Volume 1
Thank you to all our teachers and their teachers and their teachers’ teachers and their teachers’ teachers and all the teachers yet to come. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
A continual work in progress. Original Front Cover Art By: Heinko Windisch, Germany.
Table of Contents Prayer for Higher Learning The Point Beginning Questions
6 7 8
Seeing Anatomy Record Your Impressions From the East From the West
12 14 21
About Maps and Models Some Subtle Anatomy Language Sushumna, Ida and Pingala The Chakra Model A Few Rumors about the Chakras The Bandhas Marma Points The Koshas The Vayus Dermatone Chart Taoist Cycle of Creativity Nervous System Overview Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Nerve Roots of War and Peace Flight, Flight, Freeze or Fold Vagus Nerve Muscles of the Breath How the Practices of Yoga Help
34 36 38 39 42 44 46 48 50 51 52 54 56 58 59 60 61 62
Inner Workings
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Table of Contents What Inspires Us? Phrenic Nerve Muscles of Respiration Topography of Lungs Aviloli Exchange Schema According to the Sages Exposed Heart Nerves of the Heart Innervation of the Heart Schema Flow of Blood Through the Heart Twisting My Heart
64 66 67 68 70 72 73 74 75 76 77
From the Visible to the Invisible Mind and Heart Health From Patanjali Sutra 1.33 Sutra 1.33 Field Notes The Kleshas The Vrittis
78 80 82 84 86 88
Architecture of the Brain Trauma Fear Paralysis Shame, Blame and Immobility Cycle Map of the Psychophysiological The Emotional Nervous System Information Molecules
90 100 107 122 136 137
Memory How Memory Stores and Shapes Love
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The Limbic System
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Color the Amygdala
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Prayer for Higher Learning om saha nāvavatu saha nau bhunaktu saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we create strength among one another. May our study be filled with brilliance and light. May there be no hostility between us. Om peace, peace, peace. L
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The Point of this Course Our time together is meant to be practical. We have three main objectives:
Time
We must become intimate with and taste the existing fact of Self Love in order to be able to cooperate with Self Love again and again. Much of our time together will be spent in practice to establish the ground in which new learning can occur.
Context
Generally, the Western mind loves facts and scientific proof. By understanding some of the neurological and chemical inner-workings of the body, we help remove some of the mystery and perhaps move more towards mastery.
Tools
Together we will play with different practices to help form new memories, gain confidence, increase capacity, and align us with Self.
May Saraswati open the channels for higher learning to occur and remove our lethargy and laziness. 7
Beginning Questions 1. What has your attention right now?
2. What is the opposite of Self Love?
3. How might you define/describe Self Love? (Your words might be Imagined or Experienced).
4. Do you spend more time in Self Love or its opposite? Do you know how or why?
5. Do you know anyone who seems to have Self Love or be pretty close? Write their names down.
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6. What drew you to this course?
7. What are you hoping to learn?
8. Do you have worries about the course? If yes, write out.
9. Do you have any questions right now?
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Don’t go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don’t bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has a thousand petals. That will do for a place to sit. Sitting there you will have a glimpse of beauty inside the body and out of it, before gardens and after gardens. Kabir
Seeing Anatomy
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Record Your Impressions Please look at the sample images of the body from the East and West. Please record your observations (thoughts and feelings) noting the differences and similarities. Please be aware of which viewpoints feel most accurate to you.
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From the East
Prana Study The text surrounding the image is mixed Sanskrit and Old Gujarati and mainly describes the mystical body of tantric meditation and the flow of the life force (prana) throughout the body. The image shows the combination of both Unani (based on Greek) and Indian anatomical knowledge.
Image and Information Source: Wellcome Library. L
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Ayurvedic Study
Text from the Bhāvaprakāśaḥ, written between 1550 and 1590 by Bhāvamiśra. Pen and Watercolor, 1800 Image and Information Source: Wellcome Library, London LL
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Reproduction of Tibetan medical tangka painted by the Nepalese tangka artist Romio Shrestha and his Tibetan, Nepalese, and Bhutanese students in Kathmandu during seven years in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
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Tibetan Medical Thangkas Three human bodies showing different organs. Separate figures show the vertebral column, the solar plexus, and the system of channels connected with the five senses and with consciousness. Along the top, twelve great teachers of medicine. The painting is one in a set of eighty commissioned by Sangye Gyamtso (Regent of the fifth Dalai Lama) in 1687 and completed by 1703, as part of his treatise “The blue beryl”, a commentary on the Four tantras (Rgyud bzhi) of the Medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru). Image and Information Source: Wellcome Library, London 17
Modern Meridian Chart, China. Source: allstars.net.au L
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Nadi Chart, India Source: Google Image Search LL
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Diagram of the Subtle Body, mapping the Inner Alchemy. Rubbing dated 1886, Ch’ing Dynasty. Source: Book of Internal Exercises, Chang.
