Accessing the Subtle Body in Hatha Yoga
Many people begin a physical yoga practice as exercise. The poses make them strong, flexible, relaxed, and energized, so they keep doing it. But the benefits of Hatha Yoga extend far beyond what normal exercise is capable of; with proper intention, the practice of asanas can lead our awareness into the purification of the subtle body (which I sometimes call the feeling body or the energy body) which creates a balance not just in the physical being, but in the mind, the emotions, and the “flow” of one’s life. Harmonizing the physical body with the breath and the mind allows yoga to happen on all levels of the being.
The problem is that many people are not taught how to access this dimension of yoga. Many “advanced” students and even some teachers remain focused on the exercise, on perfecting the poses and learning how to stand on your pinky finger. Ironically, this kind of approach is all mental– the intent is based on one’s images and ideals, the fantasy of being strong and flexible and looking like a yogi. Initially, this gives us the motivation to get on the mat, but in order to reach the subtler levels of yoga the mind eventually has to let go if its desire to be the leader.
An advanced asana practice will focus more on feeling, listening, and exploring the body and breath rather than on physical accomplishment. This is not to say an advanced practitioner will not practice challenging poses, they will just practice from a more intuitive and aware position. Below are various techniques and ideas to keep in mind to help your practice reach a new depth.
The pathways of the subtle body
“Your breath is your truth serum” – a brilliant snippet of wisdom from my first teacher, Jackie. Your breath is a moment by moment expression of how you are relating to yoga (and to life). Whether its a simple standing pose, a deep stretch, or an acrobatic arm balance, strive to keep your breath relaxed and natural. Never hold the breath (as it congests energy flow) and let the transition between inhale and exhale be as smooth as possible. Watch for times that you are holding, straining, wheezing, or making a raspy sound with your breath- these are indications that you are overdoing it. If you practice Ujayi breath, make sure that it is smooth and does not end up blocking off your throat. Also watch for overexertion in the act of breathing itself– balance the desire to expand the breath with allowing for its spontaneous expression.
Vinyasa – Meaning the joining together of breath and movement, vinyasa is one of the best tools for becoming aware of your energetic body. As you begin to link breath with movement with attention, breathing transforms into an energetic force of awareness. To get a feel for this, start simple. Inhale lift your arms overhead, exhale lower them to your sides. Repeat this action, smoothing out the breath and the movement and staying focused on the intermingling of the two sensations. Try doing it with your eyes closed. Eventually you can move on to to exploring vinyasa in more challenging poses and sequences, but simplicity is often most effective.
Effort and Ease – Ideally, in every asana there should be a delicate balance between effort and ease. Doing and not doing. It is quite easy, especially as a beginning student, to overexert oneself. It takes some time to get used to the poses, but eventually one must find the balance between striving and surrendering. Even in the physically demanding poses, just enough effort is put forth to maintain the position, the rest of one’s attention is committed to relaxing and allowing the breath to permeate the pose. Try mentally “taking a step back” to asses how you are relating to the pose. Where are you gripping, straining… can you soften into it? Or, conversely, can you put forth a little more effort? Often it is only the mind that limits us by saying “I can’t.”
Muscular Integration- the key to proper alignment and strength in yoga is muscular integration. This is a method of isometrically contracting muscle groups in equal opposition to opposing groups, eventually allowing the whole body to perform as a single unit. An easy way to think about this is by seeing hatha yoga as non-duality in the body; for every action, there is an equal and opposite counter action. For instance, in downward dog, the upper arms are externally rotating as the forearms are internally rotating; the hands press into the floor as the shoulders plug into their sockets; the chest reaches forward as the hips are pulled back. In a standing pose, the whole leg–inner, outer, front and back–is working, not just the quadriceps. This is happening all over the body, in every active pose. Sometimes it is referred to as “the muscles hugging the bone.” This is a difficult concept to teach much less express verbally, but is extremely powerful. Through using muscles in this fashion, one finds that strength in a pose is more about building and maintaining awareness (the mind body connection) than about muscular power. To get a feel for it, watch yourself the next time you spontaneously stretch in the morning: the feeling of natural stretching and muscular integration is almost identical– your body already knows how to do it– all you have to do is remember.
Stretching – Whereas strengthening integrates and connects the entire body–allowing for more energy potential– stretching opens the body to the free flow of that energy. Stretching should always be performed in a way that does not compromise breathing, for the breath is the current on which energy flows. If the breath is restricted in favor of a “deeper” stretch then the whole purpose of energetic opening is lost. Balance the intensity of the stretch with an ability to breathe naturally and relax. Listen to what your body needs, rather than what you think you need. Scan your body and allow all muscles that are not needed to soften. When in a deep stretch, try to separate your reaction to the feeling (“ow, it hurts!”) from the pure sensation of it. As you sink deeper into the pose, imagine your breath as a force moving into and releasing the tightness.
Resting/Sensing- In addition to the final relaxation pose, savasana, resting in the middle of an asana practice is of great value. After you have generated some heat and are in the swing of your practice, try resting in child’s pose or tadasana. Take your attention to the sensations within the body: the heat, the blood pumping, the breath, the magnetic glow of your own energy. Let your mind rest there and absorb those sensations into your consciousness. Let your whole asana practice be a means of cultivating that internal awareness. Can you find it even in the midst of movement? A little softness goes a long way.
Visualization and Memory - As you become more accustomed to your body you will eventually no longer need to be stretching or strengthening to actually feel it. This is the point at which a yoga practice moves deeper into energetic territory. This is most easily felt at the end of an asana practice when the neural impressions of physical activity are still fresh (although it can be done any time). Suddenly you are aware of a subtle body of feeling which permeates the physical body, a body that responds to breath and attention rather than gross physical movement. What is going on here? Simply, you are remembering your physical embodiment, rediscovering the neural connections in your brain which link mind to body. Most of the time, these connections need sensory stimuli to fire–but through yoga one learns to feel and eventually to inhabit them on one’s own. Kriya and Tanra yoga, practices which exercise these levels of the being, often use imagination and visualization to help one connect with the subtle body. Imagining different colors, lights, or situations prefigure the actual experience of feeling energy. The different visualizations and imagery appeal to one’s memory of the body, eventually helping one recall sensation on one’s own. The image one uses is of little importance so long as it helps one recall the feeling. The next time you’re in savasana attempting to relax a tense area, try visualizing that muscle: see it filled with light, imagine that you are touching it, or remember a pose in which you used that muscle– with practice the feeling will become natural and you will no longer need the imagination.
Explore! – Finally, never stop exploring yourself! Yoga is above all an adventure in exploration, a discovery of the brilliance inherent in the body and in life. When you’re practicing asana, wiggle a little! Explore the pose, move around! The poses are great templates for the body, but its up to you to make them yours, to enliven them. Slow down and feel yourself. Never assume that you’ve “got it” —there’s always more to learn!
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