A Practice to Cleanse Physical and Emotional Excess
A 60-minute breath and movement practice to aid in the digestion of physical and emotional excess
Hello All Parts Community!
The theme for this month is all about coming back into balance. With the summer coming into full bloom, energy and extroversion abound, which is great! However we can become dysregulated and burn out if we are not also taking time to come back into our Selves and our internal experience. Each class will explore balancing various systems of the body to ensure that we are able to stay present to all of the beauty and gifts this time of year bring.
What you’ll need for this practice:
Create a safe and quiet space for yourself to practice with a yoga mat and any props you’ll need, including blocks, a meditation cushion (pillows work just fine), blankets, bolsters, etc.
I’ll invite you to have your camera turned on so that we can hold the container together. I know this might feel uncomfortable for some, and if you absolutely must keep your camera off I totally understand. However I find that having cameras on helps to maintain a sense of community, helps to limit distractions, and helps me to guide and cue based on visual feedback.
Of course, wear comfy clothing, but most importantly just come as you are :)
This practice is about the digestive system and bringing it into balance and flow both physically and energetically/emotionally so we can metabolize and let go of any excess.
The below breath and movement practice is intended to activate and regulate the digestive system to help balance the prana and apana energies in our system.
Prana and Apana are the two forms of vital energy in yogic philosophy that work together to support psychological and physiological processes in the body and mind. Prana is the life force energy that moves upward; it helps us to intake vital energy from our environment to support our hearts and brain. Somatically, we feel prana most distinctly in our chest and heart space. Prana is most closely tied to our inhale. Apana, on the other hand, helps to eliminate waste and unwanted substances in the body. It most felt in our lower abdomen and supports the downward flow of energy, aiding in digestion and reproduction. Apana is most closely tied to our exhale.
When we focus too heavily on one of these vital energies over the other, there is an imbalance that begins to happen, particularly in the digestive system. Our digestive system needs to first be able to properly absorb nutrients and energy in order to “keep the car running,” and it also needs to be able to properly eliminate the waste that is not needed so a build up does not occur.
Similarly, our digestive capacity is intricately linked to, and affected by, our capacity to process and feel our emotions. When we suppress our emotions or feel too overwhelmed to process some of our emotions, all our systems begin to conserve energy, making it harder for the flow of prana and apana to move naturally and optimally.
This specific breath and movement practice is designed to detox any excess that has been stuck in order to support the natural harmony of prana and apana in not only the digestive system, but in the entire body.