My aim of practicing Vijñāna Yoga is not necessarily to achieve the final pose but instead understanding how to approach to the posture. It is more about understanding step by step how to get there until the posture unfolds itself to me.

Practice takes time, dedication, awareness, self study and patience- not to over intensify, not to get discouraged. One of the things that helps me on my very own path is the working with the 7 Vital principles, also called the “Good Habits” of every Yoga practice. They allow me to be more aware of my own practice, the way I move in space, the way I shift my weight using gravity. which then enables me to move into the posture more quietly.

In my last blog post I wrote about the first 2 Vital principles the Relaxing of the body & the Quieting the mind”

Today we look closer on the means of the 3rd and 4th Vital principles: the Intent and the Rooting

Once the body and mind are at ease and stable, quiet and concentrated, from this place we are objective and the mind directs itself to the practice; the body awaits the practice; the heart embraces the practice with all its might.

With each inhalation there is an intensification of intent, with each exhalation the sharpening of its direction.

By visualizing ourselves Sitting, Breathing, Moving, or even by imagining another person practicing we devote ourselves wholly to it.

In my personal opinion visualizing the posture, can be seen as a form of practice.

There is a saying, that once you can VISUALIZE the posture, you can DO the posture. Somehow you are ready and you open yourself for the posture to unfold itself to you…beautiful I find.

For me visualizing or “not loosing sight of your Intent”  is a great motivator when practice becomes difficult. Usually when practice is bounded to more effort, we tend to avoid it or do less of it. But the more we don´t do it, the less we like it. I am sure that each Yoga practitioner among you can confirm this tendency. A difficulty in an asana often reflects the deeply not yet resolved from the Inside and it is then that overcoming is meaningful and recommended.

Activating your imagination has an actual effect on the body.

Regarding to the Intent, one could even say:

„If at times there is no time to practice, think it.“

With each breath, with each pose, we reaffirm our intent and become one with our practice.

Maybe you feel doubts about what I just shared with you. That would be a good sign…because it would lead you to try it out and see for yourself, if what I just shared is true.

Sit in a comfortable position.

Relax the body.

Inhale, and with the exhalation release tension.

By visualizing ourselves Sitting, Breathing, Moving quietly into a pose we devote ourselves wholly to the practice.

With each inhalation there is an intensification of your intent, with each exhalation the sharpening of its direction.

The fourth principle in the practice is Rooting.

Many people as they try to root, they think down. But this is only half of the story. Instead Rooting has surprisingly two directions.

When we allow the weight to drop down, to sink, there is a force that comes back up, called the „the rebound force“.

You let a ball fall down, when it touches the ground, it bounces of itself. You use gravity. The more you root, the more you rebounce.

When we root, we let the weight sink down naturally without a lot of doing and effort. The body becomes heavy and roots in a more passive way.

It is easy to comprehend the idea behind rooting, yet surprisingly difficult to execute it in every moment and pose.

For me rooting throughout my practice is a very challenging issue, I confess. I still have a lot of „giving up doing“ to do ;-).

In my opinion „Rooting“ is one of the Vital principles that you can simply not catch with conceptual thinking and a lot of effort. I tried it for years. I ended up having terrible feet ache. You have to let go and feel from the Inside. And this demands a certain degree of patience, time, devotion and willing to let go.

Go to a sitting pose and feel the touch of your sitting bones with your mat.

Place your mind at the place where the body touches the earth and let it rest. The weight sinks into this place. Intensify the weight down, as if the sitting bones would like to sink into the earth, and then feel the power of that downward movement flowing through the body.

As the roots of a tree deepen and widen into the earth, so the branches, your upper body above feels light and expands into the sky.

Ongoing classes in the studio and on the Beach

Join my 3 day retreat in October 2021 if you feel the call to Release & Be .

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