there are only relationships

"The body is not like a machine, an assembly of various parts put together to create a greater whole, and we must stop thinking of ourselves like that.

We are organisms that evolved in complex ecosystems, with layers of interdependence. There are no units that act alone or have any sense autonomy - there are only relationships."

- Peter Blackaby 

Searching for Stability

"We tend to become tense and stiff when we feel unstable but this is unhelpful - rigid structures topple more easily than responsive ones. The principle concern in balances is to develop poses slowly, steadily and with quiet stability."

-- Peter Blackaby Intelligent Yoga

Peter Blackaby

Intelligent Yoga: Re-educating Mind and Body by Peter Blackaby

Having been to a couple of brilliant anatomy workshops with Peter Blackaby a little while ago I knew this would be a must read when I saw it and it really is!

Peter has been greatly influenced by the work of Vanda Scaravelli (see yesterdays post) and his practice as an osteopath and this book is a thoughtful, interesting and thoroughly researched interpretation of Yoga with a focus on the enquiry you should be having with your body and your practice. 

I read a review on Amazon a while ago that described it perfectly, so i'm going to borrow... 'Blackaby has unpicked movement without fracturing it and teaches intelligent practice in the context of the known, the surmised and the lived, suggesting an approach to yoga that is rational, disciplined and fulsomely human and humane.'

Go read, and then go to a workshop...I have two booked for the New Year : )

Joints, technique and tlc

A few things I've found useful and inspiring recently, for students and myself...

This works a treat! It's worth having a good search through Kelly Starrett's archive, he's seriously knowledgeable and passionate about his craft.

Try this the next time you sprint for the bus!

And if you want to be running barefoot then those feet are gunna need some work. I'd recommend taking control of your feet regardless of your plans for them anyway.


SQUAT! It's important.
I have studied with Peter a few times, and what he has to say about yoga really resonates. I highly recommend his book Intelligent Yoga.

(found all over the place via Google serendipity, the magic of twitter, Facebook and other peoples generosity.)

Your story.

All yoga postures are there to help us notice how we are as we act and we can use the practice to change from working/feeling/responding from our own histories to creating new, more helpful patterns, which ultimately gives you choice.

"If we take yoga seriously we will practice it alot. It makes sense, then, that what we practice has a positive effect on the body.

We repeat patterns not to limit us in life, but as the musician practices their scales, we practice basic patterns so we can move freely in life. Working with fundamental patterns in yoga helps to clarify how we move and what habits we have built up.

We need to learn to distribute patterns evenly throughout our bodies. Poorly distributed forces create stresses and strains at joins, which invariably lead to pain of discomfort and increased likelihood of layering protective patterns over causative ones. When we take this approach, yoga becomes an inquiry into the way we engage through our bodies. It helps us to notice when we do unhelpful things, and, once noticed, we can gently set about letting them go." --Peter Blackaby

Working with your own narrative is essential. That is where solutions are. YOUR solutions.
Now take the rest of your life and practice.

"We repeat patterns not to limit us in life, but as a musician practices their scales, we practice basic patterns so we can move freely in life."

--Peter Blackaby

Health

"Health doesn’t simply demand that we eat well and exercise, we need also to pay attention to how we feel physically and emotionally and act as intelligently as we can on those feelings.

...In yoga we are looking at how we move, how we breathe and how we feel. In fact, we are looking at how we inhabit our bodies. When we start to really pay attention to how we are, we notice more clearly the things that cause us discomfort and the things that make us feel better. If we stop noticing, we are more likely to move away from homeostasis. Think about how animals behave; when they are tired they sleep, when they are hungry, they eat and when they are wakeful they are active, they act on their feelings and in doing so they regulate their lives. Modern life often takes us away from the ability to respond to feelings, but if we ignore them for too long illness can be one of the consequences."

-- Peter Blackaby

"Yoga is flooded with books on the anatomy of yoga. Having taught the anatomy of yoga for many years, I now feel it can be a red herring leading us down un-useful ways of thinking. There is a place for anatomy, but largely to help explain why some movements are unhelpful, or why some people can do certain poses and others not. What anatomy cannot do is inform about how to move. To understand movement we have to study movement and see how anatomy supports it, not the other way round."

