Yoga postures which give guarantees about health and itself have therapeutic value.
But Yogasana themselves don’t automatically guarantee health and therapeutic value, but rather, it’s the alignment with natural physical laws and principles which are Universal that makes them effective.
In other words, when we practice yoga postures in a way that honors the natural laws and sequences of movement of muscles with their ancestors memory, that’s when we can tap into their optimal natural and therapeutic potential and experience optimal health benefits.
In Hatha Yog , it is declared that by practicing poses regularly, sincerely, one can get their physical stability to enhance the skill of organ systems ( karmasu koushayam) to achieve, is overall or total health. The postures described in the text are higher levels of enhancement in the state of health, about sixteen poses are described but there is only a description of posture , they have not said anything about the procedure of movement going within about the posture. The text simply says “ask your teacher” without providing clear guidance.
– The teachers themselves may not fully understand the secrets behind the postures, and instead, pass on incomplete or distorted knowledge, similar to the game of ” kan gosti” or “Chinese whispers” where a message is whispered from person to person and becomes distorted.
(The Marathi word for “kan gosti” is “Chinese whispers” . This game is a great analogy for how knowledge can be distorted or lost in transmission).The teacher should understand the secret behind the posture but unfortunately they have not really understood the secret . But rather the practical implications and applications of yogasana that have been distorted or misunderstood and misinterpreted over time which becomes performing art.
The way they are put into practice and taught by guru’s and teachers have been watered down, altered or misunderstood, leading to a dilution of the original intent and effectiveness of yogasana.
As yoga – union of body – mind – intellect is a practical science that requires direct experience –anubhuti and guidance from a qualified teacher to fully understand and to get its benefits If the teacher themselves have misconceptions or lack clarity on the practical applications, it can lead to confusion and inconsistent results for the students.
Let’s understand,
Some of the basic factors about postures:
There are two factors one must understand, one is body sense that is where our body is correctly balanced with the gravity and success of posture lies in balancing the gravity with the levity that is anti gravitational force. So we must understand where to anchor and where to lift which direction to make efforts for movement of muscles and what is the technique.
Another factor is the balance of the right side and left side . The neutral state of both sides of muscular architecture is the key factor. As contraction is passive force, hence we have to work on expansion quality of muscles to prevent its stiffness as the elastic quality of muscles is most essential for their natural skill and overall well being.
For example, Suppose in a glass we have to fill the water and keep it on the ground.
When filling a glass with water, we ensure the ground is level and fill it to the brim without spilling. Similarly, in our body, we need to maintain equilibrium. Imagine the fluid flowing through our brain and spinal cord as water in the glass. The cavity inside our skull is connected to the vertebral cavity through this canal the spinal cord runs down to the first lumbar vertebrae of the spinal column. This connection allows the fluid to flow smoothly from the brain down to the spinal cord. To maintain this equilibrium. We must balance ourselves on our feet in a way that keeps the fluid stable and level, both vertically and horizontally. Additionally, the bottom of the glass (representing the base of the head) must be parallel to the ground, just like the bottom of the glass must be parallel to the surface it’s placed on. This ensures the fluid flows smoothly, without tilting or spilling.
“The key is to maintain balance and stability in each posture, just like the water in the glass. The small hole at the base of the head, connected to the spinal cord, is a vital part of this equilibrium.That is the secret of each posture”.
Importance of physical stability in human beings:
In the human body, how physical stability and balance are connected to the natural world is important.
The sensations in our feet, visual inputs, and vestibular balance systems work together to help us understand whether we’re physically stable or unstable. Just like the Earth rotates on its axis and orbits the Sun, our bodies are subject to natural forces. The Earth’s position is maintained by the gravitational pull of other planets, and our bodies are like small particles influenced by these celestial movements. When the balance of the five elements ( space, air ,fire, water and earth) in our body is disrupted, it can lead to diseases, which are characterized by an imbalance of doshas (vata, pitta, or kapha). However, yoga is a higher science – high tech space science that doesn’t wait for the elemental composition to change before taking action. Instead, “Yogasan” (has more depth than gross posture ) follows rules and regulations of universal laws proactively maintains balance and harmony in the body, ensuring overall well-being.
The interconnectedness of our bodies with the natural, universal world and the importance of maintaining balance and harmony through practices like yogaasanas.
