Yoga in Body Mind Spirit (Somatic) Integration

Yoga Down

How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.

Tao Te Ching, verse 21 (Mitchell)

HOUSTON, Summer 2000: "Downward-facing dog," called out Kay Wescott, my yoga teacher. Like a dog doing a lazy wake-up stretch, she stood on all fours and stretched out her arms and chest, her body a sinuous upside-down “V.”

I did my best to follow suit, spreading my fingers wide and pressing my butt into the air. (I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself in a moment of cheap humor, then I remembered this was an ancient spiritual tradition.) My spine elongated and I pressed my heels down toward the floor to stretch out my hamstrings. I was breathing harder now and the sweat began to drip from my face and pool between my hands. Breathe, I thought. As one part of my mind calmed with the meditative focus and the exertions of my body, another not-so-quiet voice at the back of my mind whined, "How long can this go on?"

“Crescent moon,” called Kay. My mind was momentarily relieved to let go of that down dog. I brought my right foot between my hands into a "runner’s lunge" and relaxed my left leg to the floor, pressing my hips forward. My groin muscles stretched easily. I calmly brought my hands to my heart in prayer position--breathe, I remembered. Feeling balanced and with my hands clasped together, I reached toward the ceiling. “Arch those chests forward,” urged Kay. I gently curved my back into the beautiful sliver of a crescent moon. (Okay, it’s been awhile since I’ve been a sliver of anything, but I could imagine.) I noticed in the mirror that my moon, beautiful as it was, tilted just a little. “Okay yoga monsters, back into down dog,” cheered Kay. And so it went through the hour: stretching, pressing, breathing, thrusting, holding, and focusing. Calm mind. Whining mind. Vain mind. Humble mind.

Alan Davidson is the author of the free report "Body

Breakthroughs for Life Breakthroughs: How to Peak Your

Physical, Emotional, Mental, Moral, and Spiritual IQs for a

Sensational Life" available at

http://www.throughyourbody.com.

Alan's also the author of Body Brilliance: Mastering Your

Five Vital Intelligences, the #1 Health and Wellness book

and Winner of Two 2007 Book-of-the-Year Awards.

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body

1103 Peveto St.

Houston, TX 77019

713-942-0923

Tibetan One in Body Mind Spirit (Somatic) Integration

Tibetan One

I call this the “dervish,” because one spins like Sufi whirling dervishes. Stand with arms outstretched. Find a landmark in the room on which to focus. As you spin past the landmark you can count off the reps. To honor the dervishes, spin counter-clockwise, with one palm turned up toward heaven and the other turned down toward the earth.

Spin around twenty-one times.

Tip: You are likely to feel quite dizzy. Holding a finger in front of your eyes focuses your attention and, ideally, keeps you from falling down.

Chakras, Energy Flow, The Five Tibetans in Body Mind Spirit (Somatic) Integration

The Five Tibetans in Somatic Body Mind Spirit Integartion

Whereas a human’s gross anatomy refers to the parts we see and use—our limbs, organs, skeleton, muscles—the subtle anatomy deals with the energy centers that connect the body with the higher essential intelligences. Three distinct examples of the way different parts of the world look at the subtle anatomy include the Hindu belief in the seven chakras; the acupuncture meridian system from the Chinese; and the halo effect that’s called the auric field, which is from the Western understanding of energy.

What these three examples have in common is the belief in a spark of divine energy that animates all that is physical about us. This is the level of the soul. It is the level of the spirit. In Eastern theories of medicine, when the subtle energy channels are open and flowing fully, we radiate health.

According to the ancient yoga texts, the seven chakras are lined up in front of the spine, with the first being found at the tip of the tailbone and the seventh at the top of the skull (see Chapter Four). Indian belief teaches that the chakras correspond to the major nerves, glands and tissues through out the body. Each chakra, which means “wheel” or “wheel of spinning light” in Sanskrit, spins on an axis. Increasing the spin of a chakra increases the amount of energy that flows to the associated nerves, glands and organs connected to the chakra. The slower the rate of spin, the less energy flow to the same tissues. With a decreased energy flow the passageways become stagnant or blocked, and the related organs and glands lose their vitality, causing illness and aging.

The Five Tibetans appear to be incredibly successful at increasing the spin of the chakras and thereby the amount of energy that flows through the subtlest layer of consciousness. Practitioners suggest the following conditions to prepare for the Five Tibetans:

· Wear loose clothing
· Choose a room that lets in fresh air or work outdoors
· Use a pad of some sort for comfort
· Consult with a medical doctor or health-care practitioner if you are pregnant or have a chronic injury that is painful during exercise.

Each one of the Five Tibetans is a vigorous exercise. They are done quite fast, unlike many of the hatha yoga movements they resemble, and are repeated twenty-one times, thus becoming an aerobic yoga. Beginners are asked to do seven repetitions (reps) of each exercise. When the student grows stronger, the repetitions increase to fourteen each. Finally, increase each exercise to the full twenty-one reps, the recommended total amount for each exercise (doing more reps does not seem to increase the benefits of the daily practice).

Synchronizing the breath with the physical movements is the key to these exercises. It is the breath that oxygenates the blood and tissues and clears the mind. I focus on my breathing, allowing the inhale and the exhale of my breath to lead the movements. The effects are quite noticeable.

