Hatha Yoga for Transforming Sadness into Courage, Right Action and Letting Go

Theme: Transforming Sadness/Depression into Courage, Right Action and Letting Go based on work by Mantak Chia and other sources.


Intention: Exploration of where sadness is blocked or trapped in the body and begin to release and transform it.

Sadness and Depression are found in the 3rd and 4th Chakras. In Traditional Chinese Medicine they are said to live in the lungs and Large Intestines. The Energy of Sadness is: Soft and Cold to the Touch. Sadness is found in  neurotransmitters in our brain.  The physiology of sadness is an absence of dopamine, serotonin and phenylethylamine.

We usually translate the word Karuna as compassion but it originally means sadness.  It is the sadness we feel when we need to let go of attachments. There is a practice called Karuna Sadhana.  Mastering Karuna means changing sadness to compassion.  Most people are so self-absorbed the do not understand that others problems are the same as their own.

Sadness is related to the water element.  It is seen in our tears.  The deity of sadness is Varuna the lord of the water. He is the keeper of the laws of dharma and his palace is a Submerged Mountain.

The moon influences the water element. The descending moon cycle is related to sadness.  The ascending moon cycle is related to Joy and Excitement

Concentrating on Love, Joy and Humor are powerful ways to release and remove sadness.

3 AWARENESS EXERCISE

For the Body Awareness Exercise I will use Mantak’s Healing Sound Practice for Transformation of Sadness into Courage
Healing sound: Ssssssssssssssssssss

FROM A COMFORTABLE SEATED POSITION

Close your eyes and put your hands on your rib cage.  Inhale slowly through your nose. Notice in you feel any sadness, depression, constriction or other physical imbalances in your lungs.  If you do ask them if they have a message for you.

1. Become aware of your lungs. Take a deep breath and, letting your eyes follow, raise the arms up in front of you. When the hands are at eye level, begin to rotate the palms and bring them up above the head. Keep the elbows rounded. You should feel a stretch that extends from the heels of the palms, along the forearms, over the elbows, along the upper arms and into the shoulders. The lungs and chest will feel open and breathing will be easier. Draw the corners of the mouth back, exhale, making the sound "Ssssssss", sub-vocally, slowly and evenly in one breath.

2. As you exhale, empty all feelings of sadness, sorrow and grief from your lungs.

3. When you have exhaled completely (without straining), rotate the palms down, close the eyes, and breathe in to the lungs to strengthen them. If you are color oriented, imagine a pure white light and quality of righteousness entering into your lungs. Float the arms down by gently lowering the shoulders. Slowly lower them to your lap so that they rest there, palms up.

4. Close the eyes, breathe normally, smile down to the lungs, be aware of the lungs, and imagine that you are still making the sound. Pay attention to any sensations you may feel. Try to feel the exchange of cool, fresh energy replacing hot, dark waste energy.

4. SHARING
Break into pairs and talk about your experience using active listen. 90 seconds per person.

5. MUDRA/AFFIRMATION
Pranidhana Mudra
"As I learn to let go, I naturally live with right action and courage"


6. WARM UP
tapping on lung 1 - Middle Palace
Joint Freeing Series Standing Variation
Flapping Wings
Pranayama: Breath of Joy
Qi Gong Flow for Metal

7. ASANA

SURYA NAMASKAR with Mantras
HALF MOON with HANDS TO FEET POSE
WARRIOR 2
TRIANGLE and TWISTING TRIANGLE
STAR POSE to GODDESS POSE WITH HA BREATH
STANDING SEPARATE LEG STRETCHING
STORK
DYING BUG SIT UPS
BOAT
PLANK - FOREARM PLANK - DOLPHIN
COBRA to FULL LOCUST
HALF TORTOISE/CHILD’S POSE
CAMEL
RABBIT
LATERAL DRAGONFLY
SPINAL TWIST
SAVASANA

8. YOGA NIDRA

Repeat Healing Sound Practice in Savasana

Lying in Savasana Close your eyes and put your hands on your rib cage
Once again get in touch with your lungs and large intestines the place where sadness and depression reside.

Notice if you feel any sadness, depression, constriction or other physical imbalance in your lungs.  If you do ask for a message of this feeling.  The answer may not come immediately or at some other time.  When you know the message, let it’s wisdom guide you.
Inhale deeply through your nose as you slowly move your hands a few inches away from your chest, turn your palms up and raise your arms over your head

Bring your arms over your head and rotate them to face the wall. Hold them 6 inches apart. Gently press away from you with the heels of the palms

Feel a stretch from your palms to your elbows to your shoulders to the area of your lungs

Inhale and exhale slowly making SUBVOCALLY the sound SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Exhale completely and Visualize any sadness, depression, constriction or imbalance leaving your mouth like a cloudy gray substance going into the earth to be transformed.

Breath normally now, and rotate your palms down and release your shoulders and let your hands slowly float back to cover your lungs

 Smile inwardly and outwardly, to your lungs and large intestine, feeling gratedul for the work the do in respiration and elimination. Then, still smiling, with every breath imagine you are breathing into these organs a brilliant white light.  Do this for several breaths.

Sense your lungs and large intestines are larger, softer and moister and spongier. Sadness, depression, constriction or imbalance have been released. Courage, right action and letting go have been increased

Roll over to a SITTING POSITION

9. MEDITATION
Hansi Mudra

“An inner smile radiates through out my being, awakening all my essential positive qualities.”

10 CLOSING
Each participant gives one word to encapsulate their experience