Tag: mindfulness

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Pratiṣṭhāyāṃ:  A Path to Deep Asana प्रतिष्ठायां

/* To be established in a posture is not about the first time you attain it (although that is to be deeply celebrated). It’s about accessing it – in an aligned fashion – consistently enough that you can grow your alignment within it.*/

Pratiṣṭhāyāṃ – to become established in, is a fundamental concept in yoga practice as described in Patanjali Yoga Sutra. It’s pervasive; we are guided to become established in focus, established in asana, established in meditation, established in practice, established in the experience of yoga and more.  Once you are established your path is clear and unfolds quickly.  Yoga does not peak with  the experience of a flash of insight  (although that’s a valuable thing – it’s not the heart of the practice)  it’s about establishing oneself in an internal landscape where insight continuously fosters understanding.  To be established in a posture is not about the first time you attain it (although that is to be deeply celebrated). It’s about accessing it – in an aligned fashion – consistently enough that you can grow your alignment within it. You are relating to the posture.  Deep asana then becomes about that capacity to deepen the alignment of the posture over time. There is an eternal, never-ending quality to establishment.

/*All postures become deep postures through the practice of inhabiting them in time with greater alignment and understanding.*/

Deep asana then is relative to one’s own body – built into the practice over time and emerges with stability and ease.  It’s always advisable to step back in practice when one cannot stay stable in the posture with relative ease.

A first mode of deeper alignment which unfolds in deep asana is internal – at the level of the ManomayaKosha or mind body.  Presuming you have placed yourself well to begin with in a posture, discomfort is first addressed in the mind.   This does not mean that sensations are ignored – on the contrary paying attention to them is awakening into the posture.  But, for most of us, placing our bodies in these unusual positions is…odd. So, there is likely to be psychological discomfort and an opening up around that is very powerful. 

For those with backgrounds of dance, gymnastics or similar –  expectations take the place of the psychological discomfort of the novice.  They are constructs in the mind that obscure new levels of awareness. For the physically experienced deep asana is an invitation to shift into a new awakening, into a different kind of bodily experience – experiencing the shape without judgement, competition or preconceived ideas about how the body should inhabit the shape.  Discomforts, expectations and conquests are often mental constructs which obstruct our ability to deepen an asana in a fresh, organic and transformative way.  They are subtle forms of fear and resistance.  If we meet them with spaciousness we come to know and understand ourselves and the posture differently . 

/*Discomforts, expectations and conquests are often mental constructs which obstruct our ability to deepen an asana in a fresh, organic and transformative way.  They are subtle forms of fear and resistance.*/

Tuning in is a second mode of shifting into deep asana.  Feeling the  body holistically in space and time. Inner body scans, proprioceptive or kinesthetic exercises and relaxing around resistance  deepen  the holistic sensory experience of an asana – not once, but continually.

A third mode of establishing into deep asana is time   – time in the posture and consistent practice of the posture daily, weekly, or monthly  – over months, years, or decades.  Doing less, more consistently will yield a deeper result than doing a lot intermittently.  It’s seldom a linear process, but the intention to consistency will do much for establishing your practice.  A general rule for this is that your posture should always be stable and easeful.  So, find your edge at 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute and so on.  Work the mental resistance first.  Begin to identify what your mental resistance looks like. 

Example:  I’ve been working a 10 minute Virasana, and 10 minute Padmasana (5 minutes each side)  sequence for months now.  In those postures I’d been meditating in a whole new way.    A new proprioceptive awareness (my body in space) of my pelvic girdle began to emerge.  This week as I take the postures for practice my mind bounces all over the place – it’s hard to get on my mat to begin with and there is no peace. Breakthrough time – time to step back a little and cultivate the stability of mind that I need, that I can reside in consistently enough to experience the breakthrough.  I modify the postures slightly in consistent, strategic ways. A little extra propping, a little extra warming up.  I reduce my time in them at the beginning of practice and then engage them again for a short time at the end of practice. 

This kind of strategic approach to asana, while analytical, lays the ground for being your own teacher in a personal practice in an illuminated way.  You may find other ways to bring strategy and discipline to your practice, but I encourage you…gently…to experiment with  modes of deepening your understanding of your practice.  It leads to deep healing and a different flavor of progress.

