2014 YLT 6th Weekend Summary

Posted on July 23, 2014 by admin

Primary Theme of Course: monitoring and modulating the flow of energy and information, from our home base in the Infinite, Luminous Now, to bring our unique creativity into the present moment.

Opening meditation: Resting in Stillness: Allowing time to flow right on through.

Most of the time we experience our ‘selves’ as moving through time; getting through the day, week, year. A simple change of perspective allows the sense of time to flow through us. This is what Eckhart Tolle calls the ‘Power of Now’, now being the infinite present through which time, and all creation, spontaneously flows. This is also the point of view of Purusha, the drastuh svarupe of sutra I-3, of atman, and many more words and phrases that point to ‘the timelessness of being’. This is home. Stabilize presence here.

Main Theme Weekend 6: Mind, Part 3: Selves: Unique, Universal and more…

Selves: We are tracking the ongoing flow of energy and information moving through various layers of embodiment. In part three of our explorations of the layers of mind, we have come to the mental creations that are involved in the ‘sense of self’, the ‘I, me and mine’ thoughts. As mentioned in Mind: Part 1, the role of a mature ahamkara is to create a sense of self that can remain stable while it organizes the many layers and levels of mental life. This requires integration with the buddhi, the innate intelligence. This is not necessarily an easy process as, for most of us, the buddhi is lees than fully developed and this self sense morphs into a complex constellation of competing and limited ‘selves’, each claiming to be the true ‘I am’. As these are contructs of prakriti, they are inherently limited and impermanent and thus cannot be the ‘True Self’ or Purusha.

As we discover in mindfulness, where and how we pay attention greatly shapes this self sense and the development of these partial selves. Also, awakening simply allows attention to have a deeper and longer sense of just resting in ‘Now” /timelessness/drashtu svarupe/ Purusha. This resting in timelessness will gradually shift the self sense from the partial selves to “I am this (timelessness), the “True Self”. Then the True Self is both Unique and Universal and operates through the other ‘selves’ to bring creativity to the world.

Because we also inhabit the world of time, prakriti, or impermanence, as the Buddhists would say, we have and need these other ‘selves’ that appear and modify our energy, our behavior, our actions in the world. Some of these ‘selves’ are creative, compassionate and wise, and arise out of our deep connection to the fullness of the present moment, the True Self. We want to nurture these. Others are small-minded, self-centered, petty, and destructive. These sources of suffering are based upon trauma, habit and conditioning and can be modified through mindful attention and thoughtful practice, what Patanjali calls in I-2, ‘citta vrtti nirodha’, ‘resolving the dysfunctional mind states into healthy flow, or ‘citta prasadana‘ from I-33.

I have experience with two approaches to the exploration of these ‘selves’ which come from western psychotherapy. The first is known as “Internal Family Systems”, and was developed originally by Richard Schwartz. In brief, the IFS model postulates that the human mind often has numerous ‘sub personalities or selves, that are called ‘parts’, (implying that none are the ‘whole’ person). They are probably of different ages, with different skills, deficits, life experiences and desires. They are all valuable and necessary to the healthy functioning mind, but, for various reasons, often take on more problematic, conflicted or destructive roles.

Also, in IFS there is a “Self”. This Self is the seat of consciousness, is already and always highly integrated, and ideally is the CEO of the mind. Its role is to delegate authority and mediate disputes among the parts. The Self is not a part, but can be lost in the background noise of conflicted parts. Think of it as the integrated linking of Ahamkara and Buddhi, to use the yogic terminology. The role of IFS therapy is to help differentiate the Self from the parts, establish the “Self” at the center where it belongs, and help the ‘self identity’ remain grounded in the ‘Self’, rather than jumping from part to part. The centered ‘Self’ can then help resolve conflicts amongst the parts by giving each a voice to be heard and a role to play in the ongoing flow of mind activity.

