Yin Yoga and Ayurveda for the Fall season

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Bernie
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Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Yin Yoga and Ayurveda for the Fall season

Post by Bernie »

I recently received the following question:
  • I am doing a three week co-teaching series with an Ayurveda practitioner. Part of this series is Ayurveda and part of it is yin yoga. I wanted to ask what types of yin yoga poses are great for detoxing the body? It’s fall so I need to look into what element it is for this time of year, i.e., wood, fire, water, air, etc… and which meridians and chakras they correspond well with. Any "yinsight" would be incredibly appreciated.
Let’s start with the caveats: I am not an Ayurvedic doctor, and any prescription for detoxifying should be done with the individual’s unique biology and biography in mind. It is not possible to give universal advice that will work for everybody who attends your course. It will be up to you and your partner to determine what to offer to your students.

Having said that, what generalities can we draw upon? My knowledge of Ayurveda is quite limited, so I will refer to David Frawley and his book, Yoga & Ayurveda. The fall and winter seasons are vata seasons (spring is kapha and summer is pitta): vata is air and space; it is dry and cold; it is light and ungrounded. When a person has a vata imbalance certain practices and diet are prescribed to regain balance. These same practices can be helpful during the vata season.

According to Frawly, asana practice for vata imbalance should focus on the pelvis and colon, which are the main sites for vata. We would want to release tension from the hips, lumbar and sacroiliac joints. Quiet practice is better than a lot of movement, so for this time of year, yin yoga is definitely better than a wild yang-vinyasa practice (again for some/most people, but not for everyone!). Sitting postures are recommended, but also focus on moving the spine in all its directions. Twists are great, but not so deep that the breath is affected. The breath should always be free and easy. We can think of Shoelace with upper body side bends and twists. Forward folds, like Caterpillar or Butterfly, provide immediate relief to vata imbalances; however, slow backbends can also create a feeling of warmth and centeredness. Any backbends should be small, thus Sphinx pose is better than Seal, although I would suspect Saddle pose can also be nice, if it is available.

Just a comment now on another aspect of your question: you mentioned meridians and the elements of wood, fire, water etc. These are Daoist concepts and come from a very different map. Take care in trying to combine instructions from too many different modalities at once. If your sessions are focused on Ayurveda, I would refrain from introducing Daoist concepts. The students could become confused. However, if you are interested in the Daoist prescriptions for the fall season, I can refer you to Cathy Keenan’s articles on the 5-elements and the seasons. Here is her article about the fall, which is associated with the metal element.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your course.
Bernie
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