"To the extent you get caught in the forms, you miss the essence. And you will find that as you get more identified with your essence you will be less attached to your forms." -Ram Dass
Todd teaches Body Learning Integration System Yoga in Portland, Oregon, where he currently lives with his wife Vittoria- also a yoga teacher and an energy worker. BLIS Yoga is a blend of Laya (energy), Hatha (physical), Nada (sound), Bhakti (devotional) and Jnana (knowledge) Yoga. Unlike many forms of yoga taught today, the focus is on learning to work with your body and to listen to your body. Uncovering and tuning into that innate balance that is your essence, your wholeness. One of the fundamental tenets of this style of yoga states that balance is the natural order of things, including our body. In other words, our body is actually our ally. This runs counter to what our culture has taught most of us to hold as a truth, namely that in order to succeed one must apply effort, especially when it comes to our bodies - and the more effort one applies, the better. In contrast, this practice starts with centering, with balance. ~ Balance is that place where no effort is required ~ " Effort constitutes a lack of trust ", as Raj points out. So, what is practiced is trusting, allowing, yielding - all of which may be contrary to your habits... so this practice of undoing those habits requires commitment, intent, and a gentle persistence. Like a child learning to walk, who will undoubtedly fall - despite the falls, staying curious and persistent - the fall need not take any of your attention nor distract you. The fall is not the point. Discovering what is underneath those habits is. This is done by simply engaging your curiosity. Curiosity opens the possibiity for you to experience something outside of your current definitions. In BLIS Yoga, one way you align with the cycles happening all around you is by following the moon. Every 28 days the Moon cycles the Earth. Every 2 days or so the moon cycles through a different sign of the zodiac. Each sign of the zodiac is affiliated with specific body parts. So in following the moon as it travels around the Earth, you cycle through your body every 28 days. more on lunar cycles through the body This eclectic mix of yoga encourages us to practice working with our body and not against it. When we work with our body, it begins to work with us; when we listen to our body, our body listens to us- no more conflict. Without conflict there is balance. We explore balance- where no effort is required. Effort constitutes the lack of trust. Establishing trust in your body will change the way you do everything. The content of a class is determined by those present. To entertain and to allow another perspective, another possibility, is the opening - the door - to experience the more of You!
J U S T . Y O G A In classical northern Indian raga signing, they use a musical scale they call the just scale . Unlike here in the west, where we use and are familiar with the octave - Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do - in the classical Kirana Garana Raga style of northern India, the performer is not limited to a few notes, but an infinite number of notes are available to use - they can bend and stretch the notes according to their preference... and likewise, in this style of Hatha Yoga , the asana may be the starting place, but an infinite number of variations are possible (bending and stretching the asana as one is moved) all depending on what the one performing the asana wants to focus on...depending on their practice. This is the foundation for the Hatha aspect of BLIS Yoga. The elements of the practice are essentially the same... practicing center, engaging curiousity, then listening. So we keep practicing center, curiosity, and listening, despite what movements, poses or asanas we may be in. This is not necessarily a quick fix type of practice- namely because there is nothing to fix! (though this is indeed true, it is also true that infinite patience brings immediate results!) The image is like that of a rock, with water drip, drip, dripping on it. At first it appears as though the rock is impervious to the dripping water- after all, it IS a ROCK! But with gentle persistence, the water erodes the rock and it disappears! We are much like the rock- with all of our holding and our habits, which only serve to cover that which is Really there. Returning to the fundamentals of the practice as often as possible - practicing center - is like having the water drip drip drip on us. And eventually, the "rock" disappears revealing that which was always there- that innate state of balance where no effort is required. The essential elements of the practice can be practiced anywhere, we just happen to do this thing called yoga, while we are doing our practice. We are all doing the same thing, and we help each other to do it- so come play, come practice with us... practice center, practice floating down the river, practice filling with gold.... be curious, be gentle, be persistent.... What would it feel like to come into a full bloom? back to Sacred Onion class schedule
|
