Om

Swami Satchidananda chanted it at Woodstock and the Beatles sung it on the last album they made together. It was hennaed to Madonna’s palm and is tattoed on Alyssa Milano’s wrist. It has been printed on t-shirts and yoga pants, sculpted into coffee table art and painted on tapestries. For more than 40 years “Om” has seeped into western consciousness as a symbol of unity, peace and deep spirituality.

Of course Om has a history that goes back much further than America in the 1960s. It was presented in the Upanisad texts of India and has been used in the sacred chants of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and by the Zoroastrians. It is claimed by some that reverberations of Om can even be heard in both the “Amens” of Christians and the “Alms” of Moslems.

Often yoga classes begin or end with the chanting of “Om.” It creates a nice vibration – it is resonant and it feels good to do. But beyond its pleasant feeling, what’s the reason for chanting “Om?” What’s Om all about?

It’s actually a bit more accurate, at least from the yoga tradition, to spell the mantra “Aum” because it is composed of three different sounds, strung together into one mantra. The sounds are “a” plus “u” plus “ma.” All are letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, and each of these sounds has a multiplicity of interpretations.

One common version is that “a” (as in “mama”) is the root sound of the energy of Brahma, the Hindu creator-deity. So chanting aum invokes the energy of this divinity.

The second syllable of Aum is “u” pronounced “oo” as in “who.” “U” is the sound of preservation or continuation. It is the force of the deity Vishnu, the preserver, the one who maintains life. So the chant also invokes a sustaining energy.

The last sound of the mantra, “ma” is related to Shiva, the one who dissolves, or withdrawls from common reality – in other words the one who presides over physical death. So the three parts of aum, which merge into one long sound, represent the journey through all three stages of the expressed universe – birth, life, and death, on both a personal and a macrocosmic level.

When all three sounds are strung together correctly, the prana, or life force energy coming out of the chanter, hits the mouth in all five positions of the Sanskrit pronunciation, from the back of the throat up to the lips – in other words the prana goes through the roots of all sacred sounds to produce aum. Some yogis have taught that the three sounds should be made from different parts of the body with the lower chakras producing the “a” sound, the heart and throat chakras producing the “u” sound and the “ma” sound coming from the upper chakras in the head. If you chant the mantra this way, it makes a sort of “ng” sound at the end as the tongue presses into the palate on the last part of the mantra. Pronouncing the chant sort of like “ong” causes its vibration to rise up into the head and reverberate in the upper chakras.

Another way to think about Aum is to use the metaphor of the marketplace. If you were up close shopping at a market, you would hear bits of conversation like, “How much are those peppers?” and “Those tomatoes look good, I’ll have three pounds.” But if you were to move away from the market place, you would just hear a low humming noise comprised of all the conversations merging together. Similarly, if you were able to step back from the universe and just listen, you would hear the collective sound of the universe, and that sound is aum.

And this is why the yogis say that ultimately, the true sound of aum is heard in deep meditation. In a deep state of meditation, the yogi is able to step away from the universe and hear the totality of existence. For thousands of years, yogis reported that the sound they heard while contemplating the deepest reality was aum.

This mystical aum cannot be heard with the ears or made with the vocal chords. The human ear is limited to hearing what is within range, it can’t hear the entire universe. Similarly, the human voice is limited, by itself it cannot create the sound of the entire universe. It can only replicate it, which is probably why the ancient yogis decided to chant aum in the first place. They were trying to replicate what they heard internally, and allow the students to have a glimpse of their experience in order to give them a sense of a deeper reality.

The three sounds of aum as the reflection of the totality of creation are not the end of the story. If you look at the (above) diagram, you’ll see a crescent-moon shape at the top with a dot above it. While the shape that looks like a three with the swirl coming out of it to the right represents the expressed universe, the dot on the top represents the unmanifest universe. It is sometimes called a “sonic dot,” and implies that there is a realm of existence beyond the manifest universe, the spiritual realm. The crescent shape represents the process of transmuting matter from the manifest to the unmanifest – in other words, doing the practices of yoga which take one from the individual self to union with the cosmic Self.

This means that aum is not only a chant which represents the whole of the expressed universe, it’s also the vehicle, when heard internally, through which material life is transported to the spiritual realm. And really this is why it feels good to chant it. It’s reminding us that it is possible to grow and transform ourselves, to move from occupying a mundane reality to living in a spiritual one. The universe is ceaselessly chanting its call of aum, to catch a murmur of it is to wake up to a blissful reality. Om shanthi, om shanthi, om shanthi.

Kaoverii trains teachers and students in applied yoga philosophy and the practice of Subtle Yoga. Click here for workshops. If you are interested in having Kaoverii come to a venue in your city to teach, please click here to contact her.

