Lecture part 1: The non-dual Dynamism at the heart of Surrender

The non-dual Dynamism at the heart of Surrender

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Exercises from Class

Tadasana: Connecting Deep core to Shoulder

Two Arm Version: Deep core tadasana with both arms, then take one arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core. Avoid putting any pressure in the shoulder and let the whole movement come from the core and shoulder working together.

Single Armed version

Single Armed Version: Deep core tadasana with One arm, notice the stability in the opposite leg, especially the glute. Take the lifted arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core and beyond into the whole opposite leg.

Shoulder CARs

Unlike the previous 2 versions, here we isolate the movement in the shoulder to “floss” the scapula. As the hand reaches forward, feel the scapula slide wide, as the arm lifts, feel the scapula lift up the ribcage, flip the palm away as you circle the arm backward. As you circle the arm back, feel how the scapula squeezes towards the spine.

Anjaney: Deep Core with Shoulder Circle

Two Arm Version: Deep core Anjaney with both arms, then take one arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core. Avoid putting any pressure in the shoulder and let the whole movement come from the core and

Single Armed

Single Armed Version: Deep core Anjaney with One arm, notice the stability in the opposite leg, especially the glute. Take the lifted arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core and beyond into the whole opposite leg.

Anjaneyasana shoulder CARS

Unlike the previous 2 versions, here we isolate the movement in the shoulder to “floss” the scapula. As the hand reaches forward, feel the scapula slide wide, as the arm lifts, feel the scapula lift up the ribcage, flip the palm away as you circle the arm backward. As you circle the arm back, feel how the scapula squeezes towards the spine.

Atlas lunge with Deep core Shoulder Circle

Two Arm Version: Deep core lunge with both arms, then take one arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core. Avoid putting any pressure in the shoulder and let the whole movement come from the core and

Single Armed

Single Armed Version: Deep core high Lunge with One arm, notice the stability in the opposite leg, especially the glute. Take the lifted arm into a shoulder circle, noticing how the arm relates to the deep core and beyond into the whole opposite leg.

Atlas Twist Shoulder CARs

Unlike the previous 2 versions, here we isolate the movement in the shoulder to “floss” the scapula. As the hand reaches forward, feel the scapula slide wide, as the arm lifts, feel the scapula lift up the ribcage, flip the palm away as you circle the arm backward. As you circle the arm back, feel how the scapula squeezes towards the spine.

Try all 3 version from kneeling

Try all 3 version from Standing Balancing

Try all 3 version from Uttkatasana

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The non-dual Dynamism at the heart of Surrender

1. Inside & Outside Merge in Non-Dualistic Philosophy: When we think of ‘going inside’, we often think of a separate place within us, untouched by our external lives. And though this may be true, our experience of it is always touched by our lives. Whenever you reach into your heart, for example, you are reaching through the context of your life— you are surrendering while you experience a sunset, surrendering while you experience a tough talk, surrendering while you experience boredom. This is the nature of non-dualism, the explanation of reality according to Kashmir Shaivism— there is an inside and outside, and when we experience them separately we feel separate, but when we experience them together we feel united.

2. The dynamic path of Energy is the way we must tread: This means that surrender is an ‘active practice’ as the Shiva Sutras describe it, we have to apply our practice to the circumstances of our life while we live it. As Shiva teaches in the preface to the Vijnana Bhairva, “energy is the path we have to tread”, meaning that no technique alone can take us to our goal, but only a technique that is being applied to the energy of our lives. Surrender occurs within the dynamic contexts of our lives— not in isolation. As we discussed in our last class, the path is truly the goal. We might feel like we are just going back and forth as we walk from our lives to our hearts and back again, but each time we walk that path we are going up the mountain. THe grade is subtle, we don’t even notice it, but each step is really taking us up.

3. Walking the Middle Path of the Shoulders: The movements of our shoulders usually indicate we are interacting with our external lives, and we can use the movements of our shoulders to help us awaken and feel our deep core as we do so. The beauty of the shoulder’s themselves is that they require we walk this middle path, functional shoulder work requires that we learn how to find stability in motion. For example, try rooting your shoulder blades down the back and then lifting your arm— it can’t be done because the scapula has to glide and move down the back in order to make room for the humeral head. We will look at this in closer detail later, but for now, the take away is that the shoulders have to walk the middle path to find real functionality. Too little stability and we are prone to injury, but too much stability and we lose function all together. This is of course our goal with all of our movements in yoga— to use the postures to find our center, but we are lucky that the shoulders themselves force us into thismiddlve path.

4. Exercise: Exploring Movements of the shoulders

1. We can lift our arms overhead in Vita 1 to experience Flexion

2. We can press our arms down and back with Upward Facing Dog in Extension

3. We can float the arms out to the sides in Vita 2 for shoulder abduction

4. We can bring the arms back in in Vita 2 and come into modified Eagle Arms for shoulder Adduction

5. Inside and Outside working together: So Inside Instead of isolating the core, firing it and engaging it separately, and then performing our action— we seek to awaken our deep core in the first percentage of our movement, in the context of our movement. What’s more, this is precisely how we awaken our true deep core— as these postural muscles of support activate as we move— this is one way of understanding non-duality in practice— if we want to find our core, our center, we have to find it while we move through our lives and karma. We will feel this same phenomenon of inner and outer realities present as we work with our shoulders today— we can begin to interact directly with the reality of this philosophy and use it to help us not only move more effectively, and with more strength, but to use the movements of our shoulders in yoga to explore greater depths of surrender.

6. Exercise:

1. Deep core tadasana into gentle CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations)

2. Exploring CARs in various postures and at various levels