The Voice of Your Body

posted by Jimmy Lewis on 01/02/09

Stand in tadasana toes spread, leg muscles active but not clenching, tail bone extending toward your heels, torso lifted up from your hips, shoulders soft and broad, and the crown of your head aligned with your spine. Now, listen. The nervous system is integrating countless bits of information. Sensations permeate your body as prana moves through it. The longer you practice yoga, the more you’re likely to feel and hear in tadasana, and every pose.

The body has its own voice, and can only be heard when we learn to quiet ourselves from the inside-out. What are the implications for your yoga practice? Learning how to listen to this voice requires space. Yoga has much to teach all of us about creating space. If you cultivate a practice of creating space and listening to the voice of your body, your yoga practice will reflect it. For example, if you experience discomfort in your lower back in bhujanghasana (cobra pose), your body is talking to you. Listen up. Then take action. The action may be as simple as bending your elbows so that the pose is less intense. If you listen often enough, the voice of your body more readily finds its audience.

Listening is a quiet, receptive activity. The voice of your body can be muted by the noise of life. Quiet is a cultivated state. An ambitious, aggressive yoga practice hardens the body’s receptors to the voice within. Good yoga is a receptive practice. It’s been called meditation in motion. Have you experienced that yet? An advanced yogi hears the voice of the body, and listens to it.
May the voice be with you.