Articles:
- The Elements and the Practice of Anusara Yoga®
- The Universal Principles of Alignment™
- The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
*Please scroll down to read the full articles.
- The Elements and the Practice of Anusara Yoga®
- The Universal Principles of Alignment™
- The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
*Please scroll down to read the full articles.
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The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher. Published in the Fall 2006 South Eastern Anusara
Community Newsletter.
When I first walked to the water’s edge and gazed at the horizon, the pulsating surf danced in my Heart in a way I had
never felt before. I sensed the ecstasy of the sea, the ecstasy of creation, unfolding with its own delight of being. I felt
a oneness with this bliss in my heart. The waves were like offerings at my feet, offerings from the Ocean of the
longing to creatively express its bliss. Each wave was so beautiful and unique, and yet each wave reflected a deep
order, a rhythmic pulse in the way it came into form. Each wave was so creatively free, but arising from and returning
to One Consciousness. The wide-open horizon offered a clear vision: the edge of the planet – earth below, sky
above, a heightened sense of relationship. Sitting in the sand, with the endless blue sky above, I knew the place to rest
into, and the place to rise towards.
Anusara means to flow with Nature. In flowing with Nature, we embody the Supreme and open to our potential, our
own awareness and delight. My practice was inspired by the Nature that surrounded me. My fingertips and outer
shins held like packed wet sand. The inseam of my legs and pelvis flowed wide apart, a wave of water widening a
channel between the sand castles of my shins. Against that widening my tailbone dropped like an anchor, sending my
torso rising like the first sunbeam cresting the morning horizon. In every pose I felt the split of the horizon, one part
of me heavy and deep like the sea and the sand, one part rising towards the wide-open sky, extending free like the sea
breeze itself. All the while my breath flowed in and out, resonant and deep like the song of the surf.
I still feel the ecstatic pulse of the Ocean in my Heart. The Ocean of Grace has so much to give. The jagged edges of
the year since I had last been to the beach were smoothed over. I emerged with a greater freedom, grounded in a
deeper connection to the Supreme. Grace is the gift that comes as we Align – a knowing of our own still depths and
the delight of blissful freedom in our Hearts.
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher. Published in the Fall 2006 South Eastern Anusara
Community Newsletter.
When I first walked to the water’s edge and gazed at the horizon, the pulsating surf danced in my Heart in a way I had
never felt before. I sensed the ecstasy of the sea, the ecstasy of creation, unfolding with its own delight of being. I felt
a oneness with this bliss in my heart. The waves were like offerings at my feet, offerings from the Ocean of the
longing to creatively express its bliss. Each wave was so beautiful and unique, and yet each wave reflected a deep
order, a rhythmic pulse in the way it came into form. Each wave was so creatively free, but arising from and returning
to One Consciousness. The wide-open horizon offered a clear vision: the edge of the planet – earth below, sky
above, a heightened sense of relationship. Sitting in the sand, with the endless blue sky above, I knew the place to rest
into, and the place to rise towards.
Anusara means to flow with Nature. In flowing with Nature, we embody the Supreme and open to our potential, our
own awareness and delight. My practice was inspired by the Nature that surrounded me. My fingertips and outer
shins held like packed wet sand. The inseam of my legs and pelvis flowed wide apart, a wave of water widening a
channel between the sand castles of my shins. Against that widening my tailbone dropped like an anchor, sending my
torso rising like the first sunbeam cresting the morning horizon. In every pose I felt the split of the horizon, one part
of me heavy and deep like the sea and the sand, one part rising towards the wide-open sky, extending free like the sea
breeze itself. All the while my breath flowed in and out, resonant and deep like the song of the surf.
I still feel the ecstatic pulse of the Ocean in my Heart. The Ocean of Grace has so much to give. The jagged edges of
the year since I had last been to the beach were smoothed over. I emerged with a greater freedom, grounded in a
deeper connection to the Supreme. Grace is the gift that comes as we Align – a knowing of our own still depths and
the delight of blissful freedom in our Hearts.
The Universal Principles of Alignment
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
In examining the way galaxies form or the way a seed becomes a tree, we find that the way Nature unfolds is deeply
orderly. Fueled by an intrinsic goodness, Nature comes into form with a creative freedom that is highly aware and full
of delight. As human beings, we are Nature, but highly infused with consciousness for the fullest amount of freedom
and potential to awaken. With that freedom comes choice. We have the possibility to align with the goodness of
Nature to enhance our own freedom and make more beauty in the world. Through this ALIGNMENT, we more fully
attune to our own consciousness and delight, leading us to the awakening of our Heart.