According to IFS, when trauma upsets the mental/emotional system, polarization arises among the parts and they organize into warring factions, usually taking on extreme roles. These factions generally fall into three categories. The managers try to ‘maintain control of the confusion, usually by repressing the injured, wounded, unhappy parts. These unhappy parts, known as ‘exiles‘, are too painful for other voices to acknowledge, so they are kept ‘locked up’ in the unconscious. If any of the exiles ‘escape’ and start to demand attention, or take over, the ‘firefighters’ jump in and try to ‘extinguish’ the intensity of the exiles. They will try anything to dissipate the fire, including encouraging over-indulgences in drugs, alcohol, food or sex. Thus, although they seem to have the same goal as the managers, that is, keeping the exiles quiet, firefighters often operate by creating even more damage and suffering, leading to even stronger exiles, requiring more work from the managers. It is a vicious cycle of repression, explosion and suffering. Only reestablishing the ‘Self” can begin to restore order to the system.The role of the therapist is to help the client ‘differentiate the ‘Self’ from the parts, and then facilitate a dialogue between the Self and the various parts, to help sort out healthy roles.

The second pyscho-therapeutic approach that I have experienced is known as the ‘Big Mind’ process, an offshoot of “Voice Dialogue”, created by Hal and Sidra Stone. Big Mind comes from the insight of Zen Master Genpo Dennis Merzel, or Genpo Roshii, who met the Stones when they were brought in to help resolve some conflicts in the Zen center he was involved with. He later combined Voice Dialogue with Zen insight to expand the number of ‘voices’ available. In Big Mind, the word ‘voices’ is synonymous with ‘parts’ in IFS. They are the sub personalities of the psyche and can be dualistic or non-dualistic. You can see the obvious parallels to IFS in the voices. Some dualistic ones include the: protector, controller, seeker, doubt, anger, fear, the damaged self, victim, the wounded child, shame and the rejected one. The non dualistic voices can include Big Mind, Big Heart, Great Joy, Great Gratitude , Great Doubt, and the Master. These all arise from a grounded sense of Self as unbounded and free. Like in IFS, the dualistic voices have a key role to play, but need to be seen, heard and integrated into the ongoing flow. The Non-dualistic voices are responsible for this healing.

As you explore your own inner voices, you may find some that are familiar and some that have been hiding. Name them if you can and let them speak. Be observant and creative. Create voice collectives or sub systems that can work together harmoniously. If the exiles manage to escape surreptitiously and you find yourself reeling from the emotional shock waves, you have to find ground and some spaciousness. Then you (the Self) can negotiate.

Pranayama: Viloma I and II
Viloma breathing involves a creating a series of pauses during the flow of inhalation and exhalation, like walking up and down stairs. Viloma I is (roughly): inhale-inhale-pause-inhale-inhale-pause-inhale-inhale -pause- normal exhalation -pause- next cycle.Viloma II is (roughly): normal inhalation, pause-exhale-exhale-pause-exhale-exhale-pause-exhale-exhale- pause – next cycle. If you are a natural inhaler, Viloma I will feel easy and Viloma II more challenging. If you are a natural exhaler, vice versa. It seems to be 50 – 50 in the yoga population.

Of the 5 prana vayus, prana and apana come first. Prana is the expanding of inhalation, apana the squeezing/condensing of exhalation. In Viloma we find the ‘seed of the opposite’ in the cycles, finding apana in the pranic inhalation and prana in the apanic exhalation. Later in the asanas, we will explore how the samana vayu acts to help integrate prana and apana.

Practice 1: If you are a beginner, use the pauses to reverse direction a bit. In viloma I, inhale-inhale-slight exhalation-inhale-inhale-slight exhalation etc. Viloma II is: exhale-exhale-slight inhalation-exhale-exhale-slight inhalation etc. I call this ‘Looping’ Viloma as the energy loops at each pause.

Practice 2: If that is comfortable, use the pauses to begin to differentiate ribs and diaphragm. Inhalation is used to expand the ribs/chest/intercostals, exhalation to tone abdominal wall and stretch and lengthen the diaphragm. Viloma I: inhale-inhale-inhale-keep chest expanding as you squeeze the belly in from the sides and peel the edges of the diaphragm in away from the ribs; inhale – inhale- repeat -etc. Viloma II: exhale-exhale-exhale-expand the chest out-keeping the diaphragm squeezing inward – exhale-exhale etc.

