The tenth weekend of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapist program convened this weekend for yoga philosophy with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor. Both longtime practitioners of the Ashtanga Yoga system taught by the late Pattabhi Jois, these teachers offered a wealth of knowledge and presence.
Each day began with a two-hour physical practice, a vigorous flow of yoga poses intended to yoke the mind to the breath, or even more essentially: to the present moment. Richard and Mary would alternate, seamlessly jumping in where the other left off, leading us through a well-rounded arc of asana.
Richard talked a lot this weekend about the importance of balancing the prana and apana patterns. Prana is the energy of the inhale, an uplifted, expansive energy; while apana is the energy of the exhale, a grounding, settling force. “The pose begins,” Richard said, “when the patterns of both prana and apana are awakened.” Once established in each posture, we were encouraged to trust the intelligence of the breath and watch our bodies–each inhale and exhale arriving, and informing, again and again.
On Friday, Mary led a beautiful discussion on yoga as a healing art. She challenged us to consider the questions: what are we really doing when we come to the mat? When we teach a class? When we show up as caregivers? The postures, the breath–these are tools to explore impermanence, and also to open our hearts. Quoting Plato, who said that the key to happiness is dying again and again, she reminded us to make space for beginner’s mind: to constantly relearn and forget what we know. To be passionate about learning, and yet let go of “trying to know.” When we allow ourselves to rest in that paradox we might, just might, start to approach every situation with enthusiasm and inquisitiveness, embracing each moment as an opportunity to learn.
In yoga therapy school, the best part about lunchtime is returning to the classroom. Why? Two words: restorative yoga. With Richard and Mary, we spent the first part of each afternoon in a restorative yoga pose intended to enhance and ease digestion. It was here that we deepened our Pranayama practice, exploring techniques like viloma (segmented) pranayama, a three or four-part breath on either the inhale or the exhale. Nervous systems simmered and settled into a space of quiet, until we returned, restored and renewed–refreshed.
Chanting took us even deeper into the philosophy of yoga and the anatomy of sound. The Sanskrit alphabet, it turns out, is a comprehensive map of the human mouth. Richard guided us through each group of characters as if we were doing a series of yoga poses. After this warm-up we moved onto several Vedic chants. When we chant, Richard explained, we are trying to bring attention to the midline of the body, to the central channel. Pure sound vibration is divine. We are made of vibration. That may sound hippy dippy to some–but it is also simple science. So, in chanting, we invite divine resonance along our spines, into our whole being. Expressing these unfamiliar letters and sounds through our bodies, we were reminded of our connection to a vast lineage–not only to that of the yoga tradition, but to all humanity.
Richard and Mary referred many times this weekend to the “residue” of an experience: be it a pose, an inhale, an exhale, or a sound. “The leftovers are often the best part,” Mary joked, talking about yoga poses. In the same way, this weekend at UZIT left us with an invaluable residue: the generous message to, as Mary put it exquisitely, “cultivate a sense of deep caring for our own condition and the condition of the world as it presents itself. To discover the ability to pause, not react, and not get caught on the wheel of samsara.”
Related posts:
- Richard Freeman: Freedom on the Edge of Sensation
- Richard Rosen Original Yoga: The Forgotten Practices of Hatha Yoga
- UZIT Weekend: Yoga with Richard Rosen
- RICHARD ROSEN ORIGINAL YOGA: The Forgotten Practices of Hatha Yoga
- UZIT Clinical Care Weekend
