Yoga and Buddhism are (more or less) the same

The Noble 8 Fold Path or the 8 limbs of yoga? Yoga and Buddhism have identical roots. The 'non attachment' or 'letting go' of yoga's vairagya is Central to Buddhist thought.

Patanjali and Siddharta took similar approaches to their study of knowing and being and came to similar conclusions,  but the teaching of the Buddha came later, evolving directly from the brahmanical-upanishadic tradition of yogic thought. It is impossible not to view  the buddhas teaching as yoga.

24 Years ago I started my journey with Buddhism but , for me, yoga is a more 'complete' body- mind system.

The all-important Buddhist view of emptiness corresponds to the yogic view that properties of an object are non essential and arise purely in relation to a self that is in itself an empty construct.  (which just means that our concept of a constant and non-changing 'self' is an illusion created by our conscious mind :-))

Visit my main yoga site: http://www.myyoga.org.uk/

Buddhism and Yoga: be the moisture

"Does a drop stay still in the ocean?
Move with entirety, and with the tiniest particular.
Be the moisture in an oyster that helps to form one pearl."   Rumi (Sufi mystic poet)

I write this blog because it helps me with my own yoga study and self study. My analytics has been telling me I get a couple of visitors a month. But I still write; albeit with the occasional, fleeting "is it worth it?". Yesterday I found out I am actually getting hundreds of visitors a month. So my koan of "who listens to an unread blog" has been answered : be the moisture in an oyster.

The moisture just is. Its 'being' creates the pearl. It doesn't ask to get noticed. It is not attached to whether the pearl is formed or not. It is present anyway.

So that's why I write: it doesn't matter if anyone is reading (but THANK YOU :-D). I would rather be the moisture than the pearl.

Delicious sacral space

The sacrum is the bottom part of the spine - the last five vertebrae actually, though these are all fused and form one very special and triangular bone. Many efferent nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system exit through the small holes in this bone. And the triangular sacrum itself articulates with the two wings of the pelvis at the sacroiliac (SI) joint - though this joint is mainly fused there is some movement.

Many people get low back pain around this area. Possibly because this SI joint has gotten out of alignment. And also because the 1st bone of the sacrum S1, can become fused with the 5th of the lumbar L5, in a process known as L5 sacralisation.

L5 sacralization is a common anomaly, where usually the L5 vertebral body becomes incorporated into the S1 vertebral body. It is a a benign process but it can cause pain.  Usually the 5 Lumbar vertebrae (backbones between the chest/ribs and the hips) are separate, distinct bones but sometimes the bottom lumbar vertebra (#5) tries to fuse with the sacrum. It's not completely separate, but it's not completely fused (usually) like the other bones in the sacrum. It's like it has lost space.

Perhaps this is because it is so easy to put undue pressure on the sacrum and SI joint - that's why I teach student to sit on blocks with the knees raised above the hip bone, so that they are not 'sitting' on their sacrums.

But you can use blocks to create a wonderful re-articulation and opening of the SI joint - see the picture above where, if you look, i am using a standard brick-block on its end, carefully placed beneath the triangular sacrum bone (behind the pubic bone) and resting the whole weight of my body on the block.

You need the right type of block (see left) and this needs placing carefully beneath your sacrum as you lift yourself up into dwi pada pittam.

Initially rest on this with your feet on the floor, and feel the block settle gently beneath the sacrum adjusting the position of the block if you need to.  Peform the posture in front of a wall (see top photo) as you will need its support for your feet in a minute.

The second similar block is then placed, on its long side, against the wall in front of you.  Again a little adjustment is needed to make sure that you are of good enough distance away from the wall so that, in a minute you can extend your legs and rest your heels on the block. Take your hands beneath you and interlance them, pushing your hands away from your shoulders, towards your feet and lift up onto your shoulders. (see right)

With the distance sorted, extend one leg then the other slowly and rest your heels on the flat edge of the block. The feet need to be together and the legs straight. Zip up through the inner calves, feel the lower end of the femur turn out radially and the inner top of the femur turn inwards so that you feel your seat bones spreading. Rest here, with your toes pointing up to the ceiling and gravity pulling your sacrum into the block.

This posture is just beautiful for moving the S1 away from L5 and creating a sense of space in this important area of the body.

NOTE: this, and the other yoga postures I suggest on this blog, is best performed under the one on one tuition of a skilled and trained yoga teacher. This is a particularly strong posture and you could damage your back unless properly guided.

Find out more about Sue Tupling's yoga at MyYoga website.

Achieve balance and awaken yourself through neti

Neti rebalances the nadis and awakens ajna chakra

I used to be very cynical of neti.  Why would anyone want to pour salty water up their nose through one nostril so that it comes running out the opposite side? Eeek! Uggghh!. But the practice is sweet, I can tell you. It cleans out your head, your eyes sparkle, you feel a spaciousness in your brain, the breath is open and expansive through the nostrils. The body sighs in ecstasy as you do it. Its like you feel a 'high' after doing neti. Well at least that is my experience.