Practice 3: When the ribs and diaphragm are in harmony, the pauses of Viloma are an opportunity to rest in deep stillness, neither inhaling nor exhaling. This is preparation for the longer kumbhakas or retentions in ujjayi pranayama.

Asana Inquiry: Opening 3rd chakra energies to help integrate prana and apana. In posture and movement, we find that the solar plexus region mediates between the upper and lower limbs to facilitate effortless movement. In the photo on the left, the limbs load or charge up the 3rd chakra with chi as the head and tail stay long and open. Then, as seen below, the energy explodes out opposite directions through the limbs which come up off the ground. They land and the cycle repeats as long as the cheetah is running. Can we find this action in every pose, starting with tadasana.

We can start by doing one leg at a time. Standing near a wall and facing it, bend one knee up to the chest, opening the kidneys and liver. when you next extend the leg down and back in an arc, try not to use the spinal muscles or quads. Track the circular flow down the DFL. Do not force the heel to the floor or you may compress the ankle. Do each side a few times and then add an arm. As the knee comes to the chest, also fold in your arm. When you extend the leg down, extend the arm up. eventually ad tail and head. Soak into the 3rd chakra, then squeeze and squirt into all six limbs (leg, leg, arm, arm, tail, head.)

Repeat above in all standing poses and downward dog pose, and then transition to flipping the dog, adding the spiral. Then explore same action in sphynx, bent knee sphynx, salabhasana, dhanurasana and ustrasana. If you are doing inversions, explore in sirsasana and sarvangasana.

More advanced work: explore above in jumping from bakasana to chaturanga or plank. Remember to extend through crown chakra as well as tail to balance the move. For some help with this, here is a blog post from Kathryn Budig.

Day 2. Same as above and add parvottanasana as intro to revolved half moon, triangle and side angle as well as pigeon. Maintain the ‘cheetah action’.

Sutras Discussion: In the sutra on saucha, II-40, cleanliness, there are some derogatory comments on the body. Only highly repressed males could come up with this one. Please take the anti -feminine sutras and commentary as patriarchal bs and an interesting historical note, and then move on. Is cleanliness important. Of course. On many levels. But how does that become ‘hugging your loved ones is repellent’ ! ! ? ?

The yamas and nyamas are about having healthy, positive relationships, with your ‘selves’ and with others. They are common sense and key rules for any society.

Our discussion on the ‘selves’ comes back to PYS I-4, vrtti saryupyam itaratra. At other times, i.e., when not in the state of ‘yoga’, i.e., not knowing the ‘Self’ as infinite being), there is identification with the parts, with mind activity posing as “Self”. Vrttis are not a problem. Multiple parts/voices/sub-personalities are not a problem. Only when there is identification with them, when the ahamkara lands in the world of form and confuses ‘I AM’ with something limited, is there an issue that needs addressing, as this is suffering.

2014 YLT 4th Weekend Summary

Posted on May 17, 2014 by admin

Theme of Weekend 4: The Physics of Asana: Understanding fulcrums and leverage, props and support, in your practice and teaching of asana.

Meditation: Resting in Being (Hsin Hsin Ming for clues!)
Mantra Practice: Continue from last month.

Sutras Discussion: 1. Please talk about brahmacharya (from Sutra II-38): Brahmacharya literally means ‘walking in God’. As living beings, we are endowed with a certain amount of energy, strength, and power (virya) to be used in the world. How we use that energy determines the quality of our lives. Are we self-centered? Lost and confused? Chasing shadows? Sexual energy is a major driving force in nature and Patanjali addresses this here, but celibacy is a common but poor translation of brahmacharya. The sutras do have a masculine/transcendence/purusha bias versus the feminine/immanence/prakriti, and if we read between the lines, many commentators (all guys by the way) seem to imply that sex is a hindrance to your spiritual development. It certainly could be, if the 2nd chakra energy is not integrated into the whole being and runs amok in the subconscious. But trying to repress the sexual energy is not a solution either, as can be seen by the Catholic Church scandals of the past decades. Use the energies of life wisely. It takes life times of practice and study to do this, so be patient and persistent. But liberation does not require the suppression of the creative energies, only its integration.

