Energy work and Yoga

[Tom]

The prana in pranayama starts with the breath, but the point is actually to control the energy. Breathing is often combined with the postures. Some teachers go so far as to say that when the breath is not united with the asanas, just doing the postures is useless. You can adjust your postures according to what increases the flow of energy through your body.

[Tarconiss]

If i am thinking of it correctly, Tai Chi, is based on slow movements of the entire body, that deals with moveing energy around the body...

A way to incorperate energy into Yoga, the way you want, i guess, would to enforce whole body energy pulses throughout your body while you make each repeated gesture. If you can't do a whole body movement, just try to work with your arms/legs/ or torso area, individually. as you move one way, let your energy flow up your body, and as you move back, let it move down your body.

If this method were to be used, a persons body would not only durastically tone up and become healthier, because of the stretching and stuff, but also the energy being continually used dureing would help a lot with your chakras and feeding extra supplimental energy sources to your cells aswell, slightly reversing the ageing affect even more, than what yogo claims to do, aswell.

And if you would like to help tone your body even more, after a little while, incorperate light weighted wrist and ankle bands/weights.

[Ash]

the goal of yoga as it was originally practiced IS energy work. It's a systematic series of postures, breathwork, and visualization designed to eliminate any blockages. My understanding is that it starts with the postures (asanas) and when your body is more familiar with the movement and the breathing, you are supposed to focus your attention on specific parts of your body, or specific chakras, in each of the asanas. I would recommend if you want to practice yoga for energy work, find a teacher who teaches yoga with that in mind, instead of the many who teach yoga just as a series of stretches for the body. Also B.K.S. Iyengar's "Light on Yoga" is about as comprehensive a yoga manual as it is possible to get.

[Secretseeress]

I am using B. K. S. Iyenger's 'Light On Yoga' and cannot recommend it enough. The course in the appendix is quite strenuous but excellent and the benefits are felt very quickly. I have also found it quite comfortable to use N.E.W. along side daily yoga sessions.

Love and Light,
Secretseeress

[James S]

To agree with Ash, is as much about the energy body as it is about the physical body.

My wife took up yoga last year, and started to learn about each of the chakras through specific chakra exercises. Much of what is described in Robert Bruce's N.E.W., and a few other books on meditation that I've read, are all either directly or loosely based on yoga methods.

James.

[kifyre]

A friend of mine started getting tingling hands during tai chi. She'd never experienced anything like it before. This has progressed as she has taken up yoga. I think she's been doing maybe three months now. I find stretching and pilates type exercises fantastic for relieving energetic pressure and just improving overall flow.

If you're taking a class, I'd recommend just following the teacher's instructions without adding anything. State of mind is important and if you're trying to do extra, you might lose some benefits of the practice. (My friend isn't trying to develop her energy body, it's happening on its own.) However, nothing wrong with playing and experimenting after you've gone through once following directions--adding NEW, different focus, etc.

Yoga cultivates body and breath awareness. Awareness kindles the energy body.

Just my two cents,

Mark

[themadness]

Thanks for the responses and stories, guys!

I think I'm going to do energy work seperate of yoga, and focus of the asanas for the time being.

[Source2Energy]

Hello themadness...this is a very late reply and I trust by now you have learned much more about yoga. I too am a student of yoga as well as an energy worker. We are instructed on the movement of energy with every asana...check out kundalini yoga or ashtanga yoga...there are many schools that subscribe to the use of energy work during the pose. My latest personal experimenting is going into other forms of awareness (i.e. Focus 12 intuitive state - see threads on Monroe CDs)during the pose...a meditative state that allows me to sink deep into the pose...reach out to other levels of consciousness and pull in the energy for my needs. I've been fortunate to find a teacher that offers this methodology and it's like no other yoga I've ever practised before. In fact I'm off to my class momentarily...cheers!

[themadness]

Hey all, I just started doing yoga and I say, I do really enjoy it! Just the focus on awareness, balance, and breath while holding these positions is simply amazing. I think the best part is the total body workout it gives. It seems to offer more for a total body workout then running. I'd like to expand on this and incorporate some energy work with it.

The author hinted that various postions were good at bringing various thoughts and feelings to the surface. I felt like he was subtly talking about our chakras. Has anyone ever done energy work with yoga? Any heads-up or recommendations?