Articles:
- Growing a Community - Anusara Yoga in Atlanta
- The Elements and the Practice of Anusara® Yoga
- The Universal Principles of Alignment™
- The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
Please scroll down to read the full articles
- Growing a Community - Anusara Yoga in Atlanta
- The Elements and the Practice of Anusara® Yoga
- The Universal Principles of Alignment™
- The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
Please scroll down to read the full articles
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The Ocean of Grace - Reflections on a Week at the Beach
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara yoga teacher. Published in the Fall 2006 South Eastern Anusara
Community Newsletter.
When I first walked to the water’s edge and gazed at the horizon, the pulsating surf danced in my
Heart in a way I had never felt before. I sensed the ecstasy of the sea, the ecstasy of creation,
unfolding with its own delight of being. I felt a oneness with this bliss in my heart. The waves were like
offerings at my feet, offerings from the Ocean of the longing to creatively express its bliss. Each wave
was so beautiful and unique, and yet each wave reflected a deep order, a rhythmic pulse in the way it
came into form. Each wave was so creatively free, but arising from and returning to One
Consciousness. The wide-open horizon offered a clear vision: the edge of the planet – earth below,
sky above, a heightened sense of relationship. Sitting in the sand, with the endless blue sky above, I
knew the place to rest into, and the place to rise towards.
'Anusara' means to flow with Nature. In flowing with Nature, we embody the Supreme and open to our
potential, our own awareness and delight. My practice was inspired by the Nature that surrounded
me. My fingertips and outer shins held like packed wet sand. The inseam of my legs and pelvis
flowed wide apart, a wave of water widening a channel between the sand castles of my shins. Against
that widening my tailbone dropped like an anchor, sending my torso rising like the first sunbeam
cresting the morning horizon. In every pose I felt the split of the horizon, one part of me heavy and
deep like the sea and the sand, one part rising towards the wide-open sky, extending free like the
sea breeze itself. All the while my breath flowed in and out, resonant and deep like the song of the
surf.
I still feel the ecstatic pulse of the Ocean in my Heart. The Ocean of Grace has so much to give. The
jagged edges of the year since I had last been to the beach were smoothed over. I emerged with a
greater freedom, grounded in a deeper connection to the Supreme. Grace is the gift that comes as
we Align – a knowing of our own still depths and the delight of blissful freedom in our Hearts.
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara yoga teacher. Published in the Fall 2006 South Eastern Anusara
Community Newsletter.
When I first walked to the water’s edge and gazed at the horizon, the pulsating surf danced in my
Heart in a way I had never felt before. I sensed the ecstasy of the sea, the ecstasy of creation,
unfolding with its own delight of being. I felt a oneness with this bliss in my heart. The waves were like
offerings at my feet, offerings from the Ocean of the longing to creatively express its bliss. Each wave
was so beautiful and unique, and yet each wave reflected a deep order, a rhythmic pulse in the way it
came into form. Each wave was so creatively free, but arising from and returning to One
Consciousness. The wide-open horizon offered a clear vision: the edge of the planet – earth below,
sky above, a heightened sense of relationship. Sitting in the sand, with the endless blue sky above, I
knew the place to rest into, and the place to rise towards.
'Anusara' means to flow with Nature. In flowing with Nature, we embody the Supreme and open to our
potential, our own awareness and delight. My practice was inspired by the Nature that surrounded
me. My fingertips and outer shins held like packed wet sand. The inseam of my legs and pelvis
flowed wide apart, a wave of water widening a channel between the sand castles of my shins. Against
that widening my tailbone dropped like an anchor, sending my torso rising like the first sunbeam
cresting the morning horizon. In every pose I felt the split of the horizon, one part of me heavy and
deep like the sea and the sand, one part rising towards the wide-open sky, extending free like the
sea breeze itself. All the while my breath flowed in and out, resonant and deep like the song of the
surf.