2. The gunas; In sutra II-18 and II-19, Patanjali discusses the gunas, the three qualities of prakriti. In II-19, he connects the gunas to the 24 components of the Samkhya model of reality dealing with prakriti, dividing these 24 into 4 categories, ranging from most tangible to most subtle. There are 16 most tangible or gross body components and they include the 5 organs of action, 5 organs of perception, and the 5 gross elements. Those are obvious. Manas or ‘lower mind’ is the 16th, as it is the least subtle of the mental components. Next come the 6 subtle components; the 5 energies that correspond with he organs of perception: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell; and ahamkara, the egoic mind, more subtle than manas. Mahat or buddhi is in a category by itself, as it is more subtle than the previous components, but still distinctive as a separate entity. The final category is prakriti itself, before it manifests as any particular form. These models or maps are fun, but don’t get too distracted by them. Live…Fully… that is all you need to awaken.

3. Vibhuti Pada? Forget the third chapter, after samyama, as it is too technical and not relevant to awakening. Keep your study practical. Can you immediately apply this sutra to your moment to moment experience? If so, go for it. If not, find something else. There is plenty to work with, but try not to get lost in theoretical speculation. It is a waste of time if your goal is awakening. If your goal is to be a Yoga Sutras scholar, that is another story.

Here are some practical sutras to work with: I-12 to I-16, the practices of abhyasa and vairagyam.

Abhyasa: choosing to put your energy into actions/thoughts/practices that stabilize mindfulness, emotional balance (samatvam), clarity, joy, delight; or any mind state that comes from a deep sense of inner peace and wisdom; and doing this lovingly, persistently, over many years and lifetimes. Make this practice moment to moment!

Vairagyam: Choosing to withdraw energy from habits, actions, thoughts, beliefs, mind states that perpetuate unnecessary pain, negative emotions and suffering. This is also known as ‘maturing’ or growing up into spiritual adulthood. Make this practice moment to moment! (Sutra I-16 has some anti-feminine bias, so be careful with that one. It is crucial to differentiate Purusha from Prakriti, the changeless eternal from the transient world of forms. Differentiating leads to deeper levels of integration. However, ‘indifference to nature’, is not awakening. On the contrary, it is a place of ‘stuckness’.)

Asana Practice:

As we continue our inquiry into the energy and information flow passing through our body/minds, we come to the practical side of asana practice. There are many ways we use yoga postures to enhance perception and sensitivity to energy, and using props to highlight keys places of leverage and balance is one of B.K. S. Iyengar’s greatest gifts to the modern yogi. The Iyengar system has spawned an amazing number of ways to use props to improve leverage, awaken a deeper sense of space in the poses, and open and integrate the chakra energies. We will explore a few possibilities.

Because of the long bones of the limbs and the action of the joints, the human body is an amazing place to explore leverage and the role of fulcrums in creating a sense of balance and ease, of sthira and sukham. This class of leverage is the see-saw action we use in opening the hip joints. When we grow a tail, and use the inner back heel as a continuation of tail energy, the center of the front leg hip socket is the fulcrum around which the pelvis can rotate freely, and also a center around which the body can find the stillness of perfect balance. The leverage of the back leg/tail counter-balancing the torso is most clearly seen in half moon pose, especially when you compare Iyengar to the class 1 level picture. The same principle applies to trikonasana and the other standing poses.

The use of belts allow us to further enhance the connection of the back leg/tail and front hip joint in the main hip opening postures such as parvsvottanasana, here demonstrated by Iyengar teacher Roni Brissette, and supta padangusthasana. Note the second belt in supta padangusthasana from the upper hip to the lower foot. A more precise placement of the belt would have it around the metatarsal bones, especially the big toe of that lower leg. That gives you the ability to adjust inner and outer rotations. Most beginners use only the upper leg belt and never quite get into the hip joint. The same action can be taken into ardha chandrasana and revolved ardha chandrasana.

