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Part 1: A Yoga Practice for Women: Pelvic Health and Hormonal Balance Asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya. Sarveṣāṁ svastir bhavatu, sarveṣāṁ śāntir bhavatu, sarveṣāṁ maṅgalaṁ bhavatu, sarveṣāṁ pūrṇaṁ bhavatu. Hari Om, good morning. We will start the practice for women, as Swāmījī said yesterday. I think the best is to practice according to the system, either women or men, because everything is included inside. So we will just pick up āsanas which are good for the ladies’ pelvic bottom, which is the problem I spoke about yesterday. I would also like to tell you something about the hormone system. Swāmījī yesterday mentioned some āsanas which are good for balancing the hormone system. So, I think we will start a normal yoga lesson without much talking. I will talk when you are relaxing or while we are practicing. Just lie down on your back into Ānandāsana. Take a very comfortable position. Adjust yourself in Ānandāsana. This means move your pelvis a little bit up, so that your lumbar spine is as much on the floor as possible. Move your arms, move your head. Become aware of your spinal column and all the places where it’s touching the floor and where it’s going up from the floor. Hands are a little bit apart from the body, legs are also slightly apart, toes are facing sideways. So adjust yourself, relax. Take a deep inhale and a long exhale. Relax the whole body from the toes to the top of the head. And from the top of the head to the toes, be aware of your body and release all the tensions wherever you find them. Relax your right leg, from the toes relax your calf muscles, knee, calf, and hip joint. Feel your breath and be aware of how the whole right leg is more and more relaxed with each and every exhalation, as if the leg was able to breathe. With every exhalation, all the tension, all the toxins, everything is going out, away. Relax your left leg, the toes, ankle, calf muscles, and knee. Relax the thigh, hip joint, and buttock muscles. And just like that, let the whole left leg fall down. Purījī, Purījī... Left hand relaxed, completely relaxed. With each and every exhalation, more and more, we draw your awareness towards your spine. Relax the lowest part of your spine, the lumbar spine, the thoracic spine, the area going up towards your neck, and relax your neck spine, the cervical spine. All the big muscles on your... Kumbha Melā, Jadān, Oṁ Śrī Alakh Purījī, Siddha Purījī, Siddha Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā Purījī, Siddha Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā. These muscles, the ones which are mostly inside, have a shape that goes down, like a triangle, which is connected with the bones of the pelvis and goes down towards the end of the trunk. And then there is a flat muscle, which is also a triangle shape, and it is in between the bones on which we sit, the end of the bones of our pelvis. And there, mostly on the surface, there are muscles which have various shapes, like the shape of a number 8, and it is all around the end of the pelvis. With all of them we can work, and all of them can be practiced and strengthened or relaxed. Try to give your breath into your lowest pelvis. It’s not abdominal breath. Try to breathe more down than the abdomen, and try to also become aware of the organs which are inside there. Relax with each and every exhalation all the organs in your lower pelvis, and slowly go again with your awareness towards your chest and towards your cervical spine and neck. Relax the area of the neck, the area of Viśuddhi cakra, the area of the thyroid gland. It is a gland which produces hormones important for the whole metabolic functions of the body, producing energy. Relax your face muscles, joints, your teeth, and tongue. Relax all the small face muscles which you find in your face, around the muscles, around the lips, or around the eyes. Eyebrows, center of the eyebrows. Purījī Prakāś, Purījī Prakāś... Purījī. There are produced the hormones which are the key, the opening for the other glands, like the thyroid gland, like the suprarenal gland, which is sitting above the kidneys and is producing hormones which are guiding the metabolism of water and minerals in your body, and also the stress hormones. And the glands which are responsible for reproduction, which are producing all the hormones responsible for reproductive functions. Relax your brain and all the centers in your brain, and withdraw your consciousness slowly into your nostrils. Feel the breath, how it’s touching your nostrils, going inside, and how it’s going outside. Follow your breath as far as possible into your body, into your lungs, and the same way back. It’s nourishing us with oxygen, with prāṇa. And slowly deepen your breath a little bit, deep inhalation and long exhalation. Be aware of how your body is awakening from inside when you breathe deeply and consciously. Deep inhalation and long exhalation. Once again, deep inhale and long, long exhale, and wake up your body from inside. No movement so far, only the conscious