Bliss with Yoga Practise

On Self Talk and Contemplation.. A sequence of Stimulation and Relaxation

Sujatha Ratnala
4 min readMay 16, 2020

Few tenets from Yoga Shastras and Patanjali Sutras.. Based on my virtual classes to my friends..

How to I stay unwavering in the class?

Ask yourself why do you want to do Yoga. It has to be fascination or devotion faith that brings you here.. If you are lacking this element at the moment, do this talk to yourself to keep yourself busy.. do it like a coreography.. like a dance sequence.. one leading to another.. This is your hard earned ‘me time’.. leave all your worries thoughts and enjoy the magic and calm..

Talk to your self

You are entering the temple of Yoga.. Feel the bells in the air.. Feel the ground under your legs.. Take blessings..

Pay homage to sage Patanjali who codified this practice thousands of years back..

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Yoga is the surrender of thoughts.. Only then will one discover his real nature of peace and Joy..

Otherwise you are reduced to the vortex of your thoughts.. Of senses, of cognition, of inference.. of judgement.. of hallucinations.. of memories.. of dreams.. of sleep

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Remind yourself the tenets of Asana

1. Fold your self into a comfortable posture. Feel the alignment and strength..

2. Release unnecessary stress.. Relax yourself in the posture. Loosen your body. Remind your self to smile.

3. Surrender yourself. Meditate on the Lord. Mentally chant Om 11 times..

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Pay homage to the ground and the great Sage Patanjali who has codified Yoga for the wellness of the body and the mind. Take the blessings and have a good day.

A few emotions during Asanas

Warrior Pose .. a beautiful asana emoting strength, confidence and poise.. Focus on a point in the ceiling.. On somedays, Scan your body from bottom to top.

Feel the alignment and strength in the feet .. as you stand strong..
Feel the fluidity in your thighs as you leap strong..
Feel the power in your core..
Feel the warmth in your heart..
Feel the lightening in your hands..
Feel the bliss in your head..
Feel the awareness and bliss around you..

Alternately.. Feel the blooming of the Lotuses.. Lotus is a beautiful mathematical envelope..

Lotus of the root
Lotus of the sacrum
Lotus of the core
Lotus of love blossoming in the heart
Lotus of the throat
Lotus between your brows
The 1000 petalled sahasrara blosomming on your crown..

Triangle Pose

Feel the stretch on your left side and compression on your right.. Feel the strength of your planting.. Gaze at the lightening in your hand..

Revolved Triangle

Feel the rotation in your torso.. Feel the strength of your planting.. Gaze at the lightening in your hand..

Foot Hand Pose

Bend from the root of your spine.. Take shelter in your legs and surrender..

Half Wheel pose

Plant your palms firmly.. Feel the push of the abdomen.. earth of the chest and awareness in the head..

Suryanamaskaras

The OM immersion

In the opening Aaa that unfolds our waking experiences.. In Uuu that warps and folds our dreams.. In Mmm that closes and surrenders to the sleep.. In the silence that is beyond the sounds.. May you feel the vibrations and overtones.. resonance in the legs.. in the heart and the head..in Aa Uu and Mm of Omm

Anatomy of Asanas

An Asana is a comfortable body posture that aids Contemplation.. Contemplation and engagement of mind through bodily postures is the goal of Asanas.

Typically the asanas are done in this sequence.. standing..sitting..lying on the abdomen..lying down on the spine.. This allows energy to be ascending from the floor of the spine to the head..

There are 5 steps leading to an Asana..
a) An alert starting position.. In case of standing asanas.. the legs have to be rooted strong on the floor.. like a bird perched on a stem.. like the roots of a tree. In seated asanas feel the weight on the pelvic and legs.. In supine.. feel the shelter on the floor.

b) A folding sequence leading to the asana

c) Relaxation and Contemplation in the asana posture for a sufficient time..

d) Unfolding sequence

e) Relaxation and observing the changes in the body.. The finger tips.. the abdomen.. the breathing.. the forehead etc..

A set of muscles and bones engaged in the guidance of the mind constitute an Asana. While it takes some effort to learn and land into a posture.. the idea is to relax in the posture.

There is natural stress at the endings.. at the forhead.. at the finger tips.. in the teeth.. in the shoulder..Sometimes we over do the neck.. make a frown in the forhead.. stiffen the anal muscles.. None of which is needed.. Engage in the posture and let go of the unneeded stress. Submit yourself and Contemplate..

Asanans are generally balanced.. A right side asana has to be followed by left side. A forward bend has to be balanced by a backward stretch..

There are many kinds of Asanas to help in different situations.. For obseity.. Strength and Core Fitness.. Concentration.. Respiration..Vision Improvement.. Abdominal and Gyenic health..

They Key aspect in therapy Asanas is Stimulation and Relaxation.. And enjoying the bliss of the process.. Na Hatath Na balath.. No force.. No jerk..

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Sujatha Ratnala

I write.. I weave.. I walk.. कवयामि.. वयामि.. यामि.. Musings on Patterns, Science, Linguistics, Sanskrit et al..