• About
  • Writings
    • Writing
      • YOGA: Writing and Practice
      • Motorcycling from MotorCyclingYogiG
    • Midwest
    • Music
  • Contact
  • Home
  • www.zerowasteplanner.com

Gregory Ormson

Writer, musician, yoga-loving motorcyclist.

discovering yoga’s emotional body

Yoga inspirational number 36, published in YOGI TIMES, March, 2016. Update 3/27/18

Louie Netz, Director for Harley-Davidson’s Styling and Graphics Department, once said: “Form and function both report to emotion.”

It’s likely when observing the stylish symmetry of a Harley-Davidson, or a yoga pose in perfect aligment, to believe motorcycling is about the eye-catching chrome machine rumbling down the road and that yoga is about what we see on Instagram as yogis strike a perfectly aligned asana. That’s not to criticize this, for each pose represents the probability that thousands of practice hours went into the building these asanas. Nobody shrinks into inflexibility in mind or body overnight, and it may take years of practice to strike a pose where we bend like palm trees in the wind.

A yogi on the mat or a Harley-Davidson on the highway both perform their function at a high degree – garnering attention – but the brilliance of yoga is its regression from form to function and ultimately to emotion.

Like many newcomers when I started yoga I thought it was about what I saw. I noticed people bending into forms that were – at first –perplexing. To a lesser degree, I thought it was also about what I heard yoga could do, and that was to heal my injured back. I believed if yoga could heal my injuries I would be happy and that would be all I could expect. But there was more.

As a dedicated student, my yoga evolution was gradual; I practiced to feel better, then to learn good alignment. I paid attention to my teachers as they led me to conscious breathing and correct placement of feet and hands.

But right away, I sensed there was something happening well beyond my effort on the mat, and this was confirmed as I discovered the philosophy undergirding asana was just one of the eight limbs of yoga’s full expression.

Yogis are on their way to connect, or yoke deeply to their full selves, but they are also on a journey to discover something much broader and deeper than themselves. And while this intra-connection takes time, a gradual knitting of mind, body, and spirit happens. Most yogis sense good changes happening with this knitting, and find themselves taking initiative to learn more. It was true with me as my growing awareness revealed how yoga works: the building of awareness beyond the outer forms of asana and a corresponding move to a deeper emotional base.

Yoga is a dynamic leader – both gentle and firm – that invites the yogi to an active partnership. Before long, the yogi can be caught up in a transforming spiral of learning where form begins reporting to emotion. In the words of B.K.S. Iyengar, yoga is “discovering evolution through a journey of involution.”

Preparing the yogi for a deep connection to self-was originally a long and arduous process of discipline for the mind, body and spirit, and it happened in predictable steps. The stages that have shaped me were predictable too: first a physical transformation as a result of disciplined attention to asana. The result was improved flexibility, strengthening of muscle, better balance, and heightened endurance.

The second practical step in any yogi’s journey is cerebral. The yogi enjoys an enhanced ability to concentrate, and a wider awareness of life’s physical and metaphysical relationships and spaces. The yogi starts asking questions and discovers that his/her mind and body answer life’s challenges in new ways, and then the yogi graduates to step three, or emotional growth.

Teachers frequently say at the start of a pose, “This might bring something up in you.” That something could be any person, place, or event from the yogi’s past that hurt, limited, rejected or doubted them. This happens, but it is only the start of yoga’s emotional rescue, and an apt illustration of how the form and function of yoga report to emotion.

If one is aware of their emotional body through meditation, journaling, or deep reflection, they will be put directly in touch with their emotional body through yoga. The yogis called this an aspect of the koshas, or sheaths of our existence. And in time, when yoga does its work, the yogi learns to truly love and accept themselves as they are. Nothing is accomplished but this, and yet this is everything.

By yoga’s work on me, and a corresponding increase in emotional awareness, I realized that for years I held tension from my professional and intellectual work in my shoulders. The emotional body of my practice taught me that this tension is aligned most closely, but not solely, with jealousy. Further energetic work here would have me attend to the throat chakra which works toward a therapeutic of speaking truthfully.

A second realization I came to is that I hold family and tribal tension in my hips. This is associated most closely, but not solely, with guilt and aligns with the spleen and heart chakra. Energetic work there addresses the therapeutic ability to feel, to be social and intimate. This is practically experienced in the practice of pranayama and the breath-hold (kumbaka). When one holds their breath, even for a short time, the spleen contracts and pumps millions of red blood cells into the blood stream. These are vitally important for transporting oxygen through the body.

Third, I hold self-esteem and the effort to establish and maintain positive self-worth in my lower back. This is associated most closely, but not solely, with sadness and the solar plexus chakra. Energetic therapy there would address the ability to achieve and take pride in my accomplishments. Yoga work will activate core poses through twists.

I came to these understandings through self-work, and out of necessity. It’s not easy to find a curriculum for emotional/spiritual and mental integration, yet a heightened mind/body/spirit awareness that happens through yoga raises emotional healing as an accessible and ongoing self-project for the yogi.