I still feel the ecstatic pulse of the Ocean in my Heart. The Ocean of Grace has so much to give. The
jagged edges of the year since I had last been to the beach were smoothed over. I emerged with a
greater freedom, grounded in a deeper connection to the Supreme. Grace is the gift that comes as
we Align – a knowing of our own still depths and the delight of blissful freedom in our Hearts.
The Universal Principles of Alignment
by Gina Minyard, Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher
In examining the way galaxies form or the way a seed becomes a tree, we find that the way Nature
unfolds is deeply orderly. Fueled by an intrinsic goodness, Nature comes into form with a creative
freedom that is highly aware and full of delight. As human beings, we are Nature, but highly infused
with consciousness for the fullest amount of freedom and potential to awaken. With that freedom
comes choice. We have the possibility to align with the goodness of Nature to enhance our own
freedom and make more beauty in the world. Through this ALIGNMENT, we more fully attune to our
own consciousness and delight, leading us to the awakening of our Heart.
Anusara yoga is organized with the Universal Principles of Alignment. These Principles both
acknowledge the deep order of the Universe and inform the choices that we can make to enhance life’
s unfolding. Using the Universal Principles of Alignment in the practice of asana, we optimize our
physical alignment and pranic (life force) flow. This optimal alignment, then, as it attunes us to the
deep order of Nature, expands our own consciousness. In every pose we can enhance our own
experience the intrinsic goodness of Nature through knowing it in our Hearts. This knowing is an
awakening. Each Principle offers a physical instruction to optimally align the body, as well as a virtue
to embody to come more fully into our potential.
Open to Grace The first Universal Principle of Alignment sets the intention of the practice. It
acknowledges the desire to awaken and the understanding that we may do so through the support
and benevolence of Nature. Soften to connect into the goodness of the Universe. Be wide open like
the sky.
Muscle Energy The second Principle organizes and steadies the body, stabilizing the wild periphery
of the body to move into the stillness and power of the core. Embrace your intrinsic goodness. Be
steadfast like the earth.
Inner Spiral The third Principle optimizes the alignment of the pelvis and lower back giving a depth
to forward bends and a softness to backbends. Be fluid and yielding like water.
Outer Spiral The fourth Principle empowers the pose from deep in the core. It balances the
widening action of Inner Spiral for strength and poise. Rise and aspire like fire.
Organic Energy The fifth Principle extends the radiant power of the core, aligned through the first
four Principles, through the rest of the pose in the culmination of its expression. This expression is
the result of the intention of the first Principle – Opening to Grace to align with the Universal. Shine –
extend freely like air.
In aligning the Heart, mind and body with the Universal Principles of Alignment, we channel our
freedom into the choice to enhance the goodness of life within ourselves. When the flow of Nature is
optimized, the experience of our own consciousness and delight unfolds. In Anusara yoga, the
practice of asana, through attuning the body and mind to the intrinsic goodness of Nature, is a
gateway to the Heart.
May we awaken in this moment, and live life in full consciousness.
by Gina Minyard, Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher
In examining the way galaxies form or the way a seed becomes a tree, we find that the way Nature
unfolds is deeply orderly. Fueled by an intrinsic goodness, Nature comes into form with a creative
freedom that is highly aware and full of delight. As human beings, we are Nature, but highly infused
with consciousness for the fullest amount of freedom and potential to awaken. With that freedom
comes choice. We have the possibility to align with the goodness of Nature to enhance our own
freedom and make more beauty in the world. Through this ALIGNMENT, we more fully attune to our
own consciousness and delight, leading us to the awakening of our Heart.
