by Hilary Lindsay | Feb 17, 2023 | Asana, nashville yoga, Poetry, Social Commentary, therapeutic yoga, Yoga, yoga class, Yoga Philosophy, yoga teaching |
Nashville is home and host to songwriters so it was nothing unusual to be sitting next to a visiting songwriter at dinner last night. He said he’s basically a writer. The melody is secondary added intuitively as he can’t read music and doesn’t play an instrument. A song’s melody should prop up the gist of the lyrics. Without a melody the poetry or prose can be impactful but notes give words sensations that pierce hearts and sear brains. Even wordless music stirs us. With my habit of taking the macrocosm into the particular through the windshield of yoga, I considered how assuming yoga poses without passion is like words with no melody. Posture becomes authentic when executed with sentiment. Sentiment implies drawing emotion from a well of experience. That sentiment shifts as fresh water fills the well and then you might say your yoga practice reflects all of you in the moment, every moment. It keeps changing. It stays interesting and lively as new impressions form again and again remixing the song of your soul....
by Hilary Lindsay | Mar 9, 2018 | anatomy, Asana, Limbs of yoga, Meditation, nashville yoga, Pranayama, therapeutic yoga, Yoga |
Karma describes the cycle of action creating a reaction which causes a further action. It is called the wheel of karma because it is a loop. It can indicate a lack of consciousness when the reactions do not reap positive change. In your asana practice it can manifest as non-productive aggression. That aggression results in discomfort. Yet asana is described as a comfortable seat. How do you manage karma in your yoga practice in a yoga class? Mimic the outer form of the posture. That is the guide and imposition of external force. That is the action. Then move within that form until it is comfortable. That is the reaction. Extend yourself with your breath into the outer reaches of that form. Adjust again and again until you are comfortable even for two breaths. Hold the space in the pose because you have stability because you can do that now. Be in the pose and don’t push. The breath is all the action you need. Receive and release the breath. Do not force it. If your pose has a positive effect the movement of breath will be pleasing. Recognize the sensation before you feel the need to shift again, because you will, because nothing but death is static. Notice what ease feels like as the wheel of karma momentarily stops. ...
by Hilary Lindsay | Jan 29, 2018 | anatomy, Asana, nashville yoga, Physiology, therapeutic yoga, Yoga, yoga class, yoga teacher, yoga teaching |
Closed chain describes exercise where the limbs are steadied by a constant surface. It keeps the energy in the distal and proximal length of the limbs at once and crosses several joints at once. It bounces us back to the spine. A modern yoga teacher often uses the word “open”. Without a sense of center or place to open from, this description can be confusing in a physical yoga practice. Here the postures demand movement from the core. The core surrounds and supports the spine and brain. The sensation of opening in this case is the stretch of muscle bone and fiber once activated and rooted. This is stability. Once stable the nervous system calms and has space to pay attention, to direct attention. No stability~no space. Ignite what supports the spine and brain. Bring physical energy to the core in order to ground the student. Without grounding, opening is not only confusing but dangerous. Furthermore it makes for a whole lot of yoga absurdity. Who hasn’t been in a group of open hearted yogis who are more posture than substance? I know I have. I have fled the yoga studio scene because of that lack of sincerity. Using unstable bands, bands that stretch, encourages the nerves to find center in an unstable world. It adds an element of reality to the practice of yoga with props. I am introducing yoga using therapy bands. For instruction contact me at activeyoga@comcast.net. My studio comes with me. Here is the first video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7NRrtDpP3g The cues for action and awareness will be...
by Hilary Lindsay | Aug 17, 2017 | anatomy, Asana, medical yoga, nashville yoga, Pranayama, therapeutic yoga, Tradition, Yoga, yoga class, yoga teacher, yoga teaching |
Energy is shrouded in mystery because we can’t see it. What we see and feel as the materialization of energy can be confusing as well. Yoga is sometimes described as a method to manage energy. That refers to the energy of thought and intention. The means to that is physical energy because physical gives bodily sensation to something intangible. In yoga we create the sensation of energy by giving it weight. We contract muscles to create force. We synchronize the restriction and release of the muscles in coordination with the breath. The first weight is made by the windpipe. The breath becomes sensational and intimate as you orchestrate the narrowing of the windpipe to hear breath and feel it in a pleasing way. There are also muscle groups that act as sphincters or round muscles. The constriction of those sphincters is sometimes referred to as bandhas. Bandhas turn on as we create force along the spine, pelvis and shoulders by engaging the muscles of the limbs, buttocks and belly with precision to ignite our posture. The effort of the muscles will have varying effects on our spine depending on the pose. We are not just moving muscles and bones but corralling energy to become form. Asana is the intensification of awareness. When that awareness dissipates we can escalate the movement of energy by tweaking the posture. We are moving energy. A finished posture is the eye of the storm. Force formed a shape to contain the quiet. Then energy no longer needed weight. You became the sum of that energy for the moment until something shifted...
by Hilary Lindsay | Jul 19, 2017 | anatomy, Asana, Ethics, medical yoga, nashville yoga, Social Commentary, therapeutic yoga, Yoga, yoga class, yoga teacher, yoga teaching |
I’ve been hurt by yoga. Poses. Done wrong Imposed upon me By someone else Or me I didn’t go near them again. Not those anyway. But then I did. After a while. And I did them differently like tasting poison that could only kill me if I drank too much or too quickly. And I approached the poses like a frightened animal. Entered the poses remembering the first time and every way I knew they hurt me and I used them to put myself back together the way I was meant to be. Now that I...
