On Asana, Pranayama, Mental Health and Yoga with Dr Lauren Tober

Ask most people what yoga is, and they'll picture the postures. Maybe the breathing. And fair enough, it's what we mostly teach, and what most people think we're doing. 

But in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, asana barely gets a mention. So what are the postures and the breath actually for?

In this five part series on Patanjali's eight limbs, we've finally reached the two limbs most people think of as yoga - the postures and the breath. But in Mental Health Aware Yoga, these were never about achieving the perfect posture. They're tools for regulating the nervous system, and for coming to know ourselves from the inside.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why asana barely gets a mention in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
• Sthira sukham asanam, steady and comfortable, and why this is quietly radical in a culture that prizes the hardest version of every practice
• Why how we invite our students to practise matters more than what we teach
• The gunas as a practical map for reading the energy in the room
• How the Window of Tolerance and ancient yogic maps line up beautifully
• A more useful question than "what's wrong with this person," and how it changes the way we teach
• The breath and the mind as a two-way street, and how we can breathe our way toward calm
• Why we invite students to slow the exhale rather than force it, and what to do when the breath feels unsafe
• A simple breath-led movement practice you can take into your very next class

Download the accompanying Patanjali’s Eight Limbs and Mental Health Aware Yoga ebook at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/8limbs  

Join the online Mental Health Aware Yoga training in September at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/online 

Join the hybrid Mental Health Aware Yoga training today at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/hybrid 

This podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice or training. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalised guidance or come and join one of our programs at the Yoga Psychology Institute for professional training. While we are grateful for our guests and sponsors, any statements, claims or endorsements made are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Yoga Psychology Institute.