I can remember my very first Iyengar yoga class in 1993 in Bondi Junction. I thought the whole process of yoga alignment during the class made me want to crawl out of my skin, it was so difficult. This practice of alignment really had me twisted mentally, emotionally and physically. I began to look at other styles of yoga and noticed the vast difference between yoga styles and the practice of alignment.
Iyengar Yoga is at one end of the spectrum in terms of the importance placed on the alignment of muscles, ligaments and bones. Which, I believe gives Iyengar Yoga a rehabilitation effect. I could say Yin Yoga places value on the alignment of the emotional world during asana posture practice. Correspondingly, Pregnancy yoga focuses on the alignment between mother and baby during its class, and Vinyasa Yoga focuses on the alignment of breath and posture together in a faster type of asana flow, which is quite stimulating.
I would say that Kundalini Yoga focuses on energetic alignment, which means the teacher will give vocal cues that relate to mastering your energy as a feature of the class. And lastly, Chakra Yoga aligns with the chakra system through its practices. These are the yoga styles I have dedicated some time to. I found them aligning to different things, but ultimately, the practice is all about the alignment of the mind and the body.
You can choose which type of alignment style suits you, it has certainly influenced me in the style of yoga I have chosen to practice and teach. Whatever you choose to align to during your practice, alignment is all about having a conversation between the mind and the body. It's a connection, a communication, a sacred dialogue.
When you are in a standing posture, and the teacher asks you to lift the kneecaps and quadricep muscles toward the hips, ie draw the front of the thighs up. You are using this instruction to create a conversation with the kneecaps and quadriceps muscles. And you may have this conversation in a language in your mind like an actual conversation with the body part, ie body talking. Or some may notice the sensation of the kneecaps and front of thighs. You may notice this sensation change as you squeeze the muscles of the thighs and kneecaps up.
I love it when teachers give the instruction to notice the transition space between postures and be conscious of how the body-mind construct is moving into and out of postures. This type of deep practice tones the vagus nerve, producing The Relaxation Response after 15-25mins of practice. Noticing on this subtle level is one of the great gifts of yoga which translates into mental brain benefits and continuing to develop new neural pathways.
You also learn that you are not the mind giving the instruction to the body. You are observing the instruction being given by the mind and followed by the body to the best of your ability. So the big question then is what constitutes 'You?' You find out that 'You' are the consciousness watching this body-mind instrument work, the mind telling the body or telling the energy where to move to. You are consciousness itself. Such a beautiful experience and a real gift of Yoga.
How you go about facilitating this conversation between the body and the mind is very interesting. Becoming conscious of your practice of alignment and what you are aligning to is integral to the yoga experience. The real benefit of alignment is the relationship that develops and strengthens the mind and body response. And here we have to discuss the Vagus Nerve. The 10th cranial nerve, called the wandering nerve is responsible for the brain-body connection.
The Wandering nerve facilitates the conversation between the body and the mind. This conversation is based upon sensation. The Vagus nerve can be toned through certain practices, such as vocal Om-ing for instance as the Vagus nerve plays a part in the vocal tone we use to express ourselves. If when we Om, we notice the vibration of the sound against the soft pallet we are toning the Vagus Nerve and facilitating a stronger connection than just merely Om-ing. This extra level of consciousness during class is integral to deepening your practice to the level of communication pathways between brain and body.
Exploring yoga alignment and the vagus nerve and learning to tone it is an incredible journey that has genuinely helped me. Learning to align to the vagus nerve and build a relationship with it has really yielded amazing results in terms of mental health, not just for me but for many students and private clients.
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