Anti-aging has been a topic for many years in magazines, books, talk shows, and in movies. Serums, exercise plans, lotions, and potions O’ my. Through out the ages women have been obsessed with finding ways to look and feel younger. To create a youthful glow. As the pandemic comes to more of a close, we seem to have accepted our flawed human selves with more candor, yet, the need to look our best for each other, still has a buzz amongst our culture. Aging is beautiful over the years and so are all of the beauty of wrinkles, however, looking 10-15 years younger never hurt anybody. Many times people think I’m 25 or 30 years old. When I reveal to them that I’m 40, their mouths drop. “Yup” I say, “it’s the yoga”. But even though I tell them this, they don’t seem eager to want to sign-up for yoga classes. Hmmm. This poses the question… why?
These days there is so much stigma surrounding yoga as an occult spiritual practice, and yes, certain studios do approach yoga in that way which can feel unsafe. I don’t do this for my brand/method of yoga. There are many studios who don’t as well. They approach it as a way to come back into balance and to maintain the balance amongst extremes. This is also a huge aspect of anti-aging. Finding the thread of balance in all relationships.
So, to reduce the stigma of yoga, whilst shedding light on anti-aging, below are the bones of the yoga practice. What it can truly do for you to promote longevity, anti-aging, and creating a more balanced lifestyle.
SACRED GEOMETRY: Sacred Geometry originates from the symbol of The Seed or Flower of Life. Within’ this symbol the representation of all sacred geometry mathematical patterns of nature, or creation, derive. It is said in the First forms of yoga Asana, which is hatha (Ha translates to sun and Tha translates to moon), 84 postures embody the very seeds of creation through the mathematical structures of the Fibronaci spiral into binary codes that exists within’ each aspect of creation. The geometry mathematics and energy flow of the postures themselves are in that seed/flower of life symbol. What this means is that the postures from the classical form of hatha, with the 84 postures, imbibe deeper healing, therapeutic energies that bring about more homeostasis or balance within’ our system than any other form of exercise because we are indeed, becoming more in-tune with nature. And nature, always strives to bring things back into balance. You can sit in an infrared sauna or workout in one all day. It may feel good for awhile, but overtime, it’s not that healthy because it’s promoting an extreme… a pressure cooker… not balance. That goes for negative mind cues as well. An extreme.
When we sit and breath in an asana, we are connecting to that aspect of nature on a deep cellular and spiritual level. So doing tree pose, finding that alignment, practicing it overtime will develop a knowledge of that aspect of nature. While we do many postures, only mastering one, will reveal secrets of yourself, others, life, creation etc. which will move you into an automatic spiritual flow.
What this has to do with anti-aging is that the asana postures, along with the breath, stimulate as well as repair nadis, or nerve plexuses… 72,000 in the body. This goes for meridians too. This bio genesis process removes debri or free radicals that damage cells promoting repair, by flooding these cells with more oxygen. Mitochondria, or master cells, that are in charge of many things, anti-aging in particular, are able to heal faster with this help from the yoga practice. This is why practicing yoga will indeed give you a more youthful glow.
TURNING UPSIDE DOWN: After I breath in headstand for 25 - 50 breaths I feel grounded, calm, and weights of negativity or stress are lifted off of my shoulders. A deep sense of active relaxation floods my system. This is what turning upside down does. The energy from the lower chakras that tend to be more therapeutic in nature like such as delta, alpha, and theta energy waves, are flowed into the upper chakras, which can be too stressed. Beta waves are the waves in which we use to think. They are important so we can control how we would like to do things, however, when they move too fast with too many “anomalies” (things that cause stress) trying to control while moving too fast, we often times can’t keep up. Chronic stress can develop. By turning upside down for 25-50 breaths or so (up to five minutes is usually a healthy time), than the more relaxing energy waves can sooth the chronic stress anomalies.
Turning upside down doesn’t mean you have to do a full inversion. You can do downward facing dog or place the crown of the head on the ground while on your hands and knees. The more you start to cancel out the stressy energy, you will be able to lose more anxiety which will enable you to take a deeper inversion. Baby steps are usually better in taking inversions than just throwing the body into a posture which, yeah great, maybe you got into the posture, however, how is your alignment? how is your breathing? did you take out a small child whilst getting into that inversion? but seriously, take it step by step adding one thing at a time. Arm placement, head placement, check in with your nerves, how is my breath, can I remain steady in the postures or should I do an easier version before trying this one so I don’t hurt myself or someone else… So, it’s a process.
The anti-aging aspect is flooding the system with more of the lower chakra energy waves that create a therapeutic biosphere. This also aids in bio-genesis, repairing master cells.
THE BREATH: Breath puts the control in our hands to regulate our nervous system. Breathing in and breathing out is like the pull of the moon with the waves of the ocean. The moon is what allows the oceans waves to breath in and to breath out so-to-speak. We are also made of 70% water, so churning our system, our water body, with the help of the breath as well as a movement meditation, alchematizes all of the elements to churn with more oxygen being introduced, moving stagnant toxic water. As we have learned, more oxygen helps fight free radicals that damage master mitochondria cells. So does this churning movement. Learning to breath properly is the basics to this churning process into better health.
How we breath is also very important. Breathing is actually more healthy than merging completely relying on spirit energy flow. Both are important, however, to lose so much control, relying on other energies than your your own breath, well, it can get too dicey. Knowing how to breath properly, embodying the breath, feeling your body, is so much more rewarding. Most of us breath in our chests. Too much air in the system, can inflame even more stress. To promote better gut health, alchematizing the lower chakra frequencies, breathing from the belly, is more ideal for balance. It drops our consciousness down to see things more as they are, not living in fantasy land all of the time. Dropping the breath into the belly also promotes clarity, focus, relaxation, and overall well-being.
There are so many breathing techniques that do various things. I have created a breathing technique series on my instagram under the video icon. Breathing for each chakra is a passion of mine. More videos to come. These are breathing practices I have learned from masters over my 19 years as a yogic practitioner. But really, a simple breathing in the nose for four counts and breathing out of the mouth for four counts 5 -10 times, can greatly shift you into a rest and digest mode. All of this brings a radiance, an effervescence to our biosphere, therefore our system, therefore more of the water element.
INTEGRATION: Integration is bringing things together to process and to embody. We have to be careful with integration because too much integration can catapult us into a state of being that is not healthy. It can get too extreme. Extremes are fun to touch on occasionally, but not to dwell in for long periods of time. Yoking the Sacred Geometry, the breath, the moving meditation, the music, and turning upside down creates a flowing alchemitized environment for refresh thats grounded. With practice overtime, other parts of our body are not slaves to bone or muscle loss, which happens as we age at an increased fast rate after 50 years old. Doing practices that build healthy lean muscles, promote weight-loss, reduce stress significantly, all are for our benefit. Yoga is king when it comes to bringing all of those aspects together. This is why millions of people practice this ancient modality that is thousands of years old. It has passed the test of time.
In Heart and Soul Method, we do dance movement to add another element to the practice, which is creative expression that imbibes cathartic movement. It’s deeply healing to many to move the body in a more dynamic way, promoting confidence, radiance, releasing pent-up emotions, and expanding our energy fields as a protection practice.
In conclusion, we still need and want the lotions and potions, however, one of the best ways to turn back time, is taken with you all of the time, where ever you go… your yoga practice. All you need is your yoga mat, your body, breath, music, and movement. The key to well-being is right there at your finger tips.