Healing Self Massage – A 30 minute routine

This self-massage will help you relax, ease sore muscles, improve your circulation, and benefit your lymphatic system. Developed by yoga master P.R. Sarkar, this massage may be used after practicing yoga to help you assimilate the benefits of the practice. But it is great for those who don’t do yoga too. It may be used any time you need to relax and do some self-care. You may sit in a chair, on the floor, or lie down. Adding a few drops of pure essential oil like lavender or chamomile will enhance the relaxing effects. But make sure to apply them only after you have completed the facial massage. This massage will only take you 10 minutes if you are in a hurry, but for maximum benefit, take about 30 minutes and you will really notice a difference.

• Start your self-massage by rubbing your hands together. This activates the circulation as well as the life-force (subtle healing energy) in the hands.
• Then place your warm palms over your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
• Next massage up your forehead, over the top and down the back of your head with your full palms. Repeat this and all of the following strokes three times unless otherwise noted.
• Use the tips of your fingers to sweep across your eyebrows from the inside to the outer corners.
• Next, press your index finger into the inner corner of your eye, below the brow bone, and then sweep it across the eye and the temple to the earlobe and then continue up and around the curve of the ear back to the face.
• Gently twist around the inner surfaces of the ear with your index finger.
• Using the tips of your fingers, massage from the outer surface of your cheeks towards the nose, then from under the eyes down the cheeks to the jaw.
• Place your finger tips above the upper lip and slide from just under your nose to the sides of your mouth, as if you’re drawing a mustache on your face.
• Next place the tips of your thumbs together under your chin and rest your finger tips on your jaw. Massage the jaw all the way to the ear, paying attention to any sensation in the glands under the jaw.
• Then place your fingertips on either side of your esophagus and massage from the center of the front of the neck to the back.
• Raise your left arm and massage the inside of the upper arm down into the armpit. Take a little extra time to massage in the armpit as this area has one of the densest concentrations of lymph nodes.
• Massage your left shoulder and then twist and squeeze your arm down towards your hands. Massage the hand and twist and squeeze each finger. Repeat the whole sequence on the right side.
• Next support your right arm at the elbow with your left hand. Massage your spine with your fingertips from the top to as far down as you can comfortably reach. Switch arms and repeat.
• Next place the fingers between the ribs at the top of your chest and massage in toward the heart.
• Next place our hands on your waist, fingertips facing forwards, and massage the abdomen from the center to the sides, from top to bottom. Coordinate your strokes with an exhale so that as you begin breathing out, you press into your abdomen and you finish the stroke at the end of the exhale.
• Now turn your thumbs forward and fingers backward and massage your lower back from the spine to the sides.
• Encircle your hands around the front groin of the left leg and, using your thumbs, massage into the lymph glands here in the groin area.
• Massage down the left thigh, both quadriceps and hamstrings.
• Then place one hand on top of the knee and the other underneath. Massage the knee – behind the knee is another area with many lymph nodes. Next massage down the calf and shin with both hands.
• Massage the ankle joint.
• Massage the foot by pressing your knuckles into the sole and rolling from the toes down to the heel. Then, using your thumbs, massage any sensitive areas with a circular motion.
• Twist and squeeze each toe and then press your fingers into the juncture between the toes and foot. Slap the sole of your foot from the toes to the heel. Repeat the leg massage on the left side.
• After you finish your massage, lie down on your back with your arms spread out slightly away from your body and your legs slightly apart. Breath deeply and relax for at least 5 minutes.

Fire on the Mountain

The mountain – majestic, powerful, immovable. In a’sana practice, everything comes from the mountain pose, (tadasana in Sanskrit) – from a place of stillness and balance. The mountain pose is done by standing steady with feet close together and arms by the sides. While the instructions in this pose form the basis for instructions in all poses, aligning with the vibration of this pose delivers a sense of peaceful steadiness .

It can be easy to gloss over this pose in anticipation of other more challenging postures ahead. But the mountain can give us insight into a deeper part of ourselves that may go overlooked if we jump off it too quickly.

Mountains appear stalwart, but at their root, deep within the earth, there is the potential for powerful seismic activity. In mountain pose the body appears still, but it is actually striving towards active balance and consolidating energy. In order to experience the powerful potential of tada’sana, imagine yourself as a mountain — direct energy both downward from the waist through the legs and root into the earth, and upward from the solar plexus through the heart and the crown to expand into the infinite.

Think of the waist as the fulcrum of mountain pose. It contains, at the navel, the bindu (point of origin) of the third chakra — the manipura or “City of Jewels.” When meditated upon, it is said one will see the manipura like a brilliantly illumined city, which speaks of the energy and power of this chakra. The manipura is the home of the luminous factor – one of the five fundamental factors (tattvas) that make up the stuff of the universe (the other four being solid, liquid, aerial and ethereal – each situated in one of the other lower five chakras). The luminous factor of the navel is often referred to as our “fire” – the fire of digestion, the fire that fuels the physical strength of the body, the fire of willpower and of wanting to do something in the world. Fire is powerful and if well directed, helps us accomplish what we want in our lives. It gives us “the guts” to be able to forge our own individual path, as well as the ability to “stomach” the challenges that path presents us with. If the fire is smoldering and we have weak digestion, weak will, or a lot of fear, we can use mountain pose to strengthen ourselves by imagining we’re breathing fire into the chakra and strengthening our resolve. Conversely, if fire consumes us and we have a lot of anger, an acidic stomach or a bullying nature, we can breathe coolness into the posture to subdue the fire. A strong but controlled fire will give us the ability to do what we need to, and want to, in the world.

