Friday, August 31, 2012

Explore Energy with Yoga

With the Zoga Yoga teacher training coming to a close yoga aspirants are left energized and vulnerable.  What to do with all this information.  Will we maintain the same energy? Many yoga students are commonly using the term energy.  Students dive into awareness of Koshas (5 energy bodies or ananmaya - food, pranamaya - life force, manomaya - mind, vijnamaya- mind, and anandamaya - bliss), the Shariras (3 energy bodies/sheaths of Shtula/physical body, Sukshma/subtle body, Karana/causal body) auric energy fields, Purusha (creative shiva shakti consciousness), Prakriti (energy of nature, shakti energy to assess in ayurveda), Kleshas (5 obstacles of Avidya/ignorance, Asmita/ego reliance, Raga/attachment, Dvesha/aversion, Avhinevesha/fear of death), energy of their body, energy of others, energy of crystals, vibrational energy of OM, and with time and practice students become more aware of energy.  Energy is physics and basically breaks down as a force traveling through space or distance.

With kinetic energy we have seen Einstein break it down to: E=Mc2
(the amount of energy is directly proportioned to the mass of body)
E = the rest mass energy
M = the mass
C = the speed of light

The system of Bioenergetics studies energy in the body where the chemical energy of (fats & carbohydrates) metabolises to form chemical waste and heat.

People who have deep meditation practice, really live the 8 Limbs of yoga, and also those who have used psycadelic drugs have experienced the visual dimensions of atoms, molecules, colors, shapes, and particle physics that makes up this world, that show us we and everything in this Universe are all particles in vibration.  But what is this energy they talk about in yoga?  The energy of the subtle body, the energy of prana?  Well Prana being life force energy, when regulated or restained (yama) forms pranayama or regulation of breath.  This breath gives life force energy.

When we send it to all the Chakras (subtle energy vortex's), we get a situation where our Chakras are balanced or stimulated.  This can happen in asana practice, with food, sound vibration, fragrance, mantra.  Again, another chance for the E=Mc2 theory to be put into practice.

A few years ago a group of scientists in Japan put a dying man in a controlled environment.  The man and everything in the room was weighed.  Every possible variable of moisture or oxygen was accounted for.  When he died 28grams were not accounted for.  This is the ounce of life force energy that keeps us alive.  The energy that exists beyond our back pain, or broken heart.  This is the energy of life that evolves in our yoga practice.

This is the Life Force Energy that the Yogis spoke about in the Vedas.  The energy that when taped into we can calm the vrittis (our emotional tendencies or psycho physical propensities), heal our samskaras (the imprints left on the subconscious mind from experience), and find nirodha or nirvana (a place where all suffering ceases). 

When we explore Yoga Sutra 1:2 Chitta Vritti Nirodaha which illuminates the ultimate goal of the practice as "cessation of the mind stuff"

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥
yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ ||2||
When you are in a state of yoga, all misconceptions (vrittis) 
that can exist in the mutable aspect of human beings (chitta) disappear. ||2||


Next time we step on our yoga mat, see if we can explore our body and feel that energy as it moves through the veins, through the organs, through the bones and through our breath.  Perhaps in meditation, listen to the breath, count the breath until all thoughts unite and only breath exists.  Then when escaping into the dreamless sleep of Savasana, can we calm the mind stuff?  or are we thinking of recipes and laundry?  If so, no judgement just keep practicing.  But if we can calm the mind, still the body doing a scan of 61 points, and without sleeping, witness the stillness of energy, we become a witness to life force.  This is when transformation happens, rebirth, and evolution with the awareness of the power of energy that exists within.

I am so grateful to have been part of this exchange of energy and transformational experience.  Maintain gratitude and allow love and light to be your guide on this journey of energy.  Namaste



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