Importance of extension of central axis ( skull – spinal column with rib cage ), through expansion, and elongation with movement of both girdles through extremities. with muscular architecture. which children should learn in “Surya namaskara.”
We have seen paraspinal muscles that run lengthwise longitudinally along the spinal column ( central axis ) from the base of the head to the tip of the coccyx and pelvis.
Our central axis governs our body – mind – intellectual complex. Therefore, it’s the most important thing to use to prevent us from diseases and improve and enhance and evolve further.
Therefore, from childhood, one must learn these movements of elongation of spine with movement of paraspinal muscles from pulling them from the tail towards hips and lifting them from front towards the head.
In yoga shastra “Surya namaskar” one must learn Secret behind it . This sequence is not just going from one pose to another. In yoga Shastra, it is prescribed and given more importance for children for improving sequntial order with synchronised direction of flow of muscular movement. Decoding or encoding these movements, which was imbibed in our ancient brain, which child unwound, then that goes into automation. Asanas are for “Yuva, vrudhova, vyadhitova, durvalopi,” and Yuva is after puberty.The reason behind is that in their growing age bone has not developed fully. As they are separated till puberty, then it starts getting fused. So, there is an invisible force that binds them through voluntary musculature.
Flow of movement of muscles and its direction of forces is the most essential factor in each Surya namaskar pose, and this flow remains the same in all poses that follow physical laws. Posterior muscles pull from heel and anterior muscles lifting from head. Here again, like a cycle chain or exactly the principle of pulleys and strings.
Therefore, how we work at this tender age on our tender body Physically is a very important factor. But sadly, we are not aware and lack the correct knowledge and exposure. Today’s lifestyle is really high time. We need to follow this instead of wandering with confusion and following so many things at a time if we want to make healthy generation ahead .
Therefore, it is better to start learning from this early age for healthy growth and be free from imbibe diseases and future catastrophes.
We as human must intellectually learn to extend/erect vertically as a biped.Therefore in Surya namaskar all poses are elongation of spine from both extremities.There is not any twisting variation because , any rotation there has to be elongation of axis first . In all these poses, we have to learn the extension/ elongation of the spine with movement of both girdle and extension of hands and legs.
But sadly , what I observe is that people are doing Surya namaskar, anchoring the torso and movement of hands and legs without conscious movement of Musculature. They are not at all aware of how they are damaging their own health.
I want to maintain here that one can move hands and legs in any direction. But they still suffer shoulder pain , hip pain, neck pain , and back pain with so many health issues.That doesn’t mean there is mobility in their shoulder and hip joints. They should learn to move both girdles with both extremities with Conscious movement of muscles.
There has to be retroversion of shoulder girdle( lifting sternum with rotation of clavicle and scapula backwards on the rib cage) and anteversion of pelvis ( lifting pubis and rotating hips backward) .It’s like a chain going from front towards head and from back towards hips. In any human pose, this direction of movement remains the same.This is balancing gravity and antigravity.
But sorry to say that I observe people remove hands and legs out from the torso and do Surya namaskar. Its again reflex action of hands and legs ,deceribral movements were role of conscious brain is zero
Surya is a “ Sancramanatmak shakti”.i.e., active force in our body , through this active force, we have to enhance ourselves consciously ourselves first.Otherwise, defensive force ( contraction and flexion) takes over, leading us towards ill health and diseases.
One must understand and study this secret of nature deeply. What infant does till he/she stands and walk.because the day infant stands ,it starts collapsing as a law of Physics ,any structure the day it’s built starts collapsing / deteriorating.but in growing age we are not aware of distortion in space as bones are not fused .
Therefore, we have to learn what exact efforts an infant does within to create an anti gravitational force and balance other forces. along with this.we have to learn and make physical efforts and evolve ourselves further and lead towards superhuman poses, which are meditative poses.
Remember, the movement of legs and arms is already there at the birth of infants, which are reflex.
Have you observed these movements carefully? They keep pushing their heel away from the body with the foot 90 angle with the leg. So back muscles are getting pulled or pushed towards the heel.Extending their arms for expansion of chest.
So, what we have to learn is the elongation of the torso with the movement of hands and legs .
The weak links in the human spine are, where the curvature changes, which starts at the level of the skull with C1 – C2 and C7- T1, then at T 12- L1 and L5-S1 level. we will always find this leads to collapse. Because we are using our hands so well skillfully with our legs and so professionally the muscles here get locked and they start rubbing against each other and nerve roots which are coming out from intervertebral foramina, they get pinched and we feel pain. The sad part is we ignore that we take medicine and give some physical mimicry where the body keeps adapting wrongly. People are not aware of all what is ok and what is not ok. They keep convincing themselves. Especially with advancing age, we feel we are going through hell. This is no progress at all.
So you must understand why extension, expansion, and elongation of the spinal column are essential and most important for us as bipedal and vertical beings.
In Surya namaskar is for elongation, expansion: forward and backwards extension, securing weak links in our spine with the right direction of muscular forces and not from joint movements which damages our joints and health.
Our ancient brain has stored information and memory of our species mainly muscular
architecture in a coded form. Therefore, these voluntary muscles have specific sequential order
with a special form or pattern in a formless state . After birth at developmental stages , the infant
unwinds this order of flow by themselves with efforts – failure and successes. We should not
obstruct their own efforts because this obstruction remains even though the centre of gravity
gets hold. Then this goes into automation as we have not learned consciously or intellectually,
thus, we lost and forgotten this memory.
Naturalization of our human beings is governed by universal laws and coded in our ancient
brain. We have to decode and encode using our intellect and mind to enhance our human form
with enhancing these muscular flow of movement consciously to the memory program in our
conscious brain to further into the memory centre.
Memory of these muscles, which is decoded in our ancient brain. So if we program this memory
consciously in our conscious brain, then we can almost do anything with ease and reach a meditative pose, which is the super human pose of the highest state of formless consciousness.
Our movements have gone into automation as a child does on his/her own, rewinding memories of our ancient brain. We have not learnt these movements intellectually and that we need to learn in Surya namaskar poses. As after automation, we get stuck into reflex actions, which are from the spinal segment and not from our big brain/Cerebrum. Therefore, we are not at all aware of our own voluntary muscles. Instead, we lose their voluntariness .Thus, we get stuck into joint movements, which are reflex ,where we lose the most important property of our musculature and that is elasticity and extensibility, and they keep becoming stiffer and stiffer.
Exactly yogic movements totally differ from this , which I call intellectual movements of our voluntary musculature using our conscious brain / Cerebrum to bring control over the nervous system. This is the basic principle in Yoga shastra It’s very sad that in today’s fast lifestyle we have misunderstood and misinterpreted Yoga Shastra, “Asana” is the most important stage, where we have to improve, enhance and evolve our physical, physiological and psychological state, instead we are doing it as an exercise or stretching and get stuck again into diseases.We can’t skip this stage and go towards upper stages without “Asandrudata” where our health is prerequisite.
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