In yoga shastra, Chitta refers to the individual consciousness or mind. Any small defect or imbalance in the composition of the five elements (water, fire, air, earth, and ether) if their composition is distorted in space then that can cause a deviation in Chitta, known as “Citta Vikshep”. This deviation represents a movement away from the normal balanced state, which can lead to the development of diseases. The science of Yogasan aims to detect and correct these imbalances at their root cause, preventing future health issues.
Recognizing and addressing the deviation in the vertebral column, specifically the alignment between the skull and spinal column and to the right and left side is crucial. By consciously correcting this distorted state, we can then address the deviation in Chitta (consciousness). In other words, physical alignment is a precursor to mental and emotional balance. By correcting the physical deviation, we can then work on balancing our Chitta, leading to overall well-being and harmony.
yogasana helps restore balance and harmony in the body, promoting overall well-being.
The importance of recognizing and addressing imbalances in the physical body and mind to maintain health and prevent disease
The concept of energy and its relationship to the body and mind :
There are three types of energy; Gravitational, Electromagnetic, and Radioactive (atomic). Together these energies unite to form a singular entity called the Mind. The Mind has two aspects: one connected to the organs of sensation , physical detection of stimuli by sensory receptors ( not perception ) and the other to intellect (Buddhi) that involves brain ( perception) , to select good or bad. Together, these aspects form Chitta – consciousness, the inner tool or apparatus that governs our thoughts, emotions, and actions. This Chitta is also known as Antahkarana, the inner vehicle that navigates our experiences.
When the gross body (physical form) undergoes changes, either from normal to abnormal or vice versa, it affects the Chitta, leading to various mental and emotional states. This highlights the intricate relationship between the physical body, energy, and the mind in yoga philosophy.
At Swati yoga shalaa we try to decipher that is to open the secret code of Musculature architecture in poses – static and dynamic. What is the principle behind each posture? So that we have selected only those postures which are concerned with the movement of the human being which are required for the betterment of the health of human beings.
These are the poses from the birth of an infant, from lying on back to turn on belly , sliding on belly forward that is serpent and reptile movement where neural network and pathways development begins,then classical Crawling to sit, stand and walk these are the postures which are our natural forms.
There is no teacher who teaches the child how to do these poses. It is natural programming of the genes which come out in the form of action with their own efforts – failure and success. So that is the natural Existence of the function of the nervous system.
So there are no inversion postures in our SYS methodology. There is no necessity to stand on the head.We should learn how to stand on our two feet so there will be no stress,stain on our musculo skeleton system and inner organ systems they all should work harmoniously in unity.
So naturally we learn two basic factors: balance between gravity and antigravity with balance between the right and left side. Thirdly to balance all these four forces in locomotion. The child does this art of locomotion by sequence of efforts failure, efforts and failures and one day his efforts success.
Therefore the failure to go into the posture is because there is no memory of these postures, there is only intention and action. So the law of physics that governs the body that is the posture will be stable provided gravity and antigravity force are equal and opposite. If gravity attracts more we fall down. The child at the age of one doesn’t know how to jump. The second cause is failure to balance the left and right side. So equally the weight of the right and left side of the body is the basic cause. So the child does this everyday through effort failure and success in going into that posture. The sequence is anchor, pivot, moving axis ,the movement at the moment. Since we have learnt naturally we do not know the principle of physics on which this movement takes place .
The principle of physics can be understood only by the intellect and the infant has no intellect. So try try try , fail fail fail and then try. These efforts of infants lead to success and these movements of postures are recorded in the cerebellum, here the position of the body in relationship with surroundings is recorded that is called as awareness of space within the body and outside the body. So this sequence of awareness of space that is the ideal position of the body is recorded in the cerebellum. The position of the right side of the body is recorded into the right side of the Cerebellum. The sensation comes from the periphery they pass through the spinal cord and when they come to the level of Cerebellum it programmes the Cerebellum of the same side . Then sensation travels further and comes to the centre called Thalamus. When it teaches the Thalamus it is like a sorting centre it sorts out from where the sensation has come and accordingly it starts first to the sensory centres of the opposite side of the cerebrum ( big brain ) ,Penfield chart – distorted representation of the human body based on neurological map of the area and portion in the brain ( watch diagram below) . So the sensation of the position of the body is recorded into the Cerebellum of the same side and so also the sensory cortex of the opposite side and the motor cortex of the opposite side in consultation with the sensory cortex decides the plan of action and accordingly the spinal cord through the spinal reflex executes the action of the muscles. So intention of the action of the intellect present in the Pre- frontal lobe ,so action coming from the sensory motor cortex and execution by the spinal cord.