Stay in the mountain and explore the subtle energy flows. If we can take the fire of will and action with us as we ideate downwards, we can allow it to connect to the primordial fire at the center of the mountain. Directing the mind to go down through our physical body roots us to the earth and prepares the psyche and spirit for the inevitable challenges we face in our lives. Directing the energy down helps us to move deeper into the layers of our psyche and connects us with the shadow or the darkness within ourselves. By going through this darkness with fire, we light the shadows, we bring clarity and awareness to our inner issues. If we let our fire burn with confidence and determination, we can face the pain our searching reveals with fortitude. A strong, controlled fire helps us to move boldly into the darkness rather than shrinking away from it and leaving our unconscious obscured out of fear or inertia.

Taking the fire upward, we warm the air, which abides in the heart chakra. A strong fire, directed towards the heart, helps us develop our personalities and become warm -compassionate and understanding both towards individuals, and our universal human family. Fire helps the air of the heart chakra expand, expanding our connection to others and our world. The belly is strong, the diaphragm works well, respiration and circulation are assisted and strengthened. This is a literal expansion of self – mind and body. The field of the heart chakra expands in ever-increasing concentric spheres. With this expansion our field of compassion increases. If we strengthen the fire but keep it only in the belly, it can overwhelm us and lead to distortions of power, ego and anger. When we direct the fire of the belly to the heart and let it move out through our arms and hands, out through our actions, we become the alchemists of fire, smelting our lives through it rather than allowing it to consume us.

The fire moves up further through the throat chakra and third eye, it becomes rarified as it finds its way to the crown. The crown chakra represents the top of the mountain – which in many cultures are sacred spaces, places where prayer flags fly and temples are built. In mountain pose this sacred space can be meditated upon to strengthen our connection to the infinite.

While many strong active poses give our mind an “out” by their very nature, in mountain, we can not run away from ourselves. If an emotion emerges during an active pose, the mind can easily shift the focus to the physical in order to divert itself. Yoga used only in this way may lead to injury because the mind is quickly shifted away from checking in with the body. Likewise, if we continually avoid our unconscious issues, they will eventually manifest physically. A practitioner may pull a hamstring or injure a shoulder because s/he is not conscious of the mind’s effect on the body. Eventually one may even develop an illness. Of course this dynamic occurs regardless of whether or not you’re practicing yoga. By practicing yoga consciously, we can deepen awareness of ourselves – our bodies, minds and our place on this planet – and understand on a deeper level why we experience certain illnesses or negative emotional states.

Rather than being a passive place to anticipate your practice, standing in mountain, being with yourself, allowing the pose to reveal your strengths and weaknesses, is a deep practice in and of itself. While active poses and vinyasa flows provide fuel for the fire of the manipura, the still poses like mountain teach us much about our inner landscape. We can use the fire of the belly to forge a clear path forward.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, e-RYT lives in Asheville, NC where she teaches yoga and conducts Subtle Yoga Teacher Trainings. She is also a shiatsu practitioner and has recently published her first book, Healing Self-Massage. Visit her website at subtleyoga.com.

Yoga’s Present Moment

Yoga’s Present Moment – an Experience of Love

Be in the present moment, experience your breath, watch your thoughts without judgment. These are instructions often given in yoga classes. The opportunity to “be in the present moment” is often touted as one of the benefits of taking yoga. But what does this really mean?

Yoga is a vast, varied and extremely old practice. Some claim that Shiva is the father of yoga and gave the first teachings of how to approach the deepest part of the self. He purportedly lived 7,000 years ago. This means that there have been 7,000 years for diversification of the tradition. The last 100 years have seen the tradition move to the west and with this has come greater and more accelerated changes and transformations.

But, “be in the present moment” is a powerful, timeless directive, the origin of which can be traced back to Shiva’s teachings. In the Agama Shastra, (which deals with the teachings of Shiva), Shiva instructs his students to “live in the present” and gives a variety of methods through which to do this. Throughout the centuries, these teachings have been practiced by yogis in order to move towards spiritual liberation.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (about 200 C.E.) is perhaps the best example of yoga’s instruction to live in the present. Patanjali defined yoga as “the cessation of the fluxuations of the mind.” Certainly, when this is achieved, the practitioner has come into the present moment. Patanjali was heavily influenced by Buddhist thought which was on the rise in around the time he was teaching and composing the Sutras. In Mahayana Buddhism, the instruction to live in the present is at the core of many of the teachings. It is an interesting coincidence that the popularity of the hatha yoga practice in this century, in the west, has increased in tandem with the rising interest in Buddhism. Many hatha yoga teachers whose primary form of yoga is a’sana practice, also openly subscribe to Buddhist teachings.

