WHAT IS EMBODYOGA®

Embodyoga® is a radical and inclusive approach to the ancient science of Yoga.  It is an evolving tapestry, woven from the deeply healing, therapeutic, and spiritual essence of Yoga, and cutting edge studies in the field of body-mind-consciousness. Embodyoga® is a whole-person experiential investigation into, and enlivening of, cellular awareness. Through inquiry and relationship we actively engage with all aspects of self and the environment in which we live. Our inquiry reveals direct perception and authentic experience of our True Nature.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Embodyoga® embraces a Tantric philosophical view of our bodies. We study our personal body-mind system as a microcosm of the Universal Whole. We explore our body’s structures and consciousness through embodied asana, pranayama, and meditation. We investigate the personal as well as the Universal using the tools of radical self-acceptance and discriminative mind.

CELLULAR AWARENESS

Inviting insight into our true nature we begin to notice that we are awake and alive at every level of our being. Cellular awakening alters our perception of self, the world, and our place in it. We spontaneously recognize that as we are, so is everything else. The embodied recognition of Unity provides profound inner comfort and nurtures trust in the natural order of things. Our relationships become based on commitment, respect, and love.

EMBODYOGA® PRACTICE

The principles of Embodyoga® enhance every style and level of yoga practice, creating a depth and beauty that are visible and profoundly felt by the practitioner. Alignment expresses itself from the inside out and is very specific to each individual. We expect differences in the completion of any yoga posture based on the unique inquiry of the person practicing.  The following core techniques and practices apply equally to vigorous, vinyasa, and gentle yoga:

EMBODIED-INQUIRY™ is an intimate exploration of all layers of our form and consciousness, through the body’s systems to the cellular, sub-cellular and pranic levels. We weave Embodied-Inquiry™ into our asana, pranayama, and meditation practices.  It softens our thinking mind and encourages us to move more deeply into sensing, feeling, and directly experiencing our essential selves. Guided by discriminative mind and profound self-acceptance, fueled by curiosity and desire for greater depth, Embodied-Inquiry™ is playful and absorbing.

Through the use of our unique WHOLE-BODY-SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONAL TEMPLATES, we create a fully harmonious experience in each yoga posture. Force and weight are fluidly distributed throughout the body to completely relieve the stress on specific joints and muscles. Postures and movements are organized so that the whole body supports their form, instead of individual muscles straining to hold themselves in place. When we fragment our body awareness in order to force ourselves into an asana, our mind and awareness fragment as well. By engaging the whole body in supporting postures, we encourage a unified self-awareness with greater access to the experience of Unity. These organizational patterns are inherent in the postures, and based on our developmental underpinnings and deep anatomical structures. But they need to be recognized and practiced to ensure safety, comfort, and support for a lifelong yoga practice.

Through EMBODIED ANATOMY™, we directly experience the intelligence of our cells, organs, glands, tissues, fluids, and body systems and the qualities of awareness that are expressing through them at all times. We locate ourselves in form and space and deepen our understanding of our personal expression in the world. We become witnesses and active participants in the symphony that is our body, heart, and mind.
From the time of conception, through all the phases of life until our personal death, we are evolving and developing as human beings. Through EMBODIED DEVELOPMENTAL MOVEMENT™ we explore our human journey from beginning to end. We experience and investigate cellular breathing, the organization of cellular families, embryological development, and development through gestation, birth, the first year of life, and beyond. As adults we carry embodied memories of our development. By accessing these memories we touch primal desire and curiosity, and witness their growth through our lifetime.
Embodyoga® brings the experiences gained through EMBODIED DEVELOPMENTAL MOVEMENT™ into our ongoing yoga practice. We reach for what we desire and we pull it into ourselves. We learn to digest and assimilate life as it is. We yield into the Earth and feel the support of Her mass as we push ourselves skyward.  We experience our individual lives as the interface between Unity and duality, the play of the Formless within form.

Embodied Anatomy™ and Embodied Developmental Movement™ are trademarks of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and The School for Body-Mind-Centering®.