I got hooked to practicing Yoga by the instant and direct realization of how it made me think and feel.
The body is a testing ground of the mind. A vehicle of experience. The effort towards mastering the body is the means of a method in application. The profit – peace, strength and clarity of the mind. This is easily explained by the influence the practice has on our nervous system and the brain.
Although not exactly aware of this at first, I realized over the years that this was a single-pointed discipline that I was choosing, one that I would always return to, no matter how often I stumbled off-track. Just like we aim to bring our attention back to the breath and to the inner space of the body as we practice, training the mind’s ability to hold focus, extend our attention span and reap the fruits of calm and clarity.
I realized the simple fact that – energy flows where attention goes – and that as long as I would continue to practice, I would be okay, better, stronger and eventually radiate through the shadows of the mind. Committing myself to be teaching, training, reading, writing, studying and practicing ensured that I would remain in a continuous flow of growth. It felt like something real and sustainable and required nothing but my courage and dedication.
It’s evident that when we devote ourselves to one thing and choose to follow it through, we experience a certain fundamental essence of true strength – rather than dispersing our focus on many aims and options.
The fact that you choose to have a single-pointed focus determines that you will show perseverance and reap from your efforts.
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In a method called the Tristana method, a distinct emphasis is set on the importance of breath, posture and gaze as a key element to gain focus. It also provides the practical guidelines to perform the poses safely and with intent.
No pose in itself can express its full healing effect without these components and in the aim to increase the body’s capacity to renew itself correct breathing is crucial. Learning to hold your mind focused on a single point of attention first trains the mind to be one-pointed and then leads to a steady focus on the inner body.
HOW THE PHYSICAL PRACTICE WORKS
Your body accumulates sediment along its interior spaces. If we don’t clear out this store of toxins and impurities the body begins it’s natural process of decay or creates disease on different levels. Yoga poses cleanse the body from within by moving deeply into the internal spaces through twists, bends, lifts, folds and breath to literally burn through stuck material. Without this cleansing the internal workings of the body’s organs and neuromuscular systems become sluggish. What you achieve through the practice is pliability, strength and flexibility in the internal and external body, enhancing the natural processes of detoxification.
Along with the physical benefit, numerous mental and emotional benefits are obtained by training the mind.
With the yoga practice you are able to free emotional and mental patterns or blockages that have taken root within your subtle body. Without needing to know why these patterns exist or where they root from, the direct experience of working into the deeper layers of our psychological-physical connections, we are able to release these old emotions and habit patterns, opening the body and mind to new perspectives.
The poses initially work on the practice level of burning through blockages, toxins, stiffness and ailments in the physical, emotional and energetic body. They also work to change the basic hard-wiring of the mind. Confronting a difficult moment normally triggers a fight or flight reaction. This pattern is natural, but not effective in creating a healthy, responsible and conscious life. Yoga trains the mind to remain steady in situations of difficulty and to work through them instead of reacting out of fear, aversion or aggression. Otherwise, any experience triggered by an automatic habit pattern in the subtle energy body will manifest itself in our physicality. The practice is designed to strip away our layers and masks and reveal the natural self.
When a particular deep habit pattern is triggered during practice, you may experience major release. Without warning you may feel vulnerable, tearful, shaky, tremble with anger or feel other intense emotions. It can be hard to allow and understand this at first. The main difference between Yoga and psychotherapy is that you don’t need to ask or know why this is happening, but to bring up the strength and capacity to directly feel and process the experience.
While you clear your physical and conscious self from scars and wounds of past habits, the most valuable tool that Yoga offers is the re-training of the mind’s patterns and to navigate moments of difficulty.
SINGLE-POINTED GAZE
Being able to maintain a pose is not enough. The mind shouldn’t wander and your gaze is a direct reflection of your mind’s capacity to remain still and single-pointed. To create true transformation your focus needs to be directed into awareness of the inner body.
No focus means a weak mind and a weak mind means no real Yoga can happen. A diligent practice can help you connect with a one-pointedness of perception that penetrates your accomplishments and exceeds what seems impossible.
