The Art of Vinyasa: Awakening Body and Mind through the Practice of Ashtanga Yoga

The “work” we must do is to practice with dedication, consistency, and an open mind.

In this manner, we can perceive feelings, thoughts, and sensations clearly and respond to them with kindness and equanimity. Bringing awareness to and cultivating the sound of ujjāyī breathing is a vital, underlying thread of the internal practice of Aṣṭāṅga Vinyāsa yoga. It trains the mind to listen and become absorbed by sound so that movement is

Working to perfect Mūlabandha is key to enhancing an āsana practice (and to beginning and deepening your prāṇāyāma and meditation practices), because all poses ground through the seed-point of Mūlabandha and, on a more external level, the pelvic floor.

Most of the time, however, the citta wanders around, and the physiological background (Prāṇa) is less apparent in our awareness. In a contemplative practice, we take the attention (citta) and turn it straight to Prāṇa.

When the mind is dominated by extreme mental or emotional imbalance, or if there are subtle levels of physical tension and resistance within the body, it is virtually impossible to truly surrender to the entirety of what is occurring and to fully examine (and possibly embrace) an opposing perspective.

We construct and embody the internal forms by imagining that we have a central channel, the suṣumṇā nāḍī.

Physically the palate is like an exchange center between the inner world of the organism of the body and the outer environment. It is also a storehouse for our past and present feelings, thoughts, and sensations—an epicenter connecting the mind and physical makeup from top to bottom. As a sounding board for language expression, the palate connects

Bandha practice stimulates an internal focus and is a good place to start as you develop the skill of contemplating the central channel of the body.

The context and content of our thoughts form patterns of tension and movement in and around the eyes.