Karmic Seeds Body Mind & Spirit

The psoas major muscle (pronounced “so-as”) is often referred to as the deepest core, or as yoga therapist and film-maker Danielle Olson states, the “muscle of the soul.” This core-stabilizing muscle located near the hip bone affects mobility, structural balance, joint function, flexibility, and much more. In addition to its function to help keep the body upright and moving, the psoas is believed to allow you to connect with the present moment especially when it is stretched out and tension is released from the body. Research indicates that the psoas is vital to our psychological wellbeing in addition to structural health. Liz Koch, author of The Psoas Book, states that our psoas “literally embodies our deepest urge for survival, and more profoundly, our elemental desire to flourish.” This means that there is a lot more to the psoas than one might initially think. It is entirely possible to harness healing pranic energy and improve mental...

Why It’s Okay Not To Be Flexible One of the phrases that I too often hear from students new to yoga is “I’m just not flexible enough to be good at yoga.” Then they list examples like their inability to touch their toes in a forward bend or to wrap their arm behind their back in a bind. When I hear this, I let them in on a little known secret: Their so-called inflexibility actually saves them from hurting themselves. In fact, the more flexible you are, the more prone to injury you can be. I know that logic may sound bizarre coming from a yoga instructor, and sure, when we see hyper flexible people do seemingly impossible things with their bodies in deep backbends or forward bends or complex binds that look like human knots, it can be pretty impressive. However, as a long-time student and teacher, I’ve witnessed the risks of hyper flexibility as well as learned my own painful lessons. Once I’d had severe elbow pain because of a tendency to hyperextend my arms. My body had ...

By Edith Lazenby   http://thetattooedbuddha.com/savasana-why-do-we-just-lay-down-after-yoga/ We sweat and work our asana in yoga. We move the limbs and breathe with awareness. We engage the body to free the mind and lift the heart. We feel a fullness. Our body promises freedom. Our breath leads us in movement. Sava means corpse and asana means pose. When we have finished our asana practice we rest on our back with eyes closed for 5 to 10 minutes. This practice of coming into final relaxation is the true pinnacle pose in any yoga class. In savasana the body absorbs all that we have done. In savasana we get a taste of meditation. In  savasana  we let go completely, maybe the only time of the day that we do. Resting in a supine position, palms up. legs mat width distance apart and breathing freely, we fall into the mat. We allow the mat, the floor, gravity and earth to support us. We feel held in this final relaxation. We let our thoughts go as ...