Friday September 29: Space, Sensation, and the True Meaning of Alignment — Vyana Vayu
An understanding of Vyana Vayu can transform our contemporary understanding of ‘alignment’ in yoga practice. Vyana Vayu has to do with sensation - including the body’s mechanisms for pain management - and the experience of spacious, expansive awareness in the body that is the foundation for healthy function.
The key to working with Vyana Vayu — and to understanding ‘alignment’ in a new way — is to focus on improving ‘joint play’ during movement. This perception of space in the joints is the mechanism by which our nervous system governs muscle tone known as the ‘arthrokinetic reflex’.
This is vital for understanding pain management through yoga, as well as overcoming stiffness and weakness through collaboration with the way our nervous system actually works, rather than struggling with stretches and one-size-fits-all concepts of alignment.
The asana focus will be on practical principles for the shoulders — particularly for addressing limitations in movement as well as pain problems. This will include work with the wrists, thumbs, and elbows — and we’ll introduce a useful and accessible understanding of ‘marma’ points for working effectively in these areas — and we’ll link the same concepts to working productively with the feet as our foundation for movement.
The day will also include pranayama, as an experience of the flow of Vyana Vayu through the pathways of Prana in the body that influences the states of the Autonomic Nervous System.
Saturday September 30: Equilibrium: Samana Vayu and the Balance of Prana and Apana for Wellness in the Low Back and Sacrum
The most familiar idea in yoga is the idea of the balance between Prana and Apana, between being stimulated into action, and being centered and grounded. Yoga seeks a dynamic equilibrium between the two, which empowers ‘Samana Vayu’ — where ‘Sama’ means equilibrium, or in modern language, homeostasis.
We often think of asana as static — a ‘pose’ with a particular alignment — but it’s movement that makes asana sing, and movement is at the heart of the balance of prana and apana, and the state of sama or equilibrium. Our asana focus will be on the health of the low back and sacroiliac joints, connecting breath and movement through a stable yet fluid core.
This will include exploration of the kinds of imbalances and pain problems — especially in the low back and sacroiliac joints, as well as sciatic pain — that can arise from postural and movement habits, as well as structural issues in the body, and how to address them in practice
A deep understanding of Samana Vayu, and how yoga practice supports it, goes even further into its role in healthy function of our hormonal and immune system, which is profoundly tied to the health of the ‘gut’ — the center of Samana. The hatha yogis were the first in the history of yoga to focus on the health of the digestive system, including through asana practice, and that understanding is key to working with deeper realms of health.
The asana practice will refine our appreciation of the bandhas, which will take us into pranayama practice that further explores the role of bandhas, and the power of ‘Sama’ or equilibrium that comes with natural, spontaneous stilling of the breath.
Sunday October 1: Intention and Empowerment: Connecting Udana, the Power of Intention, with Vyana, the Power of Sensation and Feeling
Udana Vayu concerns the power of intention and its role in regulating the health of the nervous system as well as the body. The other Vayus come together in practice ultimately to empower Udana, our core power of intention — and the cultivation of Udana will in turn strengthen the other Vayus for maintaining health.
The asana practice will build upon themes from the second day with regard to the core, going deeper into principles for reinforcing healthy, functional movement through asana — and we will also turn to the neck and shoulders, refining our understanding of neck alignment and movement while focusing more deeply on the role of the vagus nerve and other cranial nerves in pain problems and yoga practice.
Ultimately this will take us into a deep dive into intention or ‘sankalpa’ in yoga. The power of intention is a key to happy, sattvic states of mind that are resilient in the face of stress, and adaptivity of the nervous system which supports a healthy immune system and reduction of inflammatory conditions. Asana refines our connection to the body, and with that, our connection to our own power of intention.
Pranayama likewise relies upon the refinement of intention with regard to the flow of the breath, taking the practice beyond the realm of breath technique into the realm of dharana, meditation, and deep relaxation. Our exploration of this will include consideration of mantra and vibration, and the significance and value of ideas of marma and the chakras for entering deeper realms of yoga in meditation and Yoga Nidra.