Zephyr Yoga Podcast

This Vinyasa Practice is like doing Pranayama disguised as Asana. We will be moving in a variety of standing poses using different Pranayama techniques to connect with the wind element and utilise the delivery of Prana, (life force to heal, inspire and transform our physical, energetic and mental forms) to find our way back home at our true centre, our heart.

The element of Wind is Vayu in Sanskrit. The movement of Wind that carries the sacred symbolism of communication, breath and life across that planet and within us. Our life force, Prana uses the breath as a vehicle, as we breath in and out. We all know Yoga is more than just flexibility or strength in postures; it is the management of Prana, the vital life force that animates all levels of being. Prana enables the body to move, heal, regenerate as well as enables the mind to think. Prana is said to be the intelligence that coordinates our senses and helps digest information and release that which doesn’t serve us any longer. 

We inhale oxygen and then exhale carbon dioxide, this is call respiration. Yogis experienced this as the Prana Vayus, direction of winds that move life force within the body.

• Pran Vayu – receiving Prana
• Samana Vayu – digesting, absorbing & assimilating that Prana
• Vyana Vayu – distributing & circulating that Prana
• Apana Vayu – eliminating the byproduct, waste 
• Udana Vayu – the positive effects of the other Vayus, uplifts, inspires & ascends in the form of epiphanies, awakening and enlightenment

Open these channels of communication so your Life Force, Prana, can deliver essential information to maintain the homeostasis of the Physical, Energetic and Mental Bodies. Asana is a great tool to improve the quality of your breath and effectively move Prana, tapping into the Vayus enhancing and directing the flow of winds throughout your embodied practice. As a result, you should feel invigorated, energised and find access to an expanded inner awareness that opens you to your higher state of consciousness, specifically within your own centre…your heart.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

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Fire, Agni in Sanskrit, is one of the most powerful of the elements. When we tap into its energy, we bring alive a transformation within ourselves.

Fire has always been used in most rituals especially in Yoga traditions. Some of the oldest Deities worshiped were Agni, the God of Fire. Indra, the God of Storms and Soma, the God of the Moon. As time passed these Gods fell in to the shadows as others became more popular, however, the basic fire, water and nourishment as a blessing is always there in rituals. During a fire ritual, called a Puja, they would offer nourishment to feed the fire in the form of seeds, flowers, gee and incense.

In this ritual practice of Yoga, we will feed our inner fire by offering it 3 things that bring us joy, to symbolically build that fire and direct the heat, to what our heart desires. We will then connect to a personal intention for this practice to create that heat for positive change, Tapas. Does your heart burn for greater health, wealth, purpose, contentment, resolve, love, connection? Ask what do you need from this practice to create inner harmony, balance and serenity to move forward in your life?

Agni, over time, evolved to be associated with the action of transformation. When our inner flames are stoked, fire provides energy for the body in loads of ways:

• Digestive Fire, helping transform food into energy
• Vital Fire, helping transform energy to fuel actions, motivate us 
• Intelligence Fire, power of cognition
• Mental Fire, helping drive ideas into action 
• Compassion Fire, helping warm to ourselves and our actions with empathy, tenderness and kindness

Law of Nature of fire is heat in the form of your temperature, metabolism, phyical-digestive-mental power and your creative energy. This gives you drive, determination, confidence, charisma, hunger, courage and energy to take action to fulfil your purpose.

You will feel this at your solar plexus, solar – sun, Manipura Chakra. This centre is the energetic hub and connects you to your Ego. Too much fire here you become Rajasic – arrogant, dominating, controlling, aggressiveness, reactive, inflamed, irritable and angry. Too little fire here you become Tamasic – fear, shame, guilt, poor self-esteem, passivity, weak in will and drive. You know when your fire is balanced, that Sattvic effect expresses itself as – boundless energy, inner strength, vital fuel, being purposeful, disciplined, spontaneous, independent and motivated.

We will layer our practice with:

• Hasta Mudra – Agni Mudra
• Bija Mantra – RAM
• The sense organ of Sight, to See, to have Visions

As we build and direct the heat to the attachments or bondages you want to burn through that don’t serve you any longer. Identify what your soul longs for, that burning heart’s desires and the vision of your future you want to create. Let’s build and direct this fire to give this practice more meaning and purpose.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

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Last week the theme was on the Earth Element. With it, we transversed the inner landscape of our bodies, it’s structural integrity in the bones, muscles, tissues and organs. The result was a body left feeling stronger, more stable and calmer as a result of practice. This week we will layer our experience working with the laws of Nature and focus on the Water Element – Jal. 

It is a fact that our bodies are 70% water and that the Earth’s surface is covered by 71% water. Water is what sustains all life, it is the principle of cohesion and is the gateway to the flow of movement. We experience this water element within ourselves as our fluids – saliva, digestive fluids, blood, lymph/synovial/sexual fluids, our sweat and our tears. We need the right flow of these fluids, working with the Earth quality of our body, to function optimally. On a more cognitive and even spiritual level the water element also expresses itself within the dynamics of our thoughts, emotions and outward expression of what is being experienced.

The abode of the Water Element is within the second Chakra; Svadhistana, where we connect to desire, pleasure, gratification, sensuality and sexuality. This is where emotions flow to express ourselves. This womb is where we water the seeds of our intention and desires, so that they grow healthy, deep roots into the earth and are nourished by the right amount of water to grow with help from the light above. 

Our practice invites us to honour what is present. 

• Do you feel like a block of Ice, with that Tamasic holding, damming up or numbing out feeling- Those old coping survival skills that may not be of service to you any longer as you recognise this isn’t sustainable as it freezes your ability to feel love, pleasure and worldly joys.
• Or do you feel too Rajasic – out of control, like a white water rapid river raging, unmanageable and turbulent?

Our practice becomes a cathartic method to unthaw, calm the waters and find a healthier flow to manage the twists and turns to life. Life is always demanding us to adapt, water always finds a way if we let it.

A child becomes sick,

a new demand at work,

change in plans,

an injury.

Like water, we need to practice adapting to what we are moving towards and around, to have the mental-emotional clarity to flow with ease. How we can stay buoyant and allow the support to carry us, letting go and trusting in the creative rhythm of the movement that is guiding us through our lives.

Hasta Mudra – Jala Mudra – Thumb to little finger. Is said to be the seal of mental-emotional clarity. Fire and Water bond to create the flow of intuitive communication and openness. The dynamic movement of the nourishing Prana that circulates and distributes throughout the bodies to optimise our physical, subtle and mental health.

We will combine Jalandhara – throat, stream, lock. Mula – root, lock. Uddiyana – upward uniting lock to direct the flow consciously as we breath and move. Connecting to the many rivers and streams within the body carrying with it Prana – this light of intelligence that is healing, inspiring and transformative. You flow like water, following the flow of breath in as you feel the swell of the body rise like a wave, and then the flow of the breath roll out like a wave returning to the vast ocean.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

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“The simple act of kindness is by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer” Mahatma Gandhi

I was inspired to teach about Maitri as a reaction to current events and the layers of what humanity face all over the world.  Maitri’s Bhavana is to cultivate, produce, develop the feeling is one of friendliness, benevolence, affection, kindness, good-will, it is this unconditional friendship, acceptance and love for oneself and others.

When we strip off our cultural conditioning, bias, beliefs, impressions, habitual tendencies, in the Yogic perspective we all are an expression of the One, Grace, Divinity, Pure Consciousness, the light of Prana that flows within us all. When we say Namaste we are saying the Divine that flows within me, I recognise that same flow of Divine Life within you. That fundamentally we are the essence of a Divine that is in the form of your unique embodiment. And each one of us has a basic goodness, a decency, that love is at our core, our true nature. That we all have a desire to have more joy, happiness and fulfilment in our lives And not to suffer. However, just as the teachings express this is unavoidable because we love and exist we are subjected to the pain of change, illness and death. The ironic dilemma is that the more we love, the deeper we feel it the more it hurts when it changes, we loose it and have to grieve it. It’s like how we enjoy the light and heat of the fire, however when we get to close it burns. We learn to keep ourselves safe by backing away from the fire, but over time we are so faraway from the flame, we can’t benefit from its heat and light. Our work in Practice is to begin to make friends with ourselves, to stop looking for validation outside and turn our attention to feeling at home and relaxed within when we feel that fire burning. Our practice is to build that fire, we call this Tapas, physical fire, energetic fire and mental fire of concentration to create a positive change. As the saying goes “I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me”  This is the real work of Practice – to have a relationship with our pain, difficulty and hardship.

Yoga Sutras points out 5 Kleshas, mental emotional afflictions we all will struggle with;

• Avidya – Ignorance,
• Asmita – Egotism,
• Raga – Attachment,
• Dvesa – Avoidance,
• Abinivesha – Fear of loss, change and death

Yoga Sutra 1:31 states the 4 symptoms of suffering observed in practice manifests as

• Negative thinking
• Emotional distress
• Instability in the body
• Disturbances in the breath that mirror the mind

The solution is Yoga Sutra 1.29 says to move inwards and then Yoga Sutra 1.32 to focus on one thing at a time.

Yoga Sutra 1.33 Cultivate

• Non-judgemental loving awareness – Upekshanam,
• Friendliness – Maitri,
• Joy – Mudito happiness – Sukka
• Compassion – Karuna



To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here.

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With this practice, we will stay close to the ground, strengthening, stabilising and calming the body. This is a strong practice building structural integrity through repetitive core work to target the pelvis and shoulders. Working with Hasta (hand) Mudras, Bija (seed) Mantras and imagery of this weeks topic Earth, to inspire a practice that will leave you feeling like a majestic mountain.

In the next five weeks, we will be using the five basic Elements of nature; Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Space, to understand and discover more of our inner and outer ecosystem. Yogis understood and utilised the laws of Nature to attain greater health, power, knowledge, wisdom and sustained contentment in themselves by using practices effectively to heal, inspire and transform – cultivating equanimity in the Body-Mind connection.

So to briefly describe these elements within:

• Earth – Solid – form, structure, physical integrity, bones, muscles & tissues.
• Water – Liquid – fluidity that sustains life, nourishes and moves our joints, blood and fluid flow that circulates within
• Fire – Heat – temperature, metabolism, energetic drive and confidence to fulfil purpose
• Wind – Gas – direction of movement of the breath, Prana and channels of communication within, that carry the creative expression of life
• Space – Intergalactic Material that suspends or contains it all, we feel space which provides a platform for all the other elements within ourselves Sense this in our mouth, hollow organs and bone, but the space between the breath, cells, atoms, even the space between our thoughts

Yogis used the heat of Prana to inspire a balance, transform imbalances and create a natural harmony amongst all the others elements.

• Ice + fire = water & gas
• Wood + fire = ash & smoke

Each week we will focus on an Element drawing on it’s characteristics.

This week it is Earth Prithvi. As we start our journey on reconnecting to the earth element, I invite you to get reacquainted with the nature within you and around you. Reconnecting to the earth element is more about doing less than adding more. Draw on your encounters with the Earth – the land, mountains, deserts, shorelines you have walked on, the Earth that you have dug your hands in feeling the roots deep within and letting go through tending to the nutrient rich soil, feel you benefited from her bounty of produce within you. Getting back to our most primal selves can serve as a way to feel grounded and earthed again. Feel your bones, muscles, organs, tissues the Earth quality that create your form, structure, weight and support. That you feel your body stabile, steady and grounded. A Calmness to your form as you feel safe and trusting.

Prithvi Mudra –Thumb to the tip of the ring finger

Abode of the Earth element is in the Muladhara Chakra

Bija Mantra for the Earth Element is LAM

Sense Organ–Smell

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This practice is a fundamental practice for all Yogis to ensure that you have a strong core and to understand how to stabilise your torso and create mobility through strengthening. Zephyr will guide you through the main core muscles, their function and their use in asana. 

This practice layers breath-centric movement to build intensity for these muscle groups, using movement to perform engaging and releasing techniques for this area and to give you a connection to a stronger and more radiant core.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here.

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As we have seen over the past few practices (starting with Week 95) imbalance in the body causes a limitation in movement, connective tissue strain and joint instability. Muscles that get locked long, or short, are both considered weak, as they don’t have full range of motion or usage of their function. 

• Concentric contraction is actively engaging the muscles, they shorten. 
• Isometric contraction is actively holding the muscles engaged. 
• Eccentric contraction is actively lengthening, stretching the muscle. The opposing muscles are balancing this action out. 

We sit most of the day, our hip flexors are locked short, bum muscles are locked long and we slouch. The natural antidote to this is to stand up and do some stretching because moving dissolves the build up of collagen and promotes elastin within the connective tissues. There is an innate wisdom in our bodies that seeks balance, when you are tired physically, mentally and energetically, you activate and engage muscles to release their holding pattern and wake them up by yawning and stretching. This is called pandiculation. 

However, when we stand up we then notice an imbalance within our posture which is shown as lower cross syndrome. 

• If the pelvis has an anterior tilt, the hip flexors and lower back are locked short and tight, then the abdominals and glutes are locked long and weak. 
• If the pelvis has a posterior tilt the hip flexors and lower back are locked long and weak, then the abdominals and glutes are locked short and tight. 

Either way sitting and slouching for long periods of time, weakens the glutes and locks them for a very long time where they fall asleep!

This class we will focus on balancing this out by knitting the abdominals, zipping up the zipper extending out of the pelvis and maintaining a tall integral posture while focusing on the glutes, specifically the piriformis muscle, awakening the posterior parts of the pelvis and toning the muscles for healthier engagement. 

The piriformis attaches on the front of the sacrum and crosses the back of the pelvis to the outer femur bone called the trochanter. Piriformis is a lateral rotator and stabiliser, this means it externally rotates the leg bone out whether the leg extends back behind the body or lifts forward higher than 90 degrees of the pelvis. The piriformis works to hold the legs in relation to the pelvis by stabilising, this can be felt by bringing the weight in the heel of the foot. Yoga bricks will help us explore this phenomena by isolating movement in the toes (meant for mobility) and heels (are for stability). With weight in the heels, we can feel the tone and integrity rebound up the body creating tensegrity, (interconnectivle tensile force of awakened integral tone of engagement). 

Remember during your practice – No muscle acts alone, so feel how everything is interconnected and use the breath to both (inhale) invigorate and feed the muscle that energy, then (exhale) calm and nourish the tissues. 

We will repeat this piriformis engagement, working on stability first and then mobility over and over in this class to wake up and energise these muscle groups, balancing out our imbalances. 

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

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In this practice we will go through a few misunderstood instructions that have been passed down over the years that with modern information have now become redundant. Instructions like; draw your heels down to the floor in Downward dog, squeeze your legs together in backbends, bring your weight on the outer feet to stabilise. With modern anatomy and physiology, we can improve the biomechanics of preforming our Asanas to achieve the desired result of practice and have sustainable alignments to carry on practicing into ageing. 

The four main poses we will repeat at different gravitational plains will be 

Virabhadrasana, 

Parsvottanasana, 

Trikonasana and 

Parvita Trikonasana 

(thought they are called different names as we explore them as we transverse across those plains). 

Specifically looking at anterior and posterior tilting of the pelvis, then flexion, extension, hyperextension and twist of the spine in relation to the pelvic tilt. This is to follow the instruction of practice of Asana according to the Yoga Sutras 2:46 Sthira and Sukham/Steadiness and Ease. We will continue to repeat that stabilising, strengthening and maintaining integrity of alignment is the primary action and then work with and ease as we open to becoming more flexible in the pose. 

The philosophical layer is to implement a Buddha Smile as a mudra (seal) to influence the mind, nervous system to calm as we preform the Asanas in which we cultivate Yoga Sutra 1:33 loving awareness, friendliness, joy and compassion.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here.

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Udana Vayu is the upward-moving, ascending and radiant life-force from the top of the heart and base of the throat. As it is active primarily in the region between the heart and the head, it is said to bring Prana from the energy centre, Anahata Chakra through Vishuddha Chakra to Ajna Chakra, which directs the flow of Prana from the lower to the higher planes of consciousness manifesting a hearts desire as it creatively expresses itself and influences awakening. This Vayu is also responsible for taking the mind from waking to sleep, from sleep to dreaming and then to deep dreamless sleep -Turya – to higher planes of existence. When we focus a mindful concentration in practice on Udana Vayu the results leave us feeling connected, balanced and strong, we stand tall with integrity. Our presence when Udana Vayu is flowing we are joyous, enthusiastic, alert, articulate, and we have epiphanies, insights, revelations and visions.

This meditation will use the tool Jaladhara Bandha to help trace the movements Udana Vayu and Mudras to seal in the Prana around the space between the heart and the head. Verbal chanting of OM and mental chanting of SO HUM and HUM SA will be used to connect to the vibration and pulse of Prana in this area. Kriya practices will also be used to actively clear the physical and subtle pathways for Prana to heal, transform and inspire the student to benefit from focusing on Pran, Apana, Vyana and Samana Vayus and how Udana Vayu relates to this Pranic movement. Leaving the student feeling lasting fulfilment of their intention of practice, containment in their embodiment and liberation from any previous pain or suffering.

To read more and to practice with Zephyr Wildman, click here. 

To support Zephyr Yoga Podcast, donate here.

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