Introduction to Belly Full of Yoga

Welcome to this short 5-part Introduction to Belly Full of Yoga; giving information on some of the core concepts of the website. It will contain short videos where I discuss the topics followed by a short experiential practice. There will also be a short summary written up underneath the video.

The series is structured as follows:

• EPISODE 1: THE MIND

  • Information about the workings of the mind, especially what makes us unhappy and mindfulness practices that can help us feel more connected and joyful

• EPISODE 2: THE BODY

  • Information about anatomy, movement, how habits and stress can negatively impact our posture, conscious breathing and how movement practices to improve posture

• EPISODE 3: SOMATICS

  • Information about Somatic Exercises; what is Somatics and its origins. How to create awareness of your posture and how Somatics reprograms the brain and releases tension from the body to correct postural issues.

• EPISODE 4: YOGA

  • Information on Yoga and how it is more than a physical practice; using conscious breathing and focussed, mindful movement is the path to inner peace.

• EPISODE 5: INSIGHTS

  • Information on Yogic philosophy, Zen mind-training, mindfulness, and a reference to books which have taught me about body, mind and spirit.

I hope you’ll find it inspiring.

Episode 1: The Mind

Mind is more than intellect; it also includes sensations, emotions, subjectivity, desires, aspirations, attitudes, concepts, perceptions and so on.

“Mind is consciousness, the sum total of our human experience.”

However having a conscious mind also has its downsides; it enables us to linger over past experiences and fret the future. It leads to the stream of consciousness, or that voice in your head, that follows each thought wave and acts like an inner critic. It’s not necessarily bad to think about past experiences or be excited about the future, the problem arises when we start living from this place and no longer live in the present moment. We are either wanting to hold on to those things we (used to) have; be it people, situations or things, or long for things in the future (become rich, successful, find love) and only when those things/people/conditions are met, will we be happy.

The eastern philosophies knew thousands of years ago that the root of human suffering was this wanting or craving; but holding on to things or wanting things in the future means we are never happy with what is now. So being able to let go of ‘wanting things to be different or to stay the same’ is the key to happiness.

Meditation

When we focus our attention on physical sensations, the breath, on what we feel, rather than get lost in thoughts, we notice that the active chatter in the mind subsides. It takes practice and we might notice that it takes a lot of effort to keep the focus on the things we feel, we will most likely automatically be drawn back into a wave of thoughts. It is natural, and the fact that you realise you are thinking is already a big step; awareness of the fact that you are thinking is the first step into gently nudging your concentration back on the sensations you are feeling. When you realise you are thinking, think to yourself ‘thinking, thinking’ and then gently bring your attention back to the sensations you are feeling. Over and over again. With practice you might notice that the gaps between the thinking moments are increasing and this creates a sense of spaciousness in your mind. By paying non-judgemental attention to one or more aspects of our moment to moment physical experience we are practicing meditation

Lojong

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition a system of mind-training was developed which consists of 59 slogans as a way to create “the heart and mind of enlightened compassion” (bodhichitta). They are a way for us to deal with the difficulties we face in life, rather than avoid them. It’s a practical guide based on the concept that our conditioned state is constantly judging, comparing and fixing and that this brings unhappiness.

They are short slogans for us to contemplate and meditate on. Profound statements that make you pause, realise life is precious and not to fear your immortality; it is a training in empathy and compassion and to transform difficult situations into periods of learning and growth.

“Knowing your self is the beginning of all wisdom”

— Aristotle

compassion

Compassion by connecting the mind and heart and is another powerful form of meditation to create more equanimity. By combining clear focussed awareness with compassion we can help to unravel reaction patterns and states of mind which make us unhappy. It’s a process of inquiry, gaining insight into how the ego has developed; what are our cravings and aversions and how can we allow emotions to pass through us in a healthy way, rather than trying to bottle things up or push things away.

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Episode 2: The Body

The mind and the body are intrinsically linked; many functions of the body are subconsciously controlled in the brain; our heartbeat, breath, blood pressure and body temperature to name a few.  Our bodies are amazingly sophisticated, from the complexity of the immune system, to cell renewal and homeostasis to learning and neuroplasticity.