Anusara Yoga is organized with the Universal Principles of Alignment. These Principles both acknowledge the deep
order of the Universe and inform the choices that we can make to enhance life’s unfolding. Using the Universal
Principles of Alignment in the practice of asana, we optimize our physical alignment and pranic (life force) flow. This
optimal alignment, then, as it attunes us to the deep order of Nature, expands our own consciousness. In every pose
we can enhance our own experience the intrinsic goodness of Nature through knowing it in our Hearts. This
knowing is an awakening. Each Principle offers a physical instruction to optimally align the body, as well as a virtue to
embody to come more fully into our potential.
Open to Grace The first Universal Principle of Alignment sets the intention of the practice. It acknowledges the
desire to awaken and the understanding that we may do so through the support and benevolence of Nature. Soften to
connect into the goodness of the Universe. Be wide open like the sky.
Muscle Energy The second Principle organizes and steadies the body, stabilizing the wild periphery of the body to
move into the stillness and power of the core. Embrace your intrinsic goodness. Be steadfast like the earth.
Inner Spiral The third Principle optimizes the alignment of the pelvis and lower back giving a depth to forward
bends and a softness to backbends. Be fluid and yielding like water.
Outer Spiral The fourth Principle empowers the pose from deep in the core. It balances the widening action of
Inner Spiral for strength and poise. Rise and aspire like fire.
Organic Energy The fifth Principle extends the radiant power of the core, aligned through the first four Principles,
through the rest of the pose in the culmination of its expression. This expression is the result of the intention of the
first Principle – Opening to Grace to align with the Universal. Shine – extend freely like air.
In aligning the Heart, mind and body with the Universal Principles of Alignment, we channel our freedom into the
choice to enhance the goodness of life within ourselves. When the flow of Nature is optimized, the experience of
our own consciousness and delight unfolds. In Anusara Yoga, the practice of asana, through attuning the body and
mind to the intrinsic goodness of Nature, is a gateway to the Heart.
May we awaken in this moment, and live life in full consciousness.
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
In examining the way galaxies form or the way a seed becomes a tree, we find that the way Nature unfolds is deeply
orderly. Fueled by an intrinsic goodness, Nature comes into form with a creative freedom that is highly aware and full
of delight. As human beings, we are Nature, but highly infused with consciousness for the fullest amount of freedom
and potential to awaken. With that freedom comes choice. We have the possibility to align with the goodness of
Nature to enhance our own freedom and make more beauty in the world. Through this ALIGNMENT, we more fully
attune to our own consciousness and delight, leading us to the awakening of our Heart.
Anusara Yoga is organized with the Universal Principles of Alignment. These Principles both acknowledge the deep
order of the Universe and inform the choices that we can make to enhance life’s unfolding. Using the Universal
Principles of Alignment in the practice of asana, we optimize our physical alignment and pranic (life force) flow. This
optimal alignment, then, as it attunes us to the deep order of Nature, expands our own consciousness. In every pose
we can enhance our own experience the intrinsic goodness of Nature through knowing it in our Hearts. This
knowing is an awakening. Each Principle offers a physical instruction to optimally align the body, as well as a virtue to
embody to come more fully into our potential.
Open to Grace The first Universal Principle of Alignment sets the intention of the practice. It acknowledges the
desire to awaken and the understanding that we may do so through the support and benevolence of Nature. Soften to
connect into the goodness of the Universe. Be wide open like the sky.
Muscle Energy The second Principle organizes and steadies the body, stabilizing the wild periphery of the body to
move into the stillness and power of the core. Embrace your intrinsic goodness. Be steadfast like the earth.
Inner Spiral The third Principle optimizes the alignment of the pelvis and lower back giving a depth to forward
bends and a softness to backbends. Be fluid and yielding like water.
Outer Spiral The fourth Principle empowers the pose from deep in the core. It balances the widening action of
Inner Spiral for strength and poise. Rise and aspire like fire.
Organic Energy The fifth Principle extends the radiant power of the core, aligned through the first four Principles,
through the rest of the pose in the culmination of its expression. This expression is the result of the intention of the
first Principle – Opening to Grace to align with the Universal. Shine – extend freely like air.
