International Woman's Day

RELEASE.  RELAX.  REST.  REPEAT. 

Being busy-proud in a do-do nation, it's hard to fathom the concept of stillness. BKS Iyengar rates all the poses in his 500+ page book Light On Yoga . On page 422, he teaches the pose Savasana:

"In this asana the object is to imitate a corpse. Once life has departed, the body remains still and no movements are possible. By remaining motionless for some time and keeping the mind still while you are fully conscious, you learn to relax. This conscious relaxation invigorates and refreshes the body and mind. But it is much harder to keep the mind than the body still. Therefore, this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master."

Are you up for the hardest challenge in yoga? To celebrate International Woman's Day don't DO anything. Try UNDOing.  Iyengar explains the effects of the pose are that you feel refreshed because it brings energy flow from the back of the head to the heels. He adds, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which savasana is the best antidote." Right now, wherever you are, whatever you're doing: press pause. Check in with yourself. Are you clinching your teeth or jaw?  Are you tensing your neck and shoulders? Are you gripping in your stomach? We all carry our tension somewhere. Can you find where you are keeping it, today? Once you do:

RELEASE.  RELAX.  REST.  REPEAT AGAIN TOMORROW.                                     

Iyengar Yoga: Awakening the body, mind and spirit.

Manouso Manos and Patricia Walden are the most senior teachers of the Iyengar Method in the United States. Their contribution to spreading the great work of BKS Iyengar in the United States and abroad is integral to maintaining the integrity of the vast wisdom yoga has to offer us all. 

Yoga has many definitions as Patricia and Manouso will attest; however, all definitions lead to one basic concept: self realization. Whether that realization comes from learning to deal with chronic back pain as in Manouso's history or realizing the wisdom within your own heart and mind as Patricia alludes to in this discussion. 

The Iyengar Method in the U.S. begins with body awareness through asana. However, many know that there are eight limbs in the Astanga (8-limbed) path of Iyengar Yoga. The first and second limb are behavioral. They are age-old precepts on how to conduct yourself from a personal and social level based on the natural laws of existence. Before there can be any kind of evolution from our base human state there must be an involution. We must first understand what will bring clarity of mind, body and spirit in order to move us to the next level of awareness. 

The third limb is learning the mechanics of the ten systems in our body through asana, which in Sanskirt means seat. Beginning with the most visible parts:  arms and legs, the Iyengar Method goes ever deeper and deeper into the wonderland of the physical, mental, and heart-centered self. From the periphery to the core and back again. Asana or seat is a practice to foster awareness and refinement in the functioning of all the systems in the body such that one can sit in still meditation in order to keep moving to more advanced levels of awareness.

Awakening. Enlightenment. They are not destinations. They are ongoing journeys that shed light on our innate wisdom and ignorance (read unawareness) in equal measure. We realize we are matter and non-matter, we are flawed and perfect all at the same time. It is the yoke of our existence to be fertilized by our own infinite resources.