I'm obviously into forces these days.  My second last post talked about the importance of recognizing that our own personal will is but one of innumerable forces acting on our lives at any moment.  This post is about learning to cooperate with and see ourselves as a dynamic play of forces in yoga practice.  Through this, we come to know ourselves as something other than the rigid, crystallized entity we call our ego.  

The first force we must cooperate with is the grounding force - we must root before we can sprout.  This means yielding.  We must learn to yield our body weight into the points of contac we have with the floor.  We must learn to yield the stubborn will of our egoic structure by coming into total presence- experiencing the moment as if from the very cells of our bodies.  Only in this way will the tensions knotted into our muscles by years of egoic striving begin to soften. 
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In Warrior II, for example,  this yielding means relying on the bones of the  legs for support.  This "bi-pod" of strength draws support directly from the  earth, and allows the upper body to yield it's characteristic tensions from the  brow, jaw, shoulders and ribcage.  Yielding to the downward pull of gravity we come to trust the earth, and our roots.  Only then can we come to experience the  upward moving force acting on the spine.  Until we yield our tensions, a false up-"tight" force is what holds us, not the natural, soft uprising of a spine sprouting from it's deep roots.   This gentle upward moving force is not rigid,  it is fluid and can be supported by the engagement of the deep core body.  Lifting the pelvic floor and engaging the low belly in and up slightly energetically propels this force to the crown.  Two forces suspend this pose - can you find yourself dwelling at their balance point?  

Once the core is engaged in Warrior II we have gathered our attention, energy and blood flow in the deep center of gravity.  To balance this inward moving force we expand through the 6 points of our
periphery:  the crown, hands, tail, and feet.   Drawing inward and expanding outward, begin to feel the place where the two forces are equal and be suspended there. 

Feeling the grounding and rising, inward moving and expanding forces can you let go of all that you think you are and become this play of forces?  As you become sensitive to these you will become sensitive to the myriad of other forces working in you - the movement of the breath and emotions, the electrical flow of thoughts, the deep stirring of your soul.  Let go of your identity and feel the inner current of life moving, heaving, tingling - ushering you moment by moment closer to your One True Self. 
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There is nothing like feeling radiantly alive.  Having enough energy to engage your life, relationships and work in a healthy and balanced way is essential to wellbeing.  What follows is a practice for helping  you cultivate and recognize your natural vibrancy.  The practice is two fold.  First, we tune in to the frequency of our energy body, or prana, and second we then invite awakening to this body through a variety of exercises. 

Awareness:  Here we are basically changing the "channel" of our attention.   We shift our attention from the channel of thoughts, preconceived notions about ourselves and our body, ideas and concepts to the channel of direct perception of sensation in the body.  As we descend our attention and dwell there for a few minutes we begin to sense the aliveness that "just is" within our tissues, bones and cells.  I like to tap the body from head to toe, as in Qi Gong, as a way to help focus attention on energy,  Spending time connecting to this aliveness it starts to become apparent that this aliveness is bigger than the borders of our physical flesh and bone.  We start to feel ourselves as expanded and spacious.  In connecting to our energy we become more sensitive to the flows and blockages within.   Often just shifting our attention to the energy body, our aliveness, creates a greater sense of well being because we are no longer focussing on worrysome thoughts or areas of discomfort in the body. 

Relaxation:  Allowing awareness to fall on all parts of our being is the first step toward relaxation.  Try it.  As you let your awareness fall on sensation, emotion and thought without getting stuck anywhere there is a natural unwinding uf tensions that take place.  When tensions release energy that has been locked in holding patterns can flow.  There is a misconception in yoga that faster paced, more rigorous styles of yoga are most effective for increasing energy.  Often, especially for beginners, fast paced classes does not allow for us to "tune in" and instead simply reinforced mental, physical and energetic patterns that keep us locked up.   As we relax through guided relaxation or supportive asana, muscles release, energy, blood, oxygen and nutrients can flow through our system and we become more sensitive and alive. 

Breath:  As the muscles and mental patterns that have us locked down around our diaphragm start to soften the breath becomes freer.  As we breath more fully the blood becomes more oxygenated, there is a feeling of lightness that results through the muscles.   The breathwork can be simple 3 part breath, or more complex pranayama such as ujjayi and kapalabhati.  If you are a beginner it is enough to just increase the depth and length of the breath.  (all complex pranayama should be done with an experienced teacher to begin with).

Movement:  Having cultivated a relaxed and tuned in attitude and more open breath we can now engage a movement practice that will truly build and free energy .  Asana, in the form of gentle flows, where muscles contract and release helps to pump blood, oxygen and nutrients through the system.  Heat arises and dissolves, joints find their range of motion, sinovial fluid is moved, lymph is circulated.  All of these things are the manifestation of energy's animating force flowing and working in your being.  Sometimes there are insights and emotions that rise up.  It's all energy. We are all energy.  From the gentle flowing asana it is helpful to move into static poses where we can spend time feeling, continually reconnecting to energy.  The static postures allows us to move into blockages and allow them more and more space to unwind.  Here we find ways of being in the body that fosters efficient use of energy and movement through alignment cues.  Once we are warm and aware then engaging a back bend sequence nourishes the nervous system and fosters alertness and vigor. 

Grounding:  After building energy the tendency is to want it to serve the ego's desire to get more done or go faster.  So we spend time in grounding asana, relaxation and setting intention.  Can your new found energy serve Spirit rather than ego?  Luckily, when getting in touch with our energy we also get in touch with the subtler connections and relationships around us.  It is easier to serve Spirit, or the Good of the Whole, when we engage life from a place beyond our ideas and thoughts. 

This practice is an introduction to playing in the realm of energy.  Have fun with it!  Let me know what you find!
If you have interest in engaging this practice in more depth please join me for the Vibrant Life Retreat on August 7th, 2010 held at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, 20 minutes north of Camrose, Alberta.  If you think exploring energy is great alone wait til you try it in a group!   
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