Jala Mudra

I was at first surprised that Jala mudra was chosen to balance Pitta Dosha because it balances both Pitta and Vatta.  I think I would have chosen Jalashaya Mudra because it is more specific to balancing Pitta.  But I am just a beginner.

Jala Mudra is formed by placing tips of thumbs to tips of little fingers hands up on knees or thighs.

The time went by very fast in this mudra meditation.

I loved the affirmation
"With greater fluidity at all levels of being, I move through life smoothly and easily."

My hands (I have a tremor) have a little bit of problems with these mudras where the fingers are extended but I do them the best I can,

I loved the voice of the guide,

Although I felt a bit awkward with the hand position I enjoyed the water imagery. I always feel a great connection to water.  If I am truly a Pitta-Kapha it explains why I am connected to water because there is a lot of water in me because there is both water in Kapha and Pitta.

Surya Mudra

For my IYT internship for I need to experience a mudra for each of the Doshas.  Here is the hand position for Surya Mudra which I practiced this morning with palms up on my lap sitting on my couch with support behind my back.

Surya Mudra was chosen to balance Kapha Doha.  I was surprised that was the Mudra - Joseph Le Page chose for the internship.  I thought we would chose Ratna Prabha Mudra which is just for Kapha balancing where as Surya mudra is for balancing both Vata and Kapha.

I felt the sun at my chest and my Solar Plexus.

My favorite part was the affirmation
"Awakening my inner sun's radiant energy, I live with abundant vitality."

Because of my tremor, my hands have a hard time using the mudra without tension and shaking.  I wonder if I practiced every day if we hand tension would ease.

VISION BOARDS FOR MANISFESTATION

What do you want to manifest in your life?  Vision Boarding is a visual way to explore the heart and soul’s desires.  By vision boarding, we gain new insight and energy to manifest our dreams.

There are 3 main styles of learning: Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic. To harness the power of manifestation, we need a combination these three. When setting intentions, we often only say them in our minds -- only thinking about what we want. Manifestation often begins here in the mind space, but in order to make our intention more real, we need to engage other senses. Joel Barker says, “Vision without action is a dream.  Action without vision is simply passing the time.  Action with vision is making a positive difference.”

In order to manifest: (1) journal about intentions; (2) pledge them aloud to others; and (3) see them with your own eyes.  Vision boards triggers our visual learning style.  They serve to funnel and focus our 60,000 daily thoughts into clear intentions for ourselves.

A vision board is a sacred space where we display what we want. When we create a vision board and place it in a space where we see it often, we essentially end up doing short visualization exercise each time we see the board.

Visualization is one of the most powerful mind exercises you can do. According to the popular book The Secret, “The law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts. When you are visualizing, you are emitting a powerful frequency out into the Universe.”

Visualization works!  Olympic athletes have used it for decades to improve performance, and Psychology Today reported that the brain patterns activated when a weightlifter lifts heavy weights are also similarly activated when the lifter just imagined (visualized) lifting weights.
To create a vision board that really works, focus on how you want to feel not just on things that you want. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to include the material stuff too. However, the more your board focuses on how you want to feel, the more it will come to life. There aren’t any real rules in vision boarding. Use your intuition and create your vision board on your own terms.
 
Basic “How To’s” In Making Your Own Vision Board

1. Collect magazines, scissors, glue, poster board, stickers, and markers.

2. Decide what kind of Vision Board this will be. Here are three key board themes:
 (a) Past, Present, Future Board - Paste pictures of where you’ve been on the outside rim.  Next, put where you are now.  In the center of the board, put where you want to go.
 (b) Single Focus Board - Decide on one key area of your life -- like Career or Relationships -- and choose pictures that support the vision you have for yourself.
(c) I Don’t Know Board - Go through magazines and simply start choosing anything that is calling to you.  Don’t edit, just allow things to happen organically.

3. Sit and meditate on the purpose of your board. Visualize it in the quiet workshop of your mind. Visioning requires concentration.

4. Go through magazines and cut out words, pictures, anything that might be a good fit for your theme.

5. Find a balance between being creative but not cluttered. If you end up with too much, it will only dilute the powerful experience of visioning.

6. Keep your Vision Board where you can see it every day, ideally first thing in the morning.

7. Bring your Vision Board on the road wherever you go by taking a photo of it and using it as your screen saver on your laptop and smartphone.