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From the West
Paris, 1546. Woodcut. 21
Rome, 1559. Copperplate engraving. Juan Valverde de Amusco
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Venice, 1627. Copperplate engraving. Giulio Casserio
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Frederik Ruysch {1638-1731} Source: Wellcome Library, London
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Coloured engraving 1823-1833 Paolo Mascagni Sourcce: Wellcome Library Catalogue
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Das Leben des Menschen by Fritz Kahn 1926. Relief halftone. The nervous system here is visually compared to an electronic signaling system; the brain is an office where messages are sorted.
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Fritz Kahn, 1939. Relief halftone. This manipulated photo shows the effects of sunlight on the health of the body.
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Der Mensch als Industriepalast (Man as Industrial Palace) Fritz Kahn, 1926. Chromolithograph. 28
The hand of Mrs. Wilhelm Roentgen: the first X-ray image, 1895. The announcement of Roentgen’s discovery, illustrated with an X-ray photograph of his wife’s hand, “was hailed as one of mankind’s greatest technological accomplishments, an invention that would revolutionize every aspect of human existence.” LL
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Red Blood Cells Under A Microscope
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Buddhist Monk in Meditation. Hooked up to Brain Scanner.
Baseline Brain
Brain in Meditation
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Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours. You will not find me in stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals: not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly you will find me in the tiniest house of time. Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God? He is the breath inside the breath. Kabir
Inner Workings
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About Maps and Models At times we will be leaning in on maps and models to help us create containers of understanding. We will do this often especially when looking at gross anatomy, subtle anatomy, methods of teaching, sequences, and alignment ideas. Understanding some of the benefits and constraints will help us create a feeling of spaciousness. 1. They Need You Maps are designed to guide us and they can just as easily mislead if not approached cooperatively. Maps need your intuition to come alive and be of use. 2. They Shrink the Information Models simplify and shrink information so we can approach it. When different models contradict, it can be tempting to judge one as correct and another as false, or try to make them match. Play with allowing the different models to reveal and tease out new insights waiting to be discovered within you. 3. They Are Often Unspecified Rarely can a map give you details of your specific unique journey. Nor will it assure you of a good time once you reach a destination. 4. They Can Blind If we become too enamored with a map or model it will be more difficult to see clearly what is actually in front of us. Have you ever found yourself looking at a map instead of where you are going? When the nice woman in the GPS is telling us where to go we pay less attention. Let them help guide, and be diligent with your awareness. 5. They Can Warn Sometimes a map will indicate that a road can only be traveled during a certain time of year or requires special vehicle features. And sometimes, by looking at a model, we get a new perspective that otherwise would have remained hidden.
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6. They Can Help Determine Vehicle Sometimes a map will confirm that you need to travel by air, sea or land. 7. They Can Reveal New Terrain Maps can guide towards places we might not have otherwise found, and models can provide new contexts of thinking. If we bring ourselves to the map and models, the directions and symbolism will resonate more clearly. 8. They have a Fresh Stamp Models and maps that were once useful, will sometimes have an end. 9. We are like a Model and a Map According to a study published in the Nov. 18, 2010 issue of the journal Neuron, ‘The human mind is very much like a traveler — when it needs to reach a desired destination, it uses a map.’ The brain uses different types of “maps” in order to perform different motor functions. The previous scientific view was that all actions involved the use of a visual map, but the study found that the brain uses a visual map when dealing with external objects and a body map when dealing with self-referential motions. (Source: Daily.Nexus.com)
Our materials for this course, Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras, Physical Anatomy Diagrams, Subtle Anatomy Systems, and our Toolkits are all models and maps. All are to be approached with keen open awareness of their usefulness and shortcomings.
When water flows everywhere there is little role for the water in the well. In this same way, after realizing Divine there is little use for the knowledge of the Vedas. 2.46, Bhagavad Gita
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Some Subtle Anatomy Language Prana is our vital life force. Nadis are the interior rivers through which the prana flows. The three primary nadis are Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala. The seven Chakras are vortices of the nadis. They are Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddi, Ajna and Sahasrara. The Bandhas are the locks or seals. The three primary bandhas are Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha and Jalandhara Bandha. The Granthis are the psychic knots of spiritual energy. The three granthis are Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. They are located at the Muladhara, Anahata and the Ajna Chakra respectively. The bandhas assist in the directing of the prana through the nadis towards the chakras to assist in loosening the granthis so that prana may flow more freely in the Shushumna and the yogini may connect to the physical, astral and causal planes of Herself. The Marma Points are specific locations on the 14 recognized nadis in the Ayurvedic System of Healing. There are 107 Classic Marma Points. The 5 Koshas are sheaths, or vibrations of our Self, varying in degrees of subtley. The 5 Koshas are annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya. The 5 Vayus are the winds of prana in the body handling different functions. They are apana vayu, prana vayu, samana vayu, udana vayu, and vyana vayu.