Anusara yoga is organized with the Universal Principles of Alignment. These Principles both
acknowledge the deep order of the Universe and inform the choices that we can make to enhance life’
s unfolding. Using the Universal Principles of Alignment in the practice of asana, we optimize our
physical alignment and pranic (life force) flow. This optimal alignment, then, as it attunes us to the
deep order of Nature, expands our own consciousness. In every pose we can enhance our own
experience the intrinsic goodness of Nature through knowing it in our Hearts. This knowing is an
awakening. Each Principle offers a physical instruction to optimally align the body, as well as a virtue
to embody to come more fully into our potential.
Open to Grace The first Universal Principle of Alignment sets the intention of the practice. It
acknowledges the desire to awaken and the understanding that we may do so through the support
and benevolence of Nature. Soften to connect into the goodness of the Universe. Be wide open like
the sky.
Muscle Energy The second Principle organizes and steadies the body, stabilizing the wild periphery
of the body to move into the stillness and power of the core. Embrace your intrinsic goodness. Be
steadfast like the earth.
Inner Spiral The third Principle optimizes the alignment of the pelvis and lower back giving a depth
to forward bends and a softness to backbends. Be fluid and yielding like water.
Outer Spiral The fourth Principle empowers the pose from deep in the core. It balances the
widening action of Inner Spiral for strength and poise. Rise and aspire like fire.
Organic Energy The fifth Principle extends the radiant power of the core, aligned through the first
four Principles, through the rest of the pose in the culmination of its expression. This expression is
the result of the intention of the first Principle – Opening to Grace to align with the Universal. Shine –
extend freely like air.
In aligning the Heart, mind and body with the Universal Principles of Alignment, we channel our
freedom into the choice to enhance the goodness of life within ourselves. When the flow of Nature is
optimized, the experience of our own consciousness and delight unfolds. In Anusara yoga, the
practice of asana, through attuning the body and mind to the intrinsic goodness of Nature, is a
gateway to the Heart.
May we awaken in this moment, and live life in full consciousness.
The Elements and the Practice of Anusara Yoga
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
Everything that we can know in the material world – including us - is made of the five elements –
earth, water, fire, air and space. We can look to the elements, then, for a deeper understanding of
our own nature and as a way to come more fully into our possibilities.
It is understood that while a human being contains all of the elements, each of us has a constitution
that more strongly represents some of the elements more than others. Some of us might be more
earthy and watery, while others more like fire, and others more like air and space. Those who are
more earthy and watery, for example, will have a thicker and fluid physical build, with either
stubbornness or great momentum predominating, and a predisposition towards either contentment or
depression; whereas, those who are more airy will be lighter and longer in build, with a dynamic
energy and a tendency towards enthusiasm or anxiety. Finally, those with a fiery nature will be
stockier and condensed in their build and known for confidence and drive with a fault towards angry
frustration. Whatever the elemental constitution, there are positive strengths that unfold naturally, but
also the negative tendencies that can hold us back from reaching our fullest potential.
Yoga invites us to celebrate our strengths, and then to go down the often difficult path of cultivating
that which doesn't come so easily, that which brings us into balance. So while the earthy/watery type
needs to find more airy dynamism, the airy/spacey type needs to get grounded like earth. The
practice of Anusara yoga is centered on five Universal Principles of Alignment – each Principle
corresponds to the five elements. Thus, by deepening the action and virtue intrinsic to the elemental
Principles that are not your tendency, you can then find the expansive state of balance and embody
the full spectrum of possibility. The understanding of the nature of yourself and all of creation more
deeply then unfolds readily.
We call this the practice of adhikara, or studentship, referring to one’s level of dedication to the
practice of transformation that is yoga. All the elements need to be cultivated fully to find an
openness to all possibilities (space), steadiness (earth), fluidity (water), aspiration (fire) and mental
dexterity (air) in the performance of asana. What we do on our mat teaches us, then, how to live life
more consciously and powerfully. Through yoga we pull ourselves out of the rut of our habits and are
able to respond to every situation that arises with presence and freedom.
by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara Yoga teacher
Everything that we can know in the material world – including us - is made of the five elements –
earth, water, fire, air and space. We can look to the elements, then, for a deeper understanding of
our own nature and as a way to come more fully into our possibilities.
