Stretching Your Soul in Serenity
Getting Outside the Yoga Box
“Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun.” -B.k.s Iyengar
By Oshanna Kealoha
Getting your asanas- yoga postures- on while immersed in a natural setting can bring a whole new feel to what might be a routine or somewhat stale practice. Jiddu Krishnamurti, an influential yoga philosopher said, “Only a mind that is in a state of inquiry is capable of learning. But when inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learnt without experiencing it.”
In a yoga class we are often absorbed with the instruction of the poses and it’s more difficult to surrender to the experience. Even a short solitary practice outside can have profound abilities to connect you deeper into your body and pervade your thoughts and cells with a sense of peace and relaxation. To freshen things up, all you need is a flat spot, with fairly firm ground, and a basic understanding of a few postures or sequences, like Chandra Namaskara, more commonly known as sun salutations.
A special feeling arises from immersion in the elements as you engage in Pranayama -breathing exercises- or Sun Salutations. Once set up in a tranquil space, you can drink in Prana, life force energy, from the warmth of the sun’s rays and the tickle of wind on your skin.
Graduate student Gregory Bratman, lead author in an academic experiment conducted by the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab said, “This finding is exciting because it demonstrates the impact of nature’s experience on an aspect of emotion regulation — something that may help explain how nature makes us feel better.” The study gauged people’s reaction to stimuli after being in nature as compared to urban settings.
A more internal focus can develop from connection to the Earth and nature. Let the symphony of sounds around you drop you deeper into stillness, into the center of your being. Listen to the wind as it murmurs through the trees, the flow of water as it caresses rocks, the critters rustle through brush, the insects buzz, the bird’s calls. Listen to all the sounds near and far, and use those noises to help facilitate a mode of awareness called Conscious Sensory Whole Self Awareness.
This term was coined by a local yogi who has the nickname Alkaline Al. “The mind can’t think when the senses are engaged,” he said. Al calls himself a yoga practitioner, not a teacher; even though he leads three to four classes every week. He sets one of his weekly classes outdoors on a farm called Rainbow’s End in Occidental, California. A tarp goes down on the ground or a porch covered by straw mats as the class gathers amidst the trees in a peaceful and serene setting. The class begins with the sound of a singing bowl echoing through the forest, and a reading from one of the most holy texts from Indian culture, the Bhagavad Gita.
In chapter six verse 11, this sacred scripture states, “To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth.”
Ancient text from the place where yoga originates encourages connection with the Earth and an internal focus for one’s practice. The word yoga itself is a far broader term than the Western view of asanas, but the word itself means to yoke or divine union. How best to unify with the divine, than to consciously choose to immerse yourself in nature where some of the deepest feelings of connection can come to fruition? Grab your mat, head outdoors, root deep into the Earth and strike a Vrksasana- tree pose. Meld with the forest and feel tree pose in the proper setting to truly do so.
