Systems: the Breathing Project

Based on the teachings of TKS Deskishar

Focused on making sure that people are breathing. In the process of breathing, one connects to the inherent bliss in oneself. (the ananda -not the suffering/duhkha)

• we learn new ways of breathing in asana, so that we can unlearn old ways of breathing, usisng our bodies, and mind.
• when we combine breath and asana, we are employing some of our most powerful tools for transformation

Principles:

• if a person is breathing, can move their body, and can focus their attention, they can practice yoga
• yoga practice teaches us how to uncover and resolve obstructions to prana
• yoga is not about doing asanas. it is about undoing what's in the way of asanas
• the maximum benefits of yoga practice are derived from the simplest things that we teach, not the most complex
• the simplest thing yoga students are taught is to coordinate long, slow movements of the body with long, slow, movements of the breath.
• when you learn a new way of breathing and moving, you are unlearning an old way of breathing and moving
• the first task with any student is to help them fully inhabit their physical body by drawing their prana inward. if they cannot feel what is happening inside, they need to recognize that.
• healthy movement is well-distributed movement-a little bit from a lot of places
• unhealthy movement is too much movement coming from too few places too many times
• there are no straight lines in the body. All movement exists as 3 dimensional spirals moving through 3 dimensional space
• there are no parts in the body. Everything is connected to everything else
• we can find pathways of connection in an infinite variety of ways
• changing breathing by definition changes posture, and visa versa
• to get something unusual to move, you must get usual movements to be still
• support starts from the ground up
• breath starts from the top down
• for every movement in the body, there is an opposing movement that travels in the opposite direction.
• initiating the action of exhaling from the bottom upward can help to ground the feet, legs and pelvis
• initiating the action of inhaling from the top downward, can help to generate lift and support of the upper spine, rib cage and shoulder girdle
• as important as the details of technique may be in determining outcomes, far more powerful is the quality of the relationship between student and teacher

The teaching relationship

• a good teacher is a catalyst for experience and learning
• a good teacher sees each student as an individual and studies them and honors their many differences
• the student is eventually integrated with the teacher's being through his cumulative (teacher's) knowledge
• goal is for student to embody their own experience

Terminology

• prefer YOGA EDUCATOR to YOGA THERAPIST