Coming to self love thorugh yoga teaches that emotions need not define us, and because the yogi is the one person in the world with the largest stake in what happens, they also occupy the best position to know the emotional body. They can use this self-knowledge to rewire their emotional body and release the negatives.

The yogi’s working ground is the yoga mat and self-reflection in private. When he/she practices and reflects, healing happens in remarkable stages. All it takes is the yogi’s courage to pick-up and shoulder yoga’s emotional body, and then do their work to transform the emotions that form and function ultimately salute.

 

Gregory Ormson teaches at MOTTO YOGA in Queen Creek, Arizona, and at Superstition Harley Davidson in Apache Junction, Arizona. His program for bikers is called, YOGA AND LEATHER: yoga for bikers

 

Reference :
Louie Netz reference: Retrieved 3/12/16 from: www.signweb.com

Original publication :

https://www.yogitimes.com/article/discovering-emotional-body-practice-yoga

Share this:

Filed Under: Motorcycling from MotorCyclingYogiG, Writing, Yoga, YOGA: Writing and Practice Tagged With: #gregoryormson.com, #motorcyclingyogiG, amwriting, Apache Junction, Arizona, Coaching, GAOrmson, Harley-Davidson, inspiration, Motorcycling, mottoyoga, o-rings, Poetry - literature - writing, Superstition Harley Davidson, Teaching, transformation, twowheelsrule alignmentbodycyclesoul, Writing, Yoga, YogaAndLeather, yogaemotionalbody, yogainspiration, yogainspirationals, yogateacherarizona Leave a Comment

About Greg Ormson

Musician, writer, yoga-loving motorcyclist teaching yoga for bikers (Yoga & Leather) at Superstition Harley Davidson in Arizona.

Free diving in Hawaii, Greg learned the importance of breath management and has translated that into teaching Yoga-Breath, Breath of Life workshops accompanied by his band, Sat Song.

He’s traveled through five countries and most of the US to study world religions and other non-formal spiritual expressions. His doctoral degree at the Chicago Theological Seminary was cultural interpretation through a theological and psychological lens. He focused specifically on the power of touch for healing in ritual environments.
He widely on yoga with nearly 100 columns in 18 publications with a combined followership of over 5 million; his writing often categorized under #MotorcyclingyogiG. He contributes regulary to OM Yoga Magazine (UK).

In 2017 he won the Lyric Narrative Non Fiction Award from Eastern Iowa Review for "Midwest Intimations," and in 2016 won Indiana Review's contest for 13 word stories. His nonfiction has earned finalist mention in New Millennium and The Bellingham Review.

Dr. Ormson is an alumnus of The Chicago Theological Seminary; Chicago, Illinois;
The University of Wisconsin, La Crosse; La Crosse, Wisconsin;
Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan;
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.

https://gregoryormson.com
Twitter: @GAOrmson
Instagram:#motorcyclingyogiG

His yoga articles have reached millions of viewers through social media and have been translated and shared in Portuguese, Tamil, French, Hebrew, and Spanish.

They can be found searching links the following titles and sources:

