Part 1: The Spine as a Sacred Channel: Nourishing the Ecosystem of the Spine for Lifelong Back Health
Session 1:
Each day we must work our spine in order to keep it strong and supple. Given that there are 26 bones in the vertebral common and 48 number of interlocking joints, each of us must spend time mobilizing and stabilizing our spine. In this course you will learn the importance of balancing the spine and inter-vertebral spaces. You will gain an understanding of how your own spine may suffer compression, torque or rotation. Many of us suffer from spinal incongruities including lumbar compression, spondylolisthesis, scoliosis or sacral-iliac imbalance.
It is a rare bird who has a perfectly aligned and balanced spine! Know that your body is only as young as your spine is healthy. In Hatha yoga, we use backbends, forward bends, twists and side bends to lengthen and align the spine. In this course you will learn the importance of maintaining health in your sacral iliac joints and low back in order to maintain the stature of your spine. Also learn the importance of lifting upward from the uppermost part of your spine at the junction of your neck and cranium. Learn how the musculature, ligaments and tendinous slips that attach directly to your spine allow your inter-vertebral discs to stay buoyant. This allows the life force (prana) to flow effortlessly through the length of the spine.
Session 2:
In the second part we investigate the pulsatory rhythms of the cranial-sacral connection relative to yoga practice. Tias details the importance of aligning the region of the sacrum and the large sacral nerve plexus with the region of the occiput and brainstem. You will learn the importance of harmonizing the sacrum and skull, to promote rest and rejuvenation in the body. In large part, this is due to stimulation of the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
In this course you will come to see how all restorative yoga involve continuity of the cranial-sacrum connection. The cranial sacral fluid moves in wave line patterns. You will learn how connection to the cranial-sacral system leads to a fluid presence. Tias reviews the fluid dynamics of the brain, spinal cord, longitudinal ligaments and tailbone in order to illustrate the importance of the cranial-sacral link to the subtle body and seated meditation.
Part II: The Spine as a Sacred Channel: Creating a Body of Light, Vitality, and Energy
Session 1:
We will explore the “spiritual spine” and note its connections to “higher” consciousness.
In this course, learn to tap the potency of the central channel of the spine and discover how all yoga practices look to infuse the spine with prana.
You will explore the connection of your spine to light. Learn how the third-eye center is related to the brainstem and powerful “master” glands within your skull. Called the Lustrous Channel (Chitrini) the spine together with consciousness in hatha yoga is considered to be like a band of light. In chakra theory, this light is refracted as if through a prism, into the many different hues of color along the spinal centers.
In meditation, Savasana, pranayama and yoga nidra, it is critical that inner structures of the skull move freely. You will learn how to release the delicate structures within your cranium providing an antidote for headaches, eye strain, and insomnia.
In this course, you will learn techniques to visualize your spinal cord as a lotus stalk and your brain to be like a 1000-petalled lotus flower. Learn to sense and feel the fluid, pulsatory movements of CSF (cerebrospinal-spinal fluid) related to the divine substance the yogis called amrta. Explore how yogic states of samadhi or deep internal rest (yoga nidra) involve harmonious connection of the internal pulses along your spine. Tias offers short meditations to sense and feel the luminous and clear pathway of the spine.
Session 2:
In the second part of this investigation we focus on the importance of vibration, sound and the inner ear.
In yoga it is thought that the entire universe and the body itself is made up of vibration. All that vibrates produces sound currents that flow like rivers. In this lecture and guided visualization practice, learn to animate the channels of your spine through breath, sound and movement. Not only the sound OM, but numerous other healing sounds open up the channels of the subtle body.
Learn how alignment in postures allows you to feel the flow of vibration through your spinal centers (chakras). In this course you will develop greater sensitivity for the delicate structures of your inner ear. Learn how this is the groundwork for all pranayama and yoga nidra. In order to open the ear, it is important to release the jaw. Learn techniques on how to release your jaw in order to create more opening in all your cranial cavities. This improves the sound resonance of ujjayi breath for pranayama.
This Course Also Includes:
- Yoga practice videos: 2 yoga practices with Tias designed specifically for this course
- Recordings of All 4 Webinar Sessions: It’s generally acknowledged that many people only retain 10-20 percent of what they learn in a workshop. You will get access to the recordings of all webinar sessions – both MP3 (downloadable) and MP4 (streaming online), enabling you to go back and listen to the workshop as many times as you like.
- Transcripts of All Sessions: Ever wanted to refer to a certain part of a course? Even the best note takers miss a point every so often. With the transcripts of the webinar sessions, you can go back and refer to particularly important passages or clarify sections you were in doubt about.