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The Yogic Anatomy of the Koshas:  The Anandamaya Kosha and Deep Rest

The Anandamaya Kosha, the subtlest of the koshas, bodies, sheaths, or dimensions is commonly translated as the “Bliss Body” .  Commonly is an important adverb here – as “nanda” is joy in form and “a” is often creates an opposite.  So, bliss, yes, but bliss beyond form. For starters we may want to distinguish between the state of ecstasy that can be achieved by high vibing our practices through drugs, music, endorphins, and exuberance – and the state of ecstasy which is Ananda.  Form bliss is not bad.  “Beyond form” bliss just does different things.  The nature of the Anandamaya Kosha is akin to a subtle sweet flickering sense of joy.  This sense of joy arises from the experience of wholeness that is characteristic of this beautiful dimension.  It is the origin of all healing, the resolution of  pain and trauma, and the understanding of our place in the universe – that we are infinitely unique, genuine, and valuable.  And so is everyone else.  If we are in touch with the Anandamaya Kosha we don’t have to force, cultivate or practice such a perception.  We experience it continuously and directly.  There is no perception of competition in the world as true sparkling confidence emerges.

 The Anandamaya Kosha is timeless.  I once apologized to a student for a short śavāsana (Corpse Posture) at the end of class. “No problem”, he responded,  “When I’m in śavāsana I’m in a timeless space  – so as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter whether it was 2 minutes or 10.”   Good point!  So, why does the amount of time that we spend in śavāsana or meditation – immersing ourselves in the Anandamaya Kosha – matter?

The koshas aren’t layered upon one another, but co-existent – like light, sunbeams,  oxygen molecules and wind – they influence our life experience in an integrated way.

In the Anandamaya Kosha – in that space of wholeness – all the experiences that fracture us don’t exist (sadness, fear, lack of self-worth).  The time we spend in the Anandamaya Kosha is a time of deep rest for all aspects of our being.  Resting in the Anandamaya Kosha there are no mental gymnastics, no triggers to the nervous system.  For whatever amount of time we are there.   This is why everybody looks 10 years younger after a retreat.  It is a rest in deep peace.

Practice Tips

  1.  Practice śavāsana or Yoga Nidra practice.  Use a timer to avoid being worried about time.
  2. Meditation.  Once again – use a timer to avoid being worried about time.
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Jnanamaya Kosha: Understanding the Past and Future in the Ever Present Now

The Jnanamaya Kosha or Wisdom Body is the 4th (sheath, dimension, body, or kosha) identified in the koshic anatomical maps of yoga. This kosha will reveal experience beyond time and duality, where our differences collapse and a single moment contains eternity.,

Wisdom is timeless and of the moment, and at a certain point absolute right and wrong dissolve into merely moments and choices. It arises from a perception that is not hampered by opinion.  When we are living in wisdom we move in synchrony with the workings of the universe.  This reflected in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra III:53

Through samyama on a particle of time and that which proceeds & succeeds it comes discrimination. –Translation by Swami Vivekananda.

A very simple way to consider this is a “flash” of  inspiration.   That unmistakable flood of everything all at once – like a holograph – you see the big picture and the details.  That holographic non-linear experience is a hallmark of the Jnanamaya Kosha. Sometimes it’s so subtle that you don’t even know the wisdom is moving through you, you just find yourself turning left when you need to go left. 

Time and sequence still exists in the JnanaMaya kosha – but  linear cause and effect dissolve into a bigger picture.   The Jnanamaya Kosha has a “zoom out” quality – the picture, the details and the context transform the sense of where you are in space and time.

My teacher used to say “You have to go way in to go way out”.  The deeper you go into your subtle interior in your yoga practice, the more expansive and holistic your vision is.  It is startling, surprising, and awesome.  It’s likely to be totally ordinary at the same time. 

Through the revelations contained in the Jnanamayakosha we may find the missing piece in the puzzle of our lives.  It reveals a deep understanding of an individual’s path through life, in the context of a billion other lives.  We may see the advantage of a shift in direction.  We are invited into intention,  discernment and awareness. The Jnanamaya Kosha is beyond time.