Another old favorite, done with belts or wall ropes is the hanging dog pose. Here the rope loop acts as an accessory tail, teaching the muladhara to trifurcate, giving a strong traction to the hip sockets and tops of the thigh bones. When the hips are open, the leverage releases the spinal column. Speaking of belts and tails, here is a great photo from Lauren Cahn in the upside down downward dog, or urdhva dhanurasana. Notice the action and direction of the pull of the belt. The tail lengthens out dynamically. The tendency is to confuse the tail and the hips and overly contract the muladhara. The use of blocks takes some of the effort from the shoulders.

Once the hips and tail are awake and the energy is flowing freely, (1st chakra) we can look to opening the sacroilliac joints, a key, but challenging action. Here we switch to a wooden block, or brick as they say in Pune. Iyengar instructor Holly Walck is demonstrating the use of a block in bridge pose to open the core. The release the sacrum the fulcrum shifts from the hip joints to the sacro-illiacs. The feet stay engaged, the pelvis is anchored to the block, and the tail can adjust up or down to find the happy spot for the sacrum. In this photo, the student needs to release the throat as the fifth chakra is compressing. More height under the shoulders and a slight rotation of the skull will align 5th and sixth chakras with the sacral area or the 2nd chakra.

For those looking for a deeper experience, check this out. Here Iyengar is using a stool with blankets to open his sacral-lumbar region and the heart, the wall to activate his feel and muladhara, and another stool to anchor his hands (notice the length through his wrists, elbows and armpits.) He has been exploring these deep supported backbends for years, as this is his (and the human’s) edge.

Leveraging the different vertebrae of the spinal column can also be done with chairs. These poses are quite intense and care must be taken not to hang out or hold on, but to use the chair to direct perception. Iyengar teacher, Kisa Davison, at left in viparita dandasana, is demonstrating the classical Iyengar chair backbend. Her head is supported, legs dynamic, but there is some compression at T-12 as seen by the sharp angle between the bottom of the ribs and the abdomen. The seat of the chair would be better located either lower or higher on the spine, as T-12 is very vulnerable to this hinging. If you work organically, rotating the liver would also help ease the transition between 3rd and 4th chakras.

Here the back of the chair is used by Noah Maze to open the 3rd chakra region. Note the hands and compare the length of the armpits to those of Mr. Iyengar, just to get used to seeing energy patterns. Priscilla Polonia is using the chair and a bolster in supported camel pose (ustrasana). Feet stay active, pressing down, tail energy keeps lengthening, and the head is supported by the back of the chair. Adjust the placement and size of the bolster to fit the needs of your body.

Finally, Iyengar’s chair sarvangasana, here demonstrated by Iyengar teacher Witold Fitz-Simon, uses blankets (or a bolster) for the shoulders, padding for the sacrum, and the arms extend through to the back legs. The arms can also be outside if the shoulders are lacking in flexibility. A bolster can also be placed on the seat of the chair and the legs can then extend back into its support.

A simpler pose for beginners, and everybody, is viparita karani, one of the main restorative postures. Witold has the bolster near the wall so the legs are supported and a belt contains the leg energy.

Belts can also be used in baddha konasana and supta baddha konasana. In baddha konasana, a belt (or two, if you want to do both legs) is wrapped around the pelvis and one knee. Make sure that when you tighten the belt, the inner knee skin is pulled from the inside out and around to the outside of the knee. Use the femur bone to push straight out into the belt. Do not try to pull the thigh back toward the wall or down to the floor. Use the belt as a vector and feel its effect of the opposite sacro-illiac joint. Do second side, flipping the belt completely over. Satnd up and walk around to feel the effects.

In supta baddha konasana, the belt wraps around the pelvis and comes under the feet at the ankles. Loosen or tighten to find a happy place. Slightly extend through the feet to simulate an extending tail so the muladhara energy lengthens the groins. Use blocks, blankets or bolsters to support the thighs so there is no sense of pulling in the inner thigh (gracilis muscle) which can lock up quite easily. A bolster or blanket can also be used to support the torso and head.

2014 YLT: 3rd Weekend Summary

Posted on May 4, 2014 by admin

Theme of Weekend 3 : What is Mind? (part 1)

Meditation: Heart Field followed by Hub of Awareness (see previous post).
Continuing to rest in non-dual emptiness (aka being, presence, Purusha, atman)
at the ‘hub’, while allowing the world to unfold. No need to repress or push the world away.

