Shiva Samhita
1300 - 1500 bce
In this body, the Mount Meru (the spinal column), is surrounded by seven islands:
There are rivers, seas, mountains, fields, and lords of fields also.
There are in it seers and sages, all the stars and planets as well.
There are sacred pilgrimages, shrines, and presiding deities of the shrines.
The sun and moon, agents of creation and destruction also move in it.
Ether, air, fire, water and earth are also there.
All the beings that exist in the three worlds are also to be found in the body;
surrounding the Meru they are engaged in their respective functions.
Ordinary beings do not know this,
one who knows all this is a Yogi/Yogini . . .
“Ayurveda is the care of Prana”
Dr. Ramkumar Kutty / Punarnava & Vaidyagrama Community
learn
timeless ways
to
care for prana
Choose to devote a full shamana season
to entering your own inner spring of wisdom & well-being
through therapeutic hatha Yoga, yoga nidra, meditation, Pranayama or qigong
Ayurveda & traditional Hatha Yoga are mutually supportive, artful sciences which provide foundational care of Prana, your vital life force. In order to come into a relationship of mutual awareness with Prana, care must also be taken of the subtle, primary energy channel through which Prana flows within the body, the Sushumna Nadi. Prana flows through Sushumna energetically existing between the intertwining Ida & Pingala, or Lunar & Solar channels of energy, which may be simply related to as existing within the subtle energy field of the Spinal Column.
Subtle yogic practices, such as Yoga Nidra & Pranayama allow our consciousness to travel into the subconscious, or supraconscious relam of Sushumna, reaching also into the mysterious inner pharmacy shared by the heart, primal brain & emotions. Gentle & consistent practice unravels hidden Granthis, psychic knots, within these areas, supporting new conscious actions that you desire to undertake toward establishing true health. Within this invisible realm, the seed forms of long-suppressed emotions, attachments, even past life impressions of unhappiness faced in past lives, are housed within the Samskaras or patterns of the mind, waiting for expression within the proper time.
Guided & informed Yoga may quietly, & with care, bring to light the secret of You, giving the added gift of opening your heart both inward & outward, to joy & forgiveness. A small, daily practice of any form will bring more ease & balance into all of your self-care efforts, by softening subconscious defenses & responses to new dietary & lifestyle recommendations. This softening also supports the necessary inner, psychological changes from which all physical changes manifest.
Whatever personal, spiritual unfolding means to you, this work often deepens when accompanied by the conscious, subtle & physical actions of Yoga practice. As intricate, delicate, & permeable beings, we require so much more than a solely physical approach to experiencing who we are becoming, & to help us tear through our chrysalis & enter freedom.
shamana Ayurveda & Hatha Yoga
The Shamana branch of Ayurveda & Yoga are the inseparable, foundational fine arts of a true Ayurvedic approach to self-healing. Yoga, as one of the 6 Darshana, or philosophical, scientific & spiritual ‘Visions” of India, becomes a very intricate & precise medicine, when used within the context of such a complete, holistic health system as Ayurveda, with which it has evolved for thousands of years.
Methods of Yoga Chikitsa may range in intensity from an Asana series akin to lighting an internal bonfire, or, a delicate merging of one’s gaze with the soothing, golden flame of a ghee lamp. Yoga plays an integral role in the sustainability & efficacy of your Ratrcharya & Dinacharya, day & night routines. An approach to these Vedic arts with firm intention & constancy, helps one to burn away lingering, oppressive Karmic unhappiness & suffering within the cycle of one, or many lifetimes.
The design & honing of your personal, therapeutic Yoga regimen includes slow & systematic guidance into proper method & measure of practice, through Immersion Lessons. Engineered to enhance the flow & accuracy of your brain’s own pharmacopeia, & bring awareness, suppleness & fluidity into your mind, Central Nervous System & spine; your finely-blended Yoga practice may include:
shamana yoga nidra / beyond sleep journeys
Therapeutic Yoga Nidra Sessions / An Informed Series of 3 Immersion Lessons
Medical Ayurveda Yoga Nidra / Personal Recorded Home Care Series / Custom Pricing
traditional hatha yoga elements of immersion lessons
Nada Yoga / Mantra & Sound Therapy
Nauli & Bandha / Internal Prana Flow & Seals
Asana / Yoga Postures
Pranayama / Breath Flow & Restraint
Drshti / Internal or External Gazing Points
Marma / Energy Point Release
Mudra / Energy Hand Seals
Yantra / Energetic Gazing Symbols
shamana Pranayama
We are all in relationship with Prana, flowing within the 5 Vayus, primary bodily energy channels, as well as within & through every cell of our body & a myriad of energy channels beyond. Each of our inhales & exhales places us in vital relationship with every plant, our Earth’s atmosphere, with every living being. Pranayama are timeless yogic techniques of breath observation & flow manipulation, designed to guide one into a state of unity between mind, breath & universal Prana. In such a state, the oscillations & fears of the mind may be bypassed & union with Prana, moving within Sushumna Nadi, may be experienced; over time, meditation is encountered naturally & with ease.
Within the science of Yoga, the calming of Prana deeply affects the neurochemistry of the Central Nervous & Endocrine Systems; they begin to recalibrate, to self-moderate. Shamana Pranayama Immersion Lessons are designed to dovetail precisely with the healing focus of your Ratrcharya/Dinacharya, day & night regimens, first focusing on breath awareness methods, then proceeding into traditional techniques.
traditional pranayama
primary brain, mind, emotion & endocrine influencers
Bhastrika / Thymus & Thyroid
Kapalabhati / Thyroid; Estrogen & Progesterone
Anuloma Viloma / Diencephalon; entire spinal column
Agni Sara Kriya / Pancreas
Bhramari / Pineal, Pituitary, Thyroid & Parathyroid, Thymus
Utjayi / Thyroid & Parathyroid, Thymus, cervical spinal plexus
Shitkali / Endocrine Micro-inflammation; heated emotions & thoughts in the mind
Shitkari / Pineal, Pituitary, Cranial Nerve I/Sense of Smell
Utgit / Hypothalamus, Pineal, Pituitary, Thalamus:
Memory, depression, insomnia, Cranial Nerve II/Sense of Sight; enhancement of color perception
Nature, Prana & qigong
As a complete practice or harmonious compliment to Ayurveda, I also offer Qigong Ba Duan Jin in the lineage method of my teacher, Taiji Grand Master Ding Mingye, (Shanren Academy of Internal & Martial Arts).
As a precise system of watery movement & breath, rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, this ancient Qigong is meant to be practiced in Nature; preferably in the morning or evening, near cool, flowing water. Qigong provides a subtle, yet powerful union between Prana, Self & Nature.