and deep breath. Once again, deep inhale and long exhale. Slowly move your fingers and toes, hands and legs. Move your head and stretch your body, as if you were waking up in the morning, as you like, as it’s natural for you. Exhale. We will start with āsanas from the first part, which are good for the spinal column and for the bones of the pelvis. So put your feet about 50 centimeters apart from each other. Your hands are stretched beside the body. Press your lumbar spine into the ground. You need a little bit of pressure in your stomach muscles for that. With exhalation, move your legs to the right side and your head goes to the left side. With inhalation to the middle, and again, a little bit, press the pelvis and the lumbar spine and do a little massage of the spine. With exhalation, go to the other side, and with inhalation, go to the middle, and with exhalation, go to the other side. Be aware that the knee of one leg is touching the heel of the other, and try to find the maximum position that your body allows. In this position, stretch a little before you go into the middle position, and also your head should go down on the floor as far as possible, so far that your ear is touching the floor. Try to keep your hands and thoracic part of the spine on the floor as much as possible, so that you feel the torsion in the spine. The maximum torsion is in the lumbar spine and lower thoracic spine. Once again on each side, and when you’re in the middle, put your knees to each other, your ankle joints too, and lift up your feet from the floor, and with exhalation go again on the right side with the legs, and the head goes to the other side. With inhalation into the middle, and again you can massage your lower back a little bit, and with exhalation go to the other side. Try to make the torsion as much as possible. Help yourself with the head, and keep the thoracic spine on the floor as much as possible. The maximum of the torsion is now moved a little bit more upwards, towards the thoracic part of your spine. Once again, on each side. You can also stay in the position for one or two breaths and relax there. With every exhalation, try to do a little bit more of the torsion. When you are in the middle, put your feet on the floor and stretch them again. Deep inhale and long exhale. Abdominal breath as much as possible. Release all the tension which is now maybe in the area of your lower back or pelvic bottom. All the tensions that were there are now released with this practice, and a lot of energy is being released now. Deep inhale and exhale into your lumbar spine and lower back. With inhalation, bend your right knee, hold it, and with the exhalation, go with your forehead toward your knee. In inhalation, put back your head and arms, and with exhalation, stretch your leg again, and continue on the other side with your breath. Inhale, bowing down. Exhalation. Inhalation, return your head, and with exhalation, return your leg. Continue with your own breath. Return, and try to adjust the movement to your breath. Return. Breath is that which is guiding your movement. You are not forcing your breath into breathing according to your practice; the opposite side is, you are putting your movements into your natural and normal breath rhythm. Once again, on each side, and again relax. Deep inhale and long exhale. We will now pick up a few āsanas which are good for strengthening the pelvic. One of the most important is Khaṇḍrāsana. So, bend your knees, put your heels towards your buttocks, hold your ankle joints, and press your lower back, your lumbar spine, towards the ground. This is the first thing. Then, hold all the muscles of the lower part of your pelvis, as if you were holding back stool or urine. And then hold your buttock muscles, put them together, and then slowly, slowly start to lift up your pelvis. The lower back is on the floor as long as possible. And when you have all your muscles in your lower pelvis strong, then lift your pelvis up. When you are on your shoulders, pull your shoulders toward each other more. It will lift up your chest more and open your chest. With exhalation, slowly go down. First, the area of your thoracic spine, then lumbar spine, and then slowly, slowly the pelvis. Now release the tension of your buttock muscles, and then slowly, slowly all the muscles which are in the lowest part of your pelvis. Deep inhale and long exhale into your pelvic bottom. We will do it twice again and go really very slowly and consciously contract the muscles slowly, slowly from the most surface part into the part which is most inside your pelvis. So first, press your lower back on the ground, then contract your muscles as if you were trying to hold urine or stool, then put together your buttock muscles, keep the pressure of your lumbar spine on the ground, and slowly, slowly start lifting up your pelvis. When you are on the shoulders, put the shoulders more together and open your chest, and take a deep breath into your abdomen. Be aware just of these muscles which are necessary for holding the position: the pelvic bottom