“Individually we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
– Ryunosuke Satoro
Weekly Focus: Yoga (union)
From the sanskrit word yuj, Yoga means to join, to yoke or to unite. The practice of yoga joins together not only mind, body and spirit, but Self with community, Self with humanity, and Self with the Universe. An invitation to connection.
As we begin to open our hearts to invitation, our sense of home and community expands. At it’s root, the practice of Yoga is a coming together of all things, or rather, the recognition of what is already one and stepping into that truth.
Throughout the month of August we have focused on opening our hearts and inviting in love relationally, spiritually and universally. As we start to experience this broader sense of love and awareness, we invite ourselves to a feeling of wholeness and tranquility. The coming together we reference in Yoga allows us to feel complete without the need to seek external satisfaction or validation, competition or achievement. We aren’t afraid to be clear and direct because we do so with love. We aren’t attached to outcomes because we act for the sake of acting. We don’t get as angry or irritatable with others because we empathize.
In these ways we experience a dispassion and detachment. We are not apathetic, but we don’t allow our ego-centric emotions to warp our perceptions. Yoga invites us into harmony with ourselves, the greater collective and the Universe, as we in turn invite these back into our hearts. In this way we invite ourselves to oneness, unity and concord.
There are some individuals we feel instant connection with and others that are challenging, who are those individuals for you? Can you consider ways that you can experience more connection with those that challenge you? How can you experience more connection with the earth? The Universe? When do you most experience oneness?
Passive Pose of the Week: Apanasana (wind relieving pose)
Apanasana encourages the flow of Apana, the vital force that helps us to eliminate and ground. This pose reminds us to release our attachments and to sink into our grounding sense of connection. We pull the body in to feel fully into ourselves and to fully experience the earth beneath us, letting the separation become blurry.
- Begin lying on the floor on your back.
- Hug the knees into your body.
- Grab hold of the shins, the knees or the back of the thighs.
- Take 5 – 7 deep breaths in, breathing into the back of the body down into the floor.
Feeling connection points in and around the body help to bring a feeling of containment and grounding. To enhance that in apanasana, try taking this post near a wall. Come to a wall and lie down in the fetal position with your feet positioned towards the wall. Roll onto your back and find apanasana. Inch yourself as close to the wall as needed so that you can press the soles of the feet into the wall. Here you can breathe through the back and through the feet, liking the wall and floor act as a container and connection point for comfort and support in the body, mind and breath.
Active Pose of the Week: Ustrasana (camel pose)
Ustrasana opens our heart, our throat, our gaze to the Universe; inviting and receiving. This expansive pose signals a wholeness and a greatness. Physically we create a never ending loop from feet crown, one limb leading into the next, and endless cycle of energy and connection.
- Begin in a kneeling position. Place two yoga blocks behind you on a taller setting, outside of the feet.
- Lean back and place your hands on the yoga blocks.
- Squeeze the shoulder blades together, lift up through the chest and press the hips forward.
- Push your hands into the yoga blocks as you breath fully. The had can drop if it is comfortable.
- Hold for 5 – 7 breaths then gentle lift yourself out.
Camel pose can needlessly place undo compression on the low back, taking away from a feeling of spaciousness rather than contributing to you it. If you relate to this experience, try any of the variations pictured above and see if you can optimize the pose for yourself. Rather than forcing yourself to find flow and connection with the pose, can you adapt yourself and the pose for. a more unified experience? Perhaps you try multiple variations. One may inform another, and one may be more appropriate on certain days than others.
Join us in class this week to practice your recognition of yoga and union. See the full schedule HERE.
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