-- Peter Blackaby

Yoga is Choice

The direct experience of the a yoga practice keeps it forever in the present. Practiced with intelligence Yoga helps cultivate self trust and self knowledge, which provides choice. 

"The world is shaped by individuals. The more clearly we understand ourselves and our motivations the better chance we have of acting well in the world. Yoga can help us to act with understanding and self awareness. 

A positive force in a world that struggles to accommodate change!"

 (quote from Peter Blackaby and image from here)

Workshop

I spent my Sunday in a beautiful (cool!!) studio in South London yesterday for yoga a workshop with Peter Blackaby . It was brilliant. 6 hours flew by and it has sparked so many interesting ideas about my own practice and the way I teach. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his classes/workshops then take it! I also highly recommend his book Intelligent Yoga, it's been a favorite of mine for some time now.  

"...Drop people into their bodies and encourage them to be honest with themselves about what they feel.

All yoga postures are there to help us notice how we are as we act and we can use the practice to change from working/feeling/responding from our own histories to creating new, more helpful patterns, which ultimately gives you choice."

 

Patterns

If we take yoga seriously we will practice it alot. It makes sense, then, that what we practice has a positive effect on the body.

We repeat patterns not to limit us in life, but as the musician practices their scales, we practice basic patterns so we can move freely in life. Working with fundamental patterns in yoga helps to clarify how we move and what habits we have built up.

We need to learn to distribute patterns evenly throughout our bodies. Poorly distributed forces create stresses and strains at joins, which invariably lead to pain of discomfort and increased likelihood of layering protective patterns over causative ones. When we take this approach, yoga becomes an inquiry into the way we engage through our bodies. It helps us to notice when we do unhelpful things, and, once noticed, we can gently set about letting them go.

Grounding

"To loose unnecessary tension we need to find adequate support from our bones. Bones are the only structural parts of the body that can transmit forces; they are, therefore, the means by which the weight of the body is transmitted to the floor. 

When we allow this to happen, without tightening muscles unnecessarily, we need to become well grounded. A well grounded body can become still, much in the way a bowl of water becomes still, if undisturbed. This is quiet different to becoming stiff like a brick wall. Both may be unmoving, but only the bowl of water has the potential for movement. 

When well-grounded we may be still, but the slightest impulse could initiate movement. Any unhelpful muscle tension will stiffen us and take the potential for movement away. In well-grounded movements, breathing can adjust appropriately, where as stiffness tends to 'fix' breathing." 

--Peter Blackaby Intelligent Yoga

Experiment with this in a simple posture...it's important and interesting stuff!

Breath

"There is no right way to breathe. There is only breathing appropriate for the particular situation an individual finds themselves in. Breathing needs to be responsive to variations in posture, to our emotions , and to our oxygen demands; it can only do this if the entire respiratory system is flexible and reactive."

-- Peter Blackaby Intelligent Yoga

Yoga, if practiced based on feeling and understanding your own body can help!

"Being led to conform to a teachers personal viewpoint is inevitably disempowering for the student, who becomes dependent on the teacher. All power lies with the teacher as the possessor of knowledge. This is the opposite of what teaching is supposed to do which is surely to facilitate learning as effectively as possible?"

-- Peter Blackaby Intelligent Yoga

Recommended Read

Intelligent Yoga: Re-educating Mind and Body by Peter Blackaby

Having been to a brilliant workshop with Chloe Fremantle and Peter Blackaby a little while ago I knew this would be a must read when I saw it and it really is! 

This book is a thoughtful, interesting and thoroughly researched interpretation of Yoga with a focus on the enquiry you should be having with your body and your practice. 

I read a review on Amazon since buying the book that described it perfectly, so i'm going to borrow... 'Blackaby has unpicked movement without fracturing it and teaches intelligent practice in the context of the known, the surmised and the lived, suggesting an approach to yoga that is rational, disciplined and fulsomely human and humane.'

Go read : )