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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Ideas for Your Yoga Practice |
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Awareness in Asana: Head Follows Heart One of the core themes in my yoga practice and teaching is the idea that a strong center supports an open heart. In everyday action, the type of core strength that supports an open heart is a quality of being present and engaged, rather than a quality of brute force or struggle to control. This is your "centered self" -- your most grounded awareness and inner strength. Connecting core strength to the movement of the heart area helps us direct our attention and energy. The asanas (yoga poses) that can help you experience this idea are twists and backbends. It is helpful to first notice how you habitually enter these two kinds of postures. Choose a twist (seated or standing) or a back bend (from a prone position, such as cobra or locust or bow) that is easy for you to practice without a lot of fanfare and warming up. Enter the pose, and notice which part of your body moves into the posture first: your head and neck, or the upper back/heart area. For most people, the head and neck moves first, and the upper back/heart center moves next. I would like to encourage you to experience moving from the upper back/heart area instead. From an anatomical perspective, think of how inefficient and unpowerful moving from the head is: the little muscles that connect the head to the neck, and the neck to the mid spine, are trying to initiate a movement that lifts or twists the rib cage and spine. The actual muscles that have the most power to create this movement are the core muscles that support an open heart: the deep and layered muscles of the back (for a twist or backbend), and the abdominal muscles (for a twist). Then consider this at a broader level. When you are trying to take major action in your life, do you lead from the head or from the heart? Do you know how to connect to your heart (which is supported by your center) when making decisions? Or do you prefer to analyze and ruminate and plan with the "small" mind? Small mind loves to think and hates to do what actually matters. Small mind prefers to come up with reasons to wait until a better time to get started, or to do what pleases others instead of your centered self. If you are trying to use small mind to support you, it is like trying to use the muscles of your neck to lift the upper body and spine. The power isn't there. And even small actions will feel like a struggle. If you wonder why you never follow through with what you know you want to do, or will feel better having done, stop waiting for you mind to motivate you. Reconnect to the heart-feeling or your intention or motivation, and trust that the feeling is supported by a deeper strength. Notice this dynamic, in your asana practice and as you observe how you make decisions or follow through with actions. Asana In asana, particularly observe how you enter and sustain twists and backbends. A sun salutation also offers many opportunities to observe this dynamic, particularly when coming from a forward bend back to standing. Does your head lift first and seem to pull the rest of the body up? Or can you coordinate the muscles of the back to draw the shoulders together, open the heart, and then bring the torso up? Meditation In everyday life, there is a very simple meditation that can help you make decisions from a place of center, using the "knowing" feeling of the heart center. After practicing asana and/or breath awareness, imagine that you have already made your decision. Choose one option, commit to it (for the purpose of this meditation), and observe how you feel. How does the body respond? How do you feel? Then imagine you have made the opposite decision. Notice how you feel. This content was a weekly email from the 2006 email class The Yoga of Connection.
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