Saturday, February 7, 2009

Soft abdomen

I googled "soft abdomen iyengar". I was curious why Geeta always reminds her students to keep the abdomen soft, and I found an explanation:

"...A primary point is that the facial muscles, neck, and abdomen are to be soft throughout this practice. This is key to the inner exploration, discovery, and joy inherent in practicing this sequence as a whole, resulting in tremendous beneficial effects that are described in the text. ..."

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This unification is multifaceted. In one dimension, it is a unification of the various systems that exist within the human being including the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual systems. In our current understanding of
yoga retreat, we are working to unify these five bodies or layers of the human being. Another process of unification occurs between of the individual consciousness and the universal consciousness.Observing this from a different angle, Samadhi is a transformation of perception in which disillusionments about the world are reformed so that the truth behind reality can be seen in its purest of form. Yoga, as a system, has developed into various branches through which people pursue the evolution and unification of the elements within their being. Each branch retains its own unique set of ideas and philosophies which defined the process and eventual obtainment of complete unification. Each system is designed to accommodate a different personality type, and yoga has developed into a broad reaching system that can be practiced by nearly anyone who is interested in pursuing a spiritual life. A practice like Jnana yoga is ideal for someone who is philosophically minded whereas the practice of bhakti yoga is good for someone who is emotionally perceptive and inclined towards a sense of devotion. In this article we will be reviewing the more mainstream practices of yoga which are derived from the tradition of yogic spirituality. These traditions of yoga are as young as 500 years and as old as several thousand.