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“When the bird and the book disagree, always believe the bird.� James Audubon (1785-1851)
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Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala
Source: Bihar School of India
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The Chakra model Chakra means “wheel” or “circle”. The chakras are dynamic vortices of prana where the nadis converge. Attention to these centers is believed to assist in awakening our consciousness to deeper and more subtle dimensions within ourselves and the cosmos. Specifically, the chakras are believed to assist in moving the prana between the physical, astral and causal realms. Just as our collective hip joints differ slightly in their shape, flexibility and strength, so do our chakras. And just as our hip joints perform basically the same function, so do our chakras. And just as we have a choice to allow our hips to tighten and close or open and move, so we also have the choice to ignore or connect and develop a relationship with our chakras. Allow the information about the chakras to be there when you need it. Filling our minds with facts about the chakras does not draw us any closer. In fact, knowing the data can create an illusion of intimacy. Like reading books about swimming, nothing compares to diving in.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Approximate Chakra Locations
Source: Bihar School of India
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Source: Bihar School of India
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A Few Chakra Rumors Muladhara Chakra
Root Chakra Element: Earth Motor Organ: Anus Sense Organ: Nose Meaning: Root place or base Root Location: Tailbone Flower Location: Perineum Seed Sound: LAM Yama: Ahimsa
Svadhisthana Chakra
Sacral Chakra Element: Water Motor Organ: Uro-genital organs Sense Organ: Tongue Meaning: That which cannot be controlled Root Location: Lower Sacrum Flower Location: Lower Belly Seed Sound: VAM Yama: Bramacharya
Manipura Chakra
Navel Chakra Element: Fire Motor Organ: Feet Sense Organ: Eyes Meaning: City of jewels Root Location: Upper Lumbar Spine (L2) Flower Location: Navel Center Seed Sound: RAM Yama: Asteya
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Anahata Chakra
Heart Chakra Element: Air Motor Organ: Hands Sense Organ: Skin Meaning: Unstruck sound or unbeaten, unbroken Root Location: Between Shoulderblades (T7/T8) Flower Location: Breastbone Seed Sound : YAM Yama: Aparigraha
Vishudda Chakra
Throat Chakra Element: Ether Motor Organ: Vocal Cords Sense Organ: Ears Meaning: To purify, center of nectar Root Location: C7 Flower Location: Teardrop of the throat Seed Sound: HAM Yama: Satya
Ajna Chakra
Third Eye Chakra Meaning: Command center, seat of wisdom and intuition Root Location: Occiput Flower Location: Between Eyebrows Seed Sound: OM
Sahasrara Chakra
Crown Chakra Meaning: Thousand petal lotus Location: Crown of Head Seed Sound: OM LL
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The Bandhas
Artist Rendering of Mula Bandha Local
Artist Rendering of Uddiyana Bandha L
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Artist Rendering of Jalandhara Bandha Variation
Bandha means “lock”. “Lock” is a farming term and refers to the creation of “dams” to assist in the flow and retention of prana through the nadis for the purposes of irrigation.
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Marma Points ‘Marma’ is a Sanskrit term for sensitive or vulnerable points on the body. Marma Points serve as ‘pranic control points’ on the body, where the energy of prana can be treated, controlled, directed or manipulated in various ways. Marmas are integral to all Ayurvedic therapies. Injury to marmas quickly affects the health and vitality of a person and in the case of some marmas can even prove fatal. Another term used for marma points is ‘varma’ points. Varma refers to protective material or armor. Marmas are regions of the body that were protected in battle in order to safeguard the life of the warrior. There are 107 prime classical marmas according to the Sushruta Samhita, one of the oldest Ayurvedic texts, which also mentions marmas relative to the practice of surgery. Arms and Hands, 11 Regions, 22 Points Legs and Feet, 11 Regions, 22 Points Abdomen and Chest, 8 Regions, 12 Points Back and Hips, 7 Regions, 14 Points Head and Neck, 14 Regions, 37 Points However, besides these primary marmas are many other marmas, up to 360 according to some healers. To some extent, any sensitive point on the body of a person is a kind of marma or vulnerable location. The skin itself can be regarded as a greater marma zone in which all the other marmas are contained. Marmas are also locations in which the doshas of vata, pitta and kapha can be held, along with their subtle essences of prana, tejas and ojas. As sensitive zones, marmas can hold various emotions like fear (vata), anger (pitta) or attachment (kapha), as well as the gunas or primary qualities of sattva (calm), rajas (aggression) and tamas (inertia). In this regard the concept of marmas goes beyond modern medicine and its purely physical definitions to the main principles of mind-body medicine. Text Source: David Frawley L
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“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.� C.S. Lewis
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The Koshas Annamaya Kosha food-apparent-sheath, physical body Pranamaya Kosha air-apparent-sheath, vital energy Manomaya Kosha mind-stuff-apparent-sheath Vijnanamaya Kosha wisdom-apparent-sheath Anandamaya Kosha bliss-apparent-sheath
Please note: The Sanskrit is not properly marked on this page.
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Circumstances are nothing but ourselves. John Daido Loori
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The Vayus
Source: Image from Theory of the Chakras, Dr. Motoyama.