Benefits
If you look at the yoga research ,  Neti has been used successfully to treat the following ailments: colds and coughs, eye ailments, nose ailments, throat ailments, sinusitis, tonsillitis, catarrh, adenoid inflammation, headache, insomnia, tiredness, migraine, epilepsy, depression, tension, lung diseases (asthma, pneumonia, tuberculosis and bronchitis), facial paralysis. It certainly alleviates mental health conditions such as anxiety, anger and depression as well as 'brain fog' where your thinking is foggy and muddled. Perhaps the most surprising of the benefits includes the alleviation of facial paralysis, epilepsy and migraine.

How it works
Essentially neti works by directly stimulating the olfactory nerve, and the trigeminal nerve going from the nose/face into the brain, and the mucous membrane, lymphatic and blood vessels of the nasal cavity. This helps the nasal passages to work more efficiently at purifying the air before going into the lungs, the eyes and the eye muscles are relaxed which relaxes the face.
The autonomic nervous system is rebalanced - so the sympathetic (SNS, fear, fight or flight) and the parasympathetic (PNS, relaxation response) are in equipose. The olfactory nerves in the nose are connected to a part of the brain called the hippocampus which is associated with deeper structures in the brain, concerned with regulation of the autonomic nerves. Stimulation of the olfactory nerves thus influences the autonomic functions of the body.
The pranic channels are opened and balanced - these correspond to the meridians of TCM. Through stimulation of the nostril channels the sinus arrythmia is balanced (the alternating flow of breath through left and right nostrils). The flow of breath through the nostrils influences the nadis. In yoga we call the left nostril flow ida nadi and the right pingala nadi - the former being associated with the PNS and the latter SNS. For adept yogis these are balanced so that left and right are in a state of sushumna nadi - balanced central flow, bringing balance to the nervous system and the whole body-mind.
Neti brings about a profound physical stimulation of the whole brain. It helps to bring relief in cases of facial paralysis and other nervous diseases. Soothing of the brain helps to soothe and relax the rest of the body. Neti helps to remove blocks in the flow of nervous impulses and thereby it brings good health.

Awakening
Neti awakens ajna chakra the seat of insight, intuition and transcendence located in the mid eyebrow point. In acupuncture, the point between the eyebrows is called GV (governor vessel) 24.5. It corresponds to the point called the bhrumadhya in yogic terminology. It is the trigger point for the ajna chakra which is a very important psychic centre. It is the point where the ida and pingala meet and flow as one channel- the sushumna. There are many methods of stimulating this point: acupuncture uses needles etc., yoga uses other techniques including neti.

How to do it
I tend to practice neti two or three times a week. Avoid doing it everyday, as the body could lose its natural balance. But when you first start do it every day for the first 3 months to effect rebalance.

1. Get yourself a good pot - the rolls royce is the nosebuddy pot. And it really is eons ahead of other pots (see right) - you wouldn't believe. Though it might look a bit rude! Fill it to the line drawn on the side, with lukewarm body temperature water.

2. Use the spoon provided with the pot to add a spoon's worth of salt - cooking salt is best.  DO NOT use sea salt - or ouch!!!  stir well to dissolve the salt fully into the water.  If, when you do the practice, it stings the reason is that you have not got the salt balance right.  Salt balance is crucial in matching the osmotic potential of the water with that of your body so that the body 'thinks' that the neti water is simply more of your own body fluid and the process feels sweet.
3. Breathing through your mouth, insert the spout gently into your left nostril, slowly tilt your head and pot slowly sideways to the right so that the water runs into the left nostril and out through the right one. This will happen automatically, provided the position of the pot and the angle of your head are correct, and the mouth is open for breathing. Allow all the water in the pot to flow freely until it is empty and then repeat on the right nostril. If the water passes down the back of the throat you have your head in the wrong position and you need to change the angle.




its important to dry the nostrils


4. After completion, the nostrils need to be dried and cleared completely of water. Do this firstly by bending forward so that the top of your head is hanging down. Slowly tilt your head to each side in turn and lift up and down a little, slowly. Stay inverted for about 30 secs until nostrils are drained. stand up and blow sharply (bhastrika) through one nostril about 20 times, then the other. Then repeat bhastrika through both nostrils until clear. Test if they are dry by blowing through both onto the back of the hand, if you don't feel water then you have probably completed the drying process.

Dwi Pada Pittam Workshop

Back bends are opening, rejuvenating for both the nervous and the muscular systems and are recommended for mental health issues such as depression.  Backbends that work against gravity, such as Dwi Pada Pittam (two foot support) otherwise known as the Bridge, use contraction of the spinal muscles. They rejuvenate the back muscles by concentrically contracting to overcome gravity (lift the spine up) and thereby enable the release of the muscles and fascia of the chest, ribs and pericardium (heart membrane). It is said that this allows 'space' for the heart and improves its functioning. Given that depression and heart disease have been proven to go hand in hand it makes sense that back bends help people suffering from heart disease.