Patanjali’s work was a great treatise on the cosmologic order of the universe, the human being’s role in that order, and the nature of the mind. Patanjali wrote that the ultimate goal of the practice of yoga was to remove the veils of the ego and abide solely in the nature of the Purusa – or cosmic consciousness, in other words, God. So the practice of Patanjali yoga is not only to be in the present, but to understand that present as the abode of the Divine.

The wide variety of Tantric and vedic writings on yoga which have contributed to this great tradition are centered around this teaching.

In tantric yoga philosophy, moving towards a state of non-judgmental existence in the present moment is achieved within the foundation of a deep understanding of the nature of the universe. According to tantra, the entire universe is composed of the fabric of Divine Love or prema. Because the matrix of reality is prema, the experience of being in the present moment is the experience of waking up to the blissful reality of the universe.

In other words, the present moment isn’t a quiet reflection of the ego – it is an ecstatic merging of self into a super-conscious, rarified, vibrational field of Love. Yogis throughout the ages have tried to describe this state and use the Sanskrit word samadhi to encapsulate its essence, but it is truly only accessible through experience. Most people have spontaneously or randomly approached samadhi at one time or another in their lives – while staring at the ocean or gazing out at mountains or in a deep state of communion with the divine. Yoga, in its many forms, provides the technology, developed and honed over centuries of time, to consciously cultivate a regular experience of samadhi, generally through meditation practices.

And when you are not sitting and meditating, how can you encourage this cultivation? To completely remember who you are is to experience ecstasy. In tantra, the practice of being in the present moment is called Madhu vidya which means “sweet knowledge.” This is the practice of remembering the intrinsic sweetness of life – that every thing, every situation, person, place, and moment, is an expression of, is sheltered by, is actually composed of the loving force of the cosmos.

Krishna laid this out for Arjuna in the Bhagavad Giita with a mantra that is still very popular today:

Brahma’r pan’am’

Brahma Havih

Brahma’ gnao

Brahman’a’ Hutam’

Brahmeva Tena Gantavyam

Brahma Karma Sama’dhina’

This act of offering is Brahma (divine consciousness).

That which is offered is Brahma.

The fire which consumes the offering is Brahma.

Brahma is the one who offers.

Brahma alone is the goal of the one who is offering.

And after completing our work,

we will become one with Brahma.

According to tantra, when it feels like love is not the dominant force in a situation, when we are faced with challenges and heartache, we are reminded to gently but firmly guide our egos back to madhu vidya, to that sweet remembrance, which can help us see our situation as either a learning experience, a karmic payback, or an opportunity for growth. Maintaining a positive attitude even in the midst of adversity is certainly difficult. The practice of madhu vidya offers a direct route back to the Divine source in order to diffuse suffering.

To experiment with the practice of madhu vidya notice when you encounter a difficult moment in your day. Stop, breathe, remember who you are. Remembering that the moment, the situation, your body and the breath that you watch pass in and out of your lungs, are all manifestations of the powerful loving force of the universe.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber MA, LMBT, e-RYT, has been a student of yoga since 1989 and a teacher for the past 11 years. She is the director of the Subtle Yoga Teacher Training program and the co-director of the Ananda Marga Yoga Teacher Training program. She teaches Chakra Yoga, meditation and yoga philosophy workshops around the southeast and in California. She lives in Asheville, NC and is the author of Healing Self-Massage (Sterling, 2005). Please visit her website at subtleyoga.com.

Yoga Psychology

The 20th century yogi, P.R. Sarkar, incorporated asanas into his revitalized tantra-based system of practice. Sarkar clearly gave meditation, rather than physical posture, the priority in his system. Nevertheless, he considered asanas an essential complement to the meditation practice and explained the important role asanas have in helping to balance the body-mind. He called the practice “bio-psychology.”

“By performing asanas regularly,” said Sarkar, “human beings can control the propensities attached to each cakra, and hence the thoughts which arise in their minds and their behaviours.”

What is the basis of Sarkar’s biopsychology? To begin this explanation, some Sanskrit words need to be explained. Let’s start with one most people have heard: cakra (often spelled “chakra”). Cakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit. According to the yogis, we have seven main cakras in the body.

Research has confirmed the existence of energy fields at the areas of the body the yogis have called cakras. Valerie Hunt, a researcher at UCLA, found that there are high frequency vibrations emanating from these seven areas. Another researcher, Hiroshi Motoyama in Japan, found that when people directed their mental focus to individual cakras, they could increase the frequency of that particular area. Candace Pert, a leader in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, discovered a high concentration of a specific neuropeptide at the location of the classical cakras. This neuropeptide, called VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide), is critical in regulating the neural immune switches between the brain and the immune system.