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dermatone chart
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy LL
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The Toaist Cycle of Creativity
Source: universal-tao.com L
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Source: universal-tao.com LL
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The Nervous System An Overview The nervous system is composed of all nerve tissues in the body. The functions of nerve tissue are to receive stimuli, transmit stimuli to nervous centers, and to initiate response. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and serves as the collection point of nerve impulses. The peripheral nervous system includes all nerves not in the brain or spinal cord and connects all parts of the body to the central nervous system. The peripheral (sensory) nervous system receives stimuli, the central nervous system interprets them, and then the peripheral (motor) nervous system initiates responses. The somatic nervous system controls functions that are under conscious voluntary control such as skeletal muscles and sensory neurons of the skin. The autonomic nervous system, mostly motor nerves, controls functions of involuntary smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, and glands. The autonomic nervous system provides almost every organ with a double set of nerves - the sympathetic and parasympathetic. These systems generally but not always work in opposition to each other. The sympathetic system activates and prepares the body for vigorous muscular activity, stress, and emergencies. While the parasympathetic system lowers activity, operates during normal situations, permits digestion, and conservation of energy. The two systems generally act in opposition to each other. For example, a stimulation by the sympathetic system on the heart would increase contractions, while a stimulation by the parasympathetic system would decrease heart contractions. Where dual control of an organ exists, both systems operate simultaneously although one may be operating at a higher level of activity than the other. The operation is similar to the operation of a car with both the accelerator and brake pedals depressed. 54
In the peripheral nervous system, a chemical neurotransmitter carries the nerve impulses from neuron to neuron across a synapse (space between neurons). The neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, norephinephrine, dopamine, histamine, glycine, GABA and serotonin. Nerves that release acetylcholine are called cholinergic nerves. Cholinergic nerves are part of the parasympathetic system, somatic motor nerves, preganglionic sympathetic nerves* and central nervous system. (* The nerve that carries the message from the central nervous system to a ganglion - junction for a group of nerve cells - is a preganglionic nerve.) Nerves that release norepinephrine are called adrenergic nerves. Adrenergic nerves are part of the postganglionic sympathetic nerve system** and parts of the central nervous system. (**A nerve that carries the impulse from the ganglion to the effecter cell is a postganglionic nerve.)
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Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Am I Safe?
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is continually sending out the question “Am I safe?” As long as it gets back the answer “Yes,” then the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) runs the show, optimistically keeping everything working. When the SNS gets the response, “No,” the “Flight or Fight Syndrome” kicks in, launching a campaign of action. Adrenaline is released into the blood stream, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. Simultaneously, the bronchi of the lungs relax to deepen the breath and increase screaming ability. Insulin is released, increasing the blood sugar levels for a quick burst of energy. Concentrations in the plasma of the protein fibrinogen are increased, to encourage blood coagulation (blood clotting) in anticipation of getting wounded. And the immune system gets a 30 minutes boost. Simultaneously, long term optimistic projects within the body are suspended. The digestion system cleans itself out and then shuts down. The reproductive organs also shut down. The Flight or Fight Syndrome is incredibly effective for getting us though or out of physical dangerous situations quickly. Once safe, the SNS is supposed to relax and the PNS (known as the “Rest and Digest” system) is allowed to take over again. In the modern western world we respond to psychological stresses in the same way as physical danger. Infact, there is very little discrimination between the two. Simultaneouly, many of us in the modern western world have forgotten how to relax. “I’ll relax once I get all that stuff done,” is a common phrase. This “go go go” mentality combined with the continual barrage of information and demands that we perceive as stress, has resulted in a large number of people stuck in the “No-I-am-not-safe-mode”. When the body gets caught in a stress cycle, the “rest levels” of the heart rate and blood sugar adapt and rise. The higher blood pressure combined with increase of the clotting hormone combined with the chest breathing increase the chances of a heart attack significantly. L
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The rise in blood sugar combined with a debilitated digestive system can result in diseases like Type II diabetes. The weakened immune system results in chronic illness. The lack of attention paid to the reproduction system will eventually cause it to break down. Many women who are trying to have children while balancing stressful careers are surprised to find themselves unable to conceive.
Cortisol
Cortisol, is the hormone of chronic stress. Below are the well documented effects of chronic cortisol elevations on your mind and body: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Increased appetite and food cravings Cortisol stimulates fat storage esp. around the abdomen Increased body fat - obesity Decreased muscle mass Insulin resistance and eventually diabetes Heart disease Increased blood pressure – high blood pressure Decreased bone density – osteoporosis Reduced synthesis of neurotransmitters Increased anxiety Increased depression Reduced concentration Mood swings (anger and irritability) Reduced levels of estrogen and testosterone – decreased sex drive Impaired immune response – frequent colds, flus, infections and cancer Memory and learning impairment Physical atrophy of brain cells – Alzheimer’s disease Increased symptoms of PMS Increased menopausal side effects
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The Nerve Roots of War and Peace
The Nerves of the SNS emanate from the T1 to L2. The Nerves of the PNS emanate from the medulla oblongata (just above the C1) and the sacrum (S2 - S4). Stimulation of the Parasympathetic Nerves will result in a reduction of stress. The quickest most direct way to stimulate the PNS is through the breath.
