RULES VS PRINCIPLES

A rule is concerned with upholding order, it seeks to limit behaviour

Rules can be written in a flash and be enforced, they thwart transformation

A principle is concerned with the deepening of harmony, it is a launchpad for shared enquiry

Principles evolve & promote integration

The pedagogy of many traditional yoga systems are built around rules and so I would like to invite you to consider a different approach

One that is rooted in

• Curiosity

• Collaboration

• Connection

• Creativity

One that is neither good, nor bad, right nor wrong. One that is open minded, non judgemental and kind.

Principles open the door way for everyone, there are no exclusions

In her book, “Mind, Body, Spirit, a return to Wholeness”, Donna Farhi outlines 7 principles of movement, and the second one is the principle of:

YIELD - A negotiation between your body, ground, gravity and space

Yielding involves fully surrendering your weight into gravity.

Yielding is characterized by a relaxed alertness that allows us to fully and consciously receive support

When the principle of yield is established, it sets up the optimal conditions for breathing

When the principle of yield is lost, breathing becomes distorted

Question - What is your relationship to the earth right now?

Do you feel yourself to be collapsing into the ground, falling, dropping.

Or maybe you feel that you are perched above the ground, propping, not quite able to give your weight to the ground. A feeling of holding the self up.

Neither is good or bad, it simply is what is there for you right now.

However somewhere in between these two experiences of collapse and propping is a beautiful midway point, YIELD.

That moment in the body where you are able to give weight to the ground but sustain just enough tone through the structures, as much as is needed, as little as is possible, so that the downward connection to the ground results in a rebounding upward through the body.

And there you may find a more easeful experience in the body.