8. Show a trusted friend your Vision Board and explain what it means to you. By saying it out loud, you further reinforce the stickiness of your thoughts to keep them from being distracted.

9. Celebrate as you manifest your intentions one by one!

10. Finally, when necessary, don’t forget to make time to create another board for yourself.

7 STAGE YOGA NIDRA FOR MANIFESTATION

(you will need to know the structure of Satyananda Yoga Nidra to use this guided relaxation.  The practice is just outlined here in a basic way)

INTERNALIZATION
(as usual)

SANKALPA
(as usual ) or . “I am living the life I desire.”

BREATH WORK

Part 1
Breathing in and out of Eyebrow Center

Part 2

Working with mantra Hreem
HRIM (pronounced Hreem) is the prime mantra of the Great Goddess and ruler of the worlds and holds all her creative and healing powers.
HRIM governs over the cosmic magnetic energy and the power of the soul and causal body.
It awakens us at a soul or heart level, connecting us to Divine forces of love and attraction.
In Vedic terms HRIM is a mantra of the Sun, particularly in terms of illumination.
It increases our aspiration and receptivity to Divine light, wisdom and truth.
It opens the lotus of the heart to the inner Sun of consciousness.
It is a mantra of the region of heaven or the consciousness space in which all the worlds exist.

RAPID IMAGERY

A red upside down triangle
Crescent moon
A red scarf
A friend’s smile
A tall tree
Ocean waves at sunrise
A pyramid
A sea shell
Drops of honey
Green Grass
Stars in the Night sky
A Candle Flame
Thousand petal lotus

VISUALIZATION YOGA NIDRA

Bring the awareness to the chidakasha the mind screen in front of the closed eyes.
In that space the chidakasha notice any patterns or colors
Bring the awareness to the chidakasha the mind movie
And in that space imagine you are sitting in a comfortable position in front of a very large blank movie screen.
See now images begin appearing on this large screen
The images are your  life exactly as you wish it to be.
You are watching a movie of the life you desire.
See the key people, the places, and the environment.
 Notice your surroundings. Are you at  home?
What are you doing right now? Notice the activities
Who is with you? Your friends?Family.
Notice what you are doing and whom you are with.
Notice your clothing. What are you wearing?
Notice where you are and the variety of experiences that move across the screen.
Feel yourself in this movie and now that it is both a movie and no longer a movie.
 It is now. It is real.
Feel yourself living this life you desire.
Experience the sights as they interact with you in the now.
Feel through body sensation the wide variety of emotions as you live your dream right now.
Notice the tastes and flavors moving through your mouth.
Listen to all the sounds that surround you.
Hear the conversations, the sounds of nature, of the environment.
 Inhale deeply and indulge in the scents. Engage in the environment, touching and feeling until your whole being is enveloped in vibration of your ideal life happening in the now.
Allow yourself to bathe in the experience of living the life you desire, creating it and feeling it into being right now. Trust and know it is happening now. Enjoy this experience.
Allow yourself to enter a deeper state of relaxation.
Ask for any messages from your angels, guides, loved ones, mentors or teachers you feel connected to. It may show up as images, words, or a felt sense or knowing. Give gratitude for the guidance.
Rest in stillness.
Bring the awareness back to the chidakasha and let go of the visualization practice

SANKAPA
(same as usual)

EXTERNALIZATION
(same as usual)

Case Study 3 - Larry

Read the study and answer the following questions.

Larry is 28 years old and single. He is tall and handsome, with a longish angular face. His outgoing and vibrant personality makes him popular with both men and women. He has an active social life. He is always on the move. His friends are amazed at how fast his life changes: from apartments to jobs to girlfriends. There is always something new and different going on with Larry, always a new interest. He approaches life as a happy vagabond, going with the flow. Lately, however, Larry has been having problems. The bills from his happy-go-lucky lifestyle have been piling up. His car has been repossessed and he has been feeling anxious, has trouble sleeping, and is experiencing problems with his digestion, most notably constipation. He has made an appointment for a Yoga therapy session, hoping it will help him sleep better.

1. What is your best guess for this individual’s Ayurvedic constitution and present
condition? Consider both their prakruti AND vikruti.