muscles, matak muscles, and the thigh muscles. Part 2: A Guided Yoga Practice: From Sarvāṅgāsana to Ustrāsana All the other muscles you can relax. It is not necessary to keep tension in your face, hands, or chest. Slowly return back, vertebra by vertebra. First, the area of the shoulders, then the lumbar spine, then the pelvis. Then slowly, slowly release the muscles which you were holding down in your pelvis. Take a deep inhale and a long exhale again into your pelvic bottom, and all these muscles, which you were so strongly holding now, relax as much as possible. There was a strong contraction of these muscles, strengthening them, and now with your exhalation, relax them completely, completely with your breath. No tension at all there, no tension at all. Completely relax your pelvic bottom. We will go once again, slowly, as before. When you are in the position, hold only those muscles which are necessary for holding the position. Fix yourself in a position that feels comfortable. Āsana means comfortable. It is the position that you are able to remain in without any effort for minutes. If you have this āsana with such a feeling, this is the right āsana. There is no effort, no forcing. Practice deep abdominal breath. You can repeat your mantra in the āsana. And if you want, you can go slowly back. Debra, the vertebra. Slowly release the contraction of the buttock muscles and pelvic muscles. Take a deep inhale and exhale. A deep exhalation and relaxation of all the muscles of the pelvic floor. All the tension there. Try to find the muscles in your body. Try to explore your body. Notice where you feel tension or where you feel relaxation. Was there any pain somewhere? Try to imagine the organs in your pelvis. Relax them. Now we will do Sarvāṅgāsana. We were practicing Viparītakaraṇī Mudrā in the morning, so we will do Sarvāṅgāsana now. It is an āsana which is very good for the brain, for the brain centers, and for the thyroid gland. And, of course, for the legs and the circulation in the legs. Lift up your legs, slowly, slowly raise them up towards the ceiling. Go towards Halāsana, and before touching the feet to the ground, you just lift your legs upwards towards the ceiling. Try to stretch your knees and pull the pelvis a little bit towards your face. Contract your buttock muscles, and with the contraction of your buttock muscles, your pelvis will straighten up toward the ceiling. With exhalation, slowly go down. Bend your knees towards your forehead, release your hands, and slowly, slowly pull your legs. Take a deep inhale and a long exhale in ānanda āsana. We will go once again into this position and try to feel the area. You can go slowly, slowly into sarvāṅgāsana and try to feel how your chin is pressing or pressed onto your chest and how it’s squeezing the area of viśuddhi, of the thyroid gland. It’s influencing the circulation, the blood circulation in this gland, and, of course, the production of the hormones. That’s why it should not be practiced when there is hyperfunction, a high function of the thyroid. Try to straighten up your legs, hold them together, and point your toes toward the ceiling. Remain there as long as it is comfortable for you, and slowly return back. All the movements should be slow and conscious and under your control. Relax, and take a deep inhale and a long exhale. Open the area of the neck and release the pressure which was now in this position on the thyroid gland. We will do a contraposition; it’s Matsyendrāsana. So, go up into a sitting position. Go with your hands in the position which you are able to do, with the crossed hands, crossed legs, sorry. You can either hold your toes, or if you are not able to sit in this position, then you just put the other leg down and slowly go down with your elbows. I’m sorry, I have a problem explaining in English. So, put your trunk on the ground, your head touching the floor, and open your chest as much as possible, and hold your hands in front of your chest. Try to open your chest as much as possible and keep your head on top so that your chest is open as much as possible. Take a deep inhale and exhale into the chest. You can inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, then slowly come back into a sitting position. So you can turn back, turn, turn, turn towards the front. I think we have time for two more āsanas. One of them, which is very good for the pelvis, is Vyagrāsana and Ustrāsana. So, I think we should do Vyagrāsana, if you agree. Sit in Vyagrāsana, concentrate on some point in front of you, relax your hands on your thighs, straighten your spine. Arms are a little bit down. Shoulders towards each other. Head is up. And with inhalation, go up. With exhalation, go down. With inhalation, one leg goes to the forehead. Try to keep your pelvis parallel with the floor, and try to pull your leg up only with your buttock muscles and the muscles on the back side of your thigh. Your feet are facing towards the ceiling, and it is the āsana which is balancing or which is reducing the pain in the joint which is connecting the pelvis with the