Conversation with a Yogic Master Dr. OP Tiwari
In the west we often think of Yoga as something physical, but this is only a small part of what was it's original intention. Why is our approach at Evolve Yoga Training much more about how we feel in yoga postures?
In 1991 science found a neural network inside the human heart. Sensory neurones that feel and think independently of the human brain, they sense independently of the human brain, and remember independently of the human brain. This intelligence is termed heart coherence.
Contrary to what we have been led to believe, it is the heart, not the brain that is the major organ of the body and how we “feel” plays the bigger role in the health of the body and state of the mind. The brain receives instructions from the heart and is the filter for how we experience the world, how we feel moment to moment, the heart then tells the brain how to regulate the body.
THE HEART & NERVOUS SYSTEM
The heart responds through our sensory experience in the outer world through the nervous system. This network connects all the layers of the body from the gross to the subtle ( in yoga we call these the koshas). It is the breath that plays a major role in whether the nervous system is in a relaxed mode or a stressed mode. When our nervous system is triggered, wired and our minds are distracted it will feel impossible to move from repetitive thoughts into the feeling state the heart. We can change this by, paying attention and changing the way we breathe. It is by cultivating a deeper exhale and connecting through this neural network which is key in the intelligence of the heart termed heart coherence.
SOLUTION IS IN THE EXHALE
A deeper exhale also connects and tones the muscles of the lower abdomen and pelvic floor which allows the lifting of the inhale into the space around the heart. As we place our focus and attention here we move into heart coherence. Asana then becomes a deep dialogue with your body, the most intimate of all relationships. If you spend time going inwards, listening to your feelings, the innate intelligence of your physical being feeds back to you. The neurological network, the energetic pathways and the sensations is the ‘knowing of your heart’.
A sincere yoga practice leads us towards the vast potential of the human mind, a knowledge the ancient yogis have passed down to us through the texts,
it is the breath that re-wires the brain and neurological patterning of our behaviours through this deep dialogue between the heart and the brain through the cranial nerves.
So by merely regualting and expanding the breath in the practice of Pranayama we can change our behaviours and habits of our mind.
IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
Science has also revealed that we are all non-locally connected. When we gather together in community focusing on these practices, our efforts affect us not only on an individual level but we affect a shift in the greater whole. More reasons to focus on our breath, our hearts and how we feel from moment to moment.
THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF YOGA
There are many different translations to this one sutra Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah Many translate as merely stilling the mind. However the living tradition of Yogic Master Dr OP Tiwari ( mentor to this school) translate this sutra in line with this modern science as “redirection” of the behaviour of our thoughts and actions from the compulsive patterns of the ego towards the intelligence and feelings of the heart. So the ancient Yogis were directing us in the ancient wisdom from the thinking mind to feeling into the body and acting from the wisdom of the heart to move us towards the state of Yoga.
Helping us all to Evolve Consciously as Individuals and together as a Greater Whole.
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