Movement

Some of what our body does is automatic, but a large portion of what we do is learned; just think of what a baby can do, versus a person in their 20-ies who has learned to sit, walk, run, talk, and learn all sorts of movement patterns which have become automatic function. Most movement is learned. The more complex the movement the longer we have to practice to master it. Movement patterns are stored in the brain – each movement we learn consists of muscles contracting and muscles relax. Even when standing or seated muscles are being contracted and balancing to keep us upright. There is also the subtlety of how much the muscles should contract. All these patterns of movement are stored in the motor cortex of the brain. The more movement we master (imagine for instance a ballet dancer) the more is stored in the brain.

Now over time we also create little habits, maybe always carrying a bag over our right shoulder, or crossing legs a certain way, maybe we are seated behind a desk a lot; all habitual movement influence the patterns stored in the brain; the program is constantly tweaked and maybe over time you start standing with your right shoulder slightly lifted, or with permanently contracted hip flexors or rounded shoulders. This will be the new neutral.

“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional and mental state.”

— Carol Welch-Baril

Stress

Our emotional states can also influence the body; note that if you are feeling afraid, you naturally want to curl up in a ball; rounding your spine and shoulders. If you are always under pressure, driven to perform, you might start sticking your chest out and arching your lower back. Stress also sends chemical messengers; adrenaline and cortisol which make our breath shallow, speeds up our heartrate and blood pressure which has a big impact on our bodies. If we experience chronic stress or unprocessed trauma this also starts to create tension in the body. Our bodies change depending on how we move, think, eat and ultimately age.

Yoga/Somatics

Mind-body practices can really help us gain insight in our habitual movement and thinking. Practices like yoga and Somatics can really help to release tension, create awareness and as they are mindful, calm the mind.

Breathing

While we breathe without thinking all the time (which is a good thing) the way most of us breathe in autopilot mode is ‘vertically’; (short, shallow, stressed-out breaths up in our chests) as opposed to “horizontally” (long, expansive, restful breaths that make full use of our lower lung capacity). When you observe babies or animals in the wild, they have a nice deep belly breath, which many of us lose as we grow older and more stressed.

Breathing is automatic and not automatic at the same time; our respiratory function is controlled in the brain stem, the oldest part of the brain. It controls the things that keep us alive, like a heartbeat. Conscious breathing activates the body’s relaxation response, which in turn reduces blood pressure, which in turn lowers the risk of stroke and improves cardiovascular health. It’s also good for digestion and general immunity, both of which are impaired by stress. This conscious breath can be a tool for us to focus on, it makes our movements more fluid and easier to make. We see this with both yoga and somatics practice (and with other mind-body practices like Tai Chi and Pilates) 

Breathing properly is the single most important intervention you can make for your own health.

Practice

Note that the video has two practices;

• one movement without followed by the same movements linked with the breath

• a seated practice with awareness focussed on the sensations in the hands.

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Episode 4: Yoga

If you are new to yoga you might easily be mistaken to think it involves stretching on a mat; physical exercise. However, the physical practice, or asana, is only part of a much bigger practice involving, ethical, breath, and meditation practices.

HISTORY

 It was first mentioned in the old sacred texts of the Vedas in India over 5000 years ago. Further developed in texts like the Upanishads (which contained the Bhagavad Gita) and the Yoga Sutras from Patanjali. The Yoga-Sutras (around 200AD) where the first systematic presentation of yoga. This text organised the practice of yoga into an “8- limbed path” and stages towards obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment. The 8-limbs are:

• Yamas (5 disciplines such as non-violence, truthfulness),

• Niyamas (5 observances such as contentment and self-study)

• Asana – physical ‘seats’

• Pranayama – breath practice

• Pratyahara – Sense withdrawal

• Dharana – Focussed concentration

• Dhyana - Meditation

• Samhadi - Bliss

These eight steps basically act as guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They serve as a prescription for moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline; they direct attention toward one's health; and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of our nature. The yoga of old only had a few postures and they were all seated meditation asanas. What has become a (sometimes purely) physical practice in the West, was originally a way to prepare the body for long periods of seated meditation.

