March / April / May 2023 | Akwa | 17 Adding buoyancy is a game changer for diverse populations who want to experience physical and mental well-being gains. Consider blending Ai Chi and Aqua Vinyasa Yoga. Practicing in the water increases awareness of the breath, diaphragmatic flexibility, strength, overall flexibility, stability, and immunity. In addition, lung restriction due to hydrostatic pressure offers self-inquiry into resistance breathing, which can be advantageous to deduce how our breathing pattern may need improvement for optimal health and well-being. Going deeply within one’s yoga-informed Ai Chi practice is about exploring consciousness and awareness. BKS Iyengar gives the example of only being aware of our foot once we have stepped on a thorn. Before that, consciousness was there but we were unaware of it. The discipline of yoga asanas (postures) aims to extend awareness to the same level as consciousness because that is a movement towards med- itation. In other words, we need to become more aware of our subtle body and how it informs the gross body. For example, aging adults lose the body’s arches (cervical, lumbar, and feet) and with that the structural integrity of the internal organs. If the foot arches collapse, it can lead to low back pain. Pada Bandha or ‘plugging the foot’ down is vital in yoga, relating to the health of the pelvic floor, which can experience degeneration with age and/or injury. Standing up tall with good posture is important on an emotional level also. A slumped posture will impede a balanced flow of chi or prana that can trigger an emotional reaction rather than a conscious response, and this is not mature spiritual evolution in the ‘school of hard knocks’ called life. We may deepen our understanding of Ai Chi posture #7, Gathering, by increasing axial length during the turn by pressing and stretching the back toes into the floor. This increases the foot arch and axial length at the same time as the sacrum moves in and the chin draws back towards the base of the scull. During #13, Balancing, we can initi- Ai Chi Yoga By Camella Nair, Swami Nibhrtananda ate more attentiveness in the second pose where the arms extend forward as one leg lifts behind. The pose tends to over recruit the spinal extensors if the abdominal muscles are weak (or if one has a fear of the face being submerged). It then becomes difficult to maintain the cervical and lumbar arches and limits activation of the transverse abdominis. If awareness in consciousness becomes more a part of who we are rather than an occasional glimpse, and if we acknowledge ‘behind the curtain’ of un-awareness, we are more prepared to adjust, adapt, and acclimatize to life and its many changes. This in turn will make us more content and understanding the many cycles of life. RESOURCES Email [email protected] for a listing of article resources. AUTHOR Camella Nair is one of AEA’s amazing IAFTC 2023 Presenters. Click here to find out more about Camella and the sessions she is offering.
