Thank you for choosing this DVD... Thank you for choosing this DVD. We put our heart and souls into all that we do and this project has had quite a history. We went to Mexico to shoot this DVD. I love the land. I love the people. I love the waves there. I have a deep respect for Mayan culture and spirituality. It is a very special place for me that I wanted to share with the world. This DVD was originally shot in Baja, Mexico in 2004. After editing and producing it, I felt that it did not capture exactly what I wanted to bring to the world, so during the summer of 2005, we headed back down to the Baja, close to San Jose del Cabo and one of my favorite surf breaks, Zippers beach, to shoot it all again. We are very happy with what we came back with and hope that you will enjoy the results. We originally called this DVD “Yoga for Stiffies,” because we wanted to create something that people who are ‘tight’ or new to yoga could do. As the project evolved, we realized that it is perfect for intermediate yogis too. So came another name change, “Yoga to Go,” illustrating the idea of how easily this DVD practice can fit into our busy lives.
In its final evolution, I realized that the ease for beginners and the convenient length are nice benefits but at its core, this DVD is a streamlined and powerful practice that is free of contortions, and emphasizes doing basic poses well, in a vinyasa style in-sync with the breath. It is yoga at it’s essence – Pure and Simple. It comes from a place way deep down inside my soul and I hope that you enjoy all that it has to offer. I am grateful to Providence for allowing us to have this chance to practice together. We have so much to be grateful for.
Namaste and Aloha, Eoin
About this DVD offering:
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About the multi level format; I have always viewed the yoga practice as one of the greatest gifts that my teachers have passed on to me. I also am a big believer in the “All Levels, All Good” format. I view a yoga practice as a celebration that nobody should feel excluded from. We are all working to find balance through yoga on so many levels. OPP (Other People’s Poses): As long as we don ’t get caught up in feeling like we need our poses to look like other people’s poses and can approach them from where we are at without frustration or negative judgments then the yoga practice will remain a big celebration.
The only thing that can ruin the clear space that a good yoga practice can put you in is when we make judgments about how we are doing relative to other people. I think beginners can learn from seeing more advanced versions of the poses. It’s like playing tennis with someone who is better than you. The main shift that need to happen is a movement away from the competitive attitude our society cherishes and instead practice contentment and patience. Secondly, when you see things that other people do that you can’t, feel inspired, not frustrated. That is why the Pure and Simple Yoga DVD was created, so people won’t feel that they cannot participate joyfully in the practice of yoga.
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Think about this DVD as in interplay between the following factors:
Energy, Breath, Alignment, Attitude and Flow: Energy: this is word can be used in the flakiest of ways, but consider this: What is the force that makes life happen? What makes a tree grow on the steepest cliff? What makes our cells divide? Why does Life have such an impulse to continuously be created? Whatever your answer is, that is what we are trying to connect to in our yoga practice. While our daily life can disconnect us from that force, an intelligent yoga practice will put you back in touch with it. Breath: You have probably noticed already that ‘inspire’ is directly related to “in spirit”. This is true in almost every language of the world, not just Sanskrit. A recognition that somehow in humans the ‘energy’ that we described above enters through the air we breathe. Furthermore, when we are not breathing efficiently, all the systems of the body/mind like the nervous system, our chemical balance, our muscular system and even more subtle systems are thrown out of balance. Alignment: Many people in the field of yoga overlook the gross body and focus only on ‘energy’ (Chakras, Nadis, Chi, Prana, Kundalini etc.) The danger of this approach is that without recognizing basic biomechanical principles and the specific needs of each body, we can create physical impairments or injuries that will actually work
against increasing our energy flow in a yoga pose. In contrast, our Western mind is quick to don a white lab coat, overlook the subtle systems and focus on a mechanistic approach. The key to yoga, in my opinion, is to start with the alignment of the gross body, specifically the skeletal structure and joints of the body, so that injuries do not occur. Then better energy flow can take place, without loosing sight of the subtle energy systems. We’ll save our discussion here for the Positive Force book, but the key point to remember is don’t ‘go-around’. Don’t think about the end place in the pose. Think about having the joints of the body aligned at all times. Attitude: Yoga is so popular because is it a complement for the way our mind can work; forceful, competitive, discerning, intensely rational. I am not knocking any of these qualities, but left unbridled, not only do they cause our bodies to deteriorate, they also negatively impact our relationships with others and with our planet. In Yoga we try and access the level of our consciousness that is free to witness our experiences without labeling. Without forcing. It is a more receptive place rather than an active, willful place. Your breath will indicate whether you are in this place or not. Other barometers in our body include smooth, easy breath, combined with a feeling of ‘softness’ to the skin and muscles of the face, and
those ‘special places’ where each of us hardens our muscles in response to stress. Flow: Know that with an awareness of these qualities: energy, breath, alignment and attitude, things in your life will flow. A fluid yoga practice will harmonize your activity of our brain with the rest of your body, so they can work together as the inseparable unit that they are to create a beautiful experience of the present moment. When we refer to ‘bliss’ this is one of the ways that I would define it. Life is not static. It flows. Things move. Like currents in the water, we can either paddle against them when out to sea or paddle across them to not deplete our energy.
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How to use this DVD:
Detail Section: Educate yourself with the detail
section of the DVD so when you do them in a flow style practice you have more of an understanding of them. This is a very valuable tool and our motivation for putting in on the DVD is to help you enjoy your yoga experience even more. There is no substitute for learning from a teacher in your locale who can teach you alignment basics through hands on approach (we recommend Iyengar, Anusara, Vijnana Yoga or signing up for our Positive force Workshops), but get to know the information presented there.
Pranayama: Get to know the benefits of Ujjayi
breath on its own. Feel that receptive state of consciousness in your being. It will make your asana practice so much more powerful when you know the quality of mind we are trying to bring to it.
Routines:
Voice: Guided Flow - great for detailed instruction and inspiration Zen Track – helps put you in that zone where we can access ‘witness consciousness’ – it is especially nice with its attention to the breath Video: Intermediate – deeper versions of each pose Beginner – great when you need to see the level that works ‘average’ bodies
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Dual Level – great when you want to be inspired by the deeper versions of the pose, but not lose sight of what works well for you.
Tidal Breath: Nice to have on, to help set the pace and tone but if it becomes distracting turn it off. Music: Mike Bernard is one of the most creative people I know. The music he created for this DVD is both emotive and powerful. It flows perfectly with our practice. If you prefer to practice in silence or turn it off and play music on another device that plays music in the same practice space, then just turn the music off and practice accordingly.
The Positive Force Yoga System: About: Great for teachers and students of yoga, the Positive Force Yoga System (TM) is a unique approach towards understanding and teaching the correct alignment of yoga asanas. In this course, we will learn how to bring our physical structure into balance and align the joints by following the Positive Force Principles, so that eventually we embody more lightness and grace in our yoga practice. The method is to learn basic anatomical reference points. We can then line these points in the body to create intuitive patterns that we will use as building blocks for all yoga poses, from the most complex to simple, suddenly making yoga poses much easier to understand. And if we can maintain the alignment of all the reference points and not “go around” them in order to move deeper into a pose, then the yoga experience will become safer, more therapeutic, more fun and will facilitate better ‘energy flow’ and bliss. Course information at www.vancouveryoga.com Watch for workshops in your area and our upcoming book.
