09 Feb Q&A session from Friday, 09 February, 2018
In this Q&A Session from 09 February, 2018, Dr. Welch and Dr. Svoboda covered the following topics and questions:
- Importance of connection and the different guṇas involved with the different ways we connect.
- The importance of grounding oneself and circulating prāṇa and how to do both.
- What is the best way to cultivate and store prāṇa in the body so that the senses are contained?
- also includes discussion on incorporating saṃtoṣa (contentment), medicine of addition vs subtraction
- Student working to incorporate abhyaṅga… has two challenges…First, [the] recommendation is to apply the oil in the morning… I’m a working mom [with excess vāta] who is time-starved; I don’t shower every day… applying oil to my body and then getting dressed is really not an option without ruining my clothes. What are your thoughts about applying the oil at night, when I can put on pajamas afterward and not worry so much about the clothes or the shower.
- includes comment on quantity of oil used and consideration of the timings of the day.
- Multiple students expressed confusion about the definitions and how the terms bṛṃhaṇa and laṅghana are used in Āyurveda versus how some (at least 1) style of yoga (āsana) uses these terms.
- side note, not in recording: macrobiotics also uses the concepts of yin (bṛṃhaṇa) and yang (laṅghana) somewhat differently than used in Āyurveda (and oriental medicine).
- A related question asked about using vin yoga for vāta constitution (comment during discussion in Foundations I). Student asks if yin yoga would not be a good choice for vāta, given that the joints tend to be try and unstable?
- Another related question: student expressed confusion about the discussion in Foundations II, around iḍā/piṅgala and how they align with the nervous system; particularly what is the connection between iḍā/piṅgala and the concepts of bṛṃhaṇa and laṅghana?
(This is a Q&A session based on questions from the students and alumni of our following courses Foundations of Ayurveda Parts I and II and The Planets. If you are a student or alumni of those courses, check your emails from us, as we will regularly let you know how to submit questions.)