A pose is completed by placing your attention on certain gazing points. The point on which you focus on with your eyes plays an important role in the development of your practice. This prevents your thoughts from wavering and assists in cultivating steadiness of mind.
Practically speaking, this is an essential tool to find balance while physically moving. Balance is a state of mind expressed through the physical – for example, you won’t be able to balance on one leg while your eyes are darting around the room!
Yoga assumes that the state of mind is reflected in the physical practice. The mind directs the body and the eyes to gaze towards an object. The gaze will direct your energy and intention. A direct focus instills a deeper, inner practice, whereas a gaze directed at many fluctuating external points leaves the mind unsteady. If the eyes are wandering, so is the mind. If the eyes are focused on a single object the mind is attentive and alert. A calm, clear mind is able to strip the layers of ego, habits, pain and ignorance and reveal the light of awareness.
THE GAZING-POINTS
- Gazing between the eyebrows – encourages energy to rise up the spine through the central column of the body, towards the center of the head where the seat of spiritual knowledge resides.
- Upward gazing- assists in the continuity of the careful movement of energy up the spine so that the life force can rise and awaken the spiritual centers in the brain.
- Nose gazing – closes the eyes slightly, limiting the amount of optical stimulation received from the external environment and encouraging the energy of sight to be directed inward. It also slightly crosses the optic nerve, that when performed successfully, opens the central channel of the brain (corpus callosum) and harmonizes brain activity within both hemispheres.
- Navel gazing – stimulates the solar plexus, directs the mind towards the inner body and encourages subtle flexing of the spine.
- Gazing towards the fingers or toes – directs your energy through space, giving the physical body a sense of boundlessness and plays a role in maintaining balance in the poses.
- Gazing towards the thumb – helps to create balance by bringing the attention to an end point of a pose. It extends the energy of a pose outward from the center and stimulates the meridian points in the thumb which are thought to be symbolic of fire, relating to the qualities of purification through the practice.
- Gazing to the left or right – directs the mind to the more subtle flow of energy in the body and helps perfect a pose within its spheres. When you are able to maintain focus in a relaxed, open free manner during practice this is an indication of integration and mastery of pose.
- Only during final relaxation do the eyes completely close. Without the specific points of attention, the practice looses some intensity and is not as effective in transforming the psyche.
GAZING WITH THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE
When your attention is directed at specific points of focus within the body, you are confronted with your true nature. As the energy of the sense organs is directed away from the external world and into the inner space of the body you experience sense-withdrawal. Without this ability to redirect your attention the mind will always be called into automatic sensory experiences. When the mind can actually remain focused for a sustained period it is possible to perceive deeper levels of reality.
During practice, a clear and calm mind takes precedence over any feat of pose, ensuring that the priority of practicing is self-development. The evidence of a trained mind is a sustained focus and unwavering concentration.
The practice is a cultivation of mindful perspectives and discriminatory discernment. This allows us to look at situations with clarity.
BREATH
The breath is the primary element to the practice. It’s a powerful tool and without the subtle control of it there’s in fact no Yoga.
On a metaphysical level, we are born with an inhale and we die with an exhale. The space between each breath holds the entirety of our experience. The breath links the physical to the energetic; like the underlying matrix that directs the flow of energy and organizes the manifested world. All yogic breath-work practices focus on drawing energy up a central channel/spinal column.
When you are able to control your breath you notice the link between the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic body. Deep breathing purifies the body, releases toxins and stokes internal heat. On a physical level, conscious breathing stimulates the cardiovascular system and increases blood flow. The exhalation removes impurities from the blood through the interface in the lungs. The inhalation floods the blood with oxygenated air.
The practice of Yoga asks you to unify with your breath, pose and gaze. The physical practice is meant to become increasingly difficult in an effort to transubstantiate the body with energy and at the same time test and train the mind to become attuned to higher awareness. The purpose of the physical poses is to cleanse the body from obstructions and hold space for the spirit to reside.