Function: Controls voluntary movements of the body. Motor representations of body parts in the cerebrum are mapped onto the somatosensory cortex (parietal lobe) and motor cortex (frontal lobe), respectively. These maps, called homunculi, show a distorted human figure where body parts are disproportionately represented based on the amount of cortex dedicated to them.
Unwinding ancient memories of voluntary muscular architecture:
So the art of turning on the belly, sliding forward till to get up is remembered we don’t look into the book for reference but the whole thing undergoes a process of automation that becomes natural. Thus intellect doesn’t take part in the sequence of the activity. So if the motor cortex is damaged this is paralysed. There is nothing much wrong with the spinal cord but the action of these muscles cannot be initiated by the cortex.
One of the old students, named Shashikant,has cerebral palsy,so there is no connection between the brain and periphery. So we use the same chanal trail failure in the bio feed back technique in posture using ropes and belts. When he came he was not able to walk. He used to take support of crutches and swing the body with both legs together jumping so he was walking from shoulders not from the hips . Therefore a paralytic person tries to walk from shoulder and not from the hip.This walking from shoulders is genetic programming which we learn when child slides forward on their belly with hands but when the child stands and starts walking he doesn’t use shoulders he uses hips So when Now you find paralytics person walking he puts hands first and then drag it’s body.
Now in the case of Polio myelitis nothing is wrong in their brain but damage was in the spinal cord ,so the limbs are affected and muscles become weak. In cerebral palsy it was rigid.
So what we teach is ancient memory of voluntary muscles with their sequential order and specific direction in the flow of movement of voluntary muscles and memory programming again. We created a chain of memory of the sequence of muscular movement in the nervous system.
We never teach automated actions in performing postures;
Another method of performing postures is using the same technique of automation which they have not learned consciously.
Therefore we divide a posture into small parts . Give precise instructions so they can make efforts to move muscles like a relay race with their natural sequential order in specific direction consciously. To anchor and move muscles we use ropes and belts with different methods so with support they can understand the role of ankle in standing then we teach them role feet with ankle joint in the movement of knee. Then we teach the importance of the knee joint along with the ankle joint in the movement of the hip joint. Then we teach the anchor being the foot and how the hip joint act like a fulcrum or pivot and moving axis is the torso and help this movement the role of upper extremities and role of vestibular, visual and sensory balance So slowly we start recording memory in his Cerebellum and inform sensory centre in the cortex of opposite side to the Thalamus. So the recording of the position of the body ideally is permanently recorded in the Cerebellum of the same side but recording of the sensory cortex is not permanent. Therefore Cerebellum moderates the activity in the future. Activity of the opposite side of the cortex in future because it has recovered the ideal posture. The cerebrum of opposite side when he tries to perform the same posture anything going wrong he corrects it and this is called intellectual learning , where there is co ordination between the sensory cortex of cerebrum with the opposite side Cerebellum.
This balance of left Cerebrum and right Cerebellum can be called right that is “Pingala” and left is called “ Eda “, So Eda Pingala balance .
Have you understood? This is my study. The script doesn’t talk about it because there was no cerebellum, Cerebrum understanding. They say Eda is left and Pingala is right that’s all and that’s the end of it. They do not talk further, they say ask your teacher and teach the same way which is automated.
To walk perfectly, we must understand the principles of Trikonasan. Tikone- triangle is the most stable structure with minimum vectors. We stand with a triangle walk with a triangle – two legs and third vector is mother earth – the support area which is less and hence physical stability is most essential to keep us upright. Verticality of Gravitational force VOG, center of mass COM, center of gravity COG , weight transmission and weight bearing etc. Thus today we humans need to work on the body following the physical laws.
Initially, babies learn to walk naturally, but as adults, our gait often becomes distorted. To correct this, we need to relearn the proper mechanics of walking by understanding the role of joints just to changing direction, recognizing muscles as the real movers, and following the sequential order with specific direction of muscle movements to harvest their own natural ancient memory.
To improve our walking, we need to relearn the proper mechanism behind automated movements, in different modified postures step by step systematically to re-program it in our memory centers.
Swati Joshi
Swati Yoga Shalaa
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