It All Begins at the Tailbone
It all begins at the tailbone is the first Svaroopa® Yoga Sutra. You ask what is a Sutra, it is a statement about the principles of yoga, the philosophy behind the yoga practice. Used in ancient times to pass down the wisdom of yoga philosophy to students. The most famous book of Sutras is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras which gives the teachings of the ancient yogis. Today in Svaroopa® Yoga my teacher Swami Nirmalanda gives us Svaroopa Sutras to help us understand the underlying philosophy of why and how Svaroopa® Yoga works.
It all begins at the tailbone is also our first Sutra which means it is the most important one. We believe that all of the tensions in the spine first start at the tailbone and as those tensions climb the spine they create physical, mental and emotional health problems. The good news is that as you release those tensions the healing process climbs your spine also providing healing from chronic illness, pain and stress.
Part of what makes this Sutra so important is to understand the way we tighten our spinal muscles and how that effects our health. Unlike the ancient sages we are not monks living in a cave doing yoga and meditation all day long. We live out in the world and there are so many things that cause you to tighten your tailbone, even though you may not even feel it happening! Just think about driving, if you have a long commute it is not just the long time sat in the car (which can be very tightening and even painful) but someone cuts you off suddenly your temper flairs and your tailbone tightened! As I look out my window and see the last of the leaves falling from the trees I know what I will be doing this weekend, raking. How will my shoulders feel after that? If my shoulders hurt how much did I tighten the rest of my spine?
The good news is there is help, do a little more yoga! Do a little more Svaroopa® Yoga. Luckily the Magic 4 takes only about 20 minutes to do, or do any other spinal sequence to take the changes from the tailbone to the top of your spine. You have so many options, the Daily Practice theme we finished in September has hopefully helped empower you to do yoga at home on your own. Still not comfortable with doing yoga on your own? You can add an extra yoga class in one week, or better yet sign up for a private session to really get a deep opening in the tight muscles of your spine. You have so many options to carry over the blissful feeling you have at the end of class! Treat yourself to more – more yoga, more healing, more you!
® Svaroopa is a Registered Service Mark of Svaroopa Teachings Collection, Inc. used under license.