Pranayama Practice: Sama Vrtti and differentiating ribs, spine and diaphragm.

Asana Practice: Continue refining what we have learned in the first two sessions. From the meditation, tracking energy flow from heart to feet/earth and back, integrating into arms and skull, through crown chakra to the heavens, and back to the heart. More work with standing poses, dogs, and beginning to explore inversions, backbends, restoratives. How do yoga postures affect ‘mind states? How does our approach, our belief systems about the body, about practice, affect mind states? How are emotional energies affected?

Mantra/Chanting: Learn: 1. Invocation to Patanjali: 2. Om namste astu bhagavan…
3. Om saha navavatu… and 4. Purnamadah, purnamidam… (See below.)

Yoga Sutras: Questions arising from study group:

Question 1: Please comment on the use of mantras in one’s practice, especially ‘Om’. Are there any secrets to be found in the chanting of mantras? Maybe not secrets, just how does this work? How does this help our practice?
Answer: there are many layers to working with mantras, whether recited out loud, or silently in a practice known as japa. The most obvious is that the mantra provides a seed to focus the mind. This brings stability. When repeated over and over, the possibility of the mind dissolving into emptiness arises as the need to anticipate what might come next disappears. The aspect of mind known as manas (see below) continues the chanting and the buddhi can rest in silence. Another aspect is that each of the Sanskrit sounds have a specific vibration that affects the whole organism. The way the vowels and consonants are ordered creates waves of sound that bring coherence. Different mantras have different wave patterns. Om is the simplest and most powerful as it creates a very simple coherent circular or spherical vibration. The best way to explore is to try chanting in your practice. It will help keep you breathing, if nothing else!

Question 2: Please comment on ways to clarify the mind as mentioned in Sutras I-33 to I-39. Answer: Big question! Patanjali is very open minded about finding what works. Sutra 1-33 is worth a book in itself, but recognizes that negative emotional patterns and habits reek havoc on the quietness of the mind and suggests four practices, the Brahma Viharas, which are also an important part of Buddhist teaching. I-34 uses the stillness at the end of exhalation, possibly cultivated through pranayama. As the breath becomes more effortless, through asana as an example, the mind settles naturally. When the breath is still, the mind is quiet. The rest of these sutras are a bit esoteric, except for the last, where Patanjali says that anything that works for you can be an object of meditation.

Question 3: How do we relate ways to clarify the mind to the three gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas)? A rajasic mind needs to quiet down. Longer exhalations and restorative poses are some ways to help. A dull mind needs activation, exercise, fresh air, backbends, movement to help bring the energy up. A sattvic mind is already there. Enjoy.

Main Theme: What do we mean by ‘mind’?
This a complex question that will be unfolded over three seperate weekends in the course, using Patanjali and other traditional perspectives as well as modern neuro-scientific understandings. In this introduction, we will look at the overall sense of mind and mind activity. In later weekends we will go into emotions and some cutting edge neuroscience. As we are working with Patanjali, it will be helpful to see how he looks at mind. Then we will compare that with Dan Siegel’s interpersonal neurobiology.

Samkhya, the philosophical foundation of the Yoga Sutras, describes mind, known in general as citta, as involving three distinct but interwoven processes.

The first process, known as manas (YS 1-35, II – 53, III-48), organizes sensory information, records and stores memory and allows for ‘auto-pilot’ actions. It is the bookkeeper, filer and office manager of the citta.

The ahamkara, literally the “I” maker, builds a self sense out of experiences and includes likes and dislikes, tendencies and habits. Although there is no direct mention of the ahamkara in Patanjali, it is implied in sutra I-4, vrtti sarupyam itaratra. Here Patanjali describes the general state of confusing the transient movements of mind, in other words, the functioning of the mind, with the immutable Purusha, the True Self in Samkhya. The ahamkara, sometimes called the ego in Western psychology, is an absolutely necessary aspect of a healthy mind. It is not the true nature of ‘I”, but can easily convince itself otherwise. We will develop this very important idea of “Self” later in the course.

