Foggy Road

Theme: come out of the fog and see yourself clearly as amazing, brilliant, loving, capable being that you are. 

Anecdote: Thursday it was super foggy in Utah. As I was driving trying to navigate where I was going with out being able to see I was reminded of a teaching within Anusara Yoga about Malas. 

The philosophy that informs Anusara say there are different malas which are normally compared to dust on the mirror which prevents us from seeing our self clearly. We can also think of malas as fog on the road that stops us from seeing clearly, like my experience Thursday. There are three ways that this dust/fog prevents us from seeing our truth and as a result creates feelings of limitation around our heart (iccha), mind (jnana), and body (kriya). 

Anava Mala- veils the iccha shakti. Feeling limited in the heart, this leads to desire, feelings of lack, sadness, unworthiness, and incompleteness. The main feeling connected with this veil is sadness.
Mayiya Mala- veils the jnana shakti. Limits knowledge. We see duality not realizing the unity/oneness this leads to conflict and hate. The main emotion with this veil is anger.
Karma Mala- veils the kriya shakti. Feeling limited to act. Creates fear of not being able to accomplish something or ability to create. The main emotion from Thai veil is anger. 

These different malas prevent us from seeing clearing and not being able to see clearing prevents us from connecting to our truth and our heart, just like the weather on Thursday. It was so foggy it was hard for me to see clearly. At one point I thought I was driving between the lines but then I saw that was not the case. Just like in life I will be so sure I can't act or that I am not intelligent enough to do something. But then I am reminded that I am, that it was just the fog preventing me from seeing my wholeness. 

In our yoga practice and in our life when we feel inadequate or less than in our mental, emotional or physical abilities we can remember it's the fog on the road. 

Universal principle of alignment emphasis : 

first principle: side bodies long which often pulls shoulder up to ears with neck muscles (this is like the fog. We don't even realize we are creating more stress in our body and moving away from the heart) - inner body bright "collar bones broad" to disengage upper trapezius muscles. 

muscle energy: (this is remembering to move to the heart) drawing the arm bones back tips of the shoulder blades down and towards the heart to engage lower trapezius muscles (this is remembering to move toward the heart, to our truth) 

FYI this like all good alignment is therapeutic. In this case should shoulder alignment is therapeutic for the neck, shoulders, elbows wrists. 

Heart quality: clarity

Apex: Parsva bakasana 

Props: bolster, 2 blocks, blanket 

Warm up 

1/2 sun 3x 

Tadasana breakdown principles shoulder and action of trapezius muscle 

Basic

W2 

High runners lunge twist - w2

One hand Hand on wall - side bodies long- inner body bright - lower trapezius pull behind heart - pec stretch 

 Parsvak 

Trikonasana

Harder  

Prone over bolster pec stretch 

Wide leg forward fold clasp hands 

Dolphin  

Handstand L partner 

Anjaneyasana - Anjaneyasana quad stretch

Fish twist 

Lunge twist 

Apex

Parsva bakasana 2x

Cool down 

Bridge

Urdhva danusara 

Supta Twisting core 

Symmetrical root femurs  2 ways 

Shavasana supported on bolster with 2 blocks to angle bolster and blanket to put around ankles in variation of Supta baddha konasana to release hip flexors. This supporter bolster variation will allow gravity and props to uplift heart while keeping the upper neck soft

Meditation

side bodies long

The philosophy that informs Anusara say there are different malas, or different dusts on the mirror that prevents us from seeing our self clearly. The three ways that create feeling of limitation around our heart (iccha), knowledge (jnana), and ability to act (kriya).

Anava Mala- veils the iccha shakti. Feeling limited in the heart, this leads to desire, feelings of lack, fragmentation, sadness, unworthiness, and incompleteness. Sadness.
Mayiya Mala- veils the jnana shakti. Limits knowledge. Preserve things as separate not realizing the unity/oneness which leads to conflict, anger, and hatred. Anger.
Karma Mala- veils the kriya shakti. Feeling limited in agency, ability to act, capacity to act. Creates the sense of doer ship. Creates fear of not being able to accomplish something or ability to create. Fear

I really like this. I have been working with this and linking it to side bodies long in my practice and in some classes. One of the blessings of yoga is it helps us see that we are not as limitted as we may think. For example before I started practicing yoga, or more precisely, before Adam Ballenger started teaching me about open to grace I thought that my side bodies were just short and that's how they would always be. I felt limitted in this way. Over the past 2 years I have realized that I have freedom to lengthen my side bodies which shifts my energy tremendously. This shows me that where I thought I was limited was not true. So off the mat I can remember that areas in which I think I feel limited, I might not be. (It was true for the side body length).