Two cardinal principles in the dynamic spiritual science of yog are movement and awareness. Both are not separate entities; they coexist and complement each other. The first principle in yog is movement in balance with awareness. Life is a movement, not a stagnant pool. It is like riding a bicycle. To maintain balance, one must keep pedalling without tilting and falling on either side.
The body acquires sickness if it remains in one place. Movement, both vertical and horizontal is, therefore, necessary to prevent the build-up of harmful substances that will cause disease within the body. The only way we could live a lifetime of fluid and painless mobility would be to acknowledge that we are more than just a skeleton with moving components. Humans are made of layers upon layers of connective tissues that move and eventually develop patterns of movement based on our ingrained behaviours and programming.
In Hath Yog, the asan and pranayam facilitate greater movement, triggering enhanced awareness. Asanas stimulate internal organs such as the muscles, bones, and cells, whereas other forms of physical exercise activate the external parts of the body. Through asans, the toxic elements accumulated in the cells are burnt. The blood is purified, new energy is infused, and fresh oxygen is injected. We must love how our bones and muscles move through space and time: flexing, stretching, bending, twisting, pivoting, turning, reaching, folding - the list of amazing and enjoyable actions that are effective and effortless is endless.
To assist us in moving freely, a functional movement approach to asan practice that helps us logically, imaginatively, and methodically can strengthen and stretch, stabilise and mobilise, unwind and unbind. Motions derived from situational biomechanics in the actual world are called functional motions. We frequently move in just one or two planes when we work, play, and sleep, usually in the forward flexion region of the sagittal plane and sometimes in one direction of the transverse plane, which taxes the body's core muscles. Asans strengthen, stabilise, and mobilise all three planes of movement: the sagittal flexion and extension, coronal abduction and adduction, and transverse rotation.
The purpose of pranayam is to cleanse the subtle nerve centres and manipulate the pranic currents to bring about change in consciousness. Its triple benefits include eliminating the grossness of subtler bodies, preparing the mind for dharana and dhyan, and destroying the accumulated subliminal impressions. Through pranayam, the mind becomes like clarified butter. It acquires the capacity to perceive mental images without confusion.
The second principle is awareness in movement. One's awareness is subsequently strengthened when the movement of the body and the mind is triggered. This awareness is not momentary but moment-to-moment. It is the awareness of the body, the thought process, and the environment.
Both asan and pranayam activate the inner and outer movement of the body with more awareness, which in turn facilitates more movement. This transformative process of movement and awareness, perfectly synchronised, not only brings balance within ourselves but also with the outer environment. All movement in awareness and awareness in movement happen to achieve a state of calmness. This is the essence of yog.
June 21 is International Day of Yoga
Authored by: KV Raghupathi