Light on Yoga – fNIRS and the science of Asana
Both the yogic mind and the truly scientific mind must be a living mind, learning, never ending. Gently holding onto observed truths and patterns, but willingly letting them go if proven to be false. In this way, the flow of knowledge is constant and is never dead or stagnant. It is this curiosity that sheds […]
Yoga Asana and Vagus Nerve Function
Why physical posture affects your mood, perception of reality, creative and executive functioning. Research is identifying that a large part of our perceived reality has it’s basis in the ascending visceral communication of the body upwards to the brain (mainly through the vagus nerve), where it is then interpreted and then sent back to the […]
The Mystery of Light & Atma – Yoga & Physics in Conversation
So I have a neighbor who lives downstairs from me. He is a physicist. And Sunday afternoon as we sat enjoying enchiladas potosinas and guacamole, he began to explain to me the concept and problem with the speed of light. Here it is summarized below. Imagine you see a train traveling at 50km per hour. […]
Psychedelics, Yoga and the Shamanic Journey Part IV: Integration
Integration with Yoga Therapy & Fasting Psychedelics, Yoga Therapy & Trauma – Integration of the Shamanic Journey: After the trauma of loss I had been through when leaving Spain, as I described in part III of this blog, and the resulting deep subconscious work that I had done in the Yucatán with psychedelics, I could tell that […]
Psychedelics, Yoga and the Shamanic Journey Part III : Mexico
An exploration into the Columbian and Peruvian Ayuahuasca Traditions and an unexpected meeting with the ‘The Toad’ (Bufo Alvarius). Psychedelics and Yoga. Healing Trauma in Mexico. According to research by led by Dr. Peter Levine and Dr. Van der Kolk, trauma is experienced when we feel that our capacity to respond is taken away from us. This is […]
Psychedelics, Yoga and the Shamanic Journey Part II – Ayahuasca
Unlike the previous blogpost, the following account is written more like a Ayahuasca case study – with the subject being me. As I had discussed in Part I, about two years ago I had reached a point in my life where I was feeling quite stuck and apathetic towards life. This worried me greatly as twice before […]
Yoga Therapy: The True Self vs. Obedience & Authority
Observing and releasing the binds of the conditioned mind through Yoga Therapy and Meditation. ´Give me child until age seven and I will show you the man´ – Ignatius of Loyola The whole point and purpose of the art and science of Yoga and Yoga Therapy is to help each individual experience for themselves their own […]
Yoga + YBR ONLINE: Your Digestion and Breath
Yoga + YBR: Digestion, Breath, Health and Well-being As I finish up the first half of the IAYT Yoga therapy training with Paramanand Institute of Science and Research I am struck yet again by the holistic wisdom of Hatha Yoga. For example, in Sanskrit the word Āhāra means food. The concept of Āhāra is not […]
Hatha Yoga: The Union towards Liberation
All search is in vain until we begin to perceive that knowledge is within ourselves, that no one can help us, that we must help ourselves. – (Patanjali-Vivekananda 2: 27) I started to write this blog a few weeks ago. With the quarantine for COVID-19, I am even more convinced of the wisdom and liberating power […]
Karmuka Yoga, the Chakras and the endocrine system
The philosophy and antaomy of Yoga tells us that we are energy and that within us there are various different frequencies that vibrate and affect us on both an emotional and physical level. Quantum physics is now confirming this. The centers of energy discussed above are called chakras. Chakra in Sanskrit literally means ´spinning wheel´. […]