This Yoga practice will offer you strong standing poses and abdominal strengtheners mixed with Pranayama Kriya practices. 

When the two opposing energies Pran and Apana Vayu are balanced it is said to awaken SamanaVayu. Samana Vayu is the direction of Prana that is a concentrating, absorbing and consolidating force that digests and assimilates incoming energy. The function is assimilation of prana in all its forms. Samana Vayu collects energy absorbed through breath, food, sensory perception, and is also said to be the gatekeeper of our mental functions absorbing all experiences and mental processes. This integrating action strengthens the body, balances the mind and stabilises the wandering mind drawing and containing attention inwards to moment awareness. This gives us a connection to a powerful motivating force to transform our habits and karmic tendencies as we have mental clarity and courage to truly see ourselves just as we are. 

When we are healthy, we benefit from strong digestion as the nutrients are effectively absorbed converting it to energy for the body. This is also reflected in the mind as when we feel healthy we have mental clarity too. Samana Vayu helps gather Prana and assimilates our vitality so we feel we have access to it to help fulfil our duties, responsibilities and desires in life.  

Samana Vayu is felt mainly around the solar plexus. This area is connected to Manipura Chakra and is said to be the centre for the transformative power or the abode of the fire element. This is the hub of Pranic energy and vitality, the navel centre, which is essential to hatha yoga. When we talk about Hatha Yoga we refer to a type of forceful yoga that draws two opposing forces together with the aim to increase Prana and transform the patterns of Pranic flow in the body. The result is optimisation of healthy body functions and preparation for higher states of consciousness. In Hatha Yoga the desire is to cultivate Tapas, or heat of positive transformation.

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This meditation is all about expelling the energy that does not serve you and finding 4th power of the exhale. We will use Kapalabhati Kriya, Kumbhaka on the inhale and exhale and brining some focus to our meditation with Prana, Ganesh and Apana hand mudras to guide awareness. 

You will find this meditation very therapeutic as you focus on letting go, releasing and practicing the art of surrendering via the exhale.

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This meditation will use different Pranayama Kriyas to heighten focus on the inhale pattern Pran Vayu, and to utilise Prana to heal, inspire and transform. 

We are going to focus on PRAN VAYU, which is the movement inwards (drawn in) of the fundamental energising force of our vital energy. The easiest way we can receive Prana is through the inhale, however we can receive Prana from nutrient rich foods, water, the sun, being in nature, around good stimulating people, learning and reading new things. We can have a direct sensory experience of this Vayu by inhaling, feeling prana being drawn into the chest, the region of the lungs and the anahata chakra as you fill, expand and ingest this vital energy. It also is felt in the eyes as we receive that energy which stimulates ajna chakra, therefore opening pathways that will transport sensory impressions into the mind and boosting mental clarity. Pran Vayu focuses your attention on tasks at hand. The inhale stimulates and we hold our breath to stabilise our mind to what we are focusing on. Pran Vayu is linked to your ability to receive energy which influences your speed of physical and mental movement, your motivation and your vitality in life. It also heightens your sensitivity to the world within as you follow Pran Vayu and at the same time the world around you. You realise that what is connecting you is this energy of Prana.

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Prana is life force

Vayu direction of winds

This class weaves dynamic asana with breath centric movement using different Pranayama Kriyas and ratios to cultivate a greater connection to Prana and a heightening focus on the inhale pattern. Building strong standing poses, with lateral relief to open pathways to effectively receive Prana and utilise it to heal, inspire and transform. Weaving Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Kriya, Mantra and Philosophy into a practice, I offer you a focus on being empowered with self-knowledge and skill in loving-awareness, to do your life well and fulfil your purpose of embodiment. 

This is the start of a deeper understanding of how to activate, cultivate and utilise our Prana, our vital energy. Yoga is said to be the art and science of Self-Realisation by disciplining the body, mind and breath in order to gain Self-Knowledge and Cultivation of Self-Awareness. Tantra is the weaving of all experiences into a practice to cultivate as much Prana as we can and to use the tools of practice to master control over the vital energy or life-force. To acquire the power of energy, we can then heal ourselves, optimising health on all levels, boosting our energy to do our lives well and to have the clarity of mind that guides us to lasting fulfillment, contentment and liberation (Moksha). Yoga is the Mastery of Self-Knowledge and Tantra is the Mastery of Prana Power. Knowledge without power is ineffective, where as power without knowledge is dangerous! So we study and practice both. 