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Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fold
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The Vagus Nerve
Image Source: Netter’s Human Anatomy
The Vagus Nerve, also known as the tenth Cranial Nerve, originates from the medulla oblongata and touches most of the internal organ: the lungs, the heart, the stomach, the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys, the small and large intestines. The Vagus Nerve runs through the diaphragm. Deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the Vagus Nerve and communicates that everything is going to be alright. This in turn has the effect of slowing down the heart, relaxing the bronchi of the lungs, lowering the blood sugar and increasing digestion. 60
The Muscles of the Breath Many people are stuck in the habit of breathing from their secondary muscles of respiration of the chest and neck, increasing the risk of heart disease and tension headaches. The practice of learning how to breath with the diaphragm, intercostals and abdominals -- the primary muscles of respiration -- is and effective and powerful tool in the reduction of stress.
Image Source: Donna Fahari’s, The Breathing Book
The Mind
The main purpose of the Inhalation is to stimulate the Exhalation. Beacuse while the inhalation brings fresh oxygen in, the exhale is the breath that releases the toxicity of the body and is more vital to our ultimate survival. Whena yogini drowns, she does not die of lack of oxygen, but rather the build up of toxins. The number one cause of toxicity in the body is our mental and emotional state. Negative thinking creates toxins. And so while we use deep breathing to help clear the toxicity and calm the body, eventually a quiet mind results in a quiet even almost breathless state. 61
How The Practices of Yoga Help
In the practices of yoga, we deliberately try to stretch and open the chest, back and belly to increase breathing room. We deliberately practice deepening and lengthening the breath. Many of the poses are intentionally stressful, offering the opportunity to “counter-pose” through deep breathing and reset the nervous system’s bar. Many of the movements are designed to stimulate the PNS nerves around the sacrum area. Simultaneously, we practice relaxing and releasing the negative thought patterns. We chant to tune the mind to a more harmonous state. Different people respond to different practices. Some need a more active practice to feel met. Some find a more restorative passive practice to be the most effective. There is no one route for anyone. One of the most beautiful characteristics of the yoga practice is that it morphs to meet each of us where we are and gently draw us in deeper.
Image Source: Donna Fahari’s, The Breathing Book 62
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clear blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, not matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
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What Inspires Us? According to the scientist sages, our need to exhale - to release the toxic build up, motivates the inhale. What Motivates Inhalation When the CO2 levels are too high in the blood, the respiratory center in the medulla of the brain sends a signal through the phrenic nerve (which emanates from C4 ) to the diaphragm to contract and motivate the inhale which will then stimulate an exhale. CO2 acts as an acid and lowers the pH of the brain. The bodies responsible for the detection of CO2 are the peripheral chemoreceptors such as the carotid bodies and the central chemoreceptors (located in the brain). How Rest Breathing Works Breathing In 1. Diaphragm contracts and flattens. The diaphragm only descends about 1cm then it comes to rest on the contents of the abdomen like the stomach, spleen and liver. At this point it doesn’t descend any further but instead “acts upwards” on the ribs, pulling them upwards and outwards, further increasing the volume of the chest. 2. External intercostals contract lifting and widening ribs. The external intercostals are located between the ribs and they pull the top 6 ribs outwards and upwards, while the lower six are just pulled outwards. 3. These two motions increase the thoracic cavity space. 4. This expansion of space reduces pressure in the pleural cavity (a sac that surrounds the lungs) which allows the lungs to expand. 5. As the lungs expand, there is a reduction of pressure in the pulmonary cavity relative to the atmosphere and air is drawn in towards the alveoli. Breathing Out 1. The diaphragm relaxes and the buildup of pressure in the abdominal cavity pushes back up on the diaphragm which then reduces the thoracic cavity space and increases pressure in the pleural cavity and pulmonary cavity causing air to leave. 64
After careful and quiet observation, please record your experiences. 1. How do you describe the feeling tone or quality of the exhale? Is there an image that you see?
2. How do you describe or picture the feeling tone or quality at the bottom of the exhale?
3. How do you feel on the rise of the inhalation? Are you more pesent at the first moment, middle or towards the end?
4. How does it feel to be at the top of the inhalation? What are some of the sensations or thoughts or images?
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Phrenic Nerve
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 66
Muscles of Respiration
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 67
Topography of Lungs: Front
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 68
Topography of Lungs: Back
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 69
Avioli Exchange Schema
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 70
Only Breath Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or in the next, did not descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story. My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless. Neither body or soul. I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being. ~ Rumi
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According to Our Yogi Sages • It is the desires in our heart that motivate the inhalation. • Our deepest desire is the desire to be connected. • Our heart is always thinking about connection and motivating the movements of the mind. • If we could just see clearly enough, we would see that we are already connected and our breath and mind could rest. • Nothing happens without desire. Desire is the motivating force of the universe. • Our instructions, our dharma - our responsibility towards the maintenance of cosmic order, sits in our heart. • The happiest yogi is the one with the fewest desires. • The sage does nothing but nothing gets left undone. Some Questions • Is Love is the ordering force? • Is our sense of separation necessary to perform our dharma? • Do we need to have a sense of moving towards what we love to compel us? • Have you ever tried to accomplish something you did not want to do? • Does the inhalation represent our movement towards and exhalation represent our surrender?