Your breath has a direct effect on your nervous system. A long slow breath indicates a relaxation response and is associated with a healthy state of mind. Through deep breathing we stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system’s ability to calm.
The breath is controlled by conscious and subconscious action, giving us access to both sides of the brain. This has an impact on our ability to remain calm and balanced.
The autonomic nervous system controls the mostly subconscious functions of the body like heart and organ function, hormonal balance, immunity and digestion. It comprises of two branch systems – the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The former associated with the stimulation of stress hormones, elevated blood pressure, increased blood sugar levels and other symptoms commonly related to the fight-or-flight response. The latter is associated with the relaxation response – decreased stress hormones, increased immune function, slower heart rate, regular blood sugar levels. Applying breath-regulating techniques to influence the autonomic nervous system strengthens the neurological pathways that indicate the relaxation response and the body’s ability to be steady in its regulating processes. Through Yoga you learn to gain control over your nervous system and thereby, ultimately, over the total function of your body and mind.
Nasal breathing deepens the state of relaxation, whereas breathing through the mouth sends a signal of distress to the brain. Deep breathing stabilizes the heart rate, strengthens the cardiovascular system, triggers the relaxation response and keeps the mind focused.
The practice asks you to move into uncomfortable positions and breathe deeply while you gaze at point of attention. This level of complexity frees the mind from the constant stream of thoughts by asking for your full attention.
The inhalation correlates with absorbing, receiving and activity. The exhalation associates with releasing, giving and rest. For poses that are challenging or painful and require great flexibility it is useful to focus on the exhalation. For poses that require strength it can be useful to coordinate a lifting motion with an inhale to maximize the power of the breath. Recommended is to equalize the length of inhale and exhale at all times. The greater challenge of the practice is to remain a calm, steady breath while moving into increasingly difficult levels of poses and transitions.
When the practice becomes difficult, painful, fearful, frustrating we have a natural tendency to hold our breath. If you stop the breath you hinder the flow of life energy. It is crucial to keep breathing especially when you are physically and emotionally tested – literally breathing through the discomfort. The ability to breathe deeply and steadily is the best indication of mastery of a pose.
When deep breathing has triggered the relaxation response in the nervous system the breath itself functions as a kind of anesthetic that prevents injury, increases flexibility and augments strength.
Notice a slight pause between each breath and notice where inhale and exhale overlap. As you advance into more in-depth breath work that includes holding or retaining the breath, this space in-between will be crucial. Notice that the space after exhalation often induces a slight panic if prolonged. This happens because of the slight oxygen shortage in the body. While this may not be easy, controlling the breath is meant to stimulate a fear response (fear of death) so that this can also ultimately be faced and controlled through the Yoga practice.
ENERGETIC LOCKS
Through practice we aim to free the body from blockages so that energy can flow freely. We all harbor energetic locks that block the rise of consciousness.
The Yoga Sutras (yogic codes) describe the mind composed of three elements:
The ego
The mechanical, information-processing aspect of the brain
The higher consciousness (spiritual aspects of our being)
Self-limiting habit patterns take root inside our consciousness and involve multiple dimensions:
Impressions
Active aggregation
The network of habit patterns/energetic locks that form the subconscious
If these habit patterns are active they already control our actions. In a dormant form they are still developing and hindering us from exceeding. These behavioral patterns are often so rooted that they run on auto-pilot and direct our actions without conscious control. Negative patterns create impediments and obstacles. Positive patterns bear realization. For ultimate freedom all patterns are to be released and burned in an aim to find equanimity.
As we move along working through our patterns towards the realization of our truth we re-visit our deeper habituated blocks. The newly cultivated energy of the practice metaphorically connects and binds a knot with the old habits – this can likely be linked to reoccurring/chronic injuries, repetitive patterns in relationships, repeating mistakes or similar events. If we can face these obstacles with more awareness and insight to change, we successfully keep moving forth to better ourselves and gain higher consciousness.