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, regenerate, heal as well as enables the mind to think. Prana is said to be the intelligence that coordinates our senses, it helps digest information and releases that which doesn’t serve us any longer.

It is said that we have five winds, divisions or directions of of pranic energy within us.

• Pran Vayu – inward, ingesting prana
• Apana Vayu – outward, ruling the eliminating force
• Samana Vayu – consolidating and gathering in force for absorption
• Vyana Vayu – distributing and circulating prana
• Udana Vayu – inspiring and ascending prana

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The Tantric text of practice, Gheranda Samhita, states that there are 5 Stages of Prana

1. Activation 

2. Churn 

3. Consolidate 

4. Ignite 

5. Direct

Which implies that when we practice we need to make an intention, so that the Prana we cultivate can be directed to something useful. Through Yoga gaining Self-Knowledge and through Tantra we master Prana power we can effectively shape our lives to manifest what we desire. Prana Vayus are platforms for the breath to rest on for Asana, Pranayama and meditation. This gives us something for our mind to follow, learn from and control to lead us to an enriched life experience, contentment within ourselves and freedom from the pain and suffering in our lives. 

Asanas are used to improve the quality of the breath. We dynamically move to sense this life force, shape our vital energy and direct it to heal and transform obstructions and to inspire greater insights. The breath is the vehicle for Prana. We open the many road ways – the highways, motorway, country roads, dirt roads and drive ways that are the energetic links that carry sensory info and actions thru-out the systems. Along the way we will find diversions, road works, accidents and dead-ends which are all useful in gaining self-knowledge as self-reflecting our thoughts, emotions, memories and imagery of what comes up. The instances of distraction, or what draws us out of presence is invaluable in understanding what is between you and being free, between you and feeling serene, between you and allowing love in, between you and living with joy, between you and healing.

Where the mind goes Prana follows. Our Power of Attention is key to practicing Yoga. The Power of Intention is equally important. They are both ways to be Present. Yoga Sutras 1.34-1.39 provide the suggested focus points to direct the mind and Prana. First breath awareness, then sensation, then inner illuminosity, then contemplate a stable mind by focusing on mantra or intention finally awakening to moment by moment awareness. Using Yoga and Tantra to weave all experiences in to our practice with the goal of cultivating Prana then directing it to what matters to us most.

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The last of the Kleshas is Abinivesha, the fear of loss, change and death. The fear of change and death is a suffering deep within our instinctual subconscious, Fear is hardwired for self-preservation, reacting to avoid changing circumstances, being out of control, loosing something we are attached to and staying in denial of our unavoidable end at all cost. This deep-seated involvement with duality is imbedded within all of us, whether you are wise or naive. Step up to the cliff edge and we all will react the same to a gust of wind as we flinch, run away and avoid falling to our death. It is natural to want to stay alive, it is a part of the autonomic nervous system to notify us of any change or of harm that might occur. 

It is said that suffering arise when we live in ignorance of the only truth we know of, which is, to live is to die. Everything has a beginning, middle and end. This is the truth of impermanence. We will all be affected by it inevitably. So what is so bad with the concept of death, when it is a fact of life? Well…it’s the Ego that gets in our own way. Why would the ego want to be evicted from this home? Where it has a mind, opinions, beliefs, views, things to play with, a personality, family and friends, adoration and not to mention students and social media followers! As long as we are ignorant (Avidya) of the impermanence of things, there will be an ego (Asmita) which is fuelled by attachment (Raga) and aversion (Dvesa) this will perpetuate the fear of changing anything in our lives, loosing what we have and of dying. 

Yoga asks of us to explore not just who we think we are but to experience what we are. Yoga suggests what we truly are is SAT CIT ANANDA, joyful existence of consciousness having a human experience that is you and the same consciousness is having the experience of me. Science proves we are a part of everything and everything is a part of us. It is just our egotism that keeps us separate and invested in the story of ME, MINE and I. ‘I think therefore I am’ ‘I feel therefore I am’ ‘I do therefore I am.’ Are you your thoughts? Feelings? Actions? Or are you consciousness witnessing of having them? Without your them, your memories, life experiences, who are you? Who are you when you are not trying to be somebody? 

Yoga encourages you not to have blind faith, but experienced wisdom. That we awaken to what we truly are, what we have always been and will always be, that joyful existence of pure consciousness. We forget what we are and reduce ourselves to who we think we are. So contemplative practices that wake us up to experience not just what we are but to explore the inevitable transition into the next experience of what is after this. This is an interesting process to ponder.

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This session we are focusing our practice on the 4th Klesha which is Dvesa: Avoidance of previously experienced pain and suffering experienced. Just like last session focusing on Raga, we saw that not all desire is bad; desire to quench your thirst, to feed your hunger, the desire to get our fundamental needs met to feel safe, to be loved, to belong and connected to as well as the desire for a more meaningful and purposeful life, to celebrate the pleasures that the world offers us; beauty, love, joy, creativity! It is also natural to avoid things that are scary that may cause harm. However this Klesha Dvesa, draws our attention to what we are resisting to experience and is usually linked to a past experience of discomfort, dis-ease, pain and suffering.

Think of something you don’t like to eat, smell, feel, listen to and see? These are not based in the present time, they are past conditionings or impressions that we have a fear base reaction to and not interested in experiencing them again. There is a slogan that says “if it is a hysterical reaction, it normally is a historical one.” This insight into how our brains and body save then store memories of fear based information. This is a useful design to keep us safe and protected for future experiences. As we mature though, some of these memories and our aversion to them, limit us in our lives and our relationships, it give us the illusion that we are free from that painful experience if we keep running away from it. There is another slogan, “what we resist, persists.” This resistance is felts as tension in the body and we contract reinforcing the other Kleshas to get involved; Raga, Asmita, Avidya. They form aversions, resentments, grudges, dislikes, hatred, hostility, harmful judgement and more negativity.

The solution is to start looking at the stories we tell ourselves that keep us stuck in the core false beliefs and if we can start to investigate and to look at the story in a different way. This technique is called Pratipaksha Bhavana, YS 2.33, seeing the value of what we resist as a teacher and learning how to view our reaction of aversion as a useful opportunity to practice. This builds trust in ourselves to love and care for our past and present self, opening the possibility for healing, finding lasting fulfilment and freeing ourself from Dvesa.

In this back bend practice, try to delay reacting in avoidance. Respond by leaning in with the tools of practice shared. Be open, intimate and honest with what we are resisting, why we react this way and how can we lean into it to deepen our learning. 

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A weird and wonderful paradox we have is the gift of a conscious mind that wants to escape itself and find itself at the same time. Yoga provides tools to skilfully manage the unmanageability of being human, yet guides us with more meaning, fulfilling a greater purpose of embodiment. In our practice of Yoga we come across obstacles that stir up negative thinking, emotional distress, instability and disturbances in the breath that mirror the mind – YS 1.31. These are the symptoms that the Kleshas are present.

We have worked with the first Klesha Avidya-Ignorance and then the second Klesha Asmita-Egotism. Now we are focusing on the third Klesha which is Raga; the attachment to chasing, clinging, grasping, dwelling, yearning and holding on to previously experienced PLEASURES.

Reflect on what pleasures you’ve experienced that you would like to enjoy again. Travel, gardening, going out to dinner, a drink at the pub, socialising, sex, laughing with friends, shopping, celebrating a success, being in the flow of creativity? What are some of the other worldly experiences you want to have again? It is a natural response to seek out what brings us pleasure. We all have desires. That is the blessing about being human. When born, we have the desire to feed, crawl, walk, learn, experience, grow, have sex, be in relationship, enjoy a well lived life. Bhoga is a term describing how we enjoy, indulge and consume the worldly delights or desires of life.

As we practice Yoga are aim is to fulfil our Vedic goals of life, these are the Purusarthas; Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. 

• Dharma: Your duties, responsibilities, virtues and purpose
• Artha: Means and tools to support your purpose
• Kama: Pleasure, worldly delights, relationships, creativity, ascetic beauty 
• Moksha: Spiritual liberation, freedom, trust and faith

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Kleshas are fear based, mental-emotional afflictions that cause persistent distress, pain and suffering. The first Klesha is Avidya, which is our blind spots, our lack of awareness or misapprehension in what we are seeing. Asmita is the second Klesha meaning egotism, the “I – AM – Ness” of the ego falsely identifying by its distorted sense of self seen through Avidya.

It is said that the ego is at the centre of your personality. Without the sense of self, life would be unliveable. We need a healthy ego to live and function. It gives us perspective on experiences and coordinates many daily functions. “I” need to eat, sleep, work, etc. Ego mediates between the consciousness and unconsciousness relearning the internal and external worlds, and the personal and social relationships.

The mental aspect of the ego, according to the Yoga Sutras is called the Ahamkara “I-maker.” I am Zephyr, I am a mother, I am a wife, I am a Yoga Teacher. I am the main character in my story. Now how I write the story depends on my core belief of myself. I am my name, I am the worst or best mother, wife, yoga teacher. Thinking more or less of who I think I am and misidentifying by my label. 

Asmita makes us think we are the limited self, reducing us to our bodies, life experiences, thoughts and emotions. We are what we look like, what we can or can’t do, what we like or don’t like. By our labels such as our name, status, reputation, occupation, accomplishments and failures. That is who we are. This breeds separateness of “myself and OTHERS” and “compare and despair” that grows seeds of self-doubt, insecurity, defensiveness, hypersensitivity, arrogance and intolerance. Reinforcing fear based core beliefs that we are NOT ENOUGH as we are, loveable, smart, capable, successful, flexible, strong, worthy, valuable…enough. Pulling one into a downward shame, guilt and fear spiral.

This distorted unhealthy self then craves attention! It is its nectar. It places itself at the centre of the Universe, the main character in its own story and it loves attention, to win, to have fame and power anything to validate its self-importance. The unhealthy ego displaying behaviour that is ego-centric, self-centred, narcissistic in arrogance, pride, superiority and narrow view point to continue reinforcing the story of ME, MINE and I. 

A healthy ego feels content, not threatened by change, secure in fundamental needs being met, is open, curious, able to listen, to be considerate, compassionate and kind. The ego is very powerful and recognising what is motivating the ego is key to practice. 

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Georg Feuerstein “Yoga is an art and spiritual science of disciplining your body, mind and breath.”

We practice Yoga to form an intimate relationship with the mind and body by shaping the breath. We open to sensation and cultivate the light of insight which in turn stills the mind and body to attain the state of Yoga. In the previous practice, we mapped out a simple practice for complicated people. The complication is that the mind wants to abandon the relationship all of the time. We find it chasing thoughts, avoiding emotions, fantasising about pleasure and entertaining fears. Our practice is to notice when the mind wanders and bring it back to practice. This waking up is highlighting the first Klesha which is Avidya, meaning a lack of awareness or understanding, one’s ignorance, clouded perception or misapprehension. Our Yoga practice is designed to open the veil of ignorance that clouds our perception we see through our mind, energy and body into the truth of all nature and reality. 

There is a term for a Yoga student called the Adhikara. Pointing to the seeker’s journey through the material, energetic and conscious realms. Being competent for deeper understanding, a respect of what is being studied and practicing it in all one’s affairs. Competent studentship in the endeavours of practice in gaining self-knowledge in attaining self-realisation. 

YS 1.20 describes 5 Virtues, Attributes or Essential Ingredients to be the Adhikara – the competent Yogi.

1. Shraddha – Faith, Trust
2. Virya – Courage, Strength 
3. Smirti – That which is remembered, Memory
4. Samadhi – Absorption, Collect, Concentrated 
5. Prajna – Illumination of Consciousness, Direct Insight, Light of Knowledge

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