At the same time it reveals the macro operations of the universe. 

In the Jnanamaya Kosha – the large and the small lose their meaning.  A smile to a stranger on the street appears as significant as performing brain surgery – depending on the intent.  We may feel a sense of power and magnitude – as if our destinies are vast and magnificent, but all that wisdom asks of us may be a moment of kindness.  Because we see that an act of kindness, or honesty, no matter how small, is a magnificent act.

Here we meet our personal journeys to grow into deeply wise humans. It’s the intersection of the timeline of our lives with universal truth and how things work. 

The greatest obstacles entering the Jnanamaya Kosha is the hesitance we have that a vast degree of change that may be asked of us as the result of encountering this level of truth. It may arise as skepticism, dismissal of the numinous, or commitment to conventional paradigms, our mental constructs, busyness, and ambition of all kinds. Some methods which open the portal to the Jnanamayakosha are:

  • Well-done  Vinyasa ignites and reveals the Jnanamaya Kosha. Cultivate a pure and steady rhythm of breath. a healthy amount of detachment, and an ability to flow well and wisely through the sequence of postures.  Surrender into  synchronization with the rhythm of breath and  establish the practice in an elevated intention.
  • Study how things work through the laws of karma. This breaks our conventional paradigms of why things happen and opens us up to new ways of understanding cause and effect. Hold these laws lightly for the best effect.  
  • Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra provides many, many prescriptions for practice and the expected results.  For example – the sutra above.  Many of them are simpler to practice than this one.
  • Study of music
  • Study the  yoga asana sequencing of  the great masters.

For a few additional suggestions for playing in the Jnanamaya Kosha please see my Facebook page – NatalieteachesYoga for the most recent newsletter – or subscribe and it will be delivered to your inbox next month. No ads, I promise! Just substantive yoga content. 

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Methods of Asana and Mindfulness

When we embark on a spiritual practice it’s not unusual to open into some romantic and fantastical teachings.  They are very attractive and inspiring.  Also there are also important truths contained in those fanciful teachings.  The more mundane teachings often obscure the vast potential we engage when we embark on our spiritual journeys.  Occasionally, we find a teacher who can deliver an ordinary teaching in a way that communicates the vast potential of yoga pan extraordinary and delightful way.

One such teacher who I encountered was  Lama Marut.  In a meditation workshop he lead us through a weaving path of teachings, delightful, rich, fanciful, funny, very inspiring and just a tad cynical.  Subsequently, in the Q&A that followed, he offered this in a jovial and mildly mocking tone:  “First, just try to watch your breath for 10 breaths without getting distracted.  When you can do that, then worry about the rest of it.”  [I paraphrase!] And then we “sat” to try to watch 10 breaths together.

I’d been meditating for years, but what a teaching!  I discovered that I was far away from focusing for ten consistent breaths.  I could count them, sure but I could count breaths  while I constructed a to do list in my mind.  Within ten breaths my mind turned hundreds of times.  To rest my attention wholly in the breath for ten small breaths was beyond the scope of mindfulness I had acquired at that time. It’s a technique which we can refine and develop and, if we choose, deepen.    We begin by observing the relationship between our attention and the breath.

We can consider this in our asana practice. 

Where are we for each breath?  Drowning in the sound of our breath may help us to stay in a posture without pain, can catapult us into transcendent states and great bliss, but the opportunity to develop the kinesthetic sense of the body is lost.  Concentration on the minutiae of the body develops an intellectual construction which can obscure subtle dimensions of the lived experience of a posture. 

Our call to attention today is to wake up and be present to our body, our breath, our emotions, the room and the turnings of our minds as we take a posture, and to cultivate our capacity to hold all that in our attention as we move through our asana practice.  In a middle ground way – if we allow ourselves to ease openly into intimacy with the moment – presence to  the breath and the body opens the portal to the purer state of underlying awareness. When that happens, we are all in the posture.  Perhaps you have experienced this.  The expansion of attention effects our experience.  As we focus on our breath while attending to the whole of our bodies, our minds, our impact on others and  our place in the universe  we come to know who were are, why we are here and who we can be.