Overview of Yoga

The Body is the Gateway

The body is the gateway to the expanded Self.
– Abhinavagupta via Sally Kempton

Yoga is, first and foremost, an Awareness practice. We take our attention from our thoughts, from whatever is “running us,” to our breath and the sensations in our body—for example, to the sensation of our feet connecting with the earth. We become present.

 

In the evening, doing a few yoga poses to release tension in the body might bring us right into meditation. As Paul Muller-Ortega notes, all the practices of Yoga are inter-related.

 

In a body scan, with eyes closed, immersed in the breath and feeling into sensation, we may experience our body as a pulsating field of energy. We may experience what Yoga calls our “subtle body.” We might experience the truth of what the sages said, that every particle of our body is made of conscious energy. The body truly is a gateway to our deepest core of Self that is of the nature of bliss.

 

It is often while doing the physical practice—in child pose or in savasana, that we begin to touch meditative states. We might start to notice the pause between the breaths and thoughts.

In the pause, we touch the space of pure Awareness.

The body is the gateway to the expanded Self.
– Abhinavagupta via Sally Kempton

Yoga Is Deeply Empowering

Even the most basic alignment cues: “press all four corners of the feet into the earth,” “lengthen up through the spine and crown,” “release tension”…  help people move into more grounded, more empowered postures and states. In an aligned posture, there is typically more ease and relaxation, and a more positive mental-emotional outlook.

 

Engaging the muscles, and also drawing into the “hara,” the belly center (a little below the navel), offers a deeper, more subtle level of empowerment.

 

When you start connecting with the belly center, you may start experiencing more “spontaneous right action.” You may find yourself responding in a way that is natural, easeful and appropriate—even in situations that might have been challenging to navigate historically.

Yoga Heals

Two of the most knowledgeable people about Yoga as a healing modality are the Western medical doctors—Dr. Loren Fishman and Dr. Timothy McCall. I have been fortunate to study with both.

 

Dr. Fishman uses Yoga along with Western medicine in his practice as a physiatrist. Jane Brody of the New York Times wrote about his groundbreaking methodology for osteoporosis in 12 Minutes of Yoga for Stronger Bones.

 

I am certified in Dr. Fishman’s Yoga for Osteoporosis, Yoga for Arthritis, and Yoga for Back Pain methods. Working alongside him in his office, I’ve also benefited from invaluable one-to-one mentoring on wide-ranging medical conditions.

 

I highly recommend all of Dr. Fishman’s trainings and books, including Healing Yoga which offers Yoga for twenty common ailments.

The Medical Editor of Yoga Journal, Dr. Timothy McCall, tracks the research on Yoga as a healing modality and has compiled a list of Health Conditions Helped by Yoga (as Shown in Scientific Studies). The list now includes 117 conditions including common issues such as arthritis, back pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

 

Tim McCall’s holistic Yoga As Medicine methodology and his book by the same name have deeply influenced my Private teaching.

 

In Private sessions, in person and via Zoom, I work with students one-on-one to create a home practice that helps them move towards improved health and greater well-being. These daily practices are often short. Yoga for Osteoporosis, as noted above in the Times article, can be done in 12 minutes a day.

YAM

The Medical Editor of Yoga Journal, Dr. Timothy McCall, tracks the research on Yoga as a healing modality and has compiled a list of Health Conditions Helped by Yoga (as Shown in Scientific Studies). The list now includes 117 conditions including common issues such as arthritis, back pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

 

Tim McCall’s holistic Yoga As Medicine methodology and his book by the same name have deeply influenced my Private teaching.

YAM

In Private sessions, in person and via Zoom, I work with students one-on-one to create a home practice that helps them move towards improved health and greater well-being. These daily practices are often short. Yoga for Osteoporosis, as noted above in the Times article, can be done in 12 minutes a day.

Musings on Yoga

Try these practices when you want to feel calm, centered, and peaceful, regardless of what's happening all around you.