self-awakening yoga...

"Self-Awakening Yoga (SAY) helps to develop discriminative wisdom by introducing yoga-movement inquiries that originate from internal sensory conversations. All systems of hatha yoga begin with attention to the body through the physical practices of postures and pranayama, but most do not provide transitional steps for turning to the wisdom of prana for entering into our creative, evolutionary capacities, which lie beyond the form of a rote practice. It is helpful to leave a few minutes at the end of a yoga practice to allow your body to be moved by prana, as a way to receive the benefits of the practice at a deeper level of self. But merely providing the time is not sufficient for bridging the modes of practice. I have repeatedly observed that yoga practitioners who are comfortable and familiar within a structured sequence of practices have a difficult time when asked to enter into a spontaneous flow of movement guided by inner promptings. Oftentimes the response is to simply repeat the same familiar routine.

The inquiries of SAY offer an experiential bridge designed to guide the practitioner through the developmental stages that are encoded within the body's memory from birth. While inquiring into the body's primal movement patterning and focusing awareness on the inherent sensations that arise in moving, the practitioner has the opportunity to access the flow of prana that animates the body.

SAY is based on the intention of opening channels of communication between the mind and body for the purpose of learning what the body has to teach us about the workings of prana, and to ultimately turn to the wisdom of prana as our trusted friend and inner guide."


from Self-Awakening Yoga by Don Stapleton