right.
Making space for ourselves is about slowing down, opening to receive guidance from our bodies, and honoring what we hear.
We’re also making space for this new growing being in our lives.n prenatal yoga, we never stop needing to make space for the baby.
As the baby grows, our organs get pushed aside. Our bladder gets squeezed, our diaphragm is impinged, and the weight of the baby often pulls the rib cage forward, leaving less space in the back of the body.
In order to allow the baby to move into optimal position, we need to make space in all the same ways we learn to make space in Anusara,especially the back of the body, and the top of the chest.
Even just having students sit on a folded blanket, settle their pelvis down on the exhale and expand up and out on the inhale gives the baby needed space to move freely.
And of course, these principles go beyond the physical. When we learn to make space by adjusting a pose – a lunge for instance, when we put both arms inside our front leg–we are also helping our students make space for babies in their minds and hearts.
Encouraging our students to adjust poses for their yoga partner isn’t just about being able to do poses. it’s wonderful practice for shifting every aspect of their being for what will become a new life partner.
Universal Principle of Alignment: Muscular Energy
Element: Earth
Garden Metaphor: Plant seeds in dirt
Sacred Step Two: Source Your Strength
For Pregnancy: Create a Strong Container for Baby
Pregnancy hormones like progesterone and relaxin weaken all the joints during pregnancy.
So it’s even more important during pregnancy to engage muscles before stretching.
And as our belly grows, this instability increases. I’ve had students who couldn’t even lift their hips off the floor for Bridge Pose in their 3rd trimester. Even squeezing a block between their thigh wasn’t enough.They still felt like their thigh bones would just fall out of their hips.
You can help your students stabilize their hips by standing over them as they do Bridge and squeezing their hips with our legs.
As we challenge moms-to-be to find physical strength in the midline of their bodies (mudya), they can’t help but find their inner strength as well.
And yet each principle builds on the last: We never forget that we are Making Space for Baby in the most nurturing, loving way possible.
The “hug your muscles” cue is wonderful for the mamas because they are literally hugging their baby – and themselves.
Universal Principle of Alignment: Inner Spiral
Element: Water
Garden Metaphor: Water your garden
Sacred Step Three: Do a Divine dance
For Pregnancy: Make space for baby in the back of the pelvis
It took me two and a half years to get pregnant, and people ask me often: What finally did the trick?
I had tried everything from “drink a glass of wine every night” to “get a plant” to “don’t get a plant or your body will already think it’s nurturing something” to, of course, the ubiquitous “ground your femurs.”
None of it had worked for me.
Of course, who knows, but my husband and I were about to do IVF (we had the medication and were ready to go)… this is a common story of letting go.
And yet also my husband went away and missed our optimal window… That was odd.
And then there’s this: The week before I got pregnant, I took a week-long workshop with Ansuara founder John Friend. His theme that week was water and the goddess, and every pose we did became a flowy dance.
I remember swaying my hips in figure 8’s in Warrior II and realizing that we could bring our softness into anything – and still be strong.
We swayed and spiraled and never hardened or held poses for long. It was a transformative practice, and… who knows – just might have helped me finally get pregnant.
What I do know is that connecting to our feminine side with flowy movements of the hips not only feels really great when we’re pregnant – it makes space for baby to move into optimal position.
It supports baby’s exit strategy, it releases the groins so energy can move downward, and relieves low back pain that is all too common as the weight of the baby pulls our stomach and thighs forward.
Plus, when we stick our booty out, we release not only the groins but the Round Ligament – connecting the uterus to the pelvis – that can get over stretched and feel crampy.
Maybe most of all – dancing is a wonderful way to help our mamas feel a deep, joyful connection to baby.
Universal Principle of Alignment: Outer Spiral
Element: Fire
Garden Metaphor: Roots grow down
Sacred Step Four: Ground Your Power
For Pregnancy: Root In to Support
When I was pregnant, I was told that I shouldn’t work my core at all.
My prenatal yoga teacher had a 6-pack for abs, which had inhibited her body’s ability to expand during her contractions.
However, I am not someone who ever had a 6-pack – or ever will. I have a more organic, flexible body.
For me, not engaging my core for a year caused my body to move into asymmetrical patterns that took years to recover from.
For this reason, I’m passionate about training yoga teachers how to help their pregnant students safely and effectively engage their core.
In a nutshell, to stay connected to our feminine side, we always want to support movement and flow.
Of course, sucking the belly can actually reduce space for baby, so it is not optimal.
And since prana flows downward from the low belly, any cues like “tuck the tailbone” can actually block the flow of prana. It can leave our mamas feeling ungrounded and even block the downward energy flow of labor.
Doing too much tailbone tucking also presses the thighs and belly forward, increasing the risk of diastasis recti, or abdominal wall splitting.
Instead, “exhale, and “root from hips through heels” became my go-to prenatal cue to help keep energy moving, all the parts connected, and the whole body feeling both spacious and grounded.
Even for kegels, it’s important to recognize that drawing the pelvic floor in is only half of it. Tthe other half is inhaling, allowing both the diaphragm and pelvic floor to release and broaden, so we don’t get stuck in a contracted state.
All of the alignment actions feed into each other, and this one is no different: We cannot separate engaging our core with grounding downward through the heels. Otherwise,we may block prana. Remembering this allows core engagement to be safe and effective for pregnancy.
Universal Principle of Alignment: Organic Energy
Element: Air
Garden Metaphor: Plants grow up and out
Sacred Step Five: Offer Your Gifts
For Pregnancy: Become the “Ma” You Want to Be
On the mat, our 5th principle refers to the stretch: energy moves from inside out.
In life, it’s all about trusting the work we’ve done, and allowing ourselves to expand into our greatest possibilities.
For pregnancy, it’s so important to stay connected to the inner space, the hug, the dance and the rootedness. When we do, we experience a deep transformation.
I always encourage mamas to take birth classes, find lactation groups, and receive knowledge from those who have walked this path before them.
And yet at some point, no matter how much they know, and how wonderful their support team is, it’s important to remind them: Only you can birth this baby, and ultimately you will be the one who knows best how to mother this baby.
In other words: educate and meditate.
And then, trust what’s moving through you.
The biggest regrets we have are when we ignored that little voice inside, guiding us, directing us along our path.
For many people, prenatal yoga is their first experience with yoga.
It’s one of obstetricians’ most highly recommended forms of pregnancy exercises.
And moms-to-be have all new motivation to learn to take care of themselves because taking care of themselves means taking care of baby.
Pregnancy is a wonderful time for people to learn to turn nurturing energy inward, and in doing so, they can begin to find a deep power and expansive wisdom within.
It can be an opportunity to change challenges into opportunities, learn how strong they are,find play and release and joy, and connect to support within their bodies and all around them.
It can be a transformative journey to their own highest, most powerful and wise “Ma” Self.
And prenatal yoga teachers can stand at the doorway, saying “Welcome.”
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]]>“THE BEAUTY OF MOVING FROM THE CENTER”
Teachings from the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam and their implementation in asana practice with the UPA’s using the example of Prasarita Padottanasana and Trikonasana
Written by Veronika Freitag
The Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam is one of the most concise tantric scriptures I know and is deeply relevant to the philosophy and practice of Anusara yoga. The relatively short text is a summary of tantric teachings and was written by Kshemaraja in the 12th century. Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam means “The Heart of Recognition“
A very free interpretation of verse 17 of Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam states:
“When one expands the space of the center, the bliss of consciousness unfolds“.
This interpretation has enormous power for me. Thinking and feeling the verse or writing it down in this moment immediately brings me into the feeling of my essence.
Perhaps you could also try to feel this sentence deeply. What do you feel?
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Before we continue with the practice, I would like to share a bit more context.
Sutra 16 says (in essence): “When one experiences the joy (ananda) of all-encompassing consciousness (chit) and thereby understands one’s identity as all-encompassing consciousness and this state stabilizes in this “embodied” life – then one is a soul liberated in one’s lifetime (jīvanmuktiḥ)“
This raises the question of how one can achieve this bliss. The answer follows in the next verse.
Sutra 17: “The bliss (Ananda) of all-encompassing consciousness is attained when one expands MADHYA (meaning “the middle” / or “the center”).”
Sutra 18 then describes several techniques for expanding this center. We will focus on two possibilities here:
– śakti-saṅkoca – means the contraction of energy (shakti). This means that you draw your consciousness, the energy behind your senses and perceptions, your thoughts and feelings inwards, into your inner space up to the central axis “Madhya Nadi”
– śakti-vikāsa – means the expansion of energy (shakti). This means that you expand your senses, your consciousness again – without losing contact with the center.
śakti-saṅkoca can be experienced very well with “muscular energy”.
Muscular energy flows on three levels:
Muscular energy has a fundamentally stabilizing, supporting and integrating effect. The other secrets of this principle are revealed if you now proceed a little more subtly:
We have previously created an inner expanse with the 1st principle.
Now it is a matter of building up a gentle muscular tone, but maintaining the inner space created previously. You lovingly draw energy from the skin to the muscles, to the bones, inwards, as if you were giving your body a hug. This makes you aware of your whole body, your sensory perceptions are guided away from the outer world, first into your body and then into your inner space. Your body feels protected and held, allowing you to feel into finer worlds.
If you now move even further and more concretely (yet sensitively) towards the central axis, the feeling of physical security will initially increase. This can give rise to trust, allowing you to go deeper on the journey inwards.
The central axis refers to the vertical axis of the body, which runs along the spine and its imaginary extension. In the subtle, this centerline is called Sushumna Nadi or Madhya Nadi. Madhya means center and this is not just a physical location but stands for the center, the origin, the core of everything. It is pure awareness (chit).
So when you gently draw energy towards the center, starting on a physical level, your consciousness follows this movement. You are not only directing your attention to the physical centerline, but also immersing yourself in your subtle center. This is like touching the zero point, the origin of everything. At the same time, it feels like a gateway to completely different dimensions of your consciousness. It is so beautiful to explore this inner space and to experience impulses of self-knowledge.
For the Prasarita Padottanasana I describe this process in more detail here:
Come into a wide straddle, already in the indicated forward bend. The feet are parallel to each other, ground them well and take a calm, wide breath. Now start to build up a gentle muscular tone in the legs from the skin via the muscles. Draw strength from the outer calves towards the midline (between the legs) and from the grounded feet up through the legs towards the pelvis. On a physical level, this will integrate the head of the femur deeper into the acetabulum. Your pelvis can tilt forward better and you can bend forward more easily and safely.
On a physical level, you experience self-created stability and inner security. At the same time, it is an embrace of your body and your uniqueness. It is an expression of self-love and self-care.
Mentally, you experience a stronger focus. Instead of having your attention on the outside, you guide yourself inwards.
Spiritually, you experience your inner space. The texture of your subconscious, the color of your thoughts and feelings, the inner expanse of your soul and the sense of your unlimited eternal nature.
śakti-vikāsa can be realized wonderfully with organic energy.
At first glance, organic energy is the power with which we physically expand from within in all directions.
Organic energy flows on three levels.
As the organic energy in standing postures also flows back from the pelvis via the legs into the feet, this alignment principle initially has a fundamentally grounding component. Then comes the physical expansion. We feel stability and freedom at the same time. We are carried from within, which is why what we do feels real or ‘organic’. The more the expansion really comes from our essence, the more real joy we experience in the practice. Yogis call this kind of bliss ANANDA.
To better understand the spiritual depth of this principle, let’s take another look at verse 17 from the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam.
Sutra 17: The bliss (Ananda) of all-encompassing consciousness is attained when one expands MADHYA (meaning “the middle” / or “the center”).
This “mystical center” that needs to be expanded can be understood on a physical level as the vertical central axis that runs along the spine. On an energetic level, this center line is called Sushumna Nadi or Madhya Nadi. Madhya also means the center, the origin, the core of everything. This is pure consciousness (chit).
In short, and in other words, if we expand the center, then we can experience the bliss of our existence and if we succeed in this permanently, we are liberated.
The “organic energy” is the translation of this spiritual wisdom into the physical yoga practice and knowing this takes our yoga practice to a whole new dimension.
Let’s try it out here using Trikonasana:
Come into Trikonasana. Ground your feet well, especially the balls of your big toes, and draw strength from your feet into the pelvis as you inhale. Hold this energetic focus as you exhale from the pelvis, sending the energy back through the legs into the feet and lengthening the sides of the body at the same time. Now you can experience stability and width at the same time.
Now remember the central axis and gently pull towards this center with the inhalation, your consciousness follows the path and you let it dive into your center. Then, with the exhale, begin to expand this center, your essence. A wave of organic joy expands your body in all directions and even goes beyond your physical body. You also become wide from the heart, the collarbones flow apart while the shoulder blades lie flat against the back. The back of your head is long and your neck is free.
And now I hope you enjoy this short practice video.
Get ready to take your practice to new heights! 
Veronika’s Freitag shared with us an amazing video tutorial: “The Beauty of Moving from the Center (Madhya)” 
Discover the secrets of finding balance, strength, and grace as you flow through this empowering practice.
Websites: www.jyoti-yoga.de // www.veronikafreitag.com
Instagram: Veronika Freitag IG
Facebook: Veronika Freitag FB
Youtube: Veronika Freitag YouTube
Address: JYOTI-YOGA, Grindelhof 63 a, 20146 Hamburg
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Prāṇāyāma, Dancing with The Divine
Written by Eva Ananya
Inhale … Exhale … We do it about 20,000 times daily, providing every cell in our body with vital nourishment called oxygen. An adult breathes in and out approximately 10 to 15 times per minute. I have verified this for myself; on average, it’s 12 breaths per minute when I’m sitting at my office working. Assuming I take in just over a quarter liter of air per breath, that amounts to about 4 liters of air per minute and around 6,000 liters or 6 m³ per day, and that’s just in a quasi-resting state at my desk. This increases, of course, as soon as I start moving. I find these numbers quite impressive.
Further contemplation makes it clear to me, I breathe far more frequently compared to drinking or eating. I think very carefully about what food and drinks I consume, trying to do so calmly so that my body can properly utilize the nourishment. We all consider what solid and liquid food we feed our bodies. Why not also our gaseous nourishment?
One answer, of course, is that we don’t need to control it. We breathe without needing to actively contribute. But we could.
This was my realization over a decade ago when I began to pay more attention to my nutrition, which also includes oxygen. Through numerous yoga trainings and workshops, I had already learned several Prāṇāyāma techniques, but I knew there was much more than just Kapālabhātī (which actually belongs to the ṣaṭ-karmāṇi, the six cleansing practices, which are explained in the Haṭhapradīpikā – and by the way, it is also mentioned there that we should keep them secret, as they produce extraordinary attributes.”), Ujjāyī, and alternate nostril breathing. So, I began delving deeper into the science of breathing and was fortunate to find an experienced teacher who, through his teacher, had gained deep insights into Prāṇāyāma.
Where do we find references to the control of breath and its importance in yoga literature? The first instructions on how to control the breath are already found in the Vedas, where during rituals the Vedic priests are instructed to influence the breath in a prescribed manner. Later, we find in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras in the Aṣṭāṅgamārga, the eight-limbed path, the fourth limb as Prāṇāyāma. The Sūtras in Chapter 2, from 49 to 53 (PYS II.49-53), discuss Prāṇāyāma and its effects. While we estimate these Sūtras to be over 2,000 years old, more and more references and explanations can also be found in ‘newer’ yogic texts. For instance, the Haṭhapradīpikā (circa 14th century AD) treats eight classic Prāṇāyāmas, also in the second chapter:
atha kumbhakabhedāḥ
sūryabhedanam ujjāyī sītkārī śītalī tathā |
bhastrikā bhrāmarī mūrcchā plāvinīty aṣṭa-kumbhakāḥ ||44||
Now the variations of Kumbhaka: Sūryabhedanam, Ujjāyī, Sītkārī, Śītalī likewise,
Bhastrikā, Bhrāmarī, Mūrcchā, Plāvinī – these are the eight breath controls. ||44||
In another important Haṭha Yoga text, the Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā (probably from the late 17th century from Northeast India), explanations on Prāṇāyāma are found in the fifth chapter, and right at the beginning in the first verse, the goal or result of this practice:
athātaḥ saṁpravakṣyāmi prāṇāyāmasya sadvidhim |
Yasya sādhanamātreṇa devatulyo bhavennaraḥ ||1||
Now I shall expound the correct rules of Pranayama.
By its practice alone a man becomes God-like. ||1||
Verse 46 then lists the following eight techniques:
‘sahitaḥ sūryabhedaśca ujjāyī śītalī tathā |
bhastrikā bhrāmarī mūrcchā kevalī cāṣṭa kumbhakāḥ ||46||
And they are very familiar to us, being techniques mostly known from the Haṭhapradīpikā. While Ujjāyī, Bhrāmarī, and also Bhastrikā are known to most yoga practitioners, the other techniques are less so. Therefore, I would like to focus on *sūryabhedana*. In the Haṭhapradīpikā, right after listing the techniques in verse 2.44, in the following verses, we find instructions on how to use the three Bandhas during breathing and also how the yogi can free themselves from aging. And from verse 2.48, the explanation of the sūryabhedana technique begins: A comfortable seat and the yogi should slowly inhale through the right nostril (Piṅgalā nāḍī), practice Kumbhaka, i.e., hold the breath to the utmost, until it is felt from the hair (on the head) to the nail tips (in the toes, i.e., permeating the entire body). Then he should slowly exhale through the left nostril (Ida nāḍī). In verse 2.50, we find the effect described as follows: ‘Cleans the frontal sinuses, combats diseases caused by a disturbance of Vāta and heals diseases caused by worms (bacteria). It should therefore be performed repeatedly.’ In the dialogue between Chanda and Gheraṇḍa in the Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā, the effect is even more elaborated: It destroys decay and death, awakens the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, and increases the body fire.
The focus for this practice can be intensified by mentally reciting ‘sā’ during inhalation through the right nostril and ‘haṃ’ during exhalation. The ‘Haṃsā’ Mantra is especially used in tantric practice often in this form with the breath to support the concentration for a Dhāraṇā (as in the Vijñāna-Bhairava-Tantra). It is also said to be the natural breath Mantra, which we thus recite daily over 20,000 times. Its literal meaning: ‘That I am’ and if you listen closely, you can actually hear it.
And before we start with the practice – a few words about the breath itself: The four functions of the breath are in-taking of air, the suspension of the in-taken breath, the expiration of body gases during exhalation, and suspension of the breath after exhalation.
The usual terms in Yoga for these four-fold functions are:
Further sub-divisions of this breathing cycle are a natural suspension of the held-in breath, which we call kevala abhyantara and the natural suspension of the held-out breath, kevala kumbhaka, which also suggests the natural śūnya or sahajā state of the breath (see Haṭhapradīpikā 4.3-4).
Sit in Vajrāsana or another stable seated position, such as with crossed legs on the ground (Sukhāsana, Siddhāsana or even Padmāsana). Stretch the crown of your head upwards and lift your sternum so you can sit up with ease. The hand gesture (Hasta Mudrā) that you can use for your right hand is Viṣṇu Mudrā or Nāsāgra Mudrā. For this, bend the middle and index fingers towards the palm, extend the little finger, ring finger, and thumb away. For the left hand, you can choose Cin Mudrā. It symbolizes spiritual unfolding, higher awareness, and activates the secret channel of consciousness (Gupta nāḍī), which leads from the hand on the knee to the cave of the heart (hrid-guhā). It helps distribute the Prāṇa in the body and dissolve energetic blockages (more on this in Indu Arora’s book, The Great Book of Mudrās).
Now bring your right hand with Viṣṇu Mudrā in front of your body. Inhale and hold the breath (apply Jālandhara Bandha if you generally work with these locks), then slowly exhale through the left nostril. Now inhale through the right nostril again and hold the breath again. Continue practicing the cycle. There are several suggestions for the rhythm of this practice, such as inhaling through the right for 4 (pūraka), holding the breath for 16 (antar kumbhaka), and exhaling through the left for 8 (recaka). My recommendation for how you can clearly write down this Tāla (rhythm) is a syntax like this:
In : Pause : Out : Pause
The example here would thus be:
4 : 16 : 8 : 0
For me, this practice always feels like a little sunrise within me, and thus I like to practice it especially in the mornings. As with all techniques, I recommend that you perceive for yourself how it works for you. Of course, you should also give each technique some time following the motto ‘Once is none’.
The breath is a bridge between my inner world and the outer world. With Prāṇāyāma, I can consciously influence my inner world – my physical, emotional and mental perception. Instead of an Espresso in the morning, a Bhastrikā variation helps me much better to wake up, or a calming and relaxing Prāṇāyāma such as sama vritti (box breathing or even breathing) in the evening when I am still very much in my head from a long day at work.
And today we also know that this is not just a perceived effect. There are medical studies that have been able to demonstrate these effects and conclude that directing airflow through the right nostril is of an activating nature, while directing airflow through the left nostril is of a relaxing nature. Heart rate, blood pressure, and reaction time were measured (Bhavanani A., Ramanathan M., Balaji R., Pushpa D. (2014) International Journal of Yoga).
I feel the effects of Prāṇāyāma, and it has changed so much for me on all levels of my being (Kośas). Together with tantric philosophy, it has become my path to yoga along with Āsana practice. And so, it is also my goal to pass on this gift and hope that it is as much a support to you as it is to me.
To start your sadhana, you can try to follow the “3 R’s”:
Regularity, Rhythm and Repetition.
This is the key to the healthy development of your Prāṇāyāma practice. In Yoga, this is the essence of the word Abhyāsa. Choose a time during the day when you can take time for your practice regularly. If you know that you have a work commitment every third evening, then this time is probably not suitable. It’s also better to practice for ten minutes every morning when you wake up than to commit to an hour that you might not be able to keep up. Be realistic and set yourself realistic goals and time targets, and stick to them with regularity, rhythm and repetition.
And my experience is: over time, you will/can take more and more time for your Prāṇāyāma practice – because you feel the benefit.
Email: eananya@ananya.at
websites: Ananya Yoga Studio // Ananya Yoga Academy
Instagram: @evaananya
Address: Ananya Yoga, Mollardgasse 34, 1060 Vienna/Austria
Telephone: +43 1 9094781
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]]>“The Art of Storytelling“
How to Tell a Story with Confidence
Written by Gianni Chávez
As Anusara Yoga teachers, we have the privilege of guiding students on a journey of self-discovery and transformation through the practice of yoga. One powerful tool and skill we learn and develop during our 200hrs and 300hrs Trainings is The Art of Teaching with a Theme, one of Anusara’s unique “hallmarks”. This ability allows us as teachers to, not only offer a yoga class, but a profound yoga experience.
As a child, I was utterly captivated by stories of every kind—tales, fables, myths—they all beckoned me into realms of magic and wonder. Through these stories, I discovered the beauty of mystery and the richness of the human experience. They weren’t just stories; they were windows into the very essence of what it means to be human.
“Teaching with a Theme” holds a special place in my heart because it allows me to infuse myths and all the mysteries of our human experience into storytelling. It’s a journey where we get to blend the magic of ancient tales with the depths of our shared human experience, weaving a tapestry of wonder and insight that invites us to recognize our true essence in every class
Mythic consciousness refers to the innate human capacity to connect with archetypal symbols, themes, and narratives that transcend cultural boundaries and resonate with the universal human experience. Mythic stories have the power to evoke deep emotions, stir the imagination, and awaken a sense of wonder and awe within us. By tapping into this collective unconscious, we can create a profound and transformative experience for our students.
Storytelling has been an integral part of the yoga tradition for thousands of years, with ancient texts like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra serving as repositories of timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings. In the modern yoga classroom, storytelling serves as a powerful tool for conveying abstract philosophical concepts and practices in a relatable and accessible way, helping students to connect more deeply with the teachings and integrate them into their lives.
Recognizing my story has been part of my inner work. Thanks to this practice, I have been able to appreciate not only my brightest moments but also honor my darkest moments.
Each of us harbors a powerful story. This life experience exposes us to countless situations where we connect with universal archetypes (mostly unconsciously and rarely consciously).
It is important to remember that all archetypes (characters) potentially exist within each of us and that there are certain archetypes we access more easily.
The practice is not only to recognize the archetypes but to observe the conditions that arise for these archetypes to appear. That’s where the nectar and power of your story (learning and teaching) lie.
Get ready to be inspired, and learn some awesome storytelling techniques!
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]]>The post The Anusara Sadhana: Ishvara Pranidhana, The Practice of Surrendering to The Divine appeared first on Anusara School of Hatha Yoga.
]]>Ishvara Pranidhana
The Practice of Surrendering to The Divine
Raja Yoga: Tapsya, Ishvara Pranidana and Svadyaya
A Non Dual Spin of Patanjali’s Niyamas – Part III
Written by Jaye Martin
Ishvara Pranidhana is the fifth and last Niyama mentioned in The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
Perhaps this Niyama is last because after all the doing, in the end, one ultimately must let go of all. However, the practice of Yoga gives one an opportunity to BEGIN surrendering their actions to something bigger than one’s Self from the get-go!
Although Yoga is not a religion, I feel that practising yoga invites an underlying idea that something bigger, and more profound exists that I call a Greater Truth. This Greater Truth is so true that not only is it true for an individual, but for everyone and everything! A deep yoga practice invites contemplation of a Greater Truth that may or may not be able to be expressed in words!
Here are a few examples of how one may describe the Greater Truth in words:
The Divine – The Divine expresses as me, through me, for me as well as everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
Something Bigger – I am part of Something Bigger and so is everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
The One Love – I am born of the One Love and so is everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
Undifferentiated Pure Light – I am an expression of Undifferentiated Pure Light and so is everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
Pure Vibrating Potential – I am an expression of Pure Vibrating Potential and so is everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
God – I am a child of God and everyone and everything in this infinitely expanding universe is a part of God’s creation.
Pure Energy – I am Pure Energy pulsing along with everyone and everything in an infinitely expanding universe.
Of Course, one’s Greater Truth may also be recognized through an inner knowing beyond words.
To consider Ishvara Prandhana, one is invited to ‘surrender’ to the cultivation of a deep and trusting relationship with, and make each of one’s actions an offering in recognition and remembrance of a Greater Truth.
One practice of Ishvara Pranidhana is to devote one’s actions to one’s Greater Truth: to practice completely surrendering or offering our actions to the Greater Truth.
Sometimes when one is presented with challenging situations in life, one can simply quit when it is uncomfortable. This sort of “surrender” may be less honoring of The Greater Truth and the Creative Power of the Greater Truth! Perhaps the idea of Ishvara Pranidhana is to “surrender” as in “give up” our actions to a Greater Truth.
To “give” is to offer!
“Up” is The Highest!
Offer one’s actions up to The Highest, a Greater Truth! Isvara Pranidhana can also be seen as less of a devotional dedication, and more of a saying “YES” to one’s experience of being as it is. By doing so, one surrenders fighting against life’s twists and turns so as to remain open to experiencing life as it unfolds with a sense of radical affirmation!
Whether it’s surrendering to a moment of difficulty or a moment of joy, surrendering the results of our actions, or simply learning to trust in a Greater Truth a little more; each time we do choose to practice Ishvara Pranidhana, we increase the opportunity to experience more of the Bliss of Being – Ananda!
Ishvara Pranidhana helps me to remember that I am part of a Greater Truth; that I don’t have all the answers, nor do I need to; that there is a mystery to my existence and the existence of all that I will never completely understand in this lifetime; that try as I might to figure things out, there will always be a bigger picture that’s beyond my comprehension. And that’s okay. When I surrender the need to know, I move that much closer to uncovering my true nature: that part of me that doesn’t over-intellectualize, analyze, critique, or overthink; the part that is unchanging, undying, everlasting and eternal; The Greater Truth!
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]]>Recognizing Our Full Embodied Experience
Written by Lorin Roche, SMS
If you like, you can go through life thinking that you have five senses. This is the common notion: generally people say “vision, hearing smell, taste, and touch.” I don’t know who came up with this simple formula of five, but you can see it in early Greek philosophy and Indian philosophy also. I suspect that whoever came up with this didn’t dance. How could anyone leave out the sense of balance?
You could also get real and not let old theoretical notions limit your experience of your own body.
If you get into it, get into your body and start exploring, you might find a bunch more senses. Inside of touch, for example there are nuances—very light touch like the tickle of the hair on your arms from a breeze, and deep touch like the firm fingers of a massage therapist. These kind of deserve their own nomenclature. There is a world of sensations inside of our connective tissue when we’re flowing through an asana sequence.
When we are delighting in pranayama and meditation, sometimes our senses open up and we feel we are perceiving prana as electricity, as juiciness, and as love flowing in our bodies. How do we describe this inner universe of sensation? Is this simply “touch?”
Walk around in nature, for example after a rain, or when you are alone in new terrain, and notice how your senses open. As you sniff the air, feel the tingle of your skin, take in the light, and feel the urge to move, and then take in another breath that feels like an elixir, you are in the realm of the natural senses.
The yoga literature describes many realms of sensing that open to our awareness, and the terms are generally hidden somewhat in the metaphoric language typical of Sanskrit. For example, a word used to refer to the senses is indriya.
Here is the dictionary listing: इन्द्रिय. indriya: “Fit for or belonging to or agreeable to Indra, the god of the senses; a companion of Indra. Power, force, the quality that belongs especially to the mighty Indra. An exhibition of power, a powerful act. Bodily power, power of the senses. Virile power. Semen virile. Faculty of sense, sense, organ of sense. The number five as a symbol of the five senses (in addition to the five organs of perception—eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin).”
Let’s play with the images given here. Indra is the ruling energy of the gods, the devas, and the senses belong to Indra. The senses belong to the divine and are beloved of the divine creative power because they are rivers of energy and information flowing from creation to touch our awareness. Our senses are currents of pranashakti built by the genius of the life force, allowing us to witness, savor, dance with, the play of creation all around and within us.
When we are adoring the senses, they give us power. There’s a quality of virility, gusto, zest, liveliness. It is a gift to be alive.
We can see that this limiting concept of five has crept into the definition of the senses here. And I think this was kind of a mistake.
If we listen to what physiologists say, and they are building on what dancers and massage therapists say, we get a list something like this.
Many of these overlap, and you can divide them up as you like, or unify them into vast clumps, such as “kinesthesia” to include all interior senses.
The entire body is a sensory organ.
Every few days for the rest of your life, spend at least a few minutes delighting in your full symphony of senses. Own them all as “my senses.” Take responsibility to attend to them and care for them.
Sometimes I spend half an hour just reviewing all the senses, celebrating each one, petting it, loving it up, then after attending to them more or less individually, sit back and simply welcome the flood of sensing.
Every tiny nuance of learning to embrace our own immediate and intimate stream of sensory experience – from the pulsating rhythms to the welcome and sometimes unwelcome surprises we encounter, from surrendering to moments of darkness to yielding to the pull of gravity, and from embracing a restfulness deeper than sleep to relishing in the surge of uplifting energies – each incremental step initially feels like acquiring a new skill. Yet, with time, these steps seamlessly integrate into your overall embrace of experience.
As sensations intensify, becoming either more pronounced or subtler, or as you sink into deeper relaxation, or learn to rest more profoundly, even the most familiar experiences can take on the guise of novelty, initiating a sense of inward astonishment and surprise.
Tantra is weaving, the practice of weaving together the elements of life, body and soul, sexuality and spirituality, individuality and community. As we weave together the many elements that are always flowing in us – the unimpeded flow of breath, the undulating motion akin to waves in water, the vast expanse of space, the brilliance of light, and the gravitational pull downwards – with each interaction gives rise to fresh combinations and permutations. When we allow it, each moment has a quality of shocking freshness and novelty and can feel as if it is asking for a distinct skill. On this path, we can feel like an eternal beginner, always learning to revel in the melody of existence, in an ongoing discovery.
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Stepping into new beginnings
by Letizzia Wastavino,
Vice President of the Board of Directors,
Member from Austria/Chile
Dear Anusara® Yoga friend,
Our School was conceived in 2012, where a group of teachers decided to envision the structure of a teachers-led school.
Back then, the visionaries, Benita Galvan, William “Doc” Savage, Jane Norton, and Jacalyn Prete created the Steering Committee with the support and participation of Deb Payne, Andrea Boni, Kai Hill, Benjamin Finnerty, Gianni Chavez, Jayendra Hanley, Alessandra di Prampero, Karen Sprute-Francovich, Barbra Noh, Karen Claffey, Jeannine Plaiche, Christy McKenzie, Adam Ballenger, Tiffany Wood, Jane Goldstein, and Peter Goodman.
By 2016, as the School continued to grow, the creation of a Board of Directors came to light, that was the year I stepped in as a new board member, shy and quiet.
Since then many projects have been created. As a few examples we can mention the tier prices for the License Fees, or the Anusara Marga with articles written by our teachers, or the Anusara Live video library. In recent years, we have worked on Continuing Education Programs like Samudra Shakti , Kula Bhrajana Europe Online, ComUnidad, our Mentoring Program and many more.
Our most recent project has been the Fundamentals and Innovation Policy, opening the possibility to incorporate Innovations to our practice and teachings, giving the space for new findings to become part of our Anusara methodology.
Being part of the Board has given me the opportunity to bring my ideas and my vision of how I want the School to continue growing to a reality. Little by little I had been able to find my voice realizing my own strengths while learning how to be a real leader. Something I never thought would be possible since my fiery temperament, but through my many years of team work I had learned how to communicate more effectively thanks to compassion communication.
Back then in 2016, we knew that we wanted to promote the growth of our school and support our teachers, but first we needed to set the bases of the School, many policies and guidelines needed to be created, while the School kept growing.
Now, we feel we are grown up and we can begin to offer more to our teachers, to our community. Now we feel we have the tools to answer your ideas and suggestions, we can finally listen and attend to your needs, bringing more possibilities to support you and to give back to you as a thank you for keeping trusting the School and being part of it.
Therefore, I am very happy to share with you some of the new projects the Board is currently working on:
I invite you to step in as a Board Member, bring your unique voice and your ideas. Come and work with us and feel the great heart-blowing experience of serving a bigger community of heart seekers.
Letizzia Wastavino,
Certified Anusara® Yoga Teacher, Vice-President Board of Directors.
As a teacher-led school, serving on the Anusara School of Hatha Yoga’s Board of Directors is a wonderful way to learn new skills, share your knowledge and experience, make new friends and bring to life the School’s core values of collaboration and unity within diversity!
The Board of Directors seeks to fill six (6) openings for a three-year term, starting in May 2024.
Everyone is welcome to serve on the Board, whether you are an Anusara Teacher, student or practitioner. This year we have a special need to fill up representation from Latin America, Europe and Asia.
The only requirements are:
1. Love for Anusara Yoga and
2. A strong desire to contribute to the School by expressing your talents
The Board is seeking new members with a background in finance, legal, governance and/or fundraising and marketing skills.
Applications are open until February 23, 2024.
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]]>The post The Anusara Sadhana: Sattva: The Optimal Blueprint in Asana and Life appeared first on Anusara School of Hatha Yoga.
]]>The Truth and Higher Intelligence that underlines everything
Written by Hristinka Maslarska
As we know Anusara Yoga’s philosophy seeks and recognises Consciousness (attitude) in all levels of being. The practice applied to everyday life leads us to look first for the innate goodness at the heart of every situation and in our own hearts too. Once we find it, we align (alignment) it with our core values and it becomes our pillar of strength, clear vision and understanding of the world. Then, eventually, we can take appropriate actions (action) and respond to daily situations in a state of present-moment awareness ( sattva).
The concept of the 3 A’s as described above OR in three words: attitude – alignment – action / iccha – jnana- kriya / sat – chit – ananda/mind -body – heart, is coming from the tattvas as the invocation of Anusara yoga as well.
The concept of the 3 A’s as described above OR in three words: attitude – alignment – action / iccha – jnana- kriya / sat – chit – ananda/mind -body – heart, is coming from the tattvas as the invocation of Anusara yoga as well. The practice of the 3 A’s itself, the UPA’s and the seven loops applied in balanced action for every unique person and situation according to time and space, leads us to the cultivation of what we call “ Optimal Blueprint “.
Sounds complicated but it’s not in reality. The purpose of the teachings is to simplify and bring everything down to the earth in order for them to be experienced and used in our lives as practice and not only theory.
Optimal Blueprint in the Body
Optimal Blueprint is the master design of the Body’s potential for optimal alignment and health. The Optimal Blueprint represents the ideal spatial pattern in any position, and it fosters a relationship of highest harmony between the bones and the connective tissue. Whenever you move toward the Optimal Blueprint, the nervous system will feel safe, the muscles and the fascia will relax, and the body will let the tension go. The alignment of the body is like the alignment of antennae! Adjusting the antennae has a direct effect on the quality of the signal received. One position creates music, while another creates bugs in the signal.
We all want the same thing …to enjoy the music and dance! We are all unique and different on an individual level. What is the optimal for one person, for another it may be the quite opposite. That’s why it is important to remember that our Optimal Blueprint is actually something to be revealed instead of something outside of us which we need to reach or acquire.
It is an always present unique potential encoded in our being as a map of bliss and transformation. The chrysalis always knows how to become a butterfly. How? …it is her nature!
Yoga is a calling for a revelation of our true nature. It is a welcoming of what is already here.…yet, maybe not seen clearly enough or still not recognized as it is.
~ Kshemeraja, 9th century
Prakrti consists of the perfect balance of the three gunas:
Knowing all these we still seek answers to the human dilemma …What is balance? What is optimal? What is Dharmic? In Ayurveda and Yoga, they say: Whatever enhances and affirms life in any particular circumstance of time and space.
―Acharya Shunya
Every individual has their own specific type of energy, a unique combination of physical and mental characteristics which is known as constitutions. How these energies are balanced in a person’s natural constitution is described as their Prakruti and this indicates good health. Imbalanced energies are known as a person’s Vikruti and can indicate a predisposition to disease. In Ayurveda, the goal is to maintain and strengthen Prakruti, and re-balance Vikruti.
Every form of treatment in Ayurveda is trying to increase Sattva energy. All beings understand and communicate through energy … The Mother is holding her baby and whispers: I love you! The baby doesn’t understand language, it smiles because it understands energy/vibration. Sattva is the highest vibration.
Here I’ll take the liberty to share material from the Ayurvedic seminar I attended with Dr. Nikolaos Kostopoulos and Vaidya Asvin Barot in Athens.
1 Sattva: vmPFC (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), amygdala, right + left brain balance
2 Rajas: Amygdala is dominant compared vmPFC
3 Tamas: Instinctive behaviour, only Amygdala
If we are in the forest, trying to exit our cave in order to find food and there is a lion in front of us, many of these may be useful of course. But if we are trying to heal and live a happy and harmonious life the concept of Sattva will create exactly the conditions needed for that.
Here I add a link to the really interesting video of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s 90 seconds Rule for Whole Brain Living which is related to the topic of our brain function:
Sattva enhances the Optimal Blueprint of the mind, while proper Yoga reveals the Optimal Blueprint of the Body.
After being diagnosed with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis back in 2009, I felt that my life was collapsing in pain I was a dancer and my body was telling me to stop and reorganize my life in terms of what was my personal truth. The word Sattva comes from the root SAT (Sanskrit), which means truth.
My healing journey started slowly when I was introduced to Anusara Yoga and immersed in it by BJ Galvan or Benita Wolfe and many other beloved teachers from the same lineage. As I gained strength, I started learning literally how to walk on Earth with a new outlook and values. I am open to the possibility that this is not the end. I began to passionately study absolutely everything which was connected to the word HEALING … Yoga, Psychology, Ayurveda …myself!. I was also blessed to meet Dr. Kostopoulos and Vaidya Asvin Barot, my Ayurvedic Teachers from Greece and India.
During all these 15 years I followed the path of the Chrissalys, a part of me always knew that this was only the beginning. Practice, practice and all is coming…is not a reference only in Asana, but also about how we do the same in life’s ups and downs.
The idea of Sattvic being and inter-being, understood from the Tantric perspective has brought me today to living my happiest life, free of pain, and most of all free to be my unique and authentic self in its best creative version till now. I changed everything needed to change, till I came to my SAT or inner truth.
Still a way to go …
Here is a short and complete practice to align to your Sattvic being. It has an Asana, Chanting, Pranayama, Meditation sections and finally Savasana
“May all be happy, May all be free from illness,
May all see what is auspicious, May no one suffer.”
Sanskrit:
Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niraamayaah
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu Maa
Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih
Kapalbhati
This pranayama is a wonderful breathing technique that involves powerful rapid exhalations followed by short and passive inhalations. The following inhale is an automatic response from the lungs being empty. This technique of forced exhalation helps to reduce stress, boost brain function, and improve respiratory health. It also strengthens the abdominal muscles and improves digestion.
Nadi Shodhana
This type of pranayama is one of the most practised because of its soothing effects on the brain. Popularly known as a form of alternate nostril breathing, it’s a slow and deep yoga breathing exercise. In this pranayama, we close our nostrils alternatively in a way that balances the left and right brain hemispheres. It also calms the nervous system
A great thank you to all my Teachers and to everyone who reached the end of my article. It was a great honour for me to share the great good that Anusara Yoga has done for me.
Hari Om
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The post The Anusara Sadhana: Sattva: The Optimal Blueprint in Asana and Life appeared first on Anusara School of Hatha Yoga.
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