I have been thinking about names for my business, designs for posters and business cards.
I wanted the name to show something about who I am and what I want to offer. Throwing a few words around, I ended up deciding on calling it The Fourth Breath.
The word breathe has been my focus for this year, and will probably continue to be a word close to my heart for many years to come. Every time I think of, or say the word 'breathe' to myself, I relax. Every time I start to stress about something, tense up, and I feel overwhelmed, I have to remind myself to just breeeeathe.
Pranayama is a yogic practice of extending our vital life force. This is done by using different breathing techniques.
The breath during a yoga asana practice is the key to connecting the body with the mind and spirit. It synchronizes your movements and brings a deeper awareness to your surroundings and inner self. You are able to examine how you feel in each pose, and through extended exhalations you can go deeper into a "difficult" pose.
Thus, I wanted my business name to include something to do with breathing.
There are seven chakras in the subtle body. Chakras are energy centres within the 'psychic' body or the soul. Each chakra governs different areas of the physical body, the mental body, emotional and spiritual. The fourth chakra is the heart centre, anahata chakra. Hence why I called my practice "The Fourth Breath"
The heart chakra governs the chest area; lungs, heart, shoulders, upper back. Its properties are that of love, gentleness, compassion, openness and more. Breathing through the heart brings feelings of warmth, love, healing, peace, light...
'Pranayama' is the fourth limb of Patanjali's eight limbed path of yoga.
There are four different types of breathing: Puraka(inhalation) Rechaka(exhalation) Abhyantara Kumbhaka(retention after inhalation) and Bahya Kumbhaka (retention after exhalation).
Bahya Kumbhaka is referred to as "the empty pause". Retaining the breath outside of the body is taking a pause in life, with no focus except just BEING.
There are also four stages of retention:
Bahya = external; abhyantara = internal; visaya = sphere; aksepi = going beyond; caturthah = the fourth variety of retention.
I have studied various forms of yoga, and have integrated principles, teachings and adaptations of each to my own personal practice. I am now teaching this way. I have no specific "style" such as bikram, ashtanga, hatha, vinyasa, iyengar etc. I encompass all styles. The yoga I have studied is no style, it is purely yoga. Yoga is yoga is yoga. Every style came from one form, the basic form of yoga. Yogic principles come from the Upanishads, the bhagavad gita, and finally from Patanjali's eight fold path.
My style of teaching yoga has an extremely therapeutic view, and is very gentle on the body. Depending on what level the students are that I am teaching, I will adjust my teaching accordingly. I will constantly ask you to asses your own body, making sure that everything feels alright, and giving you the peace to lie down or sit if you feel to. There are no judgements made in my classes. These yoga classes are made for you, to heal your life. I am a healer, and teaching yoga is a way that you can personally heal yourself, with your personal practice.
I can definitely teach you as a personal trainer would, but I am not here to give you a workout. Sometimes I may do a vigorous vinyasa flow, which will seem like an intense workout, which it is, but then I will always let you cool down and relax before moving on. I will give you time to review what you just did and scan your own bodies for signs of discomfort.
I believe that this busy world needs to relax. They need to breathe. They need stress relief. They need healing. They need to learn how to heal themselves.
In my yoga classes I will encompass deep relaxation and pranayama practices, to balance the body mind and spirit.
Things may come up that you didn't know you were there; things that may affect you profoundly, such as making you feel sick, or angry, or even tearful. These are all part of the healing practice, as emotions need to come to the surface first to be freed.
I will always do a deep relaxation at the end of each session in Shavasana. This could be some IRT (Instant Relaxation Technique) which involves tensing and relaxing isolated muscle groups. It could be bringing awareness to different areas of the body and then relaxing them simply with awareness. I will usually do a visualization which is always stress relieving, uplifting and powerful.
My massage is highly intuitive. I adjust my pressure according to your needs and comfortability. I will find those knots and get them out, or I may simply lay my hands on you for a while and give you some healing energy :-)
Don't underestimate my strength. Don't be afraid to yelp if it is too much for you. I encourage deep breathing, as this flushes toxins out of your body and allows your muscles to relax with more oxygenated blood flowing to them; relieving your muscle spasms.
If you want to know more, or are interested in either a yoga class or session, or a massage, feel free to send me an email/message.
Love and Light
Shanti,
Namaste
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