spine. It’s also stretching the muscles on the thigh and the muscles which are very deep inside, connected with the pelvic bottom. With inhalation, go up, and with exhalation, go down, and to the other side. With inhalation up, exhalation down, and then the knee goes toward the forehead. Always be aware of your pelvis, which should be parallel with the floor all the time. It should not bend sideways. Only this is the way the āsana is working with the joint, which connects the pelvis and the spine, the lower spine. And slowly go back with inhalation upwards, and with exhalation to Vajrāsana. Sit in the position, and take a deep inhale and a long exhale. Be aware of your spine, and feel your spine and lower back. Keep your eyes closed and go on each side once again, five times. Go deep into yourself with inhalation up, exhalation down, and knee going towards the head. With inhalation, the leg goes up and your eyes turn towards the ceiling. With exhalation, the leg goes towards the forehead, and continue the movement. With your breath rhythm, according to your breath rhythm, very consciously pull up your leg with your muscles, buttock muscles, and the muscles on the back side of your thigh. Also, when you are going up from Vajrāsana, you should pull your pelvis first. You see, there are two ways to go from the Vajrāsana up. One is like this, and the other is like this. That you are pulling your pelvis first toward the front. So it’s the front, so the other one, or the second one, was the right. It’s also working with the pelvis. The right way and correcting the position of the pelvis. If you are finished, just relax in Vajrāsana. Deep inhale and exhale. Feel your spine. Feel your lower back. Feel your spine, how it’s going up. Like on the top of your head, there was a string going further up. And feel the effect of the practice of the āsana. We will do Ustrāsana now. It’s the same principle as before. We should go from the Vajrāsana really consciously, pulling up the pelvis and then going into Ustrāsana. I will try to practice with you. You all know this position, so remain in the position and try to, again, keep your pelvis towards the front. Do not turn your pelvis to the left side or the right side. Keep it straight. The bending is in the thoracic spine. Do not bend yourself in the lumbar spine. With inhalation, go up, and with exhalation, go down. Vajrāsana, deep inhale and exhale. Again, deep inhale and exhale. And to the other side, with inhalation very consciously. Pulling up your pelvis, then the leg. Then position. Keep your pelvis facing forward. Hold strongly your buttock muscles and try to pull down your arm a little bit so that your chest is opening. With inhalation, go back, and with exhalation, to Vajrāsana. Deep inhale and exhale. Again, deep inhale and exhale. Now I will just show you what I meant by pulling down the arm. You have the arm very up, it’s closing this part of the chest. And if you pull the arm down a little bit, it opens this part of the chest much more. So, try to do it if you want. With inhalation going up, with exhalation. Hold your buttock muscles, which are pulling the pelvis toward the front. Let your—you’re looking at your hand—and try to open the chest with a little bit of pulling the arm down. With inhalation, go back. With exhalation, sitting position Vajrāsana, and deep inhale and long exhale. And you can go to the other side. Keep your pelvis strong. Keep it towards the front with the contraction of your buttock muscles. Open your chest as much as possible. So, remain in the position for a few inhalations and exhalations and go back. Vajrāsana, close your eyes, deep inhale and exhale. And let the āsana work in you. Let it do its work, its effect. Now we will do the third variation of Vajrāsana with both hands on the heels. So again, you can close your eyes and slowly, slowly go up with your thighs. The pelvis goes first, then pull your arms back to the side, hold your heels, open your chest, pull your pelvis towards the front with the contraction of your buttock muscles, open. Expand your chest as much as possible, take a deep inhale and exhale, and fix in this position. Feel it comfortable, and if you want, then you can go back. With exhalation, move to vajrāsana. Again, close your eyes, take a deep inhale, and a long exhale. Feel how the āsana is working. Feel the effect of the āsana on your pelvis, on your back. And the counterpose to this āsana is yoga mudrā. So, you do yoga mudrā with inhalation, pulling your arms behind your back. With exhalation, bend down with a stretched spine. Touch the floor with your head, and deeply inhale and exhale into the abdomen. Relax your face muscles, relax your legs, and relax your abdomen. Feel how the breath is opening your lumbar spine. Because your abdomen is pressed, the abdominal breath cannot expand toward the front, and it’s expanding toward your back. With inhalation, slowly go up. Nāhaṁ Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā Mahāprabhujī Dīp Karatā He Kevalam. This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition.