And maybe the most important, and most neglected of the asanas? Savasana - corpse pose.
It is, for me, the posture that requires the utmost engagement, but with the least physicality and effort, but with the most subtly applied alertness, it is the one that fully integrates the entire practice.
And I've tried avoiding it, by simply lying on the floor for 30 seconds, impatiently, and after a week or so of this, my body seems tighter than had I not done any yoga at all, as, the effects have not been assimilated into my entire body/mind complex.
It is a highly meditative posture, allowing the subtle to fully integrate with the gross.
This is our chance, our opportunity to draw awareness fully within the body, and experience that which is revealed. It may be that a residual tension is felt, say in the hips, and this chance to fully enter that part of the body, is an aspect of the healing capacity of the prana we have flooded our body with over the past hour or so.
We are highly charged, and armed with this power, every opportunity to fully enter into the points of pain or discomfort are awakened, and with the combination of mind, increased prana, and body awareness, we can get right into the inner densities, and allow the healing to radiate and magnify into the subtle physical elements.
A chance to get right in there....
Written and published by Mark Golding - THE ORGANIC HOME
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
AN ASHTANGA DIARY 7
And of the sequence, of the Primary Series, each of us has one asana which we dread. One posture that we hold in our minds from the moment we step onto our mats, and this one asana can actually hold us back from practice.
The fear and the anticipated pain or discomfort of that one posture is the essence of our entire practice. For, that muscular retraction, that involuntary lock we place around that area we wish to protect, is the purpose of our practice. It is for that single attribute we need to practice.
And, I suggest that today, or tomorrow, when you next practice, take your mind into that place of fear and tension, and release that one part, make that the primary reason for your sequence, and release that tightness, that tension, with love.
Forgive that aspect or characteristic, release any anger at your body, and allow it to flow away, use the breath to focus your mind into the spatial arena of tightness, and work into the area...
For that kink or blockage, that inner obstruction, is (in part) of an emotional character, and that acknowledgement, will facilitate a partial deconstruction of the system, rendering it incomplete, and thus unstable, and whilst the system is unstable, the chance to transform, change or even eliminate it arises.
A golden opportunity.... Love it away...
Written and published by Mark Golding - THE ORGANIC HOME
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
The fear and the anticipated pain or discomfort of that one posture is the essence of our entire practice. For, that muscular retraction, that involuntary lock we place around that area we wish to protect, is the purpose of our practice. It is for that single attribute we need to practice.
And, I suggest that today, or tomorrow, when you next practice, take your mind into that place of fear and tension, and release that one part, make that the primary reason for your sequence, and release that tightness, that tension, with love.
Forgive that aspect or characteristic, release any anger at your body, and allow it to flow away, use the breath to focus your mind into the spatial arena of tightness, and work into the area...
For that kink or blockage, that inner obstruction, is (in part) of an emotional character, and that acknowledgement, will facilitate a partial deconstruction of the system, rendering it incomplete, and thus unstable, and whilst the system is unstable, the chance to transform, change or even eliminate it arises.
A golden opportunity.... Love it away...
Written and published by Mark Golding - THE ORGANIC HOME
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
Friday, 19 March 2010
AN ASHTANGA DIARY 6
And, yes sir. Keeping up the practice, and as the year levers over past the Vernal Equinox a certain sense of inner change shall begin to manifest, in harmony with the season's turn.
And how might this be so? Why might yoga practice change throughout the year?
The dry cynics will fail to be swayed by any discussion, but any ashtangi will know that as the year turns, practice changes. The light and warmer mornings lift flexibility and strength, and increases the wish to engage with the practice, whereas the cold, dark winter months can be a struggle through which practice might be abandoned.
And, as spring arrives, and the Earth begins to manifest that which has lain dormant for the past few months, so too the consistent practitioner will begin to notice changes from deep within her/his system.
This might be an adaptation of breathing patterns and depths, causing deep seated changes to manifest, releasing old issues, and traumas, and similarly the time of physical release might begin to precipitate, as the warmer days bring an increased relaxation to the body in general, through muscular release, and also a sense of emotional well-being can also aid the development of a relaxed body.
The seasons do affect us, both inner and outer... We relax in the sun, and as seasons change our bodies notice, even if we do not.
Written and published by Mark Golding - THE ORGANIC HOME
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
And how might this be so? Why might yoga practice change throughout the year?
The dry cynics will fail to be swayed by any discussion, but any ashtangi will know that as the year turns, practice changes. The light and warmer mornings lift flexibility and strength, and increases the wish to engage with the practice, whereas the cold, dark winter months can be a struggle through which practice might be abandoned.
And, as spring arrives, and the Earth begins to manifest that which has lain dormant for the past few months, so too the consistent practitioner will begin to notice changes from deep within her/his system.
This might be an adaptation of breathing patterns and depths, causing deep seated changes to manifest, releasing old issues, and traumas, and similarly the time of physical release might begin to precipitate, as the warmer days bring an increased relaxation to the body in general, through muscular release, and also a sense of emotional well-being can also aid the development of a relaxed body.
The seasons do affect us, both inner and outer... We relax in the sun, and as seasons change our bodies notice, even if we do not.
Written and published by Mark Golding - THE ORGANIC HOME
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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