This was the theme for my recent yoga retreat. We stayed in a rustic lodge in the Poconos.. The place was clean but spare, no frills. The weather was perfect and we had a large deck with a great view, so we spent a lot of time outdoors. What more did we need? It was, indeed, back to simpler times.

I decided to go back to the basics for practice as well as for philosophy.

Philosophically we discussed the three types of yoga described in the Yoga Sutras.

The first type of yoga mentioned in the Yoga Sutras is called “Citta Vrtti Nirodha” yoga. This comes from the second Yoga Sutra which says: Yogas citta vrtti nirodha Y.S. 1.2 or, Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. There are two techniques we can use to still the mind. The first is abhyasa which is long, uninterrupted practice. The second way is vairagya, which means detachment, not caring about the outcome just doing the practice for the sake of practice and loving the process.

The second type of yoga mentioned in the Yoga Sutras is called” Kriya yoga” or the yoga of action. The sutra is: “Tapas svadhyaya Ishvara pranidhana kriya yogah Y.S. 2.1. There are three techniques to kriya yoga: tapas or effort, svadhyaya, or self-study and Ishvara pranidhana, or surrender.

The third type of yoga mentioned in the yoga sutras is Ashtanga Yoga (Y.S. 2.29), which means the eight limbs of yoga. The eight limbs are:

Yama - restraints
Niyama - observances
Asana - postures
Pranayama - breathing exercises
Pratyhara - withdrawal of the senses
Dharana - concentration
Dhyana - meditation
Samadhi - emancipation

In the asana classes we looked at an alignment principle called “Loops”. Understanding this concept of the Loops helps to make alignment simple as they apply to every posture.

The following is an excerpt from one of my old Anusara Teacher Training Manuals.

Energy Loops

Loops are circular flows of subtle energy that rotate in the sagittal plane of the body and interconnect to each other like gears.  They flow in seven main sections of the body – the feet, lower legs, upper legs, pelvis, mid-torso, upper torso/shoulders, neck and the head.  When viewed from the side of the body, intersecting loops generally rotate in opposite directions, just like two intermeshed gears – the clockwise movement of one gear causes the other to move counter-clockwise.  The thigh and Pelvic Loops are an exception; they intersect and rotate in the same direction.  However, their functions are in opposition to each other.  In each of the seven sections, Loops flow independently on the right and left sides of the body.  You can think of these pairs of Loops as bilateral wheels that spin at different velocities. 

The Seven Pairs of Loops

All of the Loops begin on the medial core line of the body.  They initially flow form the core to the back body, then around to the front of the body and finally back to the core.  Initiating the flow of the Loops on the back of the body first, instead of the front, creates a softer, more expanded and quieter action.  When Loops are initiated on the front of the body first, the action is often binding, aggressive and hardening. 

The seven pairs of Loops are:

Ankle - Starts at the base of the shinbone, just above the ankle.  It moves down the back of the heel, forward along the bottom of the foot, then back up through the center of the arch to the front of the base of the shin.

Shin – Starts at the base of the shinbone, just above the ankle.  It moves up the back of the calf muscle to the top of the shins just below the knee, forward through the top of the shin, then down the front of the shin back to the base of the shin.

Thigh – Starts at the top of the thighbone in the core of the pelvis (pelvic Focal Point).  It moves down the back of the leg to the top of the calf muscle, forward through the top of the shin, and then up the front of the leg through the lower abdomen back to the Focal Point.

Pelvic – Starts in the core of the abdomen in line with the middle of the lumbar and a place just below the navel.  It moves down from the middle of the lumbar to the middle of the buttocks in line with the bottom of the sacrum, forward through the floor of the pelvis (pelvic Focal Point) to the top of the pubic bone, then up the lower abdomen to just below the navel.  The Pelvic Loop has the same direction of rotation as the Thigh Loop.  However, they have opposite effects on the alignment of the body.  The Thigh Loop moves the top of the thighs backward, while Pelvic Loop moves the top of the thighs forward.

Kidney – starts in the core of the abdomen in line with the middle of the lumbar and a place just below the navel.  It moves up the back from just below the kidneys to the bottom of the shoulder blades, forward through the top of the diaphragm (heart Focal Point) to the base of the sternum, then down the solar plexus to just below the navel.

Shoulder – starts at the center of the upper palate (skull Focal Point).  It moves down the back of the neck and the upper back to the bottom of the shoulder blades, forward through the bottom of the heart and the top of the diaphragm, then up the chest and throat from the base of the sternum to the upper palate.

Skull – starts at the center of the upper palate (skull Focal Point).  It moves back and up the back of the skull, forward over the top of the head, then down the face back to the upper palate.

In general, when adjusting or activating Loops, begin at the foundation of the pose and move upward through the Loops in Sequence.