BALANCE (ENGLISH BLOG)
INFLUENCE OF BALANCE POSTURES OVER MIND AND OF MINDSET OVER EXTERNAL
BALANCE
"Quod est
superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod es
superius".
"As it is above, it is also below; and as it is below, it is also
above."
Old esoteric
saying
The first time I read about the influence of yoga postures (and body posture
in general) on other instances of life, such as emotional, for example, it
seemed to me unlikely. However, I could not stop myself from experiencing; if
that statement were true, my conscious practice should bring me enormous
advantages. Over time, as I progressed in the knowledge of the Science of Yoga,
I was able to see that ancient belief written above as if it were a universal
physical law: there is determining influence from the inside out, and vice
versa. Other ways of understanding this: mind influences body and matter, and
matter can also influence emotions and mindset. A determined psychological
state reveals itself though posture (and bodily symptoms); as well as the
modification of the physical posture changes the mindset[1].
We live in an era in which it is valid to rely on scientific evidence,
moreover, perhaps it is a requirement to corroborate that what we believe is
true or false. We have the right to live in a state of non-supposition, with
enough maturity to understand that nothing is certain, and that the structure
of beliefs on which we understand reality can fall at any time, and that would
not be anything serious; for millennia we have lived with ideas that do not
correspond to reality, and we will
probably continue like this. Science does nothing but destroy ideological
buildings as it progresses, and it should not involve any kind of depression. Besides, isn't it better to know than to live
in ignorance? The assumption (different from truth but principle of experimentation)
is twinned with opinion and neither implies knowledge. Despite that, exercising
opinion verifies that we have the right of free will. Therefore, it should not
be a scandal that we are shown a result contrary to our opinion.
Padmasana in Kakasana
POSTURE AND AWARENESS
However, after reading or hearing testimonials about the new results of
guided experimentation, I had my doubts. You may know hand balancers who don't
have their lives very much in balance, or contortionists who aren't as flexible
or adaptable to demanding circumstances. This would contradict what I am trying
to support in this essay.
Then, is there an influence at all from the inside out and vice
versa?
Both Vishen Lakhiani's The Code of
the Extraordinary Mind and Dr. Joe Dispenza's
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
mention the following experiment: a couple of scientists, while traveling,
noticed that hotel cleaning ladies were doing a lot of physical exertion, but were well above their
healthy weight (BMI). They decided to do a research on this curious phenomenon:
they gathered more than 80 hotel maids
whom they divided into two groups. The first group was shown that their work
exceeded the minimum exercise requirements for maintaining good health. They
were told the average number of calories they burned per day, and that their total
movement during working hours meant they had to have a healthy weight, blood
pressure and other indicators in optimal conditions. The second group was not
given this information. A few weeks later, they measured the volunteers in the
experiment. The second group did not vary any marker. But the first group that
had received the information about the benefits of daily exercise they
performed, lost weight, reduced waistline, improved heart variability, as well
as pressure and blood sugar levels.
Several more studies have been done before and after calling their results placebo effect. However, new studies,
such as those conducted by Dr. Dispenza himself with scientists from countries
such as Germany, England, Chile, India, the United States, etc., are
discovering that what happens is a direct action of consciousness over a future
result that I know I will obtain. It is largely because of this interaction of
energy and matter, or body consciousness, that Yogic Science works. When the
facilitator or guru instructs you on the benefits of the specific practices you
perform while you are exercising them, you exponentially potentiate the results
you know you will get. Thus, we will see the influence of equilibrium
postures on inner peace and energy balance.
BALANCE POSITIONS
"Your breathing
determines your posture; your posture determines your breathing."
