Nectar of Life

Newton’s Laws of Motion form the basis of classical mechanics, the third can be summarised as:

When two bodies interact by exerting force on each other, these action and reaction forces are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction.

If we translate this to yoga, it is also so for forces within the body.  We are all very aware of our “fight or flight” system – adrenaline & cortisol released into the blood stream divert energy from other functions (eg digestion) to the limbs for readiness to run or protect ourselves, heart rate & blood pressure increase.  We either fight, run or occasionally freeze.  In the modern world, the system that mobilised our ancestors when sabre tooth cats came prowling is now often triggered by stress.

Many of us as much less aware of the calm & connect system of the body.  It is closely connected with the hormone oxytocin – the “love hormone”.  It is most commonly associated with sexual love, childbirth and breastfeeding.  It is not peculiar to women, although it plays a vital role in mothering, and researchers are now beginning to identify its central role in the calm & connect system.  The calm & connection system is at play when we feel that warm, drowsy glow after a good meal in pleasant company, or when we feel bathed & nourished by the sun as we lie on a soft sandy beach. 

Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg tells us in her book ‘The Oxytocin Factor’:

"We need calm and connection not only to avoid illness, but also to enjoy life, to feel curious, optimistic, creative..." and that the system “…is associated with trust and curiosity instead of fear, and with friendliness instead of anger...When peace and calm prevail, we let our defenses down and instead become sensitive, open, and interested in others around us. Instead of tapping the internal ‘power drink,’ our bodies offer a ready-made healing nectar. Under its influence, we see the world and our fellow humans in a positive light; we grow, we heal.” 

One way to nurture your calm and connection system is to take part in a family or group activity, making yoga an ideal way to nurture this system. 

The term nectar is interesting as many yoga scriptures and texts refer to amrita.  Amrita, also known as soma, is described in Georg Feuerstein’s ‘Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga’ as the nectar that is “of brilliant reddish-white and is exquisitely bliss-inducing”.  It is said to flow from the hidden lunar centre in the crown chakra.  The Hatha Yoga Pradipika tells us that when the body is flooded with this ambrosia, it will gift strength, vigour, and a beautiful body.  Perhaps the sages simply recognised that making time to be calm and to connect are essential for both physical and mental health.

  

The following practices are designed to give you time to feel calm and to connect first with your breath and your body, and if in a group setting, the chanting is a way to widen that connection into a community.  Off the mat and outside the classroom, connection is achieved by the impact on those around you as they respond to your calmness, your openness and your heartfelt interest in them when you can see their positives clearly.

Relaxation for a Calm Heart

Adapted from ‘The Meditator’s Handbook’ by David Fontana

Settle into Savasana, surrendering your body to gravity & the Earth.  Allow your mind to rest in your breath, becoming aware of your natural breathing rhythm…simply watch your inhalation and your exhalation.  As we observe the breath, we usually find it begins to naturally slow & deepen and settle into a more even flow.  Gently begin to slow and deepen your breathing, until you are breathing as slow, deep and rhythmically as feels comfortable for you right now.  With each inward breath, softly bring awareness to your heart centre in the middle of your chest, and with your outward breath begin to silently chant “Om”.  Feel Om ripple outwards from the heart centre, creating an ever widening circle of stillness, peace, calm.  You may like to visualise a drop of nectar falling into a lake, the ripples moving outward.  Or you may prefer to imagine the vibrations of a gong carrying Om through your body.  You can continue this practice as long as you wish.  When you are ready, release Om, and allow your breath to settle back into its own rhythm.  Take a few moments to stretch and make small movements, sigh or yawn, before rolling to one side and taking a few more breaths, feeling fully aware once more of occupying your body, before bring yourself up to sitting.  You might like to complete by bring your hands to prayer position at your heart centre and saying, silently or out loud, “Om shanti…shanti…shanti”.

Moon Salutation - Soma Mandala Namaskar

Watch a video here: Moon Shine with Shiva Rea

Chandra Bhedana Pranayama

In Yoga, our right nostril is energetically associated with our body's heating energy and action, symbolized by the "Sun" and the syllable HA, our left nostril with our body's cooling energy and calm, symbolized by the "Moon" and the syllable THA.

In the average person these energies are typically in conflict, which leads to disquiet and disease. The goal of traditional Hatha Yoga is to integrate and harmonize HA and THA for happiness and health. The purpose of this breath then is to create balance by “cooling” a warm, overactive body-mind (similarly if you reverse the practice & work with the right nostril, it becomes Surya Bhedana – Sun Piercing – and acts to warm & energise – caution: you must not practice both breaths on the same day).

Sit in a comfortable asana and make Mrigi Mudra. For Surya Bhedana block your right nostril and inhale through your left. Then close the left and exhale through the right. Continue in this manner, inhale left, exhale right, for 1 to 3 minutes.

Close your practice by chanting Om with each out breath – you can hold your hands in prayer position at the heart or create a bowl with your hands & imagine it gradually filling & overflowing with abundant, shining soma.