In aligning the Heart, mind and body with the Universal Principles of Alignment, we channel our freedom into the
choice to enhance the goodness of life within ourselves. When the flow of Nature is optimized, the experience of
our own consciousness and delight unfolds. In Anusara Yoga, the practice of asana, through attuning the body and
mind to the intrinsic goodness of Nature, is a gateway to the Heart.
May we awaken in this moment, and live life in full consciousness.
The Elements and the Practice of Anusara Yoga
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
Everything that we can know in the material world – including us - is made of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air
and space. We can look to the elements, then, for a deeper understanding of our own nature and as a way to come
more fully into our possibilities.
It is understood that while a human being contains all of the elements, each of us has a constitution that more strongly
represents some of the elements more than others. Some of us might be more earthy and watery, while others more
like fire, and others more like air and space. Those who are more earthy and watery, for example, will have a thicker
and fluid physical build, with either stubbornness or great momentum predominating, and a predisposition towards
either contentment or depression; whereas, those who are more airy will be lighter and longer in build, with a
dynamic energy and a tendency towards enthusiasm or anxiety. Finally, those with a fiery nature will be stockier and
condensed in their build and known for confidence and drive with a fault towards angry frustration. Whatever the
elemental constitution, there are positive strengths that unfold naturally, but also the negative tendencies that can hold
us back from reaching our fullest potential.
Yoga invites us to celebrate our strengths, and then to go down the often difficult path of cultivating that which doesn't
come so easily, that which brings us into balance. So while the earthy/watery type needs to find more airy dynamism,
the airy/spacey type needs to get grounded like earth. The practice of Anusara Yoga is centered on five Universal
Principles of Alignment – each Principle corresponds to the five elements. Thus, by deepening the action and virtue
intrinsic to the elemental Principles that are not your tendency, you can then find the expansive state of balance and
embody the full spectrum of possibility. The understanding of the nature of yourself and all of creation more deeply
then unfolds readily.
We call this the practice of adhikara, or studentship, referring to one’s level of dedication to the practice of
transformation that is yoga. All the elements need to be cultivated fully to find an openness to all possibilities (space),
steadiness (earth), fluidity (water), aspiration (fire) and mental dexterity (air) in the performance of asana. What we
do on our mat teaches us, then, how to live life more consciously and powerfully. Through yoga we pull ourselves
out of the rut of our habits and are able to respond to every situation that arises with presence and freedom.
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
Everything that we can know in the material world – including us - is made of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air
and space. We can look to the elements, then, for a deeper understanding of our own nature and as a way to come
more fully into our possibilities.
It is understood that while a human being contains all of the elements, each of us has a constitution that more strongly
represents some of the elements more than others. Some of us might be more earthy and watery, while others more
like fire, and others more like air and space. Those who are more earthy and watery, for example, will have a thicker
and fluid physical build, with either stubbornness or great momentum predominating, and a predisposition towards
either contentment or depression; whereas, those who are more airy will be lighter and longer in build, with a
dynamic energy and a tendency towards enthusiasm or anxiety. Finally, those with a fiery nature will be stockier and
condensed in their build and known for confidence and drive with a fault towards angry frustration. Whatever the
elemental constitution, there are positive strengths that unfold naturally, but also the negative tendencies that can hold
us back from reaching our fullest potential.
Yoga invites us to celebrate our strengths, and then to go down the often difficult path of cultivating that which doesn't
come so easily, that which brings us into balance. So while the earthy/watery type needs to find more airy dynamism,
the airy/spacey type needs to get grounded like earth. The practice of Anusara Yoga is centered on five Universal
Principles of Alignment – each Principle corresponds to the five elements. Thus, by deepening the action and virtue
intrinsic to the elemental Principles that are not your tendency, you can then find the expansive state of balance and
embody the full spectrum of possibility. The understanding of the nature of yourself and all of creation more deeply
then unfolds readily.
We call this the practice of adhikara, or studentship, referring to one’s level of dedication to the practice of
transformation that is yoga. All the elements need to be cultivated fully to find an openness to all possibilities (space),
steadiness (earth), fluidity (water), aspiration (fire) and mental dexterity (air) in the performance of asana. What we
do on our mat teaches us, then, how to live life more consciously and powerfully. Through yoga we pull ourselves
out of the rut of our habits and are able to respond to every situation that arises with presence and freedom.
© 2006, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.
© 2007, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.
© 2007, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.