Perfect Perpendicular

A rational, linear construct in the mind will inform the intuitive, organic functioning of the body.  Imagine a vertical line extending form the exact center of the Earth to the zenith of the heavens; off this line fall perpendicular (90 degree angle) lines extending in all directions (360 degree from center) – there are an infinite number of these intersecting lines.  Now run the vertical line through the exact center of the body, and imagine (visualize, feel, sense) all the structures of the body in this perpendicular relationship to it.  Moving with this mental directive will facilitate natural alignment in your anatomy (symmetry, proportion and balance), release emotional holding patterns, and help restore optimal functioning in your physiology.

Remember, however, in the body there are no straight lines, no sharp angles.  Therefore, never fully straighten (hyper-extend) a joint or become rigid/fixed in the time-space of your experience.  Firm, yet flexible, energized yet relaxed…these are the hallmarks of “effortless effort” in the practice of yoga, leading to presence and poise in life.

Hoyt’s Helpful Hints

Someone once said the mind has two muscles: imagination and memory.  We either live from our past experiences (perceptions and interpretations) or we create new ones.

In our yoga poses we can bring imagination to the mat and create a new relationship to our body’s memories or habits.  We can imagine muscles lengthening and expanding, opening into other muscle groups or structures like two lane highways merging into six lane freeways; we can imagine tension dissolving by spreading it out to make it disappear; or we can imagine our breath filling in the space of a tight muscle like blowing up a balloon.  There are infinite, creative ways to explore this idea.  What’s needed is a desire or intention to be more easeful in our practice, and a focus or attention that penetrates the memory or habit of past interpretations that we label as tension or pain.

We can accomplish this by linking our breath with our awareness to direct both the thoughts and feelings (attention) to the sensations of our experience.  For example, in Janusirshasana (half forward fold or head to knee pose) when the hamstrings register “tight”, we can imagine breathing directly into the tension as if the muscles were our nose or mouth and then see, sense or simply know that the muscles are lengthening and expanding in all directions to release new sensation into the buttocks or the knee, or up into the belly, or out beyond the edges of our skin.

This combination of breath and awareness is the essence of yoga practice; engaging the imagination adds another dimension to create options for being with the memory of habitual associations in the nervous system.  It can also make our practice more personal and empowering, and possibly more fun!

Of course the other way to employ this linking of breath and awareness is to take our attention off the areas that register “tight” and focus on other parts of the body.  Remember, yoga is a “whole body” practice – everything is connected and there are always compensating tensions for the ones you may be experiencing at any given moment.  So let go of the distracting sensations (the hamstrings in our example) and deliberately direct you attention to your eyes or jaw, the shoulders or belly etc.  Each pose will reveal what other muscle groups are involved and you can apply the breath, awareness and imagination to releasing what you find there.  When you return to the presenting tension, you may be surprised how things have shifted.  Take a deep breath into that area now and feel the ease and expansion go deeper into the whole pose.

Give both these ideas a try in your next practice and let me know what you discover.  Make your practice light and fun…imagine!!

Dancing Yoga Sculpture

Led by Katryn Norval, Cherie’s Columbia College Yoga Level 2 students, become a moving yoga sculpture.  The movements are like the mechanical pieces in a fine tuned machine.  All must fit and work together for  the motor to hum.