May 12, 2009
- Yoga -
Took my first yoga class yesterday, at least the first since I signed up for a Yoga class back in college (it counted for 1 credit under the “other” section of my graduation requirements). This time it was Kripalu yoga, which seemingly has more of a focus on mindfulness and connection of mind, body and breath, rather than focusing on getting postures absolutely correct.
I had an amazing time, and I can really see why both Aleister Crowley and Robert Anton Wilson were such big proponents of yoga in general. It really clears a way a lot of crap, both mentally and physically, like night changing into day. You can’t tell exactly when it happens, but the difference is immediately obvious. I’d been in a really bad mood all weekend, and this cleared it right up, leaving me feeling lighter and more focused than I had in a long time.
Apparently it got me a focused back on the blog again as well. I’ve noticed that everything moves a lot more easily, that there are less hindrances and withholdings. Things are seeming to flow better on their own with no effort on my part, as if all the connections had been cleaned a little bit. And the classes are only $15.00!
Can’t wait to go back next week.
Sounds great! I remember that my first class was similarly exhilarating. In the previous article you were mentioning chronic tension and it seems to me that physical yoga (ie. asana) is meant to release it on a bodily level (I do not think that it touches on the mental level beyond the connection between the two, ie. it doesn’t break up mental patterns). Even now, after particular asanas that target my tension hot spots, when I lie down afterward and rest, there is all this heat and tension being released from around the spine and kind of dispersing. It’s a very peculiar feeling.
And the greatest thing is that you can practice at home what you learn at class. I can recommend The New Book of Yoga by the Sivananda yoga centre and anything by Iyengar, which is what I have been using for my practice.
I think that yoga goes really well with meditation and insight, cause the body needs some love too.
Please do keep on posting what you find out – I would be curious to see whether our findings coincide.
Comment by Pavel — May 13, 2009 @ 9:51 am
I was going to say I hadn’t really gotten anything like that release of tension and energy you mention, but then I remembered that during the rest period at the end of the class, I felt a really strong sense of heat snaking up my left leg, crossing over at the groin, and then curving out along my right side straight through that same spot that’s been troubling me and up again to center at my neck. Like half a caduceus or helix shape… Anyway, yeah, I’ll keep you informed.
I definitely agree that meditation and body/breath work really do go hand in hand, and I think a lot of the trouble I’ve been having with mediation and with this blog might be that they are both practices are based purely in the mind. Working some breath/body stuff in more frequently might be just the thing to keep everything going smoothly.
As for mental tensions, although I agree that asanas don’t break up mental tensions directly, I think that tension exists in the body/mind more as connected wholes, with some tensions existing more in the body and others more in the mind (maybe depending on what caused them in the first place, a more physical or more mental agitation?).
But everything’s so interconnected that the release of tension in one place can have a chain reaction throughout the whole block of mind/body tension. I think the key there is to follow through, sort of, in letting the tension-release go on it’s own while maintaining focus so as not to get distanced from the process. Anyway, that makes sense logically, I’ll have to see if it applies in practice.
That’s what comes from growing up on games like Tetris and Minesweeper, I guess… :)
Oh, and right after I read your comment here, I went to check my email and I had one from the Zen monastery I’ve been going to for an Iyengyar Yoga retreat next month (which is funny cause they never send me emails advertising single retreats). It’s during a weekend I had been planning on attending a meditation intensive at the Temple in NYC, but maybe I will head back up to the mountains instead…
Here’s the text from the email:
That was literally the first thing I saw after reading your comment… :)
Comment by Ian — May 13, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Synchronicity is great.
I made the opposite decision to you – i have been doing a lot of physical stuff, yoga, martial arts, stretching, climbing and my body is great apart from a couple of tension trouble spots that I do not know how to release through bodywork but I think should be addressable through mindwork.
But I ran into trouble that bodywork could not address and had to return to the cushion which seems to address these issues.
I agree that there must be some joining of the two, it seems to work better and no practice appears to be all-encompassing.
As I said, keep me posted, most interested. – BTW what you describe is precisely the release of tension that I was talking about. Doing corpse pose often between asanas can make this happen a lot (I recommend it).
Comment by Pavel — May 17, 2009 @ 9:01 am
Thanks Pavel, glad to hear that feeling of heat is something common!
Also, if you haven’t tried Qi Gong, I can’t recommend it enough. Anyone who’s a student of this guy (and he seems to have a lot of them) should be good. I didn’t train with Sifu Wong over the weekend, but one of his students, but that was enough for me.
I’ve decided I will be doing that yoga retreat as well. I’d love to get some yoga instruction AND some zazen posture advice at the same time. Any excuse to head back up to the monastery…
Comment by Ian — May 18, 2009 @ 10:54 am