najayama yoga

najayama yoga
artwork by michelle bellerose

NAJAYAMA YOGA: THE YOGA OF ALERT OPPORTUNITY

I'm a novice yoga teacher (CYT200) involved in an on-going synthesis of structural anatomy, bodywork, spontaneous movement and shaking, posture strikes, and lone wolf exploration with qi (differentiated somatic energy) and reiki (undifferentiated universal energy).

The goal is not perfection, glory, or achievement, but long burn presence in the moment, ease in the body and the response-ability of mind which create the space and grace for growth, change, and understanding.

bhujangalika: not the usual music for yoga

michelle bellerose is a certified yoga and qiqong teacher and composer of original music for movement and restoration. advocating a slower, more mindful approach to mat work and the self-responsible harnessing of inner serpent force. the practice, principle and cultivation of this mindful harnessing she's called NAJAYAMA YOGA. she also writes a blog on holistic arts and sciences called MAVERICK MEDICINE BABE.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

emotions in the body need to be invited to release...

"When you think about (or encounter) a terrifying situation, do your shoulders tense up around your ears? do you clench your jaw? does your breathing become shallow and all of your senses go on hyperalert? To this list of physiological responses to fear add the stress you might hold around speaking up for yourself or communicating your needs and you begin to get a picture of why the cervical curve holds so much tension. "Swallow my words," "bite my tongue," "running off at the mouth," "choking under pressure" - these are just a few of the ways we commonly describe the experience of a disruption in the free flow of energy through the neck and throat.

"Another first responder to stress is the low back. Physical responses to fear cause the belly to constrict, shifting the center of gravity high into the thoracic cavity to mobilize the organism for rapid flight. The fight or flight reaction to stress is biologically instinctual. In many dangerous situations we do not have to think about how to protect ourselves; the instinctual wisdom of the organism takes over. Yet in circumstances where a person has experienced repeated threats or brutal physical, sexual, or psychological traumas, that instinct for self-protection can become suppressed to the extent that immobilization becomes habitual even in the most life-threatening circumstances. While we are instinctively programmed to mobilize our defenses in response to acute stress, there is no equivalent relaxation response in the human body; your organism does not necessarily quit protecting itself after a danger has passed. In fact, relaxation is a learned response; muscles do not know when they no longer need to protect. It requires awareness to consciously release tension after the body has been quickened by a threat of imminent danger. Without recovering our awareness of the instinctual fight or flight mechanism and without conscious assessment of the accuracy of our preceptions of danger, the body holds on to unnecessary tension."

[Don Stapelton: Self-Awakening Yoga]
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