Marya Mann : Blog : The Art Of Touch | Surface And Depth

The Art of Touch | Surface and Depth

THE ART OF TOUCH- SURFACE AND DEPTH

I like to say I have a photographic memory. I just haven’t developed it yet.

That’s why I’m so meticulous in planning and delivering classes, seminars, and presentations in the arts of Yoga, Loving Communications, and Yogassage. I don’t want to forget anything; having the tools for creating peace in the world at our fingertips, it’s probably a good idea to pause and write things down.

Here is something real. With the spine lengthening, hips opening, and shoulders relaxing, rivers of light flow blissfully through us, transforming everything. With the arts and sciences of Yoga, Acupressure, Acu-Yoga, Thai Yoga Massage, and the partner assists of Yogassage, the healing and radiant qualities of the human body appear limitless.

I call these the “lost arts of yoga,” because modern yoga has become so much about shaping the perfect body rather than expressing the soul. Yoga is an art because it expresses the soul; without that, it’s just an exercise. Nothing wrong with exercise. Exercise is great. But it seems flat when the world is round. Integrative experience unifies body, mind, and soul. Why not aim for the soul’s mission of spreading goodness and truth in our beautiful world if we’re going to go to all the trouble of disciplined sweating?

Legend has it that the practice of Thai Yoga Massage began in India when one of the Buddha’s physicians of started using his hands to “perform yoga” on patients to clear heads, heal indigestion, and cultivate enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. It then migrated to Thailand, where it was regarded as a spiritual practice and performed in temples. When the giver offers a Yoga Massage, they cultivate the four divine states, or brahma viharas, of Buddhist practice: metta (lovingkindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy), and uppekha (equanimity).

In this way, Thai massage is both a meditation and an offering of sublime kindness. Bringing this spirit into a yoga practice or massage makes them truly healing for both teacher and student, giver and receiver. When we focus intention on awakening the inner body, prana (life energy) flows through us along a network of channels, meridians in Chinese medicine, or nadis in Yoga. Stimulating and balancing prana creates a deep feeling of relaxation, vitality, and renewal.

I am truly in awe at how the first two of our Yogassage seminars – focused on Thai Yoga and Acu-Yoga – have been so nourishing for everyone. People from as far away as Canada, Austria, and Russia came to Kona to learn how the ancient healing arts rejuvenated the deeper Regulatory Channels in the body.

Because so much of modern life is lived on the surface, people are encouraged to disembody, and this makes them feel insecure. Yogassage safely reverses that extrinsic pull and reorients us toward intrinsic awareness. We feel more stable, serene, and secure.

Thai Yoga especially feels like a nurturing, effortless yoga practice in which your partner moves your body in and out of postures, enticing muscles, organs, nerves, and glands into gentle stretches and your mind into the blissful depths of profound relaxation.

Like any art, Yoga is an unrestricted expression of our individual soul. Like a good science, Yoga is a time-tested set of skills that allow the human soul to evolve more intelligently.

Yogassage takes us to our depths while cleaning up the surfaces. The art of touch puts the practice of peace at our fingertips. It replaces modern society’s dominator tendencies with an attitude of partnership and friendliness. It brings back the love that was always at the heart of yoga. It brings back authentic creativity. It deepens our relationship to ourselves, and through that, it brings us closer to each other.

It hasn’t developed a fully photographic memory for me – yet! I’m working on it. When I get the picture, I’ll let you know! ;) If you get it first, let me know! And stay in touch. I love hearing from readers about what you’re doing and how these blogs assist you in creating a joyful life in the precarious times.

Many Blessings and Namaste!
Marya

Join us for the March 18 Seminar: Thai Yogassage Seminar