Improving Your Position and Your Disposition through Yoga

The regular practice of yoga involves a personal intention of engaging in movement and stillness. Attention to body placement relative to earth … to the force of gravity … and to the breathing process, unites the physical with the spiritual (breath) by way of the direction of the mind. In an age of considerable motion and fragmentation, the union of these three personal aspects is strengthening and integrating, calming, and, at the same time, energizing in that focus and purpose are employed … conscious action.

Yoga involves a relationship to one’s self inside and outside. Through a variety of positions we enhance our personal understanding of “standing on our own two feet,” of being “flat on our backs,” or of standing with great mental and emotional concentration on one foot. Yoga position, postures or asanas have technical names in native Indian language, such as Tadasana and a corresponding English interpretation of “mountain pose” … of uttanasana, or “forward bend.”

Coordinating breathing with movement such as standing with feet hip-width and raising the arms slowly to shoulder height (and even to the overhead position with palms forward) on an inhalation and lowering them back to the sides on an exhalation engages the thinking mind: standing in a specific position while breathing in and raising the arms AND breathing out and lowering the arms: thinking, standing, raising, lowering while breathing consciously.

Experiencing yoga movements and breathing in relation to organs extends experience and increases knowledge, especially if one has access to a skeletal model and pictures (or even a take-apart model, as we had in my yoga training). To “breathe down the backs of the lungs and into the kidneys” along with the use of an active imagination can release tight back muscles and calm fear. The kidneys are said to be related to fear (notice the frequency of bathroom breaks by someone who is highly anxious!).

Yoga and Qi Gong are both practices that manage or enhance the energy of one’s life. In the Indian yoga model, the energy is called “Prana,” while in the Chinese model, it is known as “Chi,” or “Qi.” In the yoga model, the energy centers are known as chakras, and in the Chinese system the energy flows in pathways known as meridians. With an understanding of how the meridians flow, one can practice “meridian yoga” and enhance energy flow to specific organs.

Yoga asanas, or positions, as mentioned previously, can involve varying positions: standing on the feet; sitting with the legs in various positions; on hands and knees; prone (face down); supine (lying on back); or side-lying; inverted or partially inverted.

There are advanced yoga poses that a beginner should “grow into.” The nature of positioning is such that injuries, even severe injuries, can occur in the absence of required strength, balance or stamina. Neck, shoulder and knee injuries are possible and can occur if a student is overly ambitious and unwilling to build strength and knowledge required for safe execution. Pacing oneself with proper sequencing and preparation in building strength provides a student with what is needed.

A balanced and sufficiently thorough yoga session, considering your own particular body structure, mental and emotional situation and abilities, and your present stress level could be an appropriate choice at your day’s beginning or end. Meditation after a movement session can bring a transition into greater peace and clarity. A word to choose to repeat to yourself throughout the day and in your meditation time is a Hebrew word you can find at the end of scriptures verses in Psalms and Proverbs: “Selah” (say-la), which means “pause and calmly think of that.” The Yoga Sutra in its beginning states yogasgcittavrttinirodah, which means; “Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions.”

Judith J. Day, Ed.S, practices as a family therapist and as a certified yoga therapist in Shreveport’s Broadmoor area. She may be reached at 318-218-8796.