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Exposed Heart
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 73
Nerves of the Heart
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 74
Innervation of the Heart: Schema
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 75
Flow of Blood Through the Heart Deoxygenated blood enters the upper right chamber (atrium) of the heart via two veins: the superior and inferior vena cavas. The superiner is returning blood from above the heart, the inferior from below. From the atrium, this blood pours into the lower right chamber (ventrical) and once enough pressure has built, the tricuspid valve closes, creating the “LUB” sound. The blood is then pushed up through the right and left pulmonary arteries to the right and left lungs respectively to pick up fresh oxygen at the alveoli. This oxygenated blood then comes back to the heart from the lungs via the pulmonary veins and pours into the left upper atrium. This blood then flows into the left lower ventricle and again, once pressure has built up enough, the aortic valve closes, creating the “DUB” sound. The blood is then pushed up through the aorta and flows into the rest of the body.
Image Source: Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter, M.D. 76
Twisting My Heart When we feel our own pulse pressing upward to our skin, we tend to picture the heart beating like a drum, pushing outward on each beat. But the heartbeat is more like a squeezing or twisting than a thumping. It begins like this: Electricity from special cells (called pacemaker cells)-starting at the top of the heart and moving down-stimulates the heart muscle to squeeze the blood out through the aortic valve. It’s like wringing a wet towel to squeeze out the liquid. As the heart muscle becomes tightly wound, the blood is squeezed out until there is virtually no space between the individual muscle cells. The blood is then pushed through the valves. The wave of blood that has been squeezed out of the heart is ejected into the aorta itself, the body’s largest artery, which carries oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. Once that happens, the heart relaxes-as if your hands had just let go of the towel. As it does, the coronary vessels, which lie on the surface of the heart, also relax. Then the space between the tight muscle cells opens up, and the rich, oxygenated blood that was just ejected from the heart fills the arteries on the heart’s surface and slips down between those cells and feeds them. Most of the ejected blood goes on to fuel the rest of the body-but not before the heart puts its own tax on it, taking its first cut of the life-sustaining fluid. After the process of towel-wringing-squeezing blood into the aorta followed by muscle relaxation and the heart feeding itself-then, 60 or more times a minute, the pacemakers send out their next signal, beginning the process all over again.
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From the Visible to the Invisble As the breath is referred to the grossest form of prana, perhaps we can look at the wonderful and magnificent web of the nervous and circulatory system as the grossest representation of the nadis. This does not mean that these elements are the nadis, rather, they are the densest physical expressions of the currents of prana. The earliest westerners to reference the existence of the rumored 350,000 nadis assumed that the yogis were referring to nerves and veins in addition to subtler currents. In 1918, Arthur Avalon (aka Sir John Woodroffe) in, “The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga,� offers a detailed account of the correspondence between the known nerve pathways of the times and the locations of the nadis and chakras according to the yogis. This is of course useful and problematic as the effort to make systems match can result in blindness. We are proposing that the channels of these more obvious rivers of miracles like the visible nerves and circulatory system pathways can be played with as beginning points or treasure maps to dive into deeper and subtler depths. Wherever there is a nerve, a branch of the brain, there is usually an artery, vein or capillary, a branch of the heart dancing together through what we label as the body. The heart and mind and body are not separate. The yogis have known this for a long time. Please in no way assume that this approach means the more surface or gross forms are lesser than the subtle. Hardly. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to exist in this magical temporary expression of the Awesome. Most of the sages agree that a human birth is an immense blessing. And we have discovered that the pain that comes from the total identification with this realm, where suffering and illness and death are invetible, beckons us to look more closely and deeply.
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Prayer for Light and Truth asato mā sadgamaya tamaso mā jyotirgamaya mṛytor mā amṛitaṁ gamaya Lead us from unreal to real. Lead us from darkness to light. Lead us from death to life. (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.3.2)
From the Vijñānabhairava Verse 54 Svadehe jagato vā pi sūkṣmasūkṣmatarāṇi ca Tattvani yā ni nilayaṃ dhyātvānte vyajyate parā If the yogi thinks deeply that the subtle and subtler constitutive principles of one’s own body or the world are being absorbed in their own respective causes, than at the end parā devī or the supreme goddess is revealed. Verse 55 Pinām ca durbalāṃ śaktiṃ dhyāyvā dvādaśgocare Praviśya hṛdaye dhyāyanmuktaḥ svātantryam āpnuyāt If prāṇaśakti which is gross and thick, is made frail and subtle (by yogic discipline, particularly prāṇāyāma) and if a yogi meditates on such śakti either in dvādaśānta or in the heart (i.e. the centre of the body) by entering mentally into it, he is liberated and he gains his (natural) sovereign power. 79
Mind and Heart Health from Patanjali 1.2
Yoga is the mastery over the fluctuations of the mind.