VATA

Larry likes to change, loves something new and different connecting to  Vata's main function is movement. His longish angular face is characteristic Vata

2. How do you see the dosha implicated in the individual’s health concern?

Bills are not getting paid and his car has been repossessed - Flightiness of Vata out of balance

Anxiety - Common Vata imbalance

Trouble Sleeping - Common for Vata when it is out of balance

Digestive Issues - Common for Vata when it is out of balance

Constipation - Common for Vata out of balance


3. What specific Yoga tools (asana, pranayama, mudra, relaxation, meditation, etc.) would you recommend to address their health concerns? Why?

Asana
- Try to get them to commit to a consistent practice atleast 4 time a week at the same time of day to get balanced
- Mindful practice so he doesn't get injured
- Stay focused
- Asanas that are close chained, both feet on the floor
- Slow, graceful sun salutations
- Back bends, squats
- Poses that engage the legs (Warrior 1, Camel,  Bridge)
- Hold poses 3 to 5 breaths
- Avoid overworking the muscles
- Standing and Seated forward folds
- hip openers
- warming inversions where both hands and feet are on the ground (downward facing dog, dolphin)
- finish with seated and lying twists
-10 to 20 minute savasana
- Avoid rushing after finishing the practice
- Use props

PRANAYAMA
- During asana even ratio between inhale and exhale
- slow even ujjayi
- Surya bhedanana (right nostril breathing) to prepare for meditation - also in the morning and evening
- Chandra bhedhana (left nostril breathing) at midday
- Nadi shodhana at all times
- If students are feeling cold or tired, start practice with gentle kapalabhati

GUIDED IMAGERY

- Being in a womb-like environment
- Grounding, nuturing and warming imagery

MEDITATION

-10 to 30 minutes of meditation after practice
- Mantra meditation is great

4. Based on their dosha and their presenting imbalances, how would you recommend
they approach the practice of Yoga? Include time of day, season, age of the client, and where appropriate, the koshas, the five elements, and/or the three gunas.

ELEMENT
- Air and Space because he changes all the time

TIME OF DAY
- Try to get them to commit to a consistent practice atleast 4 time a week at the same time of day to get balanced

TIME OF LIFE
- Larry at 28 it in the time of Pitta dosha

Case Study 2 - Brenda

Read the case studies and answer the following questions for each one.
`
Case Study Two: Brenda

Brenda has just been diagnosed with adult onset (Type II) diabetes. This diagnosis has
left her feeling depressed. Brenda is 65, a widow with five children and three grandchildren. Before her diagnosis, she was known for her pleasant smile, calm demeanor, and a readiness to help and “do” for others, even at her own expense. Her pleasant smile and calm demeanor have been replaced by lethargy. Her family is worried because Brenda no longer has a desire to socialize with
friends and family, and lately she has been spending a lot of time in bed sleeping and
watching television. Her family is hoping that Yoga therapy will help Brenda with her depression and with managing her diabetes.


Questions:

1. What is your best guess for this individual’s Ayurvedic constitution and present
condition? Consider both their prakruti AND vikruti.

She sounds like a Kapha because of her pleasant smile, calm demeanot and readiness to help and do for others. She also sounds like a kapha because she is sleeping a lot.


.
2. How do you see the dosha implicated in the individual’s health concern?

Depression - this happens when Kapha is out of balance

Diabetes - this is a common Kapha condition

Lethargy - this is a common Kapha condition

Asocial behavior

3. What specific Yoga tools (asana, pranayama, mudra, relaxation, meditation, etc.) would you recommend to address their health concerns? Why?

General Info
- In the Kapha practice the poses are heldlonger and focus on conenction to the physical body and the earth
- Kapha's have a lot of stamina which is good for a life time practice
- Kapha's want clear instructions and clear boundaries as well as repetition and consistency
- Kapha's are cheerful and non competitive or perfectionist
- Because Kapha's tend toward immobility it is important for them to have a regular practice with heating, dynamism and variety


Asana
- Asanas that bring awareness to the senses
- Sound and music
- An active and warming asana practice to stimulate metabolism and circulation
- Need to sweat
- Practice in the morning
- Use sun salutations, fluid vinyasa between standing poses, squats, standing forward bend, back bends and lion pose
- breath with emphasis or exhalation
- warming inversions (headstand and forearm balance)
- During asana breath should be deep with emphasis or gentle retention after exhalation
- smooth rhythmic breathing during sun salutations
- asanas that massage the chest and lungs (locust)
- warrior 1

Pranayama
- Kapalabhati and/or surya bhedanana (right nostril breathing) in the morning before breakfast
- Bhastrika
- Ujjayi
- Jalandhara bandha
- Agni Sara Dhauti
- Focus on exhalation
- external retention

