Hollyhock Presenter & Guest Blogs
Hollyhock's Articles · 23rd July 2008
Amy Weintraub
Join Amy Weintraub for this unique yoga program, September 6-10 and expereince new levels of awareness, and peace. Following is an article she created about some benefits of her approach to an ancient proactice.
Yoga for Joy
Since ancient times, yogis have believed that joy is our birthright and our natural state. Sat chit ananda, they say—the intelligent awareness of bliss. If this is so, why would so many of us, on a happiness scale of 1 – 10, give ourselves low marks? Because in our growing isolation, we’ve disconnected from the source of our happiness. Is it any wonder that many of us are less than joy-full when our primary form of socialization is through the window of a computer screen? When Gary, a 20-year-old college student, first came to see me, he spoke to no one in his classes and the few social interactions he had with others were by e-mail. When he arrives, we “clear the space” with some LifeForce Yoga breathing practices. Then, when he is aligns himself on his mat in a standing Mountain Pose, he is ready to align with his vision for joy in his life—a circle of friends that includes a girlfriend and the freedom to do what he wants. From his mat, Gary is manifesting his own vision for joy in his life.
Yogic wisdom tells us that we are born whole and joyful, deeply and intimately connected to the benevolent and wise energy of the universe. But the kind of parenting we receive, the traumas and losses we have faced, and the every day stresses and strains common to us all may begin to separate us. We protect ourselves by withdrawing, constricting, in short, tightening up. Trust flies out the window, and along with it goes the ease we once felt in our bodies, the peace we once felt when we looked into loving eyes, and the joy we felt in that connection. In many cases, we needed to protect ourselves, but now, as adults, we’re left with a kind of body armoring that separates us from the knowledge that we are whole and joyful human beings.
Fortunately, through evidence-based LifeForce Yoga practices, we can begin to dissolve the armoring, releasing the blocks so that we open to the healing energy of the universe, to the natural flow of our own life force, to prana.
Yoga for Joy
Since ancient times, yogis have believed that joy is our birthright and our natural state. Sat chit ananda, they say—the intelligent awareness of bliss. If this is so, why would so many of us, on a happiness scale of 1 – 10, give ourselves low marks? Because in our growing isolation, we’ve disconnected from the source of our happiness. Is it any wonder that many of us are less than joy-full when our primary form of socialization is through the window of a computer screen? When Gary, a 20-year-old college student, first came to see me, he spoke to no one in his classes and the few social interactions he had with others were by e-mail. When he arrives, we “clear the space” with some LifeForce Yoga breathing practices. Then, when he is aligns himself on his mat in a standing Mountain Pose, he is ready to align with his vision for joy in his life—a circle of friends that includes a girlfriend and the freedom to do what he wants. From his mat, Gary is manifesting his own vision for joy in his life.
Yogic wisdom tells us that we are born whole and joyful, deeply and intimately connected to the benevolent and wise energy of the universe. But the kind of parenting we receive, the traumas and losses we have faced, and the every day stresses and strains common to us all may begin to separate us. We protect ourselves by withdrawing, constricting, in short, tightening up. Trust flies out the window, and along with it goes the ease we once felt in our bodies, the peace we once felt when we looked into loving eyes, and the joy we felt in that connection. In many cases, we needed to protect ourselves, but now, as adults, we’re left with a kind of body armoring that separates us from the knowledge that we are whole and joyful human beings.
Fortunately, through evidence-based LifeForce Yoga practices, we can begin to dissolve the armoring, releasing the blocks so that we open to the healing energy of the universe, to the natural flow of our own life force, to prana.