Yoga for the Subtle Body, Tias Little

General Notes

 

Bodies’ systems are interdependent.

 

Yoga employs a system of discovery to break routine.

 

Mystery is interesting, the answer is never the objective.

 

To Native Americans earth is the creator and mother of all things. One way to start with creation is to start with savasana to group and spiritually ground down. Sense of panic sheds and prana maya kosa comes.

 

Apana is the downward flow (sea, rivers, moods, etc). Centered in large intestines (impacted if constipated) = yang, yin = lungs (clean blood, huge oxygen supply). Apana removes bad stuff and twists increase apana.

 

Triangle generative force of creation. Yantra overlapping triangle patterns. 3 points in triangle (rising force—prana; descending force—apana, bindu—where the two forces meet and where the dristi is focused). 

 

Dogs and wolves protect belly at any cost to survive. Manipura is the power center which is linked with the adrenals. Complex of nerves is there. Lay on black with toes pointed forward and push heels. Your belly opens. 

 

Maha (magnificist) Buddha is all three (including g Yga Pradipika). Addiyana is length and width such as in dhanurasna or drdha. Pulls body away. 

 

Kirtans are intense purification. 

 

Navel chakra is for motherhood. 

 

Breath retention is very powerful. The yama of prana (restraint of breath).

 

Samana vayu (equalizing force between prana and apana).

 

Spanda is the life giving force. 

 

Prana is the source of joy. Amarda and maya kosha are the sheath of bliss. Prana is a wind (veyu).

 

Kama is restraint.

 

Pranayama is experience of death (restraint or lack of prana).

 

Mind and breath are linked like a leaf on a river (mind is the leaf; breath is the river).

 

Only he who drinks from position will have compassion. 

 

Amrta is the mythic drop of immortality.

 

Chanting sounds and vibrations travel through the nadis. Brama rides as a bird on sound. 

 

Aum has levity and connection to boundless space. 

 

Palate at top of the throat chakra.  Kundalini travels from perineum to the palate. Mandela separates the sacred from the profane. You can reverse thoughts to trap prana (khecechari Mundra). Back of the throat is where all the prana converges.

 

Meditation on love changes the vibrations in the brain.

 

Jaw muscle (mandibal) holds tension. Laughing releases a lot of it. Smiling relaxes the mouth. It is a life and death tool.

 

Space and consciousness are endless.

 

Wisdom in meditation comes from insight (vipanasa).

 

Brain fluctuations occur in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Tentorium is talk that separates upper brain from the lower brain. They are linked with the plantar facia, perineum, diaphragm and vocal cords.

 

Kundalini is linked with tolerance, patience, and kindness.

 

10,000 pedalled lotus is the 7th chakra. Diamond path (vajra ayana). Om mani padme hum (homage to the lotus jewel).

 

10th gate at the top of the head is where the soul enters and is linked with the Brama aperture.

 

Top of the head in headlands is 1000 meeting place, where all comes together. Press on the crown of the head for 5 minutes and see if you notice any light. Press on the middle of the forehead (Brama) for 5 minutes. Press 2 on top (Shiva spot). 

 

Shiva has a cool demeanor. Withholds his prana. Sits in lotus and gazes at third eye. He is linked with the moon. 

 

Spirit is pure chemical and largely impossible to put into language.

 

The trust self has no form.

 

 

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The Body

 

 

Root chakra is linked the pituitary gland and air. Manipura is the adrenal gland and rooted in the earth.

 

Spine and feet have curves and arches in both.

 

Pada (foot) bandha creates mulha banda from the center of the foot.

 

Prana flows from the floor via the hands or feet (Jing or Yin spring).

 

Pelvis is the bottom of the spine at the perineum. Perineum is linked to both the digestive system via the bank and the yang and the front yin to the reproductive system.  

 

Sun salutations change the positioning of the pelvis with the pelvic contracted and opened in up and down dogs. 

 

3 blocks: braham granthi @ base of spine, Vishnu at heart and Siva at eyebrows.

 

Turtle (Kurma) at base of the spine as well. 

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At top of your head you will find more yang but from the base - the nari - will come yin. Keep your skull up with the tongue to the roof of your mouth and you will experience the upper chakras.

