Untitled - Blissology

Thank you for choosing this DVD...
Thank you for choosing this DVD. We put our
heart and souls into all that we do and this project
has had quite a history.
We went to Mexico to shoot this DVD. I love the
land. I love the people. I love the waves there. I
have a deep respect for Mayan culture and spirituality. It is a very special place for me that I wanted
to share with the world.
This DVD was originally shot in Baja, Mexico in
2004. After editing and producing it, I felt that it
did not capture exactly what I wanted to bring to
the world, so during the summer of 2005, we
headed back down to the Baja, close to San Jose
del Cabo and one of my favorite surf breaks,
Zippers beach, to shoot it all again. We are very
happy with what we came back with and hope that
you will enjoy the results.
We originally called this DVD “Yoga for Stiffies,”
because we wanted to create something that
people who are ‘tight’ or new to yoga could do. As
the project evolved, we realized that it is perfect for
intermediate yogis too. So came another name
change, “Yoga to Go,” illustrating the idea of how
easily this DVD practice can fit into our busy lives.
In its final evolution, I realized that the ease for
beginners and the convenient length are nice
benefits but at its core, this DVD is a streamlined
and powerful practice that is free of contortions,
and emphasizes doing basic poses well, in a
vinyasa style in-sync with the breath.
It is yoga at it’s essence – Pure and Simple. It
comes from a place way deep down inside my soul
and I hope that you enjoy all that it has to offer. I
am grateful to Providence for allowing us to have
this chance to practice together. We have so much
to be grateful for.
Namaste and Aloha,
Eoin
About this DVD offering:
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About the multi level format; I have always viewed
the yoga practice as one of the greatest gifts that
my teachers have passed on to me. I also am a
big believer in the “All Levels, All Good” format. I
view a yoga practice as a celebration that nobody
should feel excluded from. We are all working to
find balance through yoga on so many levels.
OPP (Other People’s Poses): As long as we don ’t
get caught up in feeling like we need our poses to
look like other people’s poses and can approach
them from where we are at without frustration or
negative judgments then the yoga practice will
remain a big celebration.
The only thing that can ruin the clear space that a
good yoga practice can put you in is when we
make judgments about how we are doing relative
to other people. I think beginners can learn from
seeing more advanced versions of the poses. It’s
like playing tennis with someone who is better than
you. The main shift that need to happen is a
movement away from the competitive attitude our
society cherishes and instead practice contentment and patience. Secondly, when you see
things that other people do that you can’t, feel
inspired, not frustrated.
That is why the Pure and Simple Yoga DVD was
created, so people won’t feel that they cannot
participate joyfully in the practice of yoga.
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Think about this DVD as in interplay between the
following factors:
Energy, Breath, Alignment, Attitude and
Flow:
Energy: this is word can be used in the flakiest of
ways, but consider this: What is the force that
makes life happen? What makes a tree grow on
the steepest cliff? What makes our cells divide?
Why does Life have such an impulse to continuously be created? Whatever your answer is, that is
what we are trying to connect to in our yoga
practice. While our daily life can disconnect us
from that force, an intelligent yoga practice will put
you back in touch with it.
Breath: You have probably noticed already that
‘inspire’ is directly related to “in spirit”. This is true
in almost every language of the world, not just
Sanskrit. A recognition that somehow in humans
the ‘energy’ that we described above enters
through the air we breathe. Furthermore, when we
are not breathing efficiently, all the systems of the
body/mind like the nervous system, our chemical
balance, our muscular system and even more
subtle systems are thrown out of balance.
Alignment: Many people in the field of yoga
overlook the gross body and focus only on ‘energy’
(Chakras, Nadis, Chi, Prana, Kundalini etc.) The
danger of this approach is that without recognizing
basic biomechanical principles and the specific
needs of each body, we can create physical
impairments or injuries that will actually work
against increasing our energy flow in a yoga
pose.
