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Anusara Yoga, founded by John Friend, is a unique approach to hatha yoga where the spirit of the HEART powerfully blends with the precision of biomechanical ALIGNMENT and balanced energetic ACTION in the performance of asanas (yoga postures). The word "anusara" originates from a line in the Tantric text called the Kularnava Tantra, "shaktipata-anusarena shishyonugraham arhati", which means: by entering the current of Divine Shakti's descent into the heart, the true disciple becomes capable of receiving grace. Anusara literally means to be in the flow. It is the current of the Divine, to flow with Grace. The philosophical basis of Anusara, as elucidated by Dr. Douglas Brooks, is called Rajanaka Yoga. |
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| nov 2003 at VIRAYOGA |
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last
month we defined
opening
to grace
[the
first of the five principles of Anusara Yoga]
as
the invitation
to
a direct observation of the innermost realm
of
ourselves in our practice, our lives, each pose, every moment.
opening
to grace is an initial
'opening' deeper inside, which
brings us to the next choice,
the
Yoga,
the
movement to the point of origin within.
physically
that choice is muscular energy -
the
second principle of our Anusara tradition.
what
is muscular energy?
it
is a purposeful engagement of all parts of the outer body
towards
their origin in the inner body to integrate
all
parts of body and mind, creating stability and unity of intention.
why
muscular energy?
we engage
or hug in muscularly before
we align
to
create safety, strength and security in a pose.
what
is the 'everyday' application of muscular energy?
we
check with ourselves inwardly before we act
[observe
if our habits/assumptions are unnecessarily complicating matters]
for
without that pause we'd experience regret
[that
all-too-familiar experience of having said or done something
without
first thinking about it].
muscular
energy has three directions:
I-we
hug the core evenly on all sides,
from the outer circumference of each limb to its central core, like
a loving, balanced and mutual embrace of the whole body.
II-we
draw our limbs toward the midline of our body
isometrically
along the shortest route to the medial core,
reining
in our senses, 'coming home to our hearts.'
III-we
draw from extremities into one of three focal
points
[floor
of the pelvis, bottom of the heart, roof of the mouth].
muscular
energy flows along the length of the muscle from insertion to
origin,
increasing
our stability, confidence and trust in ourselves.
any
potential expansion must come from
an inner
understanding.
for
the next few months we'll explore this,
the
act of contracting to expand;
using
our Yoga as a lens through which we
observe
our thoughts, tendencies, assumptions before we act.
for
now, begin to look around less,
watch
YOU more carefully.
what you
really want is yours already:
high-quality
ATTENTION,
the
most challenging and most important cultivation.
november
2nd, sunday, 1.30,
our
second visit from dr.
craig fishel
who'll
be screening our alignment in tadasana
and
offering his wisdom of the body for FREE
november
14th, 15th, and 16th,
our
esteemed and completely beloved colleagues
sianna
sherman and mitchel bleier, reknowned Anusara teachers,
making
their way to vira for a forever-awaited weekend workshop,
teaching
one open class on saturday and 2 intermediate classes on friday/sunday
november
23rd, 1.30,
another
deep Anusara-style
Workshop
that
i will offer to focus on this month's topic, the focal
points,
as
they relate to our practice and our lives.
as
ever,
GRATITUDE
elena
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| archived messages from Elena: sept02 | oct02 | nov02 | dec02 | jan03 | ||||
| feb03 | mar03 | april03 l may03 l june03 l july03 l aug03 l sep03 l oct03 | ||||