The buddhi is the intelligence. This is cultivated in “mindfulness practice” and refers to awareness of what is arising in the present moment, analysis, and on going choice of action. This is in contrast with the manas, where decisions are made sub-consciously from habit and routine. In integration, buddhi and manas can work together skillfully, with the sub-routines operating in the background while modifications are made moment to moment. Reading is an example. As you read these words, you have previously learned a language with vocabulary and grammar and this foundation allows the intelligence to contemplate the meaning, looking for nuances and implications from the writer.

The word vrtti, mind activity, refers to the energetic nature of mind. Mind is not a noun, it is a verb. Mind is dynamic activity. The Self, or Purusha in the Sutras, is not the mind. According to Patanjali, mind activity, aka, energy/information flow, can come in three possible flavors: too much, too little, and just right, like the Goldilocks story. The Sanskrit term guna refers to energy in general, but here we will use it to examine mental energy. The first guna is rajas or the adjective form, rajasic, refers to action or movement; inertia of motion is name offered by Sir Isaac Newton. When out of balance, i.e., too much rajas, these energies will be in the form of chaos or aggresssiveness, and the mind field is disruptive and unstable. Tamas, or tamasic, refers to the opposite of movement, inertia of rest. When out of balance the stability of tamas degenerates into stagnation. Here the mind activity is sluggish or stupified.

In Sattva or sattvic states, mind activity is harmonious with a perfect, dynamic balance between movement and stability. This is an excellent definition of mental health, also known as integration. Dan Siegel, the acronym man, uses the word FACES to highlite the qualities demonstrated in an healthy integrated system, like the human nervous system. It is Flexible, Adaptable, Coherent, Energized and Stable. Just about every neuro-psychological disorder falls into one of two categories where the process on neural integration is disrupted: disorders of chaos (excess rajas) or rigidity (excess tamas).

In your practice, observe these aspects of mind activity. Learn to recognize them in action. Emotional self regulation is the key to mental health and the beginning of yoga. We could spend years exploring the dimensions of mental health, but this is a tiny beginning.

Dan Siegel, author of ‘The Developing Mind” and many other mind-based books, defines the mind as “an embodied and relational process that organizes the flow of energy and information.” “Embodied” recognizes the there is no mind-body split, although this split is often implied in modern psychological language. “Relational’ recognizes that we are embedded in relationships and mind does not exist in isolation, although the mind can often convince itself that this is so. The body is energy. Information is a highly complex form of energy and the self-organizing aspects of mind uses information to bring further levels of integration to maintain health and well being. Yoga taps into this process and develops and refines it further and further.

One of the most important types of mind activity is integration, described by Dan as ” the collaborative, linking functions that coordinate various levels of processes within the mind and between people.” (DM pg 301) It can also be described as the linking of differentiated systems to create something larger than the sum of the parts. Hand – eye coordination is an example of integration. The visual system and the kinesthetic system work together to allow a complex motor skill such as hitting or catching a baseball. These are sattvic mind states.

Reading is another example of integration. The retina registers light and dark patterns, the pattern recognition portion of the brain interprets the information into words, and the meaning making aspect draws conclusions, makes connections, inferences, etc. Now, If you can read Thai, you will understand that การให้ทานความรู้เป็นทานอันประเสริฐสุด says ‘Passing on knowledge is the greatest gift.” If you do not read the Thai script not, the forms do not convey any information.

The term samadhi, the primary practice of used in the Yoga Sutras, describes a state of relaxed focused attention directed onto the process of attention. Conscious attention is integrating, whether as mindful attending to the present, focal attention known as samadhi, or insight where attention rests in itself. These involve using a sustained sattvic flow of energy/information to develop and strengthen deeper and deeper states of integration. Yoga studies the process of attention and integration and refines this over and over again.

In “Mindsight” Dan Siegel defines eight domains of integration,
(and I add 1, dorsal/ventral). The first and most basic is:

Integration of Consciousness, which essentially is the definition of yoga. This refers to building skills to stabilize attention and then working with the global awareness of all aspects of our lives to help bring them into a state of harmony. Perceptions, bodily sensations, emotions, actions, relationships and our own thoughts are examined. The “Hub of Awareness” meditation is the key practice.