MODERN YOGA

There are many different forms of yoga; there are the more dynamic forms such as Ashtanga, and vinyasa and the more static such as Hatha and Yin yoga and there are mixes such as restorative yoga. You don’t have to pick one, in fact it is healthy to mix the dynamic (or Yang) with the slower (Yin) to build both strength and flexibility. All types of yoga will combine movement, with focus and conscious breath.

Although all yoga is potentially therapeutic and healing, yoga therapy is the specific application of yogic tools—postures/exercises, breath work, meditation techniques, and more—to address an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional needs. It uses the kosha model (or the 5 layers of being) as a lens to try and restore balance.

“True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life.
Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.”

— Aadil Palkhivala

Practice

Still to be added.

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Episode 5: Insights

This episode is a short recap of what has been discussed so far, followed by a long list of books on these topics, which have inspired me along the way. The books-section is a little longer than planned, but the following quote explains how I feel about them:

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

— John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Mind is consciousness, it is our human experience. Trying to create space, to quite this inner world is often difficult as it can be covered by waves of emotions and an endless stream of comments and judgements, memories and stories of the future, worries and plans. Modern life has added chronic stress to our lives; our breathing has become rushed and shallow and we have started “living from the neck up”. Many people are so used to being out of touch with the body that they live entirely in a mental world. The fact that body and mind are interconnected might even be hard for them to believe.

Meditation and mindfulness teach us to focus on sensations we feel in the body, but we notice that inevitably we start assessing those sensations or feelings as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Trying to grasp pleasant things, avoid unpleasant things or being ambivalent about neutral things create a waterfall of reactivity. We disconnect from the present moment, from awareness and from our heart.

To awaken from this trance, to escape the waterfall, the Buddha recommended “mindfulness centred on the body”. If we can try to return the focus on the sensations in our body, over and over, each time we notice we are in a story, we are thinking, return the attention back to the sensations we are feeling. Without judgement, but with clear focus and compassion.

Over time unprocessed emotions also start to create tension in the body. So enabling movement while practicing mindfulness or meditation can allow this tension to be released.

Somatic movement is mindful and allows movement patterns in the brain to be reset allowing the tension to leave the body. Yoga is a mind-body practice which has a rich philosophy, offering tools to deal with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges.

BOOKS

Note that the section on books in the videos is quite lengthy (even after I edited it down); it’s just that I am so grateful for people sharing their wisdom that I get a little carried away at times. Below is the summary of the books in the video, note that there are so many good books not on this list and that I will be adding those to the library page which I'm developing.

on Mindfulness:

• The Untethered Soul, The Journey beyond Yourself, by Michael A. Singer

• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle

ON Mind-training:

• Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong, by Norman Fischer

ON Stress:

• Why Zebras don’t get Ulcers, by Professor Robert M. Sapolsky

• When the Body says No, The hidden cost of Stress, by Dr. Gabor Maté

• The body keeps the score, by Psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk

ON Compassion:

• A Fearless Heart, Why compassion is the Key to Greater Wellbeing, by Thupten Jinpa

• Radical Acceptance, by Tara Brach

• Radical Compassion, by Tara Brach

ON Yoga:

• The old texts (the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras) which have been translated by many modern writers.

• Anything by BKS Iyengar; Light on Life, Light on Yoga

• Anything by Stephen Cope

• The Revolution of the Soul, by Seane Corn

• The Science of Yoga, by Ann Swanson

OTHER Insights ON LIFE:

• Solve for Happy, by Mo Gawdat - https://www.solveforhappy.com

• The School of Life: An Emotional Education, by the School of Life - https://www.theschooloflife.com/

• You can change your Life, with the Hoffman process, by Tim Laurence - https://www.hoffmaninstitute.co.uk/a-life-full-of-patterns-tim-laurence/

• Any books by Phillip Moffitt  - https://dharmawisdom.org/

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