Sarkar said that cakras are related to nerve plexi – networks in the autonomic nervous system that run near the spine. These are places where nerves converge and form a network, allowing for complex communication between nerve cells and the generation of more complex functional activity. These nerve plexi are the physiologic counterpart which help create the subtle energy of the cakras.

Sarkar and other teachers have said that cakras are also associated with endocrine glands. The yogis called these glands “nodal points.” Science has recently recognized the close functional relationships between the endocrine system and the nervous system – so much so that both systems together are now referred to as the neuro-endocrine system. The relationship between mood and the nervous system has long been understood and has even entered the vernacular with expressions like, “It gets on my nerves” or “You have some nerve!” Hormones secreted by the endocrine glands also have a profound effect on our moods – as any woman who’s experienced PMS or low thyroid function can attest. The yogis understood when the nerve plexi and endocrine glands functioned properly, the mind was balanced, the body felt better and meditation became easier – in other words, balanced cakras equal a balanced mind.

Balancing the cakras through yoga postures is the key to balancing mental/emotional states. Excessive or inadequate secretion from the endocrine glands results in triggering receptors in centers in the brain which exaggerate emotional states. Similarly, a weak nervous system can cause a variety of imbalanced mental/emotional state. By doing specific yoga postures regularly, we can regulate the function of the neuroendocrine system and thereby balance the cakras.

The tantric yogis taught that each cakra was like a lotus flower surrounded by a specific number of petals. They called these petals the vrttis (also spelled “vritti”). A vrtti is a mental tendency or propensity – a potential state of mind. You have probably seen drawings of yogis sitting in lotus position with their many-petaled cakras. This image gives us a symbolic idea of the energy patterns the cakras and vrttis create.

The six lower cakras have a total of 50 petals. These petals represent the 50 main vrttis or vortices of psychic energy. Some of the 50 Sanskrit terms can be roughly translated as “fear”, “irritability”, “greed”, “hypocrisy”, “hope”, “affection”, “surrender.” The four petals of the first cakra represent all the desires of human life: physical, mental, psycho-spiritual and spiritual (kama, artha, dharma and moksa in Sanskrit). The second cakra’s vrttis express the darker side of human nature such as pitilessness, indifference, self-indulgence and cruelty. The third cakra’s vrttis, such as irritability, shame, lethargy and craving, are perhaps the biggest challenge to our human potential. The fourth cakra’s vrittis reflect our higher capacities for both beauty and destruction such as hope, love, and effort and conversely greed, arrogance and hypocrisy. The fifth cakra contains vrittis which elevate us to the sublime, such as altruism, universality and surrender to a higher power. The sixth cakra’s vrttis speak to our capacity for limitless knowledge.

These cakras, with their distinct vrtti petals, create specific patterns of psychic energy. A person with a problem with depression, for example, would manifest a specific distorted pattern of energy within different cakras, depending on which vrttis contribute to their specific state of depression. Since different people manifest depression in different ways, each person would have a distortion in their energy pattern based on his/her own specific way of manifesting that imbalance.

So now we’ve looked at cakras and vrttis, let’s look at the word samaskara. Samskara is a Sanskrit term which means “reactive-momentum.” Why do two people who face the exact same challenge respond differently? Why does losing a child cause one person to create a support group, develop a scholarship fund, volunteer at a local school, and find a deep inner peace while it causes another person to sink into deep despair, become bitter and withdrawal from his or her relationships? Why, when these two people have experienced the same event, are the patterns of psychic energy they express so different?

According to yoga philosophy, we bring certain samskaras into the world with us when we are born. People often call this concept karma, and it is much the same idea. We all come into this world with different sets of challenges, or different samskaras. These samskaras help dictate which vrttis will be activated and cause mental imbalance. The two people who lost a child have come into this world with very different samskaras that have caused them to react differently to the same event.

So what is happening when you find yourself continually having challenges around a particular emotion? Say for example, you find you are getting irritated at all sorts of little things that normally wouldn’t bother you. Or perhaps you have suddenly developed a tremendous fear of public speaking. Both of these scenarios are symptoms of imbalance. The psychic patterns of cakra energy, distorted by samskara and activated vrttis as well have created the imbalance in the emotional state.

Western science has given us the ability to look at how these energies relate to our physiology. Candace Pert’s research on psychoneuroimmunology has been groundbreaking in showing how mental/emotional states are produced all over the body and are not confined to the brain. Pert explains that nerve cells have long finger-like endings which reach out and send neuropeptides to other cells. When we are sad, the nerves produces neuropeptides that promote sadness and send that chemical to all the cells in the body, so that every cell in the body becomes sad–your skin is sad, your bones are sad, your toes are sad; literally, the whole body is sad.

An imbalance in the cakra/vritti creates an energy field that is picked up by very subtle nerve currents (nadiis in Sanskrit). The mind field becomes perturbed, which in turn stimulates or inhibits the secretion of the endocrine gland associated with that particular cakra causing an over- or under-secretion of hormone which then activates a certain physical/emotional response.