Next come the three ‘spatial’ domains, highly relevant to the somanauts/yoga students.

Horizontal Integration helps to link right and left brain activities. The right develops early on and involves spatial awareness, imagination, non-verbal communication, holistic thinking and more. The left brain develops later and is responsible for logic, linearity, literal thinking, written and spoken language and more. Read ” A Stroke of Insight” by Jill Bolt Taylor for a fascinating unfolding of some right brain/left brain skills and perspectives. If the linking between these hemispheres is blocked, the richness and complexity of life can be lost. Yoga poses and other forms of mindful movement help integrate right and left sides of the brain.

Vertical Integration refers to the vertical nature of the nervous system with nerves form the lower body ascending up through the spinal cord into the brain stem, the limbic structures and the cortex. People who ‘live in their heads’ are lacking in vertical integration. Hatha yoga brings the awareness and intelligence of the cells, organs, muscles and bones into conscious awareness and is thus a major practice of vertical integration.

Depth or Dorsal/Ventral Integration refers to the third and most challenging of the spatial directions, front to back. Most of us have very little perception of depth in the body. Head/tail and right/left are relatively easy, but we are pretty shallow from front to back. This becomes important as we dive into embryology and discover the tubular nature of structures. Without dorsal/ventral integration, we have no middle, no center. we are two dimensional. Breathing begins the process of discovering the inside that differentiates front from back. When e find the ‘expansion fields, we can take that feeling anywhere.

The next three involve temporal domains, where aspects past, present and future are integrated.

Memory Integration involves linking two basic types of memory. Implicit memory begins at conception if not before and encodes all the experiences the cell, enmbryo, fetus, baby encounters. These memories shape our behavior and relationships from way in the background. Explicit memory includes autobiographical memory, the sense that ‘I remember’ and often doesn’t arise until the second year of life. In a healthy individual the implicit encodings and our ‘remembering work together to help us stay in the present moment with awareness and sensitivity. Trauma can impair memory integration. PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder blocks the implicit experience of the trauma to become part of explicit memory. Thus a war veteran can hear a firecracker explode and instantaneously be thrown into the war zone, which is experienced as happening now.

Narrative Integration is bringing coherence to the telling of our own story. Interestingly, the narrative function resides in the left hemishere and the autobiographical memory in the left. The more we can use story to make sense of our experiences and our actions, especially those of our childhood, and bring coherence to our life stories, the better parents we will be.

Temporal Integration brings in the capacity of the pre-frontal cortex to anticipate the future and even the deaths of ourselves and loved ones. This can induce more than a fair amount of anxiety so mindfulness practice can bring some ease and relaxation around ‘not knowing’ and help us be more comfortable with uncertainty. Emptiness meditation also brings insight into the nature of birth and death.

State integration allows us to acknowledge the different ‘mind states’ we naturally go through during the cpurse of a day. A ‘mind state” is “the total pattern of activations in the brain at a particular moment in time.” DM pg 208. We can all recognize the difference between the states of deep sleep, dream sleep and waking. And during waking, we can be alert, agitated, meditative, relaxed etc. Each of these involves a pattern of brain activity which can often be demonstrated through the electrical patterns known as brain waves. Sometimes we can generate conflicting states or ones we find to be ‘unpleasant’. Rather than rejecting or trying to deny their existence, we see their presence and look more mindfully at their expressions, giving permission to have these states. Spiritual bypassing is an attempt to ignore, deny or avoid states that do not meet our ‘spiritual standards’. This is a very unhealthy approach. Compassion and spacious understanding are healing.

Interpersonal Integration recognizes that we are all ‘interbeing’ to use Thich Nhat Hahn’s term. We all are dependent upon others for comfort, survival, recognition, fun and more. Our brains have evolved to align with other brains, our minds with other minds, to create mind states of two and more beings entwined and attuned. This helps us stay grounded in the world. We learn to come together and separate. Sometimes those separations are smooth, sometimes they are ruptures, leaving psychic wounds. Learning how to repair these ruptures is crucial to all relationships.

om saha na vavatu
namaste astu
patanjali invocation