98. “Yoga & Leather’ NMU alum leads class for bikers,” The Mining Journal, Marquette, Michigan July 23, 2020
97 "Yoga and Leather: how yoga is helping Harley riders and other bikers to find their Ze3n on and off the highway,” " OM Yoga Magazine July 2020
96 “Clearing Space,” OM Yoga Magazine
95 “Why We Need Yoga Now More than Ever,”
94 "Seniorgrams from the Successful,"
93 “Jesus, Yogi” Asana Journal
92 “Yoga Precis: six steps to a complete yoga practice”
91 “Yoga’s Outliers: Men” OM Yoga Magazine
90 “Yogatecture: Building Your House of Truth,” OM Yoga Magazine
89 “Conducing Heat to Cleanse the Self,” Yogi Times
88 “Silence and Slow Time,” OM Yoga Magazine
87 “Rough Road? Breathe . . .” HOG Magazine
86 “Yoga and the Pure Consciousness of Healing,” Asana Journal
85 “Conducting the Awesome,” OM Yoga Magazine
84 “Yoga: A New Road for Bikers,” Yoga Magazine (UK)
83 “The Way to Sacred Being,” Bad Yogi Mag
82 “Let It Be: When Your Yoga Becomes You,” Bad Yogi Mag
81 “Yoga as Commencement Ritual,” Yoganect
80 “Yoga, Jesus and the Pure Consciousness of Healing,” Bad Yogi Mag
79 “Traveling OM: rediscovering the abiding peace of coming home in a frantic world,” OM Yoga Magazine (UK)
78 “Conducting the Awesome: What I’ve learned from 7 years practicing hot yoga,” elephant journal
77 “Nine Ways you Give Back to Yoga,”
76 “Your Yoga Mat: Dimensions of Healing,”
75 “Yoga and Spiritual Questions,”
74 “Making Contact with Yourself and Your Practice,”
73 “How Many Limbs are Required,”
72 "Por que Precisamos de yoga mais do que nunca.” Why We Need Yoga Now More than Ever. www. boayoga.com.br/por-que-precisamos-de-yoga-agora-mais-do-que-nunca-gregory-ormson
71 “Fixing our Backs, Riding our Bikes: common benefits of yoga have every day application to motorcycling." AZ Rider Motorcycle News
70 “Hatha, Hawaii,”
69 “Armor On, Armor Off: The Psychology of Yin Yoga,” Sivana Spirit
68 “Yoga Script for Health and Joy,” Sivana Spirit
67 “Namaste: Nexus of a New Identity,” Sivana Spirit
66 “Embraced by Joy and Bliss,” Sivana Spirit
65 “The Delight Song of a New Architecture,” Sivana Spirit
64 “Transforming the Emotional Body,” Asana Journal
63 “The Real Power of Savasana,” Sivana Spirit
62 “Intention: Your Golden Egg for Change,” Sivana Spirit
61 “Yoga Tips: 6 Easy Ways to get the Most out of Your Yoga Class,” The Health Orange
60 “Mantra for Me and You,” Sivana Spirit
59 “Slow Down and Breathe,” Asana Journal
58 “Tradition Trumps Trendiness,” Asana Journal
57 “Yoga Teacher Training: Revelations Encountered” HelloYoga
56 “How Yoga Ruins our Lives” elephant journal
55 “Yoga Teacher Training: Encountering Self,” TribeGrow
54 “True Presence,” Asana Journal
53 “A Parable of Unmaking,” Asana Journal
52 “Yogatecture: The Elegant Arc of Change,” Asana Journal
51 “Truth Force on Your Mat,” Asana Journal
50 “What You Give to Yoga,” Yogi Times
49 “Enter the Master, Enter the Child,” Asana Journal
48 “The Honorable Yogi,” Asana Journal
47 “Finding Your Depth,” Asana Journal
46 “Teaching Yoga: It’s Not About You,” TribeGrow
45 “In the Midnight Hour: How Yoga Brought My Soul Back,” HelloYoga
44 “Gifts from the Core,” Asana Journal
43 “Release into Savasana,” Asana Journal
42 “The Bridge Within,” Asana Journal
41 “By a Thread,” Asana Journal
40 “Coaching Up: Yoga for Newbies,” DoYouYoga
39 “Your Beautiful Feet,” Asana Journal
38 “Lessons from Yoga and Freediving,” Asana Journal
37 “Five Tips and One Requirement for Coaching Yoga,” Seattle Yoga News
36 “The Immigrant Asana,” Asana Journal
35 “Making Heroes” Asana Journal
34 “Namaste: Nexus of a New Identity,” Sivana Spirit
33 “Sphinx Pose: To Rise in Righteousness,” Asana Journal
32 “Storage Wars and Yoga’s Emotional Rescue,” Asana Journal
31 “Asana Back to the Innocent Age,” Asana Journal
30 “The Year of the Monkey and Yoga’s Counter-Cultural Mathematic,” elephant journal
29 “The Missing Link,” Asana Journal
28 “Your Portable Home” Yoga International
27 “Yogi, Heal Thyself” Asana Journal
26 “Health and Joy, Why Not Us?”
25 “A New Planting, A New Harvesting,” Do You Yoga
24 “Three Stages of a Yogi’s Transformation,” Do You Yoga
23 “Peace: Just a Pause Away,” Yogi Times
22 “How Yoga Helps Us Release,” elephant journal
21 “Why Unpolished Prayers are Still Good Prayers,” elephant journal
20 “Yoga and the Place of Soul,” elephant journal
19 “Yoga’s Covenant: The Promise of Change,” Yogi Times
18 “What is a Kind Yogi,” The Yoga Blog
17 “Yoga and Social Responsibility,” The Yoga Blog
16 “Who Moved the Yoga Mat,” Yogi Times
15 “Yoga’s Touchy Subject – Touching,” DoYouYoga
14, “A Yoga Parable,” Yogi Times
13 “The Yoga Pose that Healed My Back Injuries,” elephant journal
12 “Becoming Your Own Life-Changing Quote,” The Yoga Blog
11 “Finding Your Mantra,” DoYouYoga
10 “Will You Yoga 30 Years from Now,” The Yoga Blog
9 “Ego, Injury, and Your Yoga,” elephant journal
8 “Silence and Your Practice,” The Yoga Blog
7 “Your Breath, Your Center,” elephant journal
6 “Your Practice, Your Inventory,” The Yoga Blog
5 “Aligning and Refining,” elephant journal
4 “Understanding a Yoga Teacher,” The Yoga Blog
3 “Yoga and the Unconscious Mind,” The Yoga Blog
2 “You’re Not Alone on Your Savasana Cloud,” elephant journal
1 “Changing My Story: 365 Days of Yoga,” The Yoga Blog

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect With Me

Subscribe for Updates

Copyright © 2021 Gregory Ormson | Quanta Web Design