Yoga Reflection Journal

Qi (chi) Is bio magnetic electrical energy, it will flow if given the opportunity to do so.  Air is Oxygen and other gasses, vapours, micro organisms, moisture, electrical particles, spirit.  Breath is the bridge between the mind and the body. Breathe in Qi / Prana a vital life sustaining source that feeds your body and mind. When Qi is balanced and moving the body and mind are healthy. When we breath in we breath in Qi (Chi) energy. For the next 60 seconds the air and its content fill our lungs, the oxygen moves across the chest and into the tiny blood vessels from the lungs into the heart. This is Qi flowing. As we take another breath in within about 60 heart beats / 60 seconds the heart has pumped all the old breath used oxygen around the body and it’s now carbon dioxide back into the lungs to trade it for more good clean air. And we breath in again, the new fresh oxygen is pumped around the body. It combines with blood and nutrients from food to make vital energy, Qi....

We might associate emotions with the heart space. Emotions could breathe in a spiritual and energetic way. As with using the chest space for both physical action and breath space in Cobra, Bridge and Fish poses the energy can be felt as uplifting helping us raise the heart towards the sun, this opening of the chest area collaborates naturally with “healing breath” breathing in positivity and light. When we open the heart space physically and expanding it with breath we open a space where warmth and compassion can be felt. It is very easy to smile when we open the heart space.

To just be with the breath is to surrender all other senses internally and externally including tensions, thoughts, restrictions and emotions to be aware of only the breath and notice the breath only and how it makes your body feel when inhaling, holding breath and exhaling. It is important to compose yourself so that the breath can flow easily as this will aid the practice and to ensure there is no overthinking or action beyond the breath itself to achieve this. To be with the breath can be easy or challenging, acutely or chronically. To just be with the breath’s state can alter temporarily whilst we re-focus the mind on the breath action in detail and zone out any distractions that may have crept into the breath work space. This re-focusing can return us to just being with the breath. Just being with the breath can be felt as the inner self or as an observer of the self in a natural way.

Breath in Oxygen Positive Light Energy Cleansing Light Sunlight The Present Moment Health Vitality Radiance Breath out Toxins Negativity Things that no longer serve us Tension Disease Restrictions Sluggishness Expectation Grief Past Tensions Draw from what ever sources we feel we need at the time The inner self Non personal connections such a visualisation Create spaciousness Imagine breathing through different areas of the body besides the chest/lungs. Through the space between the eyebrows with a feeling of expansion and enlightenment and more depth. Breathing through the mind. Through the top of the head with a feeling of travelling, intelligent light to the rest of body. Throught the fingers, toes and tail bone drawing in light as we breath through the limbs. Through the whole body from the eyebrow space to the collarbones, to the chest, to the lungs and then to the tummy. Feeling absorbing breath in the mind and then expansive breath in the ch...

Good asanas for pranayama that allow you to “Just Be With The Breath”. • Crossed leg seated position • Half lotus • Full Lotus • Hero Pose (supported or unsupported) Huge benefit of the four postures are they keep the spine erect for clear breath thus avoiding thinking about how to improve the airflow during practice allowing the breathwork to prevail. • Sitting on a chair Use a straight back chair to keep the spine erect and result in a clear airway. Chin position in all postures It’s ok for the chin to drop forward slightly but avoid tipping the head back or lifting the chip upwards. The chin lifts up if you are slouching and the airway becomes constricted. Time Practice can be stand alone. Starting with a few minutes. Duration can increase over time. Pranayama can be practiced several times as day and attached to physical yoga and meditation. Some pranayamas energise the body and some relax. Choose pranayamas to achieve your desired effect on the mind and...

People can be “chest breathers” using only the top 1/3 of the chest. Pranayama practice enables full use of the chest and lungs top, middle and bottom sections. Scar tissue can be present in the lungs in the top third portion from causes such as pollution, airborne toxins, smoking, asthma and past chest infections. Breathing into the unscarred tissues of the deeper portion of the lungs increases VO2 increasing oxygen capacity. When we increase the oxygenation we increase the metabolic rate and the rates of the other functions in the body such as elimination, digestion, tissue regeneration. Full pranayama breath work In a crossed leg sitting position. First few breaths = feeling expanded, light and calm (even if there wasn't tension) More Breaths = Chest opens more,  capacity for breath broadens, it's easier to just be with the breath, More breaths = Chest is lifting more, shoulders are more relaxed, as the chest opens more there is a feeling of being able to enbra...