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Sacrum starts at S2 where one’s balance is grounded. Sacrum is a very strong bone. Power resides here, and reptiles have a sacrum. The S1 joint becomes stiff with walking. 

 

Energy point at the base of the coccyx (trika marana), helps lower back pain.

 

Light is intelligence via CSF (cerebral spinal fluid), nodding head while shaking hips in hula. Kids rock self to sleep via nodding head.

 

Adrenals increase BP, breath and heart rate. The best way to control ahimasa is via the adrenals. Fasting lowers the adrenals (Ghandi). Sit on kidneys which filters water (sama) and lowers fire.

 

Right side is solar. Left side is lunar. 

 

Brain and gut are linked via stress response. Gut processes moods, thoughts, and emotions. Hug a big blanket for 5 minutes to lower stress. 

 

Dan tien is the center of gravity between the navel and pelvic floor. 

 

Prana pump – diaphragm.

 

The brain follows the breath.

 

Solar plexus is the home of pitta (digestive fire).

 

Organs are attached to diaphragm so moving one moves the other.

 

Lay down and let the abdomen spread out.

 

Lungs and the heart are linked. They are the center of devotion (bhakti).

 

Lungs are an upside-down tree. Breath focuses on the sides and back of the lungs without strain. 

 

Upper lung is the source of fire. Lower lung is the earth and water source.

 

Heart is attached and moves with the sternum.

 

Ribs are just below the collar bone and are eyes of the heart. Lift sternum with effortless effort to evoke it.

 

Phrenic nerve links the breath and mind. Ocean is the source of life. Heart is the source of consciousness. Atma in the heart pervades space and time. Heart is a lotus and has unconditional acceptance. Heart vibrations are silent but expand into the flow of consciousness or spanda.

 

3 levels of the heart—outer (kama shapes emotions, hopes, and fears); inner is the repository of inner feelings, and innermost cannot be named or explained. 

 

Neti cleans throat and bestows clairvoyance.

 

Nerve endings govern vata. Wind points at the back of the head. Smiling lowers throat tension. 

 

Each ear has thousands of hairs to sense motions and small bones to sense vibrations. It is one of the first organs to develop in a fetus. 

 

3rd eye above the nose is the 6th chakra. Pituitary is behind the third eye. It is linked via the sphenoid bone. Opens to internal light.

 

Pineal is the night light and pituitary is the daytime light. They are linked via the optic nerve.

 

CSF moves with the tides.

 

 

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Poses/tips

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Standing, imagine your feet as the roots of a banyan tree. Planter facia are stretched with foot lunges. Heel is the strongest bone in the body. A lotus grows from the roots up. The inner leg is linked via myofacia to the sacrum and pelvic floors. Stretching increases the flow into the nadis. 

 

Cobe pose symbolizes the rising of consciousness upwards.

 

When one has the heel to the perineum and the skull over the pelvis and releases the jaw and tongue, then they should contract the perineum at the end of the exhale. It can create pulses.    

 

Headstand will widen the perineum and with feet up will avoid spinal compression.

 

Back bends activate the adrenal gland. Up dog has a posterior tilt, down dog has an anterior tilt.

 

Remain aware of breath during stress.

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Align perineum with diaphragm (stand up straight).

 

Think of diaphragm as a jellyfish. Dapalabhati pumps blood and lymph fluid. 

 

Mediate on someone for whom you have unconditional love.

 

Inhaling and stretching lungs solves depression.

 

Equalizing the inhale and exhale makes lungs slow over time.

 

BP is lowered by slowing the breath.

 

Relax the neck and throat from the roof of the mouth to the diaphragm.

 

Sarvagasana and halasana clean the throat. Weight goes to the outermost part of the shoulder blades and it’s important to squeeze them under.

 

Jalandraha Bunda, the throat and chest pulls together. Filters thyroid which controls adrenals and pituitary. It also stimulates the para-sympathetic nervous system. It is learned correctly via shoulder stand and plow. 

 

Keep the base of the skull over the sit bones. Deep the C7 bandha to keep the neck curve.

 

Emotions are linked with the 3rd (adrenals) and 5th (throat) chakras. Listen to emotions and heal the smaskaras of the habit-based mind. 

 

Close the gates to sensation via mulha banha, throat, eyes via the gaze, etc.

 

Relaxing the eyes helps the parasympathetic system to respond.