In contrast, our Western mind is quick to don a
white lab coat, overlook the subtle systems and
focus on a mechanistic approach. The key to
yoga, in my opinion, is to start with the alignment
of the gross body, specifically the skeletal structure
and joints of the body, so that injuries do not occur.
Then better energy flow can take place, without
loosing sight of the subtle energy systems.
We’ll save our discussion here for the Positive
Force book, but the key point to remember is don’t
‘go-around’. Don’t think about the end place in the
pose. Think about having the joints of the body
aligned at all times.
Attitude: Yoga is so popular because is it a
complement for the way our mind can work;
forceful, competitive, discerning, intensely rational.
I am not knocking any of these qualities, but left
unbridled, not only do they cause our bodies to
deteriorate, they also negatively impact our
relationships with others and with our planet.
In Yoga we try and access the level of our
consciousness that is free to witness our experiences without labeling. Without forcing. It is a
more receptive place rather than an active, willful
place.
Your breath will indicate whether you are in this
place or not. Other barometers in our body include
smooth, easy breath, combined with a feeling of
‘softness’ to the skin and muscles of the face, and
those ‘special places’ where each of us hardens
our muscles in response to stress.
Flow: Know that with an awareness of these
qualities: energy, breath, alignment and attitude,
things in your life will flow.
A fluid yoga practice will harmonize your activity of
our brain with the rest of your body, so they can
work together as the inseparable unit that they are
to create a beautiful experience of the present
moment. When we refer to ‘bliss’ this is one of the
ways that I would define it.
Life is not static. It flows. Things move. Like
currents in the water, we can either paddle against
them when out to sea or paddle across them to
not deplete our energy.
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How to use this DVD:
Detail Section: Educate yourself with the detail
section of the DVD so when you do them in a flow
style practice you have more of an understanding
of them. This is a very valuable tool and our
motivation for putting in on the DVD is to help you
enjoy your yoga experience even more. There is
no substitute for learning from a teacher in your
locale who can teach you alignment basics
through hands on approach (we recommend
Iyengar, Anusara, Vijnana Yoga or signing up for
our Positive force Workshops), but get to know the
information presented there.
Pranayama: Get to know the benefits of Ujjayi
breath on its own. Feel that receptive state of
consciousness in your being. It will make your
asana practice so much more powerful when you
know the quality of mind we are trying to bring to
it.
Routines:
Voice: Guided Flow - great for detailed instruction
and inspiration
Zen Track – helps put you in that zone
where we can access ‘witness consciousness’ – it is especially nice with its attention
to the breath
Video: Intermediate – deeper versions of each
pose
Beginner – great when you need to see the
level that works ‘average’ bodies
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Dual Level – great when you want to be
inspired by the deeper versions of the
pose, but not lose sight of what works well
for you.
Tidal Breath: Nice to have on, to help set the
pace and tone but if it becomes distracting
turn it off.
Music: Mike Bernard is one of the most creative
people I know. The music he created for
this DVD is both emotive and powerful. It
flows perfectly with our practice.
If you prefer to practice in silence or turn it
off and play music on another device that
plays music in the same practice space,
then just turn the music off and practice
accordingly.
The Positive Force Yoga System:
About: Great for teachers and students of yoga,
the Positive Force Yoga System (TM) is a unique
approach towards understanding and teaching the
correct alignment of yoga asanas. In this course,
we will learn how to bring our physical structure
into balance and align the joints by following the
Positive Force Principles, so that eventually we
embody more lightness and grace in our yoga
practice.
The method is to learn basic anatomical reference
points. We can then line these points in the body
to create intuitive patterns that we will use as
building blocks for all yoga poses, from the most
complex to simple, suddenly making yoga poses
much easier to understand.
And if we can maintain the alignment of all the
reference points and not “go around” them in order
to move deeper into a pose, then the yoga experience will become safer, more therapeutic, more fun
and will facilitate better ‘energy flow’ and bliss.
Course information at
www.vancouveryoga.com
Watch for workshops in your area and our
upcoming book.