Asana as Meditation

The energetic quality of our yoga practice can be of 3 types - rajasic, tamasic, and sattvic. When there is a predominance of rajas (as in the energy is goal-orientated, dynamic, stimulating, even aggressive or forceful) or tamas (as in the energy is dull and heavy, or scattered and unfocused) in our practice, we will not reach a true state of health and well-being. Sometimes we are guilty of practising asanas like doing a physical workout, striving a lot to achieve a certain perfection, or we can simply be so switched off and inattentive that even though our body is moving through the asanas, the mind is somewhere else, planning, worrying or fantasizing. In these 2 scenarios, breath awareness is hardly present. 

Any asana program can become another mechanical exercise. To avoid this, we must remind ourselves to focus the mind on the breathing rather than the movement. If the goal of our yoga practice is mental steadiness and a state of wholeness and balance, we can use the asanas as a means to promote a sattvic energy:

"Sattva is the quality of intelligence, virtue and goodness and creates harmony, balance and stability. It is light (not heavy) and luminous in nature. It possesses an inward and upward motion and brings about the awakening of the soul. Sattva provides happiness and contentment of a lasting nature. It is the principle of clarity, wideness and peace, the force of love that unites all things together." (David Frawley)

A key idea is to keep the movement within the breath. When you move into or out of any asana, start with breathing first and then move. When your movement ends, your breath should still continue for a few seconds. One benefit of this technique is that it prevents conflict between the movement and breath by ensuring that we do not move while holding the breath. The breath needs to support the movement properly.

At the mental level, distractions will reduce tremendously as we constantly remain aware of the flow of the breath and ensuring that each movement follows the breath. If your mind wanders and awareness of the breath fades, the breath will slip back to its usual involuntary pattern. This will alert you to the lack of focus in the mind, and just like in meditation, reminding you to refocus on the object of concentration.

May our asana practice be a meditative, intelligent, balanced, and sattvic one!


Reference:
http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/the-three-gunas-how-to-balance-your-consciousness/
     

Yoga Course for Beginners

Yoga 101: The profound effects of the Pawanmuktasana Series

In our gentle yoga or beginner level yoga classes, we often introduce the programme called the Pawanmuktasana series, which is a good foundation for the classical yoga poses. Often considered a programme for the elderly or physically not-so-fit people, it is much more subtle and powerful than meets the eye; even for the experienced yoga practitioner, its effects are highly beneficial because of the way it promotes the flow of prana, or vital energy, in the body.

Pawan means wind, mukta means to liberate or release, and asana is a yoga pose. Consisting of a series of simple movements, pawanmuktasana effectively frees our joints and muscles from stiffness and toxins, and helps to release wind from our intestines. The main idea behind these asanas is to provide suppleness in the joints. Joints will regain flexibility, and hard muscles start to soften with the practice. Beginners cannot ignore these asanas if they wish to avoid injuries while progressing in hatha yoga. 

In Western medicine, the joints are considered vulnerable areas of the body, where the flow of energy is easily impeded. Fluids and wind thus tend to accumulate and stagnate at the joints, resulting in rheumatic pains and deficient energy flow throughout the whole body. In the yogic system, pawan is also related to prana, as prana is defined as air. If we understand prana as the life-force or vital energy, then pawanmuktasana can be defined as the poses that liberate the life-force or vitality in us. Thus, from this viewpoint, the practice can have a very powerful healing effect. 

Prana is divided into five major components: prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana. These pranas relate to different movements. So prana is the forward or primary air and has an upward movement; apana is the downward moving air, samana is the horizontal or equalizing air; udana is the spiralling air; and vyana is the diffusive, pervasive air.

When pawanmuktasana is practised with full concentration and awareness, one can feel how all these pranic movements are stimulated, causing the energies to be circulated and redistributed. One of the pranas that is clearly influenced is vyana which governs circulation and nervous impulses to the periphery and also the movement of the joints.

Part II of the pawanmuktasana series (the digestive series) has a direct influence on apana. Its effect is very strong on the lower abdominal muscles, pelvic organs and large intestine. Blood irrigation is increased through the stimulation of the venous return from the legs, increasing also the process of elimination. Apana is said to be the power of disease inherent in the body, the force of devolution and limitation of consciousness. So by purifying apana, the body is protected from the forces of degeneration. 

The pranas are transmitted throughout the body by the nadis which are defined as channels or pathways of pranic current. These energy channels make a complex network of 'energy threads' that hold together the energy field of the human body. These channels or pathways are very important for the circulation of prana, and they become obstructed by inactivity or wrong activity, by wrong thoughts, wrong diet and wrong lifestyle in general. Through the practice of pawanmuktasana, a stimulating massage is given to these channels which releases this obstruction.

References:
http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1997/ajan97/pawanmuk.shtml
http://www.yogameditation.com/Articles/Issues-of-Bindu/Bindu-4/Yoga-and-the-finer-energy

The Light

Yoga (in the sense of its meaning of union with our divine consciousness) is not just a destination point towards which we aspire to reach, it is also a means, an instrument, to remove the dross and impurities from our life. I had a clearer sense of this while I was cleaning the dust from the yoga space. 

This act of cleaning is not a one-time affair; it has to be done on a regular basis, because dust will perpetually accumulate. What is required is a careful attention (rather than careless negligence) and the commitment to have a clean space. Our body and mind are also spaces which require this diligent cleansing from time-to-time. Only when the dross is removed, can the natural beautiful light within shine through. I realise it’s so easy to fall into a tamasic, dull and heavy state, as the light within is shielded by our inner accumulations.

Our daily yoga practice is an effort of inner purification, so that our light and radiance can be revealed to dispel the darkness in our lives.      

The True Spirit of Yoga

We have to keep in mind the understanding of the spirit of Yoga. Yoga is a training of the body, mind and heart, that’s why it’s a spiritual practice, and not a physical practice or bodyworks like pilates. It is a discipline that requires a progressive shedding of the ego, so that we can understand our true nature and be liberated from our ignorance and suffering. The ego veils our true nature, and gives rise to actions that lead to further suffering for ourselves and others. Yoga is a returning back to nature, to our spiritual home. 

Swami Veda Bharati of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition gave a crystal clear explanation on the true purpose of yoga: 

“Yoga is a state of balance (equanimity), which neither takes any sides nor creates any preferences; it neither escapes / avoids, nor does it openly confront (no more duality). It is simply the depth in one’s heart, a place where one rests in its true nature, where all intentions, words and actions emerge from that place of energy, life force, peace, wisdom and understanding. The world will no longer be able to disturb you, you won’t reject anyone, others will also not reject you, but there will be mutual acceptance.

Yoga is a science of the spirit, which begins from the body. Remember that our posture – whether standing or sitting – is connected to the heart / mind / spirit. When the inner dimension is not balanced, the outer form will also be unbalanced. Yoga trains us to observe balance, and not sway to the left or right, but to be centred constantly. All the yoga poses are training us to change our body language. Once you find the centre within, the body language will differ, your voice will differ, even your eyes will sparkle differently.” 

Yoga leads one to the most natural state of being, to real balance. Hence our yoga practice has the ultimate purpose of untying the knots in the heart, developing a soft and flexible mind, and maintaining peace inside. It is not a physical exercise (although it looks like one), but it is a form of inner discipline, requiring the practitioner to constantly inquire inwards, and observe the transformation of the body and mind.