There is some conflicting advice on how to spin in the first Tibetan. In Kelder’s original text he recommends spinning clockwise like the Sufi whirling dervishes. However, this is a contradiction, because the Sufi dervishes spin counterclockwise, and that feels natural to me. So that’s how I am explaining the exercise here.

Alan Davidson is the author of the Free report "Body Breakthroughs for Life Breakthroughs: How to Peak Your Physical, Emotional, Mental, Moral, and Spiritual IQs for a
Sensational Life" available at http://www.throughyourbody.com.

Alan's also the author of Body Brilliance: Mastering Your Five Vital Intelligences, the #1 Health and Wellness book and Winner of Two 2007 Book-of-the-Year Awards.

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body
1103 Peveto St.
Houston, TX 77019
713-942-0923

Lomi School: Pioneering Body Mind Spirit (Somatic) School

Lomi work [is] . . . demanding of people. It asks that
people wake up—wake up to their bodies and their lives.
Robert Hall


RANCHO STROZZI, March 1994: The next day dawned spectacularly. I snuggled warmly under layers of blankets, yet my visible breath confirmed that the fire in the cabin’s small stove had died out hours ago. I lazed for a few more minutes, anticipating the shiver of throwing off the covers and dreading the thought of the unheated outdoor shower. With the precision of a military campaign I launched out of bed, built a roaring fire, started the coffeepot, and braved the colder outdoors. The cabin was toasty hot by the time I returned from my freezing, yet oh-so-invigorating shower. Satisfied with a breakfast of fruit, cereal, and coffee, I went to the aikido dojo and waited for the others to arrive.

The dojo is divided into three rooms. The largest is stretched with padded mats for classes, and there is a small sitting area with couches and a rough-hewn kitchen. Twenty-one students gathered with Robert Hall and Richard Strozzi Heckler that morning, and the two men outlined our time together, saying that:

· The Lomi School teaches somatics: a body-centered way of living.

· We will use bodywork, breathwork, yoga, aikido movement and sitting meditation to bring attention to our bodies.

· These disciplines are taught as ways of working toward physical vitality, emotional stability, and personal effectiveness.

· This focus on the body develops awareness and self-acceptance. It allows us to know ourselves more fully—how we stand and breathe, how we express our emotions, how we perceive the world and experience it.

· Group process is the primary tool we use to explore the edge of our fears and leave the comfort zone of our everyday lives; to share the stories of our hearts; to develop trust and community; and to support each other in self-discovery.

· Lomi work also explores how social activism grows from self-discovery and our connection to the social issues of our time, “including birthing, dying, conflict resolution, education, violence, community, the arts, and health care.”


Love your way,

Alan Davidson, founder of
http://www.throughyourbody.com/
and author of Body Brilliance:
Mastering Your Five Vital
Intelligences (IQs)’

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body
1103 Peveto St.
Houston, TX 77019
713-942-0923

Living Through Your Body Mind Spirit at Rancho Strozzi

We are arriving at one of the most fruitful and important
turnings in the history of the race.

The self is entering into relation with the body.
Edward Carpenter


PETALUMA, California, March 1994: My rental car rolled along Middle-Two-Rock Road in the glorious California sunshine, with the backseat stuffed with luggage and groceries for the long weekend. Petaluma, an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, lay a few miles behind me. I savored the crisp March air breezing in through my open car window. It was a welcome change from Texas’s humidity and heat. The road crested and I stopped to enjoy the view: a valley of rock formations, farmhouses and sheep in just-greening pastures. I love this part of California; its beauty and isolation speak to me—so different from Houston, a sprawling city of concrete and glass. With a deep breath I realized just how good it feels to be here.
I continued my drive to Rancho Strozzi, a lovely place with grazing horses and buildings of weathered wood. My assigned cabin was tucked away behind the martial arts dojo. Once inside, I chuckled. The cabin, charmingly rustic, was a tall but small octagonal room with a loft just large enough for a mattress. There was a wood-burning stove for heat, a small refrigerator, a sink, and a round table with one chair. Windows opened out onto the surrounding fields of hay. Only the occasional gust of wind broke the blissful silence.

An hour later I was back on Highway 1, cautiously maneuvering the hairpin curves, until with a dip and a wide turn the rocky hills finally revealed the coast. Thrilling with excitement, I drove on for a while, splitting my attention between the road and the spectacle of ocean before me, then parked and sat as close to the rock’s edge as I dared. In wonder, my eyes were riveted to the ocean below me: the towering cliffs, the boulders jumbling out to the sea below, the play of light changing the color of the water. The waves roared far below with the constant frigid blow of the Pacific wind. I’ve always loved the ocean; I used to rent an apartment in Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico, but this stretch of the Pacific was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Feeling calmer, I returned to Rancho Strozzi and settled in, ruminating on this day and how I came to be here, and anticipating my start at the Lomi School tomorrow morning.

Love your way,

Alan Davidson, founder of
http://www.throughyourbody.com/
and author of Body Brilliance:
Mastering Your Five Vital
Intelligences (IQs)’

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body
1103 Peveto St.
Houston, TX 77019
713-942-0923