PaulGrilley.com
"Sitting bones" (ischial tuberocities), "butt knuckles" rooting in, actually bringing sitting bone back.
Many phrases we say are not accurate, but have meaningful energetic meaning that helps people understand what you're trying to accomplish.
Most important alignment - pelvis
Least important - hands and feet
"exhale" breath below belly, lift upwards as you exhale.
inhale: relax everything, let belly, pelvic floor expand.
2 limitations: tension and compression. Tension can be eased with stretching/yoga. Compression is bone on bone and you can't go further than that! Great examples are ankle flexion and elbow extension (depends on the ulna/radius hook. Fascinating concepts about many skeletal differences!! Also with the femur, many people have deep/shallow/internal rotation/external rotation in the hips that affect yoga posture/ability. Good to know!!!
Book "Back Sense" about bulging disks. Not all people have pain with a bulging disk. Many people have them and don't know it?? Also the book, "The Spark in the Machine". and Bruce Grayson studies about water and brain.
Yin Yoga Intensive Sept. 2015
at Yen Yoga & Fitness, Traverse City, Michigan
with
Joe Barnett
(joebarnettyoga.com)
senior student of
Paul Grilley
Prayer for Teacher and Student
OM, saha naa vavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam kaaravaavahai
Tejas vinaavaditam astu
Maa vidvishaavahai
OM, shanti, shanti, shanti
OM, May Brahman protect us
May Brahman enjoy us
May our study be vigorous
May the light of understanding spread without limit
May we never hate one another
OM, peace, peace, peace
Excerpts from The Yin Yoga Sutras by Paul Grilley (paulgrilley.com)
Yin and Yang Description of Asana
Yin and yang are convenient terms for describing different forms of yoga practice.
Yin poses are held two to ten minutes.
Yang poses are held two to thirty seconds.
Fascia and ligaments are yin tissues.
Muscle and blood are yang tissues.
Yin tissues resist stretching and rebound slowly, like stiff dough.
Yang tissues stretch easily and rebound quickly, like rubber.
All tissues are a blend of yin and yang qualities.
Something that is yin in one context is yang in another.
All philosophies are useful, all philosophies are incomplete. Do not be attached to them.
Yin and Yang Yoga Practice
1.Yin yoga targets fascia.
2.Yang yoga targets muscle.
3.Yin yoga is slow and static, like traction.
4.Yang yoga is rhythmic and repetitive, like weight lifting.
5.Yin yoga focuses on holding postures a long time.
6.Yang yoga focuses on movement not position.
7.Muscles are relaxed in yin yoga.
8.Muscles are tense in yang yoga.
9.Joints are exercised to their full range of motion in yin yoga.
10.Joints are not exercised to their full range of motion in yang yoga
11.Hands and feet are used as levers to stress the joints in yin yoga.
12.Hands and feet are mobile to avoid strain of the joints in yang yoga.
Energy Curve
1.The sequence of Yin and Yang determines the energy curve of the practice.
2.Yin and Yang can be practiced separately or in combination
3.There is no such thing as pure Yin or pure Yang practice.
4.The energy curve should vary with the practitioner.
2
Functional and Aesthetic Descriptions.
1.Yoga asanas can be described aesthetically or functionally.
2. An aesthetic description focuses on how a pose should look.
3. A functional description focuses on individual experience.
Fourteen skeletal segments:
1. Toes 6 movements flexion/extension, abduct/adduct, passive rotation
2. Ankle 4 movements flexion/extension, pronation/supination
3. Tibia 4 movements flexion/extension, rotation/rotation
4. Femur 6 movements flexion/extension, abduct/adduct, rotation/rotation
5. Pelvis 6 movements flexion/extension, flex/flex, rotation/rotation
6. Lumbar 6 movements flexion/extension, flex/flex, rotation/rotation
7. Thoracic 6 movements flexion/extension, flex/flex, rotation/rotation
8. Cervical 6 movements flexion/extension, flex/flex, rotation/rotation
9. Fingers 6 movements flexion/extension, abduct/adduct, passive rotation
10. Wrists 4 movements flexion/extension, radial-flexion/ulnar-flexion
11. Radius 2 movements pronation/supination
12. Ulna 2 movements flexion/extension
13. Humerus 6 movements flexion/extension, abduct/adduct, rotation/rotation
14. Scavicle 6 movements elevate/depress, protract/retract, rotation/rotation
Eight Myofascial Segments
1. Four Segments in each leg
2. Four Segments in the torso
Analytic principles:
1.Determine which skeletal segment is restricted.
2.Determine if the restriction is tension or compression.
3.Orientation - movements should be described relative to the axis.
4.Proportion - hand and foot placement should vary with proportion.
5.Counter Balance - consider the vector of force due to gravity.
Theory of Exercise
1. Tissues must be exercised to stay healthy.
2. Underused tissues degenerate; overused tissues deteriorate.
3. Yoga asanas stretch or compress the tissues.
4. These sensations are experienced as painful or pleasant.
5. Painful or pleasant sensations are subjectively interpreted as good or bad.
6. “Is this pain good for me?” is the most difficult question in yoga asana.
7. The short term effects of exercise are the opposite of long term effects.
Three Layers of a Joint
1. Bone
2. Ligament
3. Muscle
Exercising Joints
1. Joints are dynamic structures, there is no static ideal for a joint.
2. Stress on a joint is a product of weight, speed and angle of force.
3. Exercising joints relieves contracture.
4. Exercising joints prevents degeneration.
5. Exercising joints encourages defixation.
6. Exercising joints stimulates chi flow.
7. Exercising joints stimulates production of hyaluronic acid.
Theory of Chi
1. Chi is an intelligent life force that forms and controls the tissues of the body
2. Pain or disease is the result of too little chi or too much chi (stagnation).
3. All therapies are midwives to reestablishing the flow of chi.
4. Asanas stretch and compress tissues.
5. If this stimulates the flow of chi then healing will occur.
Modern Meridian Theory
1. Chi is a life force that flows through channels called meridians.
2. Meridians are structured water channels in the fascia.
3. Meridians are formed by the presence of hyaluronic acid (H.A.) molecules.
4. H.A. is created by fibroblasts in the connective tissue.
5. H.A. can electrically attract 1000x its weight in water.
6. Meridian structure is the inversion of arterial structure.
7. There are two flows in meridians: chi and water.
