Week Five - Vyana Vayu, Connecting for Expansion
Hello everyone,
I can't believe it. We are already in our final week of this hatha yoga term! Thank you so much to all who read these emails and everyone who has made it to practice this last month. I am so grateful to be able to teach yoga in this way! To all the gorgeous souls who show up and share a precious piece of their Sunday with me, thank you. I have some big news...
I would like to formally announce that I have a brand new yoga offering coming up for next term! After this Sunday we will take a two week break (I'm going on a little van/camping adventure!!) and then we'll be back in Thrive for August 24th for the new five week term where there will be not one but TWO yoga classes on Sunday evenings - Hatha yoga at the earlier time of 5pm, and a brand new Yin Yoga practice at 6:30pm!
I've been really wanting to balance out my offerings in Greystones with a softer, slower, more inward oriented way of practicing yoga and coming together. So, I've invested in twelve great big bolsters and fifteen soft wool blankets, all for the purpose of guiding a yin yoga class (after the hatha yoga class) on Sundays. I am so excited!
If you have never tried yin, it is so special. It's a yoga style that requires cosy props, warm blankets, and a willingness on your part to cultivate spaciousness, calmness, coolness, and stillness. A powerful practice for your mind, and a deeply restorative practice for your body. The sequences will be specially designed to target your parasympathetic nervous system (cue deep relaxation) as well as the facial matrix of your body - think longer holds, softer poses, more mindfulness, and some intense, integrative stretching. The class is completely open to all levels :)
To sign up for the new term of either Hatha OR Yin this August 24th (hatha at 5pm Sundays and yin at 6:30pm Sundays) just send on a little email or message with your preferred class and I'll save your spot❤️
I have a lot more to say about yin yoga and where it comes from (a little spoiler - yin doesn't actually originate from yoga at all, but from kung fu!). For now though, I would love to introduce the theme for our fifth and last class of this hatha yoga term, the final direction of energy in our exploration of the five vayus...
Introducing... Vyana vayu!
Vyana vayu is a funny one to describe because it encompasses every part of the body - it flows around and out in all directions. The word vyana in Sanskrit means 'outward moving air', and of course vayu can be translated to mean 'wind' - but this vayu, this wind, is actually related more to the element of water because it is in essence a connecting force of energy. Its job is actually to integrate and organise all the other vayus, like a little energy manager put in charge of a small team. As a reminder, the four vayus we've looked at this term are the energetic directions of down and out (apana), in and up (prana), spiralling in and around (samana), and ascending up and out (udana). As well as organising the other vayus, vyana vayu is also in charge of the movement through the nadis, which are the +72,000 channels of energy within our body, like riverbeds for flowing water. A big responsibility!
Nothing in this world is separate, and vyana vayu ensures that our body remembers this and positions itself firmly in pursuit of balance and integration. Practically, we can understand that vyana vayu relates primarily to our circulation system, but it also governs our lymphatic system, our nervous system, and the fluidity of our thoughts and emotions...how easily do we allow things to shift and flow within us? How smoothly can we move through hardship, and gain momentum for swift expansion? How gracefully can we come together, lean on others, support others, and cultivate regular practices that feel to us like coming home, like plugging in.
When vyana vayu is out of whack, we can feel clumsy, disorientated, and anxious; like we're not getting anywhere, or like we want to curl up in a ball and make ourselves small...things can feel stuck, unmoving, hopeless...have you ever had that dream where you're running from something but you can't seem to get away? A physical manifestation of this can show up in the body as cardiovascular issues such as hypertension (high blood pressure), chronic fatigue, lymphatic issues, or even just general aches and pains.
Vyana vayu is an expansive whole body experience, a unifying power. Honestly, I like to imagine this vayu as a little force of nature with a pink work hat and goggles, who is constantly giving out (lovingly) that we are designed to work in connection, that nothing thrives in isolation, and that we should all just get along and support each other. And stop messing. I have named her Selma.
In any case, expect an integrative yoga practice this Sunday! We will work to put it all together with a body scan meditation, slow breath awareness, fluid movement, strong standing shapes, and a closing savasana to pause and give thanks :)
I can't wait to see you there! If you haven't signed up already for this Sunday's 6:30pm hatha class, feel free to get in touch - there are about four spaces available :)
For Love In a Time of Conflict
When the gentleness between you hardens
And you fall out of your belonging with each other,
May the depths you have reached hold you still.
When no true word can be said, or heard,
And you mirror each other in the script of hurt,
When even the silence has become raw and torn,
May you hear again an echo of your first music.
When the weave of affection starts to unravel
And anger begins to sear the ground between you,
Before this weather of grief invites
The black seed of bitterness to find root,
May your souls come to kiss.
Now is the time for one of you to be gracious,
To allow a kindness beyond thought and hurt,
Reach out with sure hands
To take the chalice of your love,
And carry it carefully through this echoless waste
Until this winter pilgrimage leads you
Towards the gateway to spring.
By John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
le grá,
Macha
