Foundation Principles
The UTOPIAN YOGA Foundation principles are based on seven different phases.
One
Breathing Technique
On a daily basis we take breathing for granted. Sometimes we don’t notice that we are actually breathing, but breathing can be so much more. How we breath affects our state of mind, our physiology, our health, our wellness and our appearance.
Our breath is also an interface between our body and mind and we can use the breath to work proactively with both body and mind at the same time.
The basis of a good yoga practice is how the breath is organised. In western yoga there are mindful practices that ask us to watch the breath so as to anchor the mind, and in eastern yoga there are more complex breathing techniques to work with the pranas of the body.
UTOPIAN YOGA offers a unique technique for breathing, on a daily basis, that allows the breath to become more effective and more subtle. This practice positively affects the chemistry of the blood, may lower blood pressure, improve wellness and enhance oxygenation. With ongoing practice we will feel calmer and more at ease in our bodies. We will have better sleep and will be able to practice breathing yoga ongoingly to continue to support and to enhance our lives.
Two
Skeletal Support (core strength)
Core is a widely used and confusing word. I speak of the core as the postural muscles that support the skeleton. My stance is that the postural/core muscles stabilize the skeleton. The skeleton is the true core of the whole physical body. It can be confusing to think of the core as only in the centre of the physical body.
UTOPIAN YOGA defines core as the skeleton, which is at the core of the body from the spine down through the feet, and the core muscles as the postural muscles or muscle fibres that stabilize the skeleton and support the joints. The joints are the sites where the bones meet as joined by the ligaments and tendons.
When the skeleton is stabilized by the postural/core muscles then movement becomes more graceful, connected and efficient, performance will improve dramatically and we will become stronger and more mobile. The interconnected postural/core muscles work together as a family, and we learn to harness the power of the body as a whole, for strength and performance. Furthermore working with the postural/core muscles calms the nervous system, tones the body, prevents injury and improves bone density.
The postural/core muscles are fed by oxygen and working more effectively with these muscles means also working with the breathing practice as outlined.
Three
Postural Alignment
How we stand and move says so much about us. Learning how to stand and move in a way that optimizes conditions for the body to perform well, is an art. We see this in top performers and sports people whose alignment is critical to their ability to perform, and also to preventing injury.
UTOPIAN YOGA emphasizes postural alignment as an extremely significant fundamental awareness. Postural alignment is important and its techniques must accord with the workings of the skeletal/postural muscles and with effective breathing.
Four
Spinal Articulation
Our brain informing and informed by the information that travels through the spinal cord ie the central nervous system, is the hub of our human physical existence.
The spinal vertebrae supported by the skeletal/postural muscles protect this delicate structure.
The spine sits towards the back of the torso which means our backs have a very important task. The big back muscles can get twitchy if the central nervous system perceives the spinal cord is in danger and so they might brace or spasm when our movement is erratic. If we embody fear and more awkward movement on top of that, the painful spasm can become chronic.
In UTOPIAN YOGA I will teach you how to avoid and to cure back pain. To relax the big back muscles and to diffuse the guarding action when it happens can potentially prevent and release back pain. Its useful to organize back movement fluidly in the more subtle context of skeletal support and also breathing support, to prevent back pain.
Spinal articulation is a major part of that learning and is dependent on postural alignment. Spinal articulation as a way of organizing the spine in movement, also creates connected, graceful and elegant movement.
Practitioners of Utopian yoga frequently report on the elimination of back pain.
Five
Bandha Balance & Flow
Bandha Balance and Flow are three different principles, which comes together in UTOPIAN YOGA. They are practiced in the standing sequences and are heavily reliant on postural alignment, breathing and skeletal support.
Bandha
A bandha is a co contraction of the muscles around a joint. This action stabilizes the joint and also braces it for a freer flow of energy and information through that juxtaposition.
Working with bandha can generate power, strength and also protection.
Balance
Practicing balancing exercises eg standing on one leg or two hands, is useful in terms of practicing recovery should we lose our balance. If our recovery practice is good, we are less likely to fall.
Flow
Balance also implies connected graceful movement that is informed by the training in Utopian yoga foundation principles. These principles emphasise balance and flow in the context of mind body organization.
When that balance is manifest movement can become more graceful and connected, and will flow in an efficient manner.
Six
Integration
When everything comes together and we are present and are organizing our mind body interface by the practice of: breathing technique, postural alignment, spinal articulation, bandha balance and flow - we have integration. The mind/body is working as a whole, all the parts mutually reinforcing and reinforced by the other parts.
This is the practice of yoga.
The word yoga means union, connection, integration. UTOPIAN YOGA emphasizes this.
We are working to develop an increasingly deeper level of presence and resonance, using our body/home for that practice. And the spin off is improving wellness, greater presence, enhanced performance and increased calmness and peace of mind.
Seven
Relaxation Meditation
For integration to occur, relaxation as the ability to let go, is important.
When a body system is cooperative then the task at hand becomes about supporting the site of the action. The skill is in learning which parts of the body’s muscular system need to recruit and which ones need to relax to support a given action thereby generating efficient, economical movement
This takes practice and its refinement is mastery. We see this mastery in top performers and athletes who can make an action appear effortless because they are not overworking, not overbreathing, not overdoing. They are in harmony. Their organization is just right. We hear of top sports people who sleep or rest in some way before a big event because they know they need to be relaxed enough to allow their body to find its harmony and so to perform well. Good movement and also good health are dependent on the ability to let go, to relax.
Relaxation is also the antidote to stress. Incorporating techniques such as UTOPIAN YOGA foundation principles, can teach a more refined movement by showing us where to work and how to let go. They can change the focus, incorporate physiologic support and diffuse stress, generating a more connected calm presence.
Meditation is a practice in itself. In UTOPIAN YOGA we are using a focus on the details of body organization as a moving meditation that we can practice any time or all the time.