Our awakening is a psycho-spiritual experience and a description of this event ranges from ecstatic to blissful to painful and traumatic. When the newly cultivated energy meets a blockage, the experience can be very unpleasant and is sometimes compared to intense burning; as if it pushes up against a painful obstruction until it breaks through.
There are three knots known to locate at the sacrum, in the heart center and between the eyebrows. The removal of these knots is each linked to a major life lesson and to revealing a pure, clear consciousness. Working with these knots means progressing from the gross or purely physical body to the more subtle, energetic body.
Engaging the pelvic floor during physical practice and breath-work is the most direct way to burn through blockages. This produces heat and moves energy from deep within the pelvis up the spinal column. The mastery of the pelvic floor helps to clear the knot located at the sacrum. Some common symptoms associated with the lock in this area are a lack of strength, resistance to change, sexual trauma, not trusting, feeling uprooted. Working with the interior space of the pelvis helps to gain an access point to this place inside the body where the physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual all merge.
To remove the lock located at the heart center, literally, a deep heart opening needs to occur through the practice of back-bending, chest-opening, breath-work and increasing cardio-vascular capacity. Mentally opening yourself to receive and to give freely.
Between the eyebrows, the center of spiritual energy, the lock removal associates with releasing psychic energy and requires total merging with divinity, beyond-logical realization and surrender of ego control.
Thinking of your accumulated patterns can be overwhelming. Know that you are already whole and complete, yet acknowledge that our depths may be deeper than we perceive and that our potential is vaster than we can imagine.
Removing our conditioning, latent or active, requires effort, patience and determination. All difficult experience carries the seed of realization.
When spiritual energy is blocked, there’s often a chronic injury that may not immediately respond to treatment or you may experience emotional distress that exceeds the reality of circumstance. A feeling of urgency and breaking. The other side of this healing crisis is the peaceful resplendence of free flowing energy.
Without a firm anchor in yourself and the practice itself, a student may loose his or her way in the appearance of the dark when the knots begin to unravel. By exposing yourself to the light of a heartfelt dedication to practice with careful awareness, you will burn and cleanse in this process that only requires your constant remembering of why you began in the first place.
Yoga is a timeless tradition and method. Its depths exceed the limits of the logical mind. The practice is based on core concepts that challenge the notions of rational truth. It requires a transcendental view that is attained through self-discipline, practice and commitment that leads to the inner light. Without this, the knots and patterns of our past will remain in place. Be open to the promise that through the removal of each blockage you’ll experience a peaceful, love-filled state of awareness. An inevitable flow of energy gives the long-term practitioner a luminous body, a clear mind and an open heart.
VINYASA
Vinyasa can be described as the placement of appropriate breath, movement and gazing point that prepares the body to experience the freedom contained in its own skin.
It’s not enough to do the poses, the way you enter and exit each pose determines the deeper intention of your practice. Yoga is a ritual designed to erect a temple within the inner space of the body and here you experience personal transformation.
Through the technique of Vinyasa you learn the elements of surrender through intense movement and experience a sense of lightness and strength. You also gain a feeling for the internal wisdom of the body.
The benefit of spiritual teaching is not always evident in the moment. You learn things that seem completely illogical. Until the moment you realize yourself as tied up in the knots of the past, spiritual teachings may not make any sense at all. But when you apply the lessons learned in your practice, the simplest insights can appear magic and set you free from the bonds of old energy; burning through the tight ropes of habituated patterns with the light of your own consciousness. The spiritual teaching is then magnified and reflected by the power and precision of your own presence.
The Vinyasa method seeks to ritualize your behavior and give you a better chance to recall the teachings in moments of uncertainty and turmoil. When you look into the light and ask for guidance, the answer will certainly come. Your work is to listen. Take time to study and learn the practice methods correctly, the teaching will present itself as appropriate and useful in difficult situations. Remember everything possible and store it in your body, mind and heart. Let the teachings etch so deeply that they erase all limitation.
Open your heart to power and grace. When you look into the light of spiritual awareness your vision changes, your paradigm shifts and your life moves in a peaceful direction.
Eva Eichhorn 