yogaś chitta vṛtti nirodhaḥ
1.33 A clear and tranquil mind results from cultivating friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion towards those who suffer, joy towards the virtuous, and impartiality towards wrong-doers.
maitrī karuṇā muditā upekṣānāṃ sukha duḥka puṇya apuṇya viṣāyaṇāṃ bhāvanātaś chitta prāsadanam
1.34 Or from attention to the outward and inward flow of breath (prana).
prachchhardana vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
1.35 Or from steady attention to the subtler levels of sensation
viṣaya vatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī
1.36 Or by experiencing inner radiance free from sorrow.
viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
1.37 Or by turning to those things which do not incite attachment.
vīta rāga viṣayaṃ vā chittam 80
1.38 Or by depending upon insights obtained in the states of greater awakening called svapna and nidra. svapna nidrā jñāna ālambanaṃ vā 1.38 Or by meditation on the longing of the heart.
yathā abhimata dhyānād vā
MeYou, Robyn Dalby, 2012
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Sutra 1.33 A clear and tranquil mind results from cultivating friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion towards those who suffer, joy towards the virtuous and impartiality towards wrong-doers. maitrī karuṇā muditā upekṣānāṃ sukha duḥka puṇya apuṇya viṣāyaṇāṃ bhāvanātaś chitta prāsadanam maitrī - friendliness, pleasantness karuṇā - compassion, mercy muditā - goodwill, gladness, sympathetic joy upekṣānāṃ - equanitmity, impartiality, neutrality sukha - happy, joyous duḥka - suffering, pain puṇya - virtuous, meritorious apuṇya - non-virtuous, wicked viṣāyaṇāṃ - regarding those subjects, in relation to those objects bhāvanātaś - by cultivating habits, by constant reflection, impressing on oneself chitta - mind field, consciousness prāsadanam - purified, clear, serene, calm, pacified
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Perhaps practice writing the sanskrit and english words of sutra 1.33 here to help you memorize them. Practice sharing with others in teaching and conversation.
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Sutra 1.33 Field Notes 1. What did you notice when you made an effort to be in the feeling tone of friendliness? Describe the physiological effects if available.
2. What did you notice when you made an effort to be in the feeling tone of compassion? Describe the physiological effects if available.
3. Do friendliness and compassion feel different to you? If so, can you please describe how they differ or feel the same.
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4. Who is someone that allows you to practice mudita (sympathetic joy)? Can you describe the feeling? What seems to happen in your body?
5. What do you notice in your body when you slip into equanimity? If equanimity is not available, what do you experience instead?
6. Allow yourself to sit with a disharmonious relationship. What happens when you play with one of the emotions suggested by Sutra 1.33? Is one more effective for you than another?
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The Kleshas In attempting to understand how the mind works, it is popular to use the analogy of a computer. While perhaps helpful for a moment, this inclination shrinks our minds down to something humans have created. This limiting self referencing feeds the concept of the body as a machine with parts and serves the rational gods. Within this analogy, the vrttis (the fluctuations or movements) are described as the “software” that runs off the “firmware” or the “operating system” of the kleshas. The kleśāḥs, described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, are the “colorings of” or “hindrances to” seeing clearly. The writings from over 2000 years ago and from a much older oral tradition correspond to what neuroscientists are just starting to “prove.” As biological beings, with seemingly temporary physical encasings, we are designed to avoid danger and survive. These tendencies create pattens that without observation can concretize and feel like truth. The yogi aims to see these limiting beliefs and allow them to dissolve into greater perceived Truths.
2.1 The practice of yoga consists of self discipline (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and dedication to Ishvara. 2.2 Yoga is for cultivating samadhi and for weakening the hindrances (kleshas). 2.3 The kleshas are ignorance (avidya), the sense of a separate self (asmita), attraction (raga), aversion (dvesha), and clinging to the status quo (abhinivesha).
avidyā asmitā rāga dveṣa abhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ
2.4 Avidya is the cause of all the others, whether dormant, attenuated, intermittent, or fully active.
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2.5 Avidya is seeing the transient as eternal, the impure as pure, dissatisfaction as pleasure, the non-Self as Self. 2.6 Asmita is the misidentification of the power of seeing with what is seen. 2.7 Raga arises from dwelling on pleasant experiences. 2.8 Dvesha arises from clinging to unpleasant experiences. 2.9 Abhinivesha is the automatic tendency for continuity; it overwhelms even the wise. 2.10 These subtle kleshas can be overcome by reversing the natural flow (pratiparasava) and returning towards the source. 2.11 Their effects can be reduced by mediation (dhyana). 2.12 Past actions, rooted in kleshas, give rise to experiences in present or future births. 2.13 As long as the root exists, the effects will be experienced as birth and in the quality and duration of life. 2.14 Joy is the result of right action, sorrow of wrong action.