In traditional yoga Asanas are practiced with the intention to reach full expression of the pose. In Somatic Yoga techniques, somatic movement and flows are designed for a personal expression of the mind body connection. Through isolating specific mescles, mindfully controlling/contracting those muscles and then slowly releasing them back to neutral. Somatic yoga strengthens and integrates the brain to muscle connection. This is a similar mindset to other forms of excercise from the rewilding movmenet such as MoveNat which focuses on movement with balance and variety in a natural environment such as walking or running in a woodland setting to engage the brain with the movement to tackle onbstackles such as tree roots, low hanging branches, uneven ground, sharp drops in ground level - this would not be achieved if one was running or walking on a treadmill where the brain/body connection would be very minimal. The feeling of the somatic yoga asanas is direct and focused it is indep...

The final step in the eight-fold path of Yoga is the attainment of Samadhi.  Samadhi means "to bring together, to merge." In the state of samadhi the body and senses are at rest, as if asleep, yet the faculty of mind and reason are alert, as if awake; one goes beyond consciousness. During samadhi, we realize what it is to be an identity without differences, and how a liberated soul can enjoy pure awareness of this pure identity. The conscious mind drops back into that unconscious oblivion from which it first emerged. Thus, samadhi refers to union or true Yoga. There is an ending to the separation that is created by the "I" and "mine" of our illusory perceptions of reality. The mind does not distinguish between self and non-self, or between the object contemplated and the process of contemplation. The mind and the intellect have stopped and there is only the experience of consciousness, truth and unutterable joy. The achievement of samadhi is a diffic...

Dhyana means worship, or profound and abstract religious meditation.  It is perfect contemplation. It involves concentration upon a point of focus with the intention of knowing the truth about it. The concept holds that when one focuses their mind in concentration on an object the mind is transformed into the shape of the object. Hence, when one focuses on the divine they become more reflective of it and they know their true nature. "His body, breath, senses, mind, reason and ego are all integrated in the object of his contemplation – the Universal Spirit."xv During dhyana, the consciousness is further unified by combining clear insights into distinctions between objects and between the subtle layers of perception. "We learn to differentiate between the mind of the perceiver, the means of perception, and the objects perceived, between words, their meanings, and ideas, and between all the levels of evolution of nature."xvi As we fine-tune our concentration and ...

Dharana means "immovable concentration of the mind".  The essential idea is to hold the concentration or focus of attention in one direction.  "When the body has been tempered by asanas, when the mind has been refined by the fire of pranayama and when the senses have been brought under control by pratyahara, the sadhaka (seeker) reaches the sixth stage, dharana. Here he is concentrated wholly on a single point or on a task in which he is completely engrossed. The mind has to be stilled in order to achieve this state of complete absorption."xiii In dharana we create the conditions for the mind to focus its attention in one direction instead of going out in many different directions. Deep contemplation and reflection can create the right conditions, and the focus on this one point that we have chosen becomes more intense. We encourage one particular activity of the mind and, the more intense it becomes, the more the other activities of the mind fall away. The ob...

Pratyahara means drawing back or retreat.  The word ahara means "nourishment"; pratyahara translates as "to withdraw oneself from that which nourishes the senses." In yoga, the term pratyahara implies withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects. It can then be seen as the practice of non-attachment to sensorial distractions as we constantly return to the path of self realization and achievement of internal peace. It means our senses stop living off the things that stimulate; the senses no longer depend on these stimulants and are not fed by them any more. In pratyahara we sever this link between mind and senses, and the senses withdraw. When the senses are no longer tied to external sources, the result is restraint or pratyahara. Now that the vital forces are flowing back to the Source within, one can concentrate without being distracted by externals or the temptation to cognize externals. Pratyahara occurs almost automatically when we meditat...

Pranayama is the measuring, control, and directing of the breath.  Pranayama controls the energy (prana) within the organism, in order to restore and maintain health and to promote evolution. When the in-flowing breath is neutralized or joined with the out-flowing breath, then perfect relaxation and balance of body activities are realized. In yoga, we are concerned with balancing the flows of vital forces, then directing them inward to the chakra system and upward to the crown chakra. Pranayama, or breathing technique, is very important in yoga. It goes hand in hand with the asana or pose. In the Yoga Sutra, the practices of pranayama and asana are considered to be the highest form of purification and self discipline for the mind and the body, respectively. The practices produce the actual physical sensation of heat, called tapas, or the inner fire of purification. It is taught that this heat is part of the process of purifying the nadis, or subtle nerve channels of the body....