This post offers you a short 'workshop' in Dwi Pada Pittam - you will get the most benefit by also watching the accompanying video.



The risks involved in this posture is jamming of the lower back. The low back, lumbar region, is more mobile than other parts of the spine - it has shorter spinous processes, no ribs attached to restrict movement and also our Western sedentary lifestyles lead to general kyphosis (rounding of the upper back) which weakens the upper back muscles anyway.  So if we don't practice this posture mindfully, our body takes the path of least resistance and we can end up jamming and hurting our low back.

So to practice Dwi Pada Pittam to avoid this and to open the heart, strengthen the back and avoid spinal jamming:

1. Relax - start lying on the floor with the knees bent and feet pulled in towards the buttokcs and firmly planted on the floor. Inhale and sweep the arms up.  Exhale and tip your legs to the right, feel the left shoulder blade shrugging into the floor. Then inhale up and exhale legs to the left, feel the right shoulder release to the floor. Feel the back of the neck and shoulders flat on the floor, pulled down by your back into the floor. Feel the thoracic (upper) spine releasing down into the floor.
2. Initiate the movement - exhale and tilt the pelvis back, pushing the low back into the floor. Inhale and take the pelvis into the air, breath by breath. As you inhale and lift imagine an exercise ball being slowly filled with air beneath you, lifting your spine up softly from underneath you. As you lift, feel the curve flowing along the length of the spine in a rounded smooth curve, along your entire spine.
3. Keep your chin tucked down, your neck long and shoulders grounded into the floor. Bring the apex of the curve into your UPPER back , behind your heart, so that your pelvis moves upward and toward the ceiling and your chest expands towards your face.
4. Stretch your coccyx towards your knees and pull your abdominals down towards your spine. Open your front thighs and groin towards the ceiling and be very grounded in  your feet and knees.  Knees are parallel and feet and knees hip width apart.
5. When your chest is fully expanded, raise your pelvis as high as you can - feeling that imaginary ball beneath you expanded to its fullest raising you up. Stay where you are and hold this maximum position as effortlessly as possible.  Remember 'sthira sukhanam asanam' - steadiness and comfort in the posture.
6. Uncurl slowly on the exhale, release your abdominals down and release the pelvis back down uncurling the spine to the floor vertebra by vertebra, as if you are easing into soft foam, feel the vertebrae release one by one from the thoracic to the sacrum.

Full posture

1. Lift up again as before - then when fully extended lift your arms up and sweep them down towards your feet, interlacing your hands beneath your hips and straighten them away from your shoulders.
2. Roll your upper arms out, move your shoulders away from your ears, squeeze your shoulder blades together and down. move your upper arms inwards and press your shoulders into the floor - ease and squeeze into this so that you are resting directly on  your shoulders. Breathe smoothly and evenly.
3. To release out, release the hands sweeping them overhead again and release and uncurl the spine slowly the floor.

For more yoga practices visit MyYoga website for regular updates.

The Yoga of Sound

Tibetan Singing Bowl similar to mine

People often express an interest in the beautiful Tibetan singing bowl that I use in my classes. If you keep your arm sort of straight, swing with your whole body-mind (gently) and hit the wooden batton against the side of the bowl with a careful and confident strike, you hear a sound of multiple harmonics. A sound that resonates back and forth inside your head in the most beautiful way.

If you use the batton to slowly rub/stir the wooden mallet within or on the top outer surface of the metal bowl, it produces a continuous harmonic rimming sound. Very sweet to the ears.
The sound quality of singing bowls depends on mixture composition of metal used, the more the metal composition, the more purity in sound, also termed as chakra balancing aura sound.


Singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time. The overtones are a result of using an alloy consisting of multiple metals, each producing its own overtone. But to get the most beautiful sound you need to pay some money for the best hand-made bowls (rather than bowls made out of a single cheaper bronze alloy).

The harmonic overtones that these bowls generate are researched for their ability to activate alpha and theta brainwaves (deep relaxation in the brain) and produce profound positive effects on our mental functioning and our emotional state.

Sound (music) has been much researched and proven to have a positive effect on our brain chemistry (in a similar way to having sex). The release of endorphins such as dopamine, give us an emotional thrill - they tickle our brain! This emotional arousal is important helping us to manipulate and affect our emotional wellbeing and even our performance. If you want to increase your performance state by increasing your stimulation you can play your favourite rock music. If you want to chill out and relax - decrease your level of stimulation, ie performance nerves - you can play relaxing music.

Perhaps this is why sound has a special significance in yoga. Sound is vibration - as we scientists know on a deep level, everything is energy. Sound waves travel through the air and hit our ear drums, these vibrations are interpreted by our brains as musical notes. Sometimes we can feel this vibration in our bodies (ever stood too close to the bass speaker whilst watching your favourite band ? .. yum!). And the main way we use sound in yoga is through chanting - more on this in the next post.