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The Vrittis There is a funny temptation to blame our difficulties of attention on the latest technological distractions. These three sutras remind us that the distractions and results have been similar for a long long time. Pointing towards a cause outside of ourselves is rarely helpful. The solution is to vigilantly engage in self study and knows these temptations and intimate aspects of ourselves.
1.30 Sickness, apathy, doubt, carelessness, laziness, indulgence, confusion, unsteadiness, and feeling stuck are the interruptions which cause dispersion of attention.
vyādhi styāna samśaya pramāda ālasya avirati bhrānti darśana alabdha bhūmikatva anavasthitatvāni chitta vikṣepāste’ntarāyāḥ vyādhi - sickness, illness, disease styāna - apathy, dullness, mental laziness, rigidity samśaya - doubt, indecision pramāda - carelessness, negligence ālasya - laziness, sloth avirati - indulgence, want of non-attachment, sensuality, craving, desire bhrānti darśana - confusion, false views of perception, blindness alabdha bhūmikatva - failing to attain stages of practice (alabdha - not obtaining, bhūmikatva firm ground, state) anavasthitatvāni - inability to maintain, inconsistency chitta vikṣepā - distractions of the mind antarāya - obstacle
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1.31 Dissatisfaction, despair, nervousness and irregular breathing accompany this dispersion.
duḥkha daurmanasya aṅgam ejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepasahabhvaḥ
duḥkha - pain (mental or physical) daurmanasya - despair, sadness aṅgam ejayatva - nervousness, shakiness śvāsa - irregular inhalation praśvāsā - irregular exhalation vikṣepa - distractions sahabhvaḥ - correlates, accompaniments, companions
1.32 Dispersion is prevented by the practice of focusing on one truth.
tat-pratiṣedha artham eka tattva abhyāsaḥ
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Architecture of the Brain From ‘Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation,’ by Daniel J Siegel, M.D.
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Does Free will Exist?
Image by Jonothan Rosen. http://www.jrosen.org/
Please respond to the question. Site examples from your life.
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Trauma In these pages from ‘In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness,’ Peter Levine , PhD, suggests we update our understanding of Flight or Flight to understand how the trauma occurs.
“Trauma occurs when we are intensely frightened and are either physically retrained or perceive that we are trapped. We freeze in paralysis and or collapse in overwhelming helplessness.”
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Shame, Blame and Immobility Spiral
In this next section, Dr. Levine explains how the physical sensations of immobility by themselves can evoke fear resulting in a downward spiral loop. He looks to soldiers, rape survivors and molested children as examples of beings trapped in this. The material is sensitive. Towards the end of this section, Levine speaks of how to uncouple fear and immobility.
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Map of the Psychophysiological
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I talk to my inner lover, and I say, why such rush? We sense that there is some sort of spirit that loves birds and animals and the ants perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you in your mother’s womb. Is it logical you would be walking around entirely orphaned now? The truth is you turned away from yourself, and decided to go into the dark alone. Now you are tangled up in others, and have for gotten what you once knew, and that’s why everything you do has some weird failure in it. Kabir
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The Emotional Nervous System With the discovery of receptors, peptides and ligands, which are now called information molecules, in 1972, neuroscience began to understand that information in the body travels chemically through the bloodstream, not just electrically through the nerves. In 1984, because of breakthroughs in understanding immunity, a biochemical basis for emotions was presented. Candice B. Pert, PhD confirmed the opiate receptors existence on October 25, 1972. Her book, ‘Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine,’ outlines her discovery and how the molecules work.
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Best Known Information Molecules Information Molecule
Influence On
Related To
Acetycholine
Concentration
Nicotine
Adrenalin
Fight or Fligt Reposnse, Nervousness
Meat
Cortical Releasing Factor
Depression and Sadness
Suicide
Cholycystokinin
Satisfaction
Tryptophane
Dopamine
Fear, Alertness
Cocaine, Clozapine
Endorphin
Joy, Love, Sadness, Pain
Opium, Heroin, Sugar
Phenylethylamine
Joy, Love, Depression, Paranoia
Chocolate, Falling in Love
GABA
Nervousnes
Valium
Melatonin
Nervousness, Sleep
Melatonin Drug
Noradrenalin
Agressiion, Fear, Depression, Cheerfulnes
Amphetamine, Cocaine, Caffeine
Ocytocin
Love, Satisfaction
Orgasm
Progesterone
Inner peace and Love Pregancy
Source: The Yoga of Nine Emotions, Peter Marchand
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“That during contemplative prayer all created things and their works must be buried beneath the cloud of forgetting.� ~ The Cloud of Unknowing, 14th century
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How Memory Stores and Shapes Love Memory defines, relates and holds a person’s mental world together.” ‘General Theory of Love’, Lewis MD
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The Limbic System
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Color the amygdala
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