A1500-year-old
Chinese adage quoted by James Nestor, author of Breath
Imagine that you are in a posture of balance, perhaps an arm balance;
everything goes well until a thought intervenes. That thought is a distraction,
then you lose your balance, you fall. It seems to me that it is easy to
recognize the analogy between what happens to us in life with events in which
we have to pay attention 100%, and a distraction can disrupt part of what has
been achieved. Whether it is from an asana or your current mindset, in the
response to the fall lays the foundation of the attitude towards oneself; I can
take the path in which I think my day was ruined; or another in which I clean
the dust, I get up and move on, either by returning to the posture or moving
forward with other chores. That attitude
is either one of love toward oneself, or of rejection of our own possibilities.
The fall was real; drama is optional.
 |
| Eka Pada Galavasana |
Now that you are going to read the general benefits of balance postures,
and the specific ones of some of them, each time you get into a balance asana
you now know there is going to be an influence over your internal state as well
as over your body.
Thus: 1) Knowledge about your specific practice enhances its benefits; 2)
paying attention to what you do with awareness of its results (with the
certainty that you have already obtained them), leads to manifest your
objectives better than if you only feel that you obtain results by exclusively
physical means.
In general, balance postures want to challenge the nervous system and your neurons
to become more skilled and willing, they are a trigger for what is now known as
neuroplasticity. They stimulate the
learning of new techniques, potentiate the reflex capacity, allow the brain to
work in a more organized way, so they prevent diseases where connection between
groups of neurons such as Alzheimer's or dementia is lost, and increase your
creativity, in addition to thousands, if not millions, of benefits more.
They are great stimulators of joint flexibility and strength if performed
properly. That is, it should never exceed your bodily healthy limits, and by that,
I mean, you may allow yourself to feel effort, but never go to a state in where
you feel something could break. You may feel tired when you stay a while doing a
balance, but your joints should never hurt. Listening to the body at
every moment of the training process is fundamental both for growth in terms of
your physical possibilities and in consciousness.
On the other hand, balance postures stimulate your ability to coordinate movement
and recover from injuries and illnesses. The development of coordination at the
neuronal and genetic level allows you a rapid return to balance (homeostasis
or, if you like, health) lost. If you don't believe me, look at how quickly
extreme sports stars who don't die trying recover from injuries. As an example,
Danny Way, the undisputed star of skateboarding, is one of the athletes who has
had more operations due to his falls, and who returns to his best shape almost
immediately. Compare the recovery ranges of dramatic accidents between athletes
who practice these sports where balance and reflexes are key (those who suffer
the most cumbersome fractures) with those who, for example, practice demanding
sports where balance is just one skill among others, such as tennis or
football. A single injury to one of these athletes can cost them their career.
Only one. Why? Because many times they don't even finish recovering and keep
playing, they are forcing their mindset, and this is something that should be
work on respecting one´s own real progress. And when your life is at
stake every time you do your job, a lot of things work better in your brain. They
must. Something as simple to treat, such as, for example, Rafa Nadal's famous
psoas, can become a chronic condition. This is largely due to not having worked on
the body's ability to regain balance as it should be by nature. I am not
advocating for you to run and practice some of those X sports, I wouldn´t do it
myself. However, I am just conveying some of the things you could work on with
the help of balance postures, if it floats your boat, and always under the
guidance of a very qualified instructor.
HEAD BALANCE OR HEADSTANDS
In Sanskrit they are known as Salamba Shirsasana and variations. For people
who usually have a lot of contact with their body without having done these
postures before, they may seem somewhat easy, and in a sense they are, but to
perform them without danger of injury you have to try to maintain as best as
possible certain alignments. I will not share instruction on how to perform
them because it is better if this happens under the guidance of some excellent physical
trainer or yoga instructor, so I will limit myself to saying some generalities
about the postures, the benefits and contraindications.