It is understood that while a human being contains all of the elements, each of us has a constitution
that more strongly represents some of the elements more than others. Some of us might be more
earthy and watery, while others more like fire, and others more like air and space. Those who are
more earthy and watery, for example, will have a thicker and fluid physical build, with either
stubbornness or great momentum predominating, and a predisposition towards either contentment or
depression; whereas, those who are more airy will be lighter and longer in build, with a dynamic
energy and a tendency towards enthusiasm or anxiety. Finally, those with a fiery nature will be
stockier and condensed in their build and known for confidence and drive with a fault towards angry
frustration. Whatever the elemental constitution, there are positive strengths that unfold naturally, but
also the negative tendencies that can hold us back from reaching our fullest potential.
Yoga invites us to celebrate our strengths, and then to go down the often difficult path of cultivating
that which doesn't come so easily, that which brings us into balance. So while the earthy/watery type
needs to find more airy dynamism, the airy/spacey type needs to get grounded like earth. The
practice of Anusara yoga is centered on five Universal Principles of Alignment – each Principle
corresponds to the five elements. Thus, by deepening the action and virtue intrinsic to the elemental
Principles that are not your tendency, you can then find the expansive state of balance and embody
the full spectrum of possibility. The understanding of the nature of yourself and all of creation more
deeply then unfolds readily.
We call this the practice of adhikara, or studentship, referring to one’s level of dedication to the
practice of transformation that is yoga. All the elements need to be cultivated fully to find an
openness to all possibilities (space), steadiness (earth), fluidity (water), aspiration (fire) and mental
dexterity (air) in the performance of asana. What we do on our mat teaches us, then, how to live life
more consciously and powerfully. Through yoga we pull ourselves out of the rut of our habits and are
able to respond to every situation that arises with presence and freedom.
© 2006, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.
© 2007, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.
© 2007, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.
Growing a Community – Anusara Yoga in Atlanta – by Gina Minyard, certified Anusara yoga
teacher
March 2011 - Reflections on the upcoming Anusara Immersion cycle
I got certified to teach Anusara® yoga in 2006 with my heart afire with enthusiasm for the practice
and a dream of sharing it as far and wide as possible. Being a newer school of hatha yoga and with
no other certified teacher in Atlanta, though, Anusara yoga was still relatively unfamiliar. And so, to
see Atlanta’s Anusara community grow was a seed in my heart which I knew would take time to reach
fruition.
With so much yoga in Atlanta already, why Anusara? Every style of yoga has something to offer, yet
Anusara called to me so clearly when I met John Friend in 2001. Over the years of my studies I have
come to understand this modern yoga practice, with its roots deep in tradition, to be so innovative,
even radical – on the cutting edge of expanding consciousness. Its uplifting and all-embracing Tantric
philosophy orients us towards living more fully and in deeper connection to ourselves on every level.
The elegant and brilliant Universal Principles of Alignment™ cleared my body of the accumulated
tweaks of my previous yoga practice and an old crippling accident I had been in. The Principles are
on the cutting edge of systematic, integrated, and balanced biomechanics, creating a new paradigm
of healing that is endlessly promising. Plus, they very quickly open up the poses we practice in such
an astonishing way! Finally, in my travels to train with John and other Anusara yoga teachers I found
such an open hearted and bright group of people in the extended Anusara community. I feel plugged
into something that has made me more than I could ever be on my own.
To me, then, Anusara yoga is exceptional in what it offers – an accessible yet profound, disciplined
yet light-hearted practice. I wanted to see its ethos, practice, and community grow into a luminous
presence here in Atlanta. I simply wanted to share what has been such a life-transforming practice for
me. So, I spread out my teaching offerings as much as possible, but ultimately it was going to take a
small army to reach the whole of this big city. When I offered the first Anusara Immersion in the
summer of 2008 at Atlanta Yoga, auspiciously, many of the participants were already yoga teachers.
