YEM: YOGA AS ENERGY MEDICINE
YEM: YOGA AS ENERGY MEDICINE
THE BREATHING WAVE
D
eepening your awareness of your breath is a vital key to unlock the alchemical power
of Hatha Yoga. The breath is like a bridge to your inner and outer worlds. When you
focus on its flow, your breath will gently, yet powerfully, dissolve any notions
of being separate. Awareness of the
breath will bring you to rest in a field of
profound unity with all that is.
When the body is relaxed and healthy,
its various rhythms (cardiovascular, craniosacral, respiratory, etc) flow in a synchronous dance within the whole. Inherently linked to these body patterns,
the breath rises and falls in response to
a pulse of energy that moves through
your spine.
In the March issue, I explored the presence of a wave of energy that exists in
the spine. The awareness of this energy
is at the core of my work in YEM: Yoga
as Energy Medicine. By understanding
it, your yoga poses, and ultimately your
life, will effortlessly flower from deep
within.
This energy wave exists within everyone
and everything. It is the pulse of life itself. Yet because we live stressful lives,
fueled by habits and choices that perpetuate stress, we hold tension in our
body/being. Our breath becomes shallow and tense, and our we lack vitality
and ease. With age, injury and stress,
the wave and our energy flow lessen.
We can become rigid in body, mind
and spirit, which can be the root cause of illness and distress.
This simple and safe exercise will deepen your awareness of this amazing wave-like energy
that exists in your spine. It will show you how this energy is connected to and informed by
your breath. As in the previous two issues, this exercise leads to the one next month. Check
out last month’s issue if you have not already, and come back next month for more yogic fun. We are building towards you living your greatest joy through YEM: Yoga as Energy
Medicine.
EXERCISE
Find a quiet and relaxed
environment where you
can lie on the floor. Use a
towel or yoga mat if you
like.
1. Begin with Savasana,
a full body relaxation,
bringing your breath
awareness from the
crown of your head
through your body
and down into your
toes. Feel your whole
body breathing.
2. Then, when you feel
centered, bend your
knees and place your
feet flat on the floor
hip width apart. Your
arms are alongside
your
body,
palms
open to the ceiling,
chin slightly tucked
in to keep your neck
long and relaxed.
3. Feel your belly rise
when you inhale, and
descend when you
exhale. If you are unsure whether your
tummy is moving this
way, place your hand
on it to check.
4. Inhale, feel your belly
rise, and allow your
tailbone to tilt slightly
towards the floor, creating a slight, but not
forced, arch in your
lower back.
5. Exhale, allow your
belly to descend, letting your tailbone tilt
towards the ceiling, so
that your lower back
gently presses into the
floor.
6. As you inhale, draw in
life force through your
crown, as though you
have a whale spout,
and down your spine,
which is like a tube of
breath.
7. As you exhale, sense
your tailbone tilt towards the ceiling, as
though it floated towards the sky. Feel the
energy travel down
your legs towards your
feet, that are like tubes
of breath.
8. As you inhale, the tailbone tilts back to the
floor. The inhale is effortless. Your tummy
is like a balloon that
naturally fills with air.
9. With practice, the tailbone will naturally and
effortlessly float up off
the ground at the end
of the exhale. A wave
like flow will roll through
your spine so that your
lower back will begin
to roll up off the floor
on the exhale, the
tailbone continuing to
float towards the sky.
10. With deeper practice,
this breath/energy exercise will guide your
body effortlessly into
bridge pose, without
pushing or will. Just like
the ocean has varied
waves, each breath
is unique. Your breath
and this wave will
guide you to where
you need to be.
11. When you have had
enough, bring your
breathing back to
what feels more normal for you. Take a
few more long breaths
and roll over onto your
right side, before you
press yourself up into
sitting.
Parvati Devi is the editor-in-chief of Parvati Magazine. In addition
to being an internationally acclaimed Canadian singer, songwriter,
producer and performer, she is a yoga teacher and holistic educator.
Having studied yoga and meditation since 1987, Parvati developed
her own yoga teaching style called YEMTM Yoga as Energy Medicine.
Her current shows, “Yoga In the Nightclub” and “Natamba”
bring forward a conscious energy into the pop mainstream. Her
book “Confessions of a Former Yoga Junkie” is a road map to a
revolutionary life makeover for sincere spiritual seekers.
For more information on Parvati, please visit www.parvati.tv.
Image credit: Walter Lai