Specific yoga postures can help strengthen the endocrine glands and nerves associated with the particular imbalanced cakras. If you have an imbalance of the fear vrtti, you can use postures which primarily balance the third cakra (see sidebar). Specific asanas held for specific periods of time put sustained, alternating pressure on the endocrine glands and help them to function better through facilitating blood circulation. The better functioning glands begin to shift the energy field of the cakra, helping to bring the disturbed vrittis into balance.

There is a tremendous need individually and collectively to achieve balance in our body-minds. So much of what is happening in the world at present tells us that yoga’s timeless gifts are invaluable to us in the here and now. Biopsychology gives us the tools to begin to change the things that dissatisfy us about the world within ourselves first. All of us are seeking to unblock the energy of our fourth chakra, our heart chakra, and allow compassion, magnanimity, and love to flow freely. There is a deep, collective force within us that wants to surmount our lower vrittis and merge with others and with all of life. This is both the greatest desire of the human heart and its greatest challenge.

YOGA MUDRA:

Sit with your legs crossed. Hold your left wrist with your right hand behind your back. Inhale, as you exhale slowly lower your forehead and nose towards the floor. Hold your breath out for about 8 seconds. Inhale and slowly return to the starting position. Repeat eight times.

BOW POSE:

Lie on your stomach. Hold your ankles. Breathe in as you lift your chest and legs at the same time. Traction your knees towards each other. Imagine you are balancing all of your weight on the navel area. Eyes look forward. Hold for about 8 seconds. Breathe out as you come back down. Repeat eight times.

These are just two of the postures that can help the third cakra. There are many others. In addition to asanas, meditation is highly beneficial for relieving stress and controlling third cakra vrittis.

References:

Acarya Ananda Mitra Advadhutika, lecture notes on Bio-psychology, (1996).

Hunt Valerie (2000), Infinite Mind: Science of Human Vibrations of Consciousness, Malibu Publishing

Motoyama, Hiroshi (1981) Theories of the Chakras; Bridge to Higher Consciousness, London: Theosophical Publishing House.

Pert, Candace B. (1997) Molecules of Emotion. New York: Scribner.

Sarkar, Prahbat Ranjan (1991) Yoga Psychology, Calcutta: Ananda Marga Publications.

Self-Massage After Yoga – here’s why you should do it

Find out more about Kaoverii’s book, Healing Self Massage.
If you’d like Kaoverii to come to your venue to teach a Healing Self-Massage or Self-Massage after Yoga workshop, please click here to contact her.
To hear a free pod-cast about the benefits of self-massage after yoga, please click here.

Self-massage is a simple, efficient practice that can improve the effects of your asana practice. Teaching self-massage to your Yoga students empowers them to access their own healing abilities.

By Kristine Kaoverii Weber

I’ve been teaching massage in my Yoga classes for many years, and students consistently comment that doing self-massage at the end of class helps them relax in savasana and keeps them from feeling sore the next day. Self-massage provides a bridge between the active asana practice and the stillness of savasana. Students can take time to integrate some of the teachings from the class while they are absorbing the physical benefits of their practice. Self-massage also creates a relaxing way for students to connect with each other while they are caring for themselves. I notice that the time we take at the end of class for self-massage provides a moment of bonding, in which students are open asking questions or sharing a little about their lives.

The History of Self-Massage and Yoga

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a seminal text of practical guidance for Yogis written in the 15th century, recommends that the practitioner massage him or herself after performing strenuous pranayama that causes perspiration. “Rub the body with the perspiration from the labour (of pranayama). The body derives firmness and steadiness from this.”[1] The Shiva Samhita, another Sanskrit text, offers the same advice: “At first perspiration comes in the body of the Yogi; when perspiration appears it should be rubbed in the body, otherwise the basic elements in the body of the Yogi are destroyed.”[2]
While these texts refer to the effort exerted from pranayama practice, asana practice can also cause the body to heat up and perspire, and since this is the primary practice for many modern Yogis, the advice to massage the body after the practice may have similar practical benefits. Modern Yoga master Pattabhi Jois has advised his students to use self-massage after their asana practice. “The sweat generated by Yoga should be gradually dried by rubbing it into the body with the hands, and not by exposing it to the air or by drying it with a towel or cloth.”[3]
The Benefits of Massage and Asana
Self-massage is most beneficial when performed after asana but before resting in final savasana (relaxation pose). In this way, savasana integrates the effects of both asana and self-massage.[4]
While there are many different styles of self-massage, the technique outlined here was created by the Indian Yoga master P.R. Sarkar (1921-1990) specifically for use after asana. He designed this massage to benefit the nervous and lymphatic systems and to compliment the subtle beneficial effects of the asanas. One of Sarkar’s main students, Susan Andrews (Avadhutika Ananda Mitra), the Yoga director of the Parque Ecologico Visao Futuro in Brazil, claims that this self-massage benefits the nervous system, harmonizes the pranamaya kosha, relaxes the muscles, benefits the skin, and improves both blood and lymphatic circulation. [5]
Preventing Muscle Soreness
Muscle soreness after asana practice may tell you that you’ve pushed yourself too much the day before, or that your sequencing was a little less conscious than it could have been. Over the years, I’ve found that if I skip self-massage after my asana practice, I’m more likely to be sore regardless of which poses I’ve ventured into that day.
For a long time, physiologists believed lactic acid caused muscle soreness, but this explanation is no longer considered accurate. Several other factors may contribute to soreness including micro-tears in the muscles or connective tissue, muscle spasms, inflammation and enzyme efflux theory. [6] Self-massage immediately after practice may help improve the speed of muscle healing, reduce the possibility of spasms and inflammation, calm the nervous system, and provide psychological benefits. [7]

