“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you through all time, this expression is unique.”
– Martha Graham
Weekly Focus: Tejas (brilliance, vitality)
In the practice of Yoga, we refer to Tejas as an illuminating energy, vitality or charisma. This is an intense inner power used to draw us into deeper sprirtuality and brilliance within ourselves.
Like Agni, Tejas is an inner fire. This fire is subtle – metabolizing knowledge, thoughts and emotions into inner clarity and spiritual awareness. Tejas is our intelligence, it helps us illuminate the mind and distiniguish truth from from illusion. When active and awake, Tejas creates our inner brilliance, our peaceful glow, a radiance that permeates into our physical space.
We tap into Tejas each time we pause, reflect and analyze the mind before responding and reacting. This is the energy that helps us recognize truth from illusion, perception from reality, limitation from opportunity. As we practice sifting and sorting these thoughts, we become more connected to our unchanging Self, building our inner glow and outer radiance. In this practice, we tap in Yoga — our sense of union and connection.
Tejas lets us feel alive and bright in who we are, unbothered by the reactions or judgements of others. We feel contented, comfortable and easeful in our mind and body. Tejas is our charisma – when Tejas is strong we have a magnetism, inspiring those around us.
When do you feel most radiant in life? Is it a physical connection, mental, spiritual or perhaps all three? What actions could you take to feel more brilliance within yourself?
Passive Pose of the Week: Supported Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana is a yoga posture that stretches and expands the front of the body so that we can breathe into our fullness and let our radiance shine.
- Begin lying on the floor with the knees bent and the feet on the mat.
- Lift your hips up and slide a support behind the back of the sacrum, the space at the top of the seat and the base of the back. This can be yoga block, a bolster, a rolled blanket, or even a pillow.
- The knees may stay bent or you can straighten out the legs as seen above.
- Arms may reach overhead or stay by your side.
- Hold the pose for 7 – 10 breaths before slowly coming out.
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana should help us find space and length in the low back and the front of the body. Take a moment to check in with yourself once your support is set. Do you feel any pinching in the low back? Could you stay in this space for 5 minutes comfortably? Sometimes a slight shift of your support up or down by just a small amount can make a huge difference in how you feel. You might even pay attention then to the legs. If you widen the legs do you have more space? How does bending your straightening the knees affect the pose? There’s not a final version of this pose, we just seek the variation that allows you to feel your most brilliant.
Active Pose of the Week: Sky Archer Pose
Sky Archer is a yoga posture that provides a more active energetic compliment to what we receive in our supported bridge pose.
- Begin in a standing Mountain pose (tadasana).
- Step your left foot back 3 – 4 feet like Warrior 2 pose.
- Keep the legs straight and wrap the left arm behind the low back.
- Reach up towards the ceiling with your right arm, allow yourself to find a subtle lift of the chest, chin and gaze.
- Hold for 3 – 5 breaths and switch sides.
Sky Archer is all about creating lift, space and brightness in the body. Sometimes we overemphasize the lateral bend and lean back in the pose, reducing the space in our back side. To find this sense of space, focus on lifting up rather than leaning back. Press your front foot into the floor and let that help you draw the energy of your legs in. Reach your right arm up towards the ceiling as if you were trying to touch the ceiling. From here, think of a sublte lift of the chest, almost like a tiny back bend in the uppper back rather than leaning into the waist. What is the energetic quality you feel when practicing this yoga pose in this way?
Join us in yoga class this week to practice finding your Tejas. See the full schedule HERE.
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