One of the refinements we use in Anusara yoga
has to do with loops. The loops are a series of specific, interconnected
trajectories of energy in our bodies starting with the feel and going all the
way up to the skull. I like to think of them as bike gears that intersect and
move in opposing directions from one another.
The seven pairs of Loops
are:
Ankle
starts at the base of
the shinbone just above the ankle. It moves down the back of the heel,forward
along the bottom of the foot, then back up through the center of the arch to the
front of shin base.
Shin
starts at the base of the
shinbone just above the ankle. It moves up the back of the calf muscle to the
top of the shins just below the knee, forward through the top of the shin, then
down the front of the shin back to the base of the
shin.
Thigh
starts at the top of thighbone in the
core of the pelvis (pelvic Focal Point). It moves down the back of the leg to
the top of the calf muscle, forward through the top of the shin, and then up the
front of the leg through the lower abdomen back to the Focal
Point.
Pelvic
starts in the core of the abdomen in
line with the middle of the lumbar and a place just below the navel. It moves
down from the middle of the lumbar to the middle of the buttocks in line the
bottom of the sacrum, forward through the floor of the pelvis (pelvic Focal
Point) to the top of the pubic bone, then up the lower abdomen to just below the
navel. The Pelvic Loop has the same direction of rotation as the Thigh Loop.
However, they have opposite effects on the alignment of the body. The Thigh Loop
moves the top of the thighs backward, while the Pelvic Loop moves the top of the
thighs forward.
Kidney
starts in the core of the
abdomen in line with the middle of the lumbar and a place just below the navel.
It moves up the back from just below the kidneys to the bottom of the shoulder
blades, forward through the top of the diaphragm (heart Focal Point) to the base
of the sternum, then down the solar plexus to just below the
navel.
Shoulder
starts at the center of the upper
palate (skull Focal Point). It moves down the back of the neck and the upper
back to the bottom of the shoulder blades, forward through the bottom of the
heart and the top of the diaphragm, then up the chest and throat from the base
of the sternum to the upper palate.
Skull
starts at
the center of 7. the upper palate (skull Focal Point). It moves back and up
along the back of the skull, forward over the top of the head, then down the
face back to the upper palate. The Loops interconnect with each other and so
influence each other as they are independently activated. For instance, as you
Outer Spiral the legs the Pelvic Loop is activated, which in turn will help to
increase the Kidney Loop.
As we get older our body through bad alignment
starts to go against the loops. Coroners used to identify the age of a dead
person by looking at these loops and the more they were out of alignment the
older they are. After learning about these loops it is very interesting to
people watch. I am a student and one of my professors has the loops way out of
balance I want to go to go align he all class.
Reference:
Anusara
Teacher Training Manual
Anusara Master Immersion
Awesome loop photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharonfrost/26593683/