Mudra
- Ratna Prabha Mudra

Guided Imagery
- Guided imagery using light and color
- Visualizations involving the chakras
- Solar or Space Visualizations

Mantra/Chanting
- Chanting mantras
- Kirtan

Meditation
- use of painting and drawing and coloring
- Visualizations involving the chakras
-  Practices that incorporate spaciousness and warmth (eye open meditations, standing or walking meditations)
- Yantra
- Kum Nye

4. Based on their dosha and their presenting imbalances, how would you recommend
they approach the practice of Yoga? Include time of day, season, age of the client, and where appropriate, the koshas, the five elements, and/or the three gunas.

AGE
- Client is in Age of Vata or Pitta/Vata depending on who you are following.  Yoga practice should focus on the spirtual.

GUNAS
- Brenda is in a tamasic (non-movement) state right now.  She has lack of movement and all she wants to do is sleep

ELEMENT
- Brenda seems to have an over abundance of earth element right now rooting her in the bed.  I wouldn't give her an earth practice I would give her a fire, air or ether practice/

TIME OF DAY
- It would be great if Brenda did an energizing yoga practice between 6 and 10am

SEASON
- In the Kapha season of winter and early spring I would especially advise Brenda to have her most energizing practice because of the over abundance of Kapha. But in Life Force Yoga I learned that we have to meet the mood so I would start slow and stable and try to get her energy up as the practice went on.

Case Study 1 - Elena

Read the three case studies and answer the following questions for each one.

Case Study One: Elena

Elena is 51 and married for the second time. Her 10-year-old daughter is from her current
marriage and her 22-year-old son is from her first. Both Elena and her husband work long
hours at stressful jobs in the field of education. Elena tends to overcommit herself with
work, family, and social responsibilities. This results in a great deal of rushing around and a
short fuse on her temper. She is also in perimenopause. She suffers from migraines, menstrual irregularity, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and a variety of other menopausal symptoms. Her doctor has put her on hormone replacement therapy for her menopausal symptoms and Paxil to help her with the migraine headaches. She is hoping that Yoga therapy will help her control her
menopausal challenges, reduce her reliance on Paxil, and decrease her level of stress.

1. What is your best guess for this individual’s Ayurvedic constitution and present condition? Consider both their prakruti AND vikruti.


My guess is that she is a Pitta

2. How do you see the dosha implicated in the individual’s health concern?
Cues towards the dosha

married twice - Vata or Pitta maybe
stressful job - Common Pitta Condition
overcommits with work, family and social responsibilities - Common Pitta Condition
rushes around - Common Pitta Condition
short fuse on temper - Common Pitta Condition
perimenopausal
migraines - Common Pitta Condition
menstrual irregularity - Common Vata Condition
hot flashes - Common Pitta Condition
night sweats - Common Pitta Condition
mood swings - depressed Pitta

3. What specific Yoga tools (asana, pranayama, mudra, relaxation, meditation, etc.) would you recommend to address their health concerns? Why?

Suggestions:
a) Practice yoga in a non-competitve, cooling, nurturing, expansive and relaxing way
b) Emphasize the exhalation
c) Practice from a place of creativity and intuition
d) Practice with eyes closed when possible
e) Avoid creating to much heat and sweating
f) Root inhalation at navel center
g) Slow the breath
h) Practice Uddiyana Bandha
i) Incorporate moon salutations, twists, peacock and straight leg variations of standing poses, such as wide legged forward fold, forward bends that stretch the inner and outer legs, tree, triangle and balacing half moon.
j) In the morning, she can incorporate counterbalancing poses for poses that create heat such as sun salutations, arm balances, strong backbemds and inversions
k) Also incorporate calming poses that activate the parasympathetic nervous system such as supported backbends (supine cobbler), cooling inversions (half shoulder stand and legs of the wall and yogassage)
l) Cooling breathing pattern during asana - exhalation longer than inhalation
m) Smooth rhythmic breath during postures'
n) Suspension of breath after exhalation is also good
o) Shitali or Sitkari Pranayama
p) Chandra bhedanan
q) Pratiloma Ujjayi Pranayama
r) Focus on heart chakra to develop compassion and on 6th and 7th chakra to develop intuition, insight and spiritual awareness
s) Use cooling mudras
t) Cooling Imagery: Air, Ether Water or Goddess Guided Imagery or Natural Landscapes, Images of Peace, Harmony or Interconnectedness
u) Toning sounds like "ahhh" and "shh"
v) Meditation is recommended
w) Metta Meditation
x) Abdominal Breathing
y) Nadi Shodhana
z) Vipassana anf Yoga Nidra
aa) Jalashaya Mudra


4. Based on their dosha and their presenting imbalances, how would you recommend they approach the practice of Yoga? Include time of day, season, age of the client, and where appropriate, the koshas, the five elements, and/or the three gunas.