Many in this group went on to become Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers (a teaching status recognized
in the Anusara organization for a certain amount of training on the way through the rigorous and
extensive Anusara certification process), who through their enthusiasm began to bring the potent
Anusara yoga methodology into other studios around the city.
It is really such a sweet fulfillment, then, that this summer I will be offering the Anusara Immersion, an
in-depth and systematic study of the philosophy and practice of Anusara yoga, at more studios where
the Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers have been building the buzz. To have nurtured this seed in my
heart and see its roots taking hold is such a joy. I am eternally grateful to my teacher, John Friend,
whose guidance has taught me to align with the current of Grace so fully that it flows through me as a
natural offering of my Heart.
The Anusara Immersion went city-wide in 2011. In 2012 Anusara Immersion Part 1 will be offered at
Springs Yoga for the first time as well as at Atlanta Yoga for the fifth year. For more details, click here.
teacher
March 2011 - Reflections on the upcoming Anusara Immersion cycle
I got certified to teach Anusara® yoga in 2006 with my heart afire with enthusiasm for the practice
and a dream of sharing it as far and wide as possible. Being a newer school of hatha yoga and with
no other certified teacher in Atlanta, though, Anusara yoga was still relatively unfamiliar. And so, to
see Atlanta’s Anusara community grow was a seed in my heart which I knew would take time to reach
fruition.
With so much yoga in Atlanta already, why Anusara? Every style of yoga has something to offer, yet
Anusara called to me so clearly when I met John Friend in 2001. Over the years of my studies I have
come to understand this modern yoga practice, with its roots deep in tradition, to be so innovative,
even radical – on the cutting edge of expanding consciousness. Its uplifting and all-embracing Tantric
philosophy orients us towards living more fully and in deeper connection to ourselves on every level.
The elegant and brilliant Universal Principles of Alignment™ cleared my body of the accumulated
tweaks of my previous yoga practice and an old crippling accident I had been in. The Principles are
on the cutting edge of systematic, integrated, and balanced biomechanics, creating a new paradigm
of healing that is endlessly promising. Plus, they very quickly open up the poses we practice in such
an astonishing way! Finally, in my travels to train with John and other Anusara yoga teachers I found
such an open hearted and bright group of people in the extended Anusara community. I feel plugged
into something that has made me more than I could ever be on my own.
To me, then, Anusara yoga is exceptional in what it offers – an accessible yet profound, disciplined
yet light-hearted practice. I wanted to see its ethos, practice, and community grow into a luminous
presence here in Atlanta. I simply wanted to share what has been such a life-transforming practice for
me. So, I spread out my teaching offerings as much as possible, but ultimately it was going to take a
small army to reach the whole of this big city. When I offered the first Anusara Immersion in the
summer of 2008 at Atlanta Yoga, auspiciously, many of the participants were already yoga teachers.
Many in this group went on to become Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers (a teaching status recognized
in the Anusara organization for a certain amount of training on the way through the rigorous and
extensive Anusara certification process), who through their enthusiasm began to bring the potent
Anusara yoga methodology into other studios around the city.
It is really such a sweet fulfillment, then, that this summer I will be offering the Anusara Immersion, an
in-depth and systematic study of the philosophy and practice of Anusara yoga, at more studios where
the Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers have been building the buzz. To have nurtured this seed in my
heart and see its roots taking hold is such a joy. I am eternally grateful to my teacher, John Friend,
whose guidance has taught me to align with the current of Grace so fully that it flows through me as a
natural offering of my Heart.
The Anusara Immersion went city-wide in 2011. In 2012 Anusara Immersion Part 1 will be offered at
Springs Yoga for the first time as well as at Atlanta Yoga for the fifth year. For more details, click here.
© 2011, Gina Minyard. All rights reserved.