Many people come to the practice of Kaiut Yoga because they are experiencing pain in a specific part of the body and are understandably seeking relief from that pain. They want their yoga practice to target their hip, their neck, their low back, etc., and are sometimes disappointed when the day’s class appears to be focusing on other parts of the body. But even though students may not get the class they think they need, they often find that they actually do experience the relief they are seeking. Much to their surprise, the pain in their shoulder has eased even though it was not seemingly a “shoulder class”; the knees feel better even though the knees were not apparently addressed directly in the class at all.
Based on conventional understandings of the body, these results might seem quite mysterious, but from the Kaiut Yoga perspective they are not mysterious at all. This is because the body is not conceptualized as a collection of discrete parts but rather as a unitary energetic system with energy patterns which move through that system which do not conform to conventional anatomical maps. Kaiut Yoga is designed to touch in with these energy patterns, dissolving blockages in the flow of energy and, in so doing, provide increased freedom of movement and relief from pain, often at a distance from the area of the body which is seemingly involved in doing a pose.
Because the mind and the body are not seen as wholly separate entities, these energy patterns are understood to involve not just the body but the mind as well, with the result that stimulation to one part of the body impacts not just other parts of the body but also impacts the mind. The implication is clear: Although Kaiut Yoga is most definitely a potent means of addressing physical issues, this is only a part of its impact. This practice acts powerfully on the mind itself, up-regulating areas that are stagnant and sluggish and down-regulating areas that are overcharged, balancing the mind and clarifying the entire mind-body system, enabling it to function as a coherent whole. This coherent unification of the mind and body not only provides the basis for physical health and emotional well being, but is also the foundation upon which deep spiritual growth can flourish.
Thus, although Kaiut Yoga is often relegated to the category of “Therapeutic Yoga”, “therapeutic” referring to its profound salutary effects on the physical body, looking more deeply into the nature of Kaiut Yoga, it can be understood as a practice which is perfectly aligned with the original, broader intention of yoga, namely, the drawing together, or “yoking” of the mind and body for the benefit of the system as a whole in matters physical and emotional and spiritual. Indeed, the Sanskrit word “yoga” means “yoke”.
So the next time you come to class with a sore hip which is making you grumpy and the class is seemingly all about the shoulders, consider the possibility that it is nevertheless the perfect class for your sore hip and your grumpy mood, that even though the class you ordered is not the one which is being delivered, that there could not possibly be a better class for your entire mind-body system than the class that you are actually taking!
Namaste,
Wendy