Massage and Joints
Sarkar designed this massage to target the joints of the body. Any seasoned Yogi knows that the tendons and ligaments of the joints endure tremendous force during asana practice. Self-massage helps them recover and may also help the joints release hyaluronic acid, a major component of cartilage and synovial fluid.
“Hylauronic acid is produced by fibroblast cells in the connective tissue,” says Paul Grilley, a yin Yoga and Yoga anatomy teacher. “One of the benefits of asana practice is the stimulation of connective tissue and the production of this acid. The best complement to stressing a tissue to stimulate it is to relax a tissue and passively massage it. . . I believe self-massage has always been a natural complement to asana practice.”
Massage, Lymph, and Skin
From the Western medical perspective, the lymphatic system is a complex system of nodes and vessels that removes excess fluids from the body’s tissues, absorbs fatty acids, transports fat and chyle to the circulatory system, and produces immune cells. A healthy lymphatic flow is one of the body’s fundamental defense mechanisms against infection. The flow of the lymphatic system is primarily influenced by the action of muscles, by breathing, and by body posture. Asana improves lymphatic flow through muscular contraction and the effects of gravity.
“Not only movement, but also deep breathing during asana is a major stimulator of lymphatic flow,” said Dr. Steven Landau, a family medicine doctor and Yoga Alliance Board member who has practiced Sarkar’s self-massage after asana for almost 30 years. “Along with the prolonged contraction of various muscles during asanas and inverted poses, breathing helps cleanse the lymph system in a major way.”
Massage helps promote the flow of lymph by moving it manually through the tissues. According to Landau, the self-massage introduced by Sarkar targets the lymphatic organs in a highly specific way, including the nodes behind and in front of the ears, behind and in front of the neck, the axillae [armpits], elbows, groins, peri-aortic region [in the abdomen], and behind the knees. “The effect is to strip them of excess fluid and edema, thus improving flow and relieving stagnation.” Since the lymphatic system, like the veins in the circulatory system, contains a system of one-way valves, squeezing the lymph nodes from the core to the periphery, as is done in Sarkar’s self-massage, aids the flow of lymph back into the circulatory system.
Sarkar and other Yoga masters have claimed that keeping the lymph system clean and well-functioning is critical for an effective Yoga practice and deeper meditation. According to Ayurveda, ojas, a highly specialized tissue often referred to as “life force,” is created out of the seven dhatus, the most subtle of which is lymph. Good quality ojas is produced through Yogic practices. Likewise, a practitioner with high quality ojas can meditate more deeply. A clean diet, a healthy lifestyle, pranayama, and asana all help to purify the lymph, which in turn gives the Yogi a good supply of high quality ojas to take her deeper into her practices. [8]

Self-Massage is Self-Care

When we’ve been injured, are sore, or are feeling emotionally uncomfortable, we instinctually place our hands on our own bodies to soothe ourselves. The healing energy of our own hands is our most basic and perhaps most profound healing tool. Everyone needs to be touched and cared for. Self-massage provides a simple, non-threatening way for Yoga students to care for themselves, reaffirm their self-worth and celebrate their being.

Directions

Start your self-massage by rubbing your hands together. This activates the circulation as well as the pranic force, or the subtle healing energy, in the hands. Then place your warm palms over your eyes and take a few deep breaths.

Next massage up your forehead, over the top and down the back of your head with your full palms. Repeat this and all of the following strokes three times unless otherwise noted.
Use the tips of your fingers to sweep across your eyebrows from the inside to the outer corners. Next, press your index finger into the inner corner of your eye, below the brow bone, and then sweep it across the eye and the temple to the earlobe and then continue up and around the curve of the ear back to the face.

Gently twist around the inner surface of the ear with your index finger. Using the tips of your fingers, massage from the outer surface of your cheeks towards the nose, then from under the eyes down the cheeks to the jaw.

Place your finger tips above the upper lip and slide from just under your nose to the sides of your mouth. Next place the tips of your thumbs together under your chin and rest your finger tips on your jaw. Massage the jaw all the way to the ear, paying attention to any sensation in the glands under the jaw. Then place your fingertips on either side of your esophagus and massage from the center of the front of the neck to the back.