Cautions
a)l Pitta-type can exaggerate their practice and aggravate imbalances by going towards aggressive types of yoga
b) Avoid heating styles of yoga, pranayama and meditation
c) Guide her away from externalizing and objectifying the Yoga practice


Time of Day for Practice

"Exercising in the morning when it is still cool is best for pitta as it will prevent them from overheating later in the day."

 (http://flowingfree.org/using-ayurvedic-principles-to-live-in-harmony-with-the-daily-cycles/#ixzz4UoAtIPte)

In the morning, Pitta's can incorporate so poses that create heat such as sun salutations, arm balances, strong backbemds and inversions as long as they counter balance them

"(In the evening) It is time to wind down from the days activities. Even though kapha is becoming dominant at this point, the effects of pitta and vata can carry over in the form of an overactive mind. Use this kapha energy to calm over activity and promote relaxation. The evening is a time for nurturing the self."

(http://flowingfree.org/using-ayurvedic-principles-to-live-in-harmony-with-the-daily-cycles/#ixzz4UoBoYW2r)

In the evening, Pitta's should incorporate calming poses that activate the parasympathetic nervous system such as supported backbends (supine cobbler), cooling inversions (half shoulder stand and legs of the wall and yogassage)


SEASON

"The summer season is ruled by the pitta dosha. Composed of the elements fire and water, pitta is oily, hot, light, spreading, and liquid: Think humidity. This time of year can express in the body as agitation, low digestive fire, sour stomach, and skin irritations. Here are some simple tips to remedy the effects of the pitta season.....Try a restorative or yin yoga practice, both great for cooling the system." (https://kripalu.org/resources/season-pitta)


AGE

Elena is transitioning out of the Pitta stage of life (ends at 50) in to the Pitta/Vata stage of life (50-75).
(http://ayurvedaplace.com/2011/03/07/the-four-stages-of-life)

"The late adult phase is called hermitage because in ancient times people left their homes and took up a small hermitage just outside the village, so that they could  live in retirement but still were able to provide help and advice as needed. This stage marks the transition between Pitta and Vata. We are seeking Dharma, honor and truth, and the need for wealth gradually subsides. At this time we show characteristics of both Pitta and Vata qualities and imbalances."

According to Srivitsa Ramawami

"During the early part of life, learning yoga as a physical art form is most beneficial for the self-confidence and discipline it instills. In middle age, yoga should focus on physical therapy and maintaining optimum health as far into life as possible. In the last stages of life, the practitioner will be ready to focus on the ultimate goal--true understanding of the philosophy behind yoga and the realization of truth."

GUNAS

Elena is in a rajasic state right now with her mood swings and short temper

ELEMENT

Elena seems most closely connected to the Fire Element

ASANAS

Should not approach too aggressively
Perform asana in a non-competitive way, cooling, nurturing expansive and relaxing
Emphasize relaxing during exhale
Practice in ways that are creative and emerge from intuitive reflection rather than outer drive or competition including working with the eyes closed
Avoid creating too much heat
Root inhale at the navel center, and slowing the breath
Uddiyana bandha is one of the primary practices for balancing pitta
Moon salutations, all kinds of twists, mayurasana, straight legged variations of standing pose (wide legged forward fold, tree, triangle, balancing half moon) Include forward bends that stretch the inner and outer legs
Create counter balancing poses for those that create heat
Include supported backbends - supine cobbler, cooling inverted poses, half-shoulder stand, legs up the wall

PRANAYAMA
long exhale
Suspension of breath after exhalation
Shitali
Chandra bhedana
Pratiloma ujjayi
Focus on heart chakra to develop compassion and on the 6th and 7th chakras to develop intuition, insight and spiritual awareness


MEDITATION
Cooling mudras
Water or goddess imagery
Tones like ah or shhh
Metta