As a suggestion, it would be good if you could seamlessly perform back and
forth volantines (couldn´t find that word in English, is when you put yourself
like in a little ball and start rolling, head first, then your rounded back and
then your pend knees slightly opened next to your chest) before practicing
Salamba Shirsanana or variations. The reason is that you may lose your balance
at some point, and being on your head, you are likely to fall against the
mat. In that case, the reaction of someone
who has the volantines well incorporated is to slouch the spine and fall
slightly on one side of the vertebrae so that there is no danger of hurt either
in the neck or any other part of your body. Once this is established, it is
time to detect with a finger the center of your head. That center is the basis
of your support, and that depends on whether your cervicals support the rest of the weight of your body by
good bone accommodation. Believe me, you DO want to practice it with the
company of someone that can take care of you and that knows if your alignment
is correct. You need to have good management of your abdominal muscles,
sufficient strength in your arms and the ability to focus on a single point
with your attention while breathing slowly and deeply.
HOW TO PROCEED
Always keep in mind that yoga postures like everything in life act over your
consciousness and over your physical manifestation. The brain is the first
beneficiary because of the cleansing and circulation functions are optimized.
It also receives a substantial energy load. That is why Yoga sessions usually
introduce some kind of headstand right before Savasana: by reinforcing the
functioning of the brain, they balance all physiological functions, in
particular those worked during the session. By favoring the elimination of
toxins, they allow clear thinking and promote the raising of energy levels.
That is why many people feel happy or very lively after a good yoga session; on
the one hand, of course, they have received the general benefits of physical
exercise, on the other, they have performed at least one practice that exerts a
determining influence on our emotions and cognitive abilities.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
A weak neck, medical and/or physiotherapeutic contraindications due to
contractures or cervical injuries, pain even to a minimal degree, and fear. If
something scares you and you want to do it, work on your emotion first. Never
engage in any dangerous activity if you don't feel safe. I have often seen
accidents for not respecting this principle.
BALANCES ON ONE FOOT
The postures of balance on a single foot are infinite and work equally
infinite themes at once. The challenge is to increase the degree of difficulty
of the posture, either in flexibility, resistance time when maintaining it,
torsion, coordination and level of balance. They have a direct influence on our
ability to focus, neurogenesis (production of new neurons) and neuroplasticity
(can be understood as the ability to learn). When looking at a point or dristi
is no longer enough, start looking for new focus points by slowly turning your
head elsewhere and holding, or looking up or down. You can also perform the
posture on a prop, such as a brick. Always increase the difficulty for balance
gradually, practicing patience and listening to the body.
If performed properly, balance on one food strengthen the ligaments and
tendons of the legs from the toes to the hip. They increase muscle endurance;
to some degree, muscle mass, and helps in the overall functions of your central
nervous system. If you also become aware of what you are stepping on and keep
your attention on the sole of your foot, you improve your proprioception when
walking and moving, therefore, your walk and your posture should improve.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
Inflammation of plantar fascia, and/or joint pain or injury.
FINALLY…
In Yoga we need to slowly enter a posture and maintain silence of body and
mind while in it. Similarly, there is a need to get out of your asana slowly.
This care on performing the asana is related to devotion. On the one hand, you
offer the posture to God; on the other hand, it is an offering to your own
temple-body. Patience and harmony in this way of performing a practice indicates
Grace, peace of mind and willingness to know and receive. To find internal and
external silence in a posture of balance is to overcome a little more of the
obstacles that prevent the luminous liberation of the spirit. Rejoice and
celebrate while entering that silence.
Addendum
Recently, someone told me they assumed that the Yoga asana should be very
difficult to brake, and that if someone tried to get you out of the posture you
would stay perfectly still. The idea of posture as a mountain is a figure that
relates to the internal state, rather than the external possibilities of the
body. In that sense, in balance postures, you're very likely to be taken out of
them if someone applies a little bit of force to make that happen. Why? Because
if thoughts pass through your mind or someone pushes you slightly and you don't
lose your balance, that posture no longer represents a challenge for you. The
progress of your physical posture should be intertwined with your internal
progress. Once you reach a point of comfort, stay there for a few moments, but
then, take the next challenge.
Namaste
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