Raise your left arm and massage the inside of the upper arm down into the armpit. Take a little extra time to massage in the armpit as this area has one of the densest concentrations of lymph nodes. Massage your left shoulder and then twist and squeeze your arm down towards your hands. This twisting action should follow the direction of the hair as this helps to release beneficial secretions, facilitated by the asana practice, from the sebaceous glands.

Massage the hand and twist and squeeze each finger. Repeat the whole sequence on the right side.

Now place your hands on your back as if you were going to do cow’s head pose and massage up the spine with one hand and down with the other. Switch arm position and repeat. Place the fingers between the ribs at the top of your chest and massage in toward the heart. Next place our hands on your waist, fingertips facing forwards, and massage the abdomen from the center to the sides, from top to bottom. Coordinate your strokes with an exhale so that as you begin breathing out, you press into your abdomen and you finish the stroke at the end of the exhale. Now turn your thumbs forward and fingers backward and massage your lower back from the spine, to the sides.

Encircle your hands around the front groin of the left leg and, using your thumbs, massage into the lymph glands here in the groin area.

Massage down the left thigh, both quadriceps and hamstrings. Then place one hand on top of the knee and the other underneath. Massage the joint – behind the knee is another area with many lymph nodes.

Next massage down the calf and shin with both hands. Massage the ankle joint. Massage the foot by pressing your knuckles into the sole and rolling from the toes down to the heel.

Then, using your thumbs, massage any sensitive areas with a circular motion. Twist and squeeze each toe and then press your fingers into the juncture between the toes and foot. Slap the sole of your foot from the toes to the heel. Repeat the leg massage on the left side.

After you finish your massage, lie down for shavasana and enjoy the effects.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, LMBT, e-RYT, is a Yoga teacher and shiatsu therapist in Asheville, NC. She is the director of the Subtle Yoga Teacher Training and Personal Transformation Program www.subtleYoga.com and the author of Healing Self-Massage.

References

1. Muktibodhananda, Swami (1993). Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Bihar, India, Bihar School of Yoga, 2:13, p. 177.

2. Mallinson, James (2007). Shiva Samhita. Woodstock, NY: Yogavidya.com. 3, 48 49.

3. Jois, Sri K. Pattabhi. (2002). Yoga Mala. Albany, CA: North Point Press. 26.1.

4. Sarkar, P.R. (1992). Carya’carya III, 4th ed. Kolkata: Ananda Marga Publications.

5. Anandamitra, Avadhutika (1999). Yoga for Health. Kolkata: Ananda Marga Publications. 92-93.

6. Cheung, K., Hume, P., Maxwell, L. (2003). Delayed onset muscle soreness: treatment strategies and performance factors. Sports Medicine, New Zealand, 33(2): 145-64.

7. Moraska, A., J Sports Med Phys Fitness. Sports Massage: A comprehensive review. (2005 Sept.);45(3):370-80.

8. Vasudeve, J.S. How to Manufacture Subtle Energies (28 Feb 2007) The Times of . http://spirituality.indiatimes.com
1993.

more on Subtle Yoga…

Subtle Yoga is an approach to yoga practice which emphasizes the cultivation of subtle awareness. It is about going beyond instinctual and intellectual ways of knowing about yoga in order to broaden the experience and tap into more subtle capacities of mind, such as intuition and surrender.

Everything in the universe emerges from a subtle expression of pure consciousness. Evolution is a process of increasingly moving back towards that pure subtlety. Subtle Yoga is the practice of consciously participating in your own evolutionary process in order to transform the self and move towards self-realization.

Subtle Yoga employs traditional yogic practices (including asanas, meditation, pranayama, philosophy study, service, etc.) to help you increase your subtle awareness and find deeper meaning in life.

Subtle Yoga:

• takes a deeply historical approach to the practice of yoga – with homage to the teachers who have come before, Subtle Yoga employs a full range of yoga practices.
• uses asana as a means to balances the chakra system – and thereby balance the body systems and mental/emotional states. Subtle Yoga asanas are repeated and often engage specific kumbhaka (gentle breath holding) techniques. The kumbhaka is an essential element of Subtle Yoga asanas as this is where the body/mind makes a shift towards balance.
• is based on the cultivation of inner awareness. A deepening self-awareness in the practice is as important as any external techniques.
• balances the subjective and objective experience of yoga. The ancient yogis gave objective information about the nature of the universe, the purpose of human life, and subtle anatomy including chakras and flows of energy. Using this knowledge to guide inner experience creates clearer pathways to self-expression.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber developed Subtle Yoga as a way to help students connect with the more subtle aspects of yoga practice. In Subtle Yoga classes you will learn to connect not only to the physical body but also to the deeper layers of self, exploring and finding balance in the breath, the organs and glands, the flows of energy, the chakras, and the mental/emotional self. Various yoga philosophy themes are introduced and you are invited to explore the relevance and application of this ancient wisdom in your life.