The way we breathe and the specific patterns we adopt can have significant effects on our wellbeing and nervous system. Yoga and pranayama cultivates mindful breathing. Breathing practices can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the "rest and digest" system. Yoga can help train ourselves to pay attention to the sensations of the breath and allow us to choose how we breathe.
Spring Process
Happy Spring and blessed Equinox. This moment of Spring that we are in is not a sudden occurrence, but is rather a continuum of the rhythm of the natural world. In other words, this moment is part of a spiralic, dynamic process. This moment is not a sudden, isolated occurrence, but rather a continuation of all other moments, breaths, and (inter)actions. Our asana practice provides us a wonderful container to notice, observe, and experience our own process. It is in moments of observing attachments or aversion that we createspace to be free of these kleshas.
Yoga in The Garden!!! April 2024
Yoga in the NC Botanical Garden, resumes April 4, 2024 for 11 weeks. Spring offers us a unique opportunity to observe the ever-changing quality of nature (called anicca in Buddhism). While practice yoga in nature this spring we can witness the changes in phrenology of the trees changes and the emergence of perennials. This provides an opportunity to witness anicca in ourselves. Each time we arrive to the mat, we are anew.
The Inner Stages of Yoga, Meditation’s Continuum of Practice
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras outline 8 stages for the practice of Yoga, the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The later stages describe how to cultivate a practice of meditation. Meditation offers an opportunity to integrate your experience and notice what is in your Awareness. It is a journey of training the mind to stay present and focused. Identifying where you are in the meditation continuum of practice (Dharna, Dhyana or Samadhi) allows you to find greater awareness.