Janu Shirshasana A

Ashtanga Vinyasa works with internal forces of breath to enhance the cyclical movement of energies that sustain us from within. As the breath begins to move, it can unearth fragments of memory that are hidden in the body, and release the subtle energy that is contained within them. If that energy is held without resistance, and given space to move, it rises upward through the body, pierces through the palate, and then falls back down to the root. In traditional terms, the sudden reabsorption of that energy is called Hatha Paka, and it lights up the subtle body from within. Alignment, as I understand it, as all about the holding the body so that the internal currents of the breath can come into a more natural fullness. This means allowing the body to move with the breath, not just between the postures, but while allowing the breath to cycle within them. And so we find ourselves allowing the body to reorganize itself continuously around the internal movement of the breath. In Janu Shirshasana A,