Asana is the practice of physical postures. It is the most commonly known aspect of yoga for those unfamiliar with the other seven limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. The practice of moving the body into postures has widespread benefits; of these the most underlying are improved health, strength, balance and flexibility. On a deeper level the practice of asana, which means "staying" or "abiding" in Sanskrit, is used as a tool to calm the mind and move into the inner essence of being. The challenge of poses offers the practitioner the opportunity to explore and control all aspects of their emotions, concentration, intent, faith, and unity between the physical and the ethereal body. Indeed, using asanas to challenge and open the physical body acts as a binding agent to bring one in harmony with all the unseen elements of their being, the forces that shape our lives through our responses to the physical world. Asana then becomes a way of exploring our mental attitudes...

II. Niyama (Personal Observances) Niyama means "rules" or "laws."  These are the rules prescribed for personal observance. Like the yamas, the five niyamas are not exercises or actions to be simply studied. They represent far more than an attitude. Compared with the yamas, the niyamas are more intimate and personal. They refer to the attitude we adopt toward ourselves as we create a code for living soulfully 1. Sauca - Purity  The first niyama is sauca, meaning purity and cleanliness. Sauca has both an inner and an outer aspect. Outer cleanliness simply means keeping ourselves clean. Inner cleanliness has as much to do with the healthy, free functioning of our bodily organs as with the clarity of our mind. Practicing asanas or pranayama are essential means for attending to this inner sauca. Asanas tones the entire body and removes toxins while pranayama cleanses our lungs, oxygenates our blood and purifies our nerves. "But more important than the physica...

The first two limbs that Patanjali describes are the fundamental ethical precepts called yamas, and the niyamas. These can also be looked at as universal morality and personal observances. Yamas and niyamas are the suggestions given on how we should deal with people around us and our attitude toward ourselves. The attitude we have toward things and people outside ourselves is yama, how we relate to ourselves inwardly is niyama. Both are mostly concerned with how we use our energy in relationship to others and to ourselves. The yamas are broken down into five "wise characteristics." Rather than a list of dos and don’ts, "they tell us that our fundamental nature is compassionate, generous, honest and peaceful." i They are as follows: I. Yamas (Universal Morality) 1. Ahimsa – Compassion for all living things The word ahimsa literally mean not to injure or show cruelty to any creature or any person in any way whatsoever. Ahimsa is, however, more than just lack ...

In brief the eight limbs, or steps to yoga, are as follows: 1 Yama :  Universal morality 2 Niyama :  Personal observances 3 Asanas :  Body postures 4 Pranayama :  Breathing exercises, and control of prana 5 Pratyahara :  Control of the senses 6 Dharana :  Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness 7 Dhyana :  Devotion, Meditation on the Divine 8 Samadhi :  Union with the Divine

Zen is the acceptance and interpretation of one’s self and relates to all the elements that constitute life/the universe. With a connection to Zen we are able to be particular in a profound sense with the ability to see what is real and present and remove all that is redundant. Zen can also be described as a very personal informed intuition/mindfulness. A knowing and ability to visualise, feel and allow yourself to “be” in a natural way that is not forced.

Yoga is a multi-level form of exercise suitable for all body types that combines movement and breath work with body awareness within and physically. It's a practice that brings together a physical, mental and spiritual collaboration. Yoga can also be described as meditative movement and meditative awareness. Yoga movement, breathing and traditional yoga poses (asanas) allow mindful control of the muscles and then slowly releasing them back to neutral. Asanas provide natural encouragement to listen to your body. Timed breath work is used throughout to aid movement and muscle relaxation as well as the metaphysical. Yoga originated in India as a body of physical, mental and spiritual disciplines, it was mostly practiced by men in ancient India. Today, yoga is available to all genders, worldwide. Yoga practice is a personal expression of mind body connection, even whilst practicing in a group environment. Yoga has many schools, practices and hybrids.

Most of us yogis of hatha yoga. We may be experiencing this as Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Zen or Yin. But these are all variants of Hatha : asana, pranayama, meditation and cleanses. Yoga of the body. Primal Yoga Combining yoga with martial arts and flow. Somatic Yoga Muscle isolation, mindful contaction and release. Pilates Combining yoga with callisthetics.