"In this universe there is one continuous substance on every plane of existence. Physically this universe is one. There is no difference between the sun and you ".
Having been a student at Atmavikasa, centre of Yogic science in Mysore for four weeks in January and February 2017, I got introduced to the deeper insights and effects on the most frequently practiced sequence in Yoga -
Surya Namaskara (Sanskrit: Sun Salutation)
This sequence is an ancient combination of nine Asanas (Postures) and has been practiced in almost all Yoga classes I have attended in the most different variations.
It was as well this flow of sequences that made me fall in love with Yoga in 2013. Back then I have practiced Asanas everyday for four hours in a Sivananda Ashram in the south of India. This was when I felt the Prana (Sanskrit word for the major energy living in every being, our Life Force Energy) moving through me like a tingeling sensation. I could feel clearly how the flow of Asanas opened blocks I had - especially I felt an opening of my ears. It felt like I got set free.
From that day on I decided to take regular classes and signed up for a weekly course when I returned to Vienna, where I was living back then.The teacher was wonderful and her classes helped me tremendously but still I was not engaged enough to do my self practise and so broaden my knowledge and the experience that comes with it. As well the Yoga Teacher Training I accomplished in Oaxaca, Mexico at Casa Comunidad Om Shanti certainly gave me powerfull influence, but I guess I have not been open enough to fully receive the core of information. That essential part of the teaching that should always inspire you. That inspiration that gives you the spark that lights the fire, which provides you with energy and awakens your curiousity to keep on learning and share your experience.
Well, I feel inspired these days. Practicing the Surya Namaskara at Atmavikasa in combination with the philosophy classes, provided me with a whole new understanding of myself and Yoga. I experienced the subtle healing effects it had on my mind apart from the physical - gross - movements, how the practice changes my body. I am discovering an approach to get more intimate with myself.
"Chanting brings warm vibrations to the energy centers of our bodies, calms the mind and so balances mind and body.".
We opened the practice of Surya Namaskara first of all with a chant that is worshipping the sun as the live-giving source of everything that exists. All live comes from the sun and one day we will go back to the source - when the earth will stop orbiting the sun. Receiving this information of physics in the context of Yoga in the philosophy classes with Acharye Hema has made a deep impact on me. I started to receive the practice of the Surya Namaskara in the morning with Acharya Venaktesha differently. Especially I could relate to his words he always said before the practice, much more:
"Close your eyes and visualize the brightness of the sun between your eyebrows".
The teacher made us connect with the energy of the sun before the physical excersise. Along with each round of the Surya Namaskara we got tought the so called Bija Mantras (singing a sacred verbal repeated formula)
There are twelve mantras in total, divided in a set of six. Each one is related to one of our Chakras (Wheel, Disc) energy centers, where the Nadis (energy streams), in our bodies cross and that for have a big influence on our emotional and physical well being. Every Sanskrit word appearing in this chants is each a word for sun.Through chanting and focusing on our spine, we are connecting all the Chakras with the energy of the Sun through vibration.
The chanting of the Bija Mantras is creating heat in the energy centers that can be observed afterwards when you feel the effects of the practice. Our bodies heal through heat, how we can see when we get a fever. So inviting the energy of the sun, healing heat, strengthens our immune system.
It can be difficult for our rational mind to understand what a Chakra is. They can not be physically located, just like an idea or an emotion they are a form of energy. Everybody has to go on their own journey inwards to feel and locate this centers of energy. The book “Eastern body, Western mind” from Judith Anodea helped me to grasp this ancient system.
“A Charka is a center of organization that receives, asimilars, and expresses life force energy. (...) Two major energy streams in the body flow vertical, they are upward and downward currents of energy. Each has a different purpose in the liberation and manifestation of your life force. (...) By understanding this internal arrangement, we can understand our defenses and needs, and learn how to restore balance. (...) Just as we see the wind through movements of the leaves and branches, the Chakras can be seen by what we create around us. ”
Swami Vivekananda describes in his work Raja Yoga the two major energy streams that move along our spine as Ida, on the left, Pingala on the right. They intersect at six different spots along our spine which shape our main Chakras.
They are perceived as a set of portals between the inner and the outer world, spirit and matter, heaven and earth. For me getting in contact with my Chakras is an empowering tool in development, to align myself with outer circumstances in my life. The process of transformation starts from within. With the chanting of the Bija Mantras, the Surya Namaskara and following Pranayama (life force and yama means to control) I learned in the last month, I feel that I got gifted with a deeper understanding of my own energy and power. Which according to Swami Vivekananda is not different to the one of the sun.
We have been taught, that 108 rounds of Surya Namaskara everyday (which takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes) changes your character, changes your body and lets all negativity vanish. For this, one has to be completely focused on the practice, be able to exactly follow the breathing in each movement and have control over your mind.
There is a lot to find out about ourselves and I am grateful for having received such wonderful inspiration, the awakened curiosity about my self-healing capacities with the help of the sun that is always available.
“All manipulations of the subtle forces of the body, the different manifestations of Prana, if trained, give a push to the mind, help it to go up higher, and become superconscious from where it acts”
This blog embodies a part of my work done at Atmavikasa center of yogic science
http://www.atmavikasayoga.in/
