Welcome to Being Yoga

<body> <p> Trishna has taught yoga since 1998, providing a regular schedule of classes<br /> in West Marin as well as offering Yoga Retreats, as near by as the Sierras and as far away as Thailand.<br /> <br /> She provides weekly yoga and meditation to incarcerated youth in San Rafael.<br /> <br /> Her approach to yoga is greatly inspired by her ongoing study of Sanskrit based writing and thought. She enjoys incorporating esoteric information and practices into a Hatha Yoga format.<br /> <br /> Trishna has traveled to Asia many times, studying mask work with I.B. Anom in Bali, Traditional Thai Massage with Pichet Boonthume in Thailand, and Yoga with Saras Kumar Binjola in India. Most recently she spent a month in Nepal, immersed in a rich introduction to “Carya Nritya”, a Newari Buddhist Mudra dance form.<br /> <br /> She was lucky to have the guidance of Prajwal Vajracarya, his family, and Ritu Bajracarya.<br /> <br /> <br /> The word ‘yoga’ is from the Sanskrit language and means to join, or unite. There are many types of yoga which give importance to a wide variety of practices. When we hear the word yoga currently, in the west, it means a practice which calms and balances the mind and body, primarily through specific movements, stretches, and held poses as well as conscious use of the breath.<br /> <br /> What makes any of these Yoga is that their aim is to provide the student or practitioner with the means to enjoin or gather their forces. To identify with wholeness rather than fragmentation.<br /> <br /> Yoga as it is known today was developed over ten thousand years ago. It is talked about even in the ancient Sanskrit text, the Rig Veda. The yoga sutras of Patanjali, thought to have been composed around 400 B.C., officially codified the ancient science and practices.<br /> <br /> The second sutra says:<br /> "Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind."<br /> <br /> In other words :<br /> You are yogic when your mind is not constantly fluctuating. When the mind is calm.<br /> <br /> Traditional Thai yoga massage can look back at a long history of therapeutic healing. If one traces the evolution of the techniques of healing-massage practiced in Thailand, one discovers the astonishing fact that the earliest roots of Thai massage lie not in Thailand but in India. The legendary founder of the art is believed to have been a doctor from northern India. Known as Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, he was a contemporary of the Buddha and personal physician to the Magadha King Bimbisara over 2,500 years ago. The teachings of Kumar Bhaccha probably reached what is now Thailand at the same time as Buddhism – as early as the 3rd or 2nd century B.C.<br /> The theoretical foundation of Thai massage is based on the concept of invisible energy lines running through the body. The Indian origin and influence is obvious here since the background of this theory clearly lies in Yoga philosophy. Yoga philosophy states that life energy (called Prana) is absorbed with the air we breathe and with the food we eat. Along a network of energy lines, the Prana Nadis, the human being is then supplied with this vital energy. Out of these energy lines Thai massage has selected 10 mainlines on which there are especially important acupressure points. Massaging these lines and points makes it possible to treat a whole range of diseases or to relieve pain. The 10 mainlines are sufficient to conduct practical treatment for the whole body and its internal organs. Disturbances in the flow of energy result in an insufficient supply of Prana, which will in turn lead to sickness. Working on the energy lines with massage can break the blockades, stimulate the free flow of Prana, and help to restore general well-being.<br /> Looking back at the tradition of Thai massage it is very clear that it was never seen as a mere job. Massage was always considered to be a spiritual practice closely connected with the teachings of the Buddha. Until fairly recently it was the Buddhist temple, where massage was taught and practiced. Even today one of the most important massage schools in Thailand is at the Wat Po monastery in Bangkok. The establishment of legitimate massage facilities outside of the temples is a recent development.<br /> <br /> The giving of massage was understood to be a physical application of Metta, the Pali (and Thai) word used in Theravada Buddhism to denote 'loving kindness' - and devoted masseurs still work in such a spirit today. A truly good masseur performs his art in a meditative mood. He starts with a Puja, a meditative prayer, to fully center himself on the work, on the healing he is about to perform. And he works with full awareness, mindfulness and concentration. There is a world of a difference between a massage performed in a meditative mood and a massage just done as a job. Only a masseur working in a meditative mood can develop an intuition for the energy flow in the body and for the Prana lines.<br /> <br /> Contrary to Western style massage, traditional Thai massage does not primarily work with the physical body but rather with the energy body of man. The kneading of muscles, which dominates in Western style massage, is absent from Thai massage: energy points are pressed or general pressure is used instead. There is a lot of stretching involved and many exercises might well be described as 'applied Hatha Yoga' or 'applied physical Yoga'. Rather than using the term 'Thai massage', it wouldn't be a bad idea to actually call it 'Yoga massage' since that's what this art essentially is.<br /> <br /> (I will work on this page more, but for now have pasted in this excerpt from the Sunshine Network web site. Asokananda created the program which I follow when I practice Thai Massage.)<br /> Details: I took the Sunshine Network course in February, 1998. I then studied with Pichet Boonthume, for some fine tuning and to connect with a Thai Master. I have been offering this form since then. The full form, which is all I do, generally spans 2.5 to 3 hours. It feels like a combination of full body acu-pressure and effortless yoga, for the recipient.<br /> <br /> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> </body>