下午的課是Inversion focus，課程內容簡介為「Turning our view of the world upside down allows us to feel our potential for overcoming fear and depression. The class will include a vigorous vinyasa warm-up and arm balances preparing us to focus on several of the most potent inversions, chosen for their ability to stimulate the endocrine system, thus providing the necessary chemistry to internally alter our state of consciousness and move us toward samadhi. 令我們世界的視野上下顛倒，讓我們感受到克服恐懼和憂鬱症的潛力。本課程包括充滿活力的串聯暖身動作以及手臂平衡動作，按照能力準備專注在幾種最強有力的顛倒動作，刺激內分泌系統，提供必要的化學作用，改變我們內在的覺知狀態，前往samadhi瑜珈最高的境界。」
有了昨天吃得太飽而難以動彈的經驗，今天中午我只吃了個Browni。這節課由David老師帶領，從Chanting開始，OM中低高音各一趟，Lokah Samasta Sukinoh Bhavantu也是中低高音各一趟，音調與Sharon老師不太一樣，也很好聽，Shantih Shantih Shantih。然後他說有個Bonus要送給我們，出自Yoga Sutras II-33, “Vitarkabadhane pratipaksabhavanam”, 英文翻譯意思為“When there is clouded thinking, reframing the way you look at a situation may help to produce clarity.” Vitarka是questionable or dubious matter，badhane是suffering，pratipaksa是the oppsite side，bhavanam是imaging。David老師說當Disturb thought到我們的心中始我們思緒混亂，我們會想go away，所以這句經文就是要我們Turn it upside down or image opposite，所以當我們sad的時候就要去image快樂，美國有句俗話說Fake It 'Til You Make It，裝到最後會變成真的。
他說就像倒立是件最奇怪的事，其實瑜珈體位法練習裡就有很多看起來很奇怪的動作，平時我們不可能去做，意思就是要我們學習用其他的方式來看事物，有的時候我們會因此看到missing part。而通常談到倒立時，我們第一個想到的是Headstand，”Normal people don't do that.”因為這是與平時oppsite的方式，不是Stand on the legs卻是stand on the head!事實上倒立能讓我們get many benefits在身心靈各方面，不過倒立不是只有頭倒立或是肩立，在瑜珈哲學裏談到能量energy的轉換，由於David老師只提到二個，我從網路上找到相關的內容：
The Five Koshas and Three Bodies
1.Annamayakosha (Gross Body)
2.Pranamayakosha (Vital Air Sheath)
3.Manomayakosha (Mental Sheath)
4.Vigyanamayakosha (Intellectual Sheath)
5.Anandmayakosha or Karanamayakosha (Causal Sheath)
First there will be a discussion of the five chief koshas (sheaths). Classically they are the
1) Annamaya kosha which is translated as food sheath and corresponds roughly to the physical body. It has the most dense and slow vibrational frequency. It is the realm of the sthula sharira (coarse body). This is the realm of the manifest form body of the Buddha, the nirmanakaya.
2) The second sheath is composed of the pranamaya kosha or energy sheath. It interconnects the annamaya kosha(physical body) with the manomaya, vijnanamaya, and anandamaya koshas. It is associated with the suksmah sharira(subtle body).
3) Next there is manomaya kosha or mental and emotional sheath which also is included in the sukshma sharira(subtle body),
4) Next the vijnanamaya kosha or the prajna wisdom sheath of Gnosis (transconceptional knowledge) which also is included in the sukshma sharira(subtle body). Taken together, the annamaya, pranamaya, and vijnanamaya sheaths comprise the subtle body(sukshma sharira) which is the vehicle for Buddha's bliss body(sambhogakaya).
5) The anandamaya kosha(literally the bliss sheath)which is associated with the karana sharira or causal body. In some systems there is a sixth sheath, the Hiranyagarbha kosha(which here will be discussed as existing as one aspect inside the anandamaya kosha). This karana sharira corresponds to the vajra body or diamond heart -- the immutable changeless and indestructible body of the primordial Buddha whose vehicle is the Dharmakaya.
The purpose of these systems is to consciously map out the causal dynamic interactions that occur between the mind, emotions, physical body, health, the breath, energy fields, nature, and Source so that healing as purification, activation and integration spiritually, emotionally, and physically can be expedited. Even from the most gross standpoint of the physical body all five sheaths are intertwined(present simultaneously)in space. To the degree that they intertwine harmoniously and without conflict or tension is the degree that they exist they produce health or disease in the body/mind.
David老師說第一層Annamaya kosha最簡單，如果想到change body就change food，因為只是一層food cover；第二層Pranamaya kosha是指energy body，這兩層會互相交替影響。他舉例說有的時候someday會覺得low energy，根本不想move physical body，但是有的時候卻覺得身體充滿活力，有的時候與吃了惰性食物有關，因此影響energy body。
他說Yoga says that there are five kinds of prana in the body. They are: prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana.，apana is from the navel to the soles of the feet由肚臍往下到腳底，掌控的能量包括生產、排泄、月事等；prana which moves from left to right in the abdominal region消化系統左右移動的能量、所以big meal後不要練習yoga，因為不需要digestive food，normally flows from the navel up towards the throat由肚臍往上到喉嚨，平時用以控制呼吸。因此瑜珈練習倒立動作時可以有意識的reverse把apana往上、prana往下，這樣能把能量集中在中脈Central channel即Sushumna Nadi後再打開，energy reverse，就可能達到enligement神人合一的境界。
他說倒立時需要用到Bundha與有意識的呼吸，尤其是Mula bandha is the anal lock, and uddiyana bandha is the lower abdominal lock，肩立式還加上Jalandhara Bandha鎖喉，把能量逆轉往上reverse energy flow。有人認為女生moon cycle時不要練習頭倒立或是肩立式，這兩種也許是倒立式中比較誇張的型式，但其實幾乎瑜珈練習裡大部分的動作都已經是倒立了。
David老師說練習倒立時我們可以把整個世界都倒轉，very helpful inside thought，就像有些畫家會把畫倒過來檢查看看有沒有平衡，目的都是change our point of view，可以看到我們的missing part，看世界的觀點自然就會有所不同。因為我們是有慣性的，如果遇到生命中措手不及的事情，例如地主要求我們搬遷、或是男女朋友要分手，我們會confuse而失去方向，通常的反應就是哭泣，但是Yogi會upside down的想''I don't know. Maybe it's the time to have a new boyfriend.''大家聞言哄堂大笑，哈哈哈，他說這就是學習不受打擊的練習。我們剛開始學習倒立時會感覺fear，但慢慢就會習慣了。他說倒立最大的好處就是自然的拉皮，對於老人因為重力而皮膚下垂而有extra chin或是駝背特別有效，reverse gravity。
David老師說平時我們的Heart must work harder to pump blood to the head，但倒立可以讓心肌有不同的調整，工作減輕了，再配合呼吸可以使思緒改變，使我們更smart，因此Yogi是wise guys and girls喔。因此倒立是heart與head的關係，平時頭在心的上方，其功能是拆解事物理性分析，我們會覺得去understand比feel重要，但當倒轉過來時心在頭的上方，就能讓feel的emotion層面更為重要，放下平時的思考，更能direct直接了解世界。而且倒立時internal organs也會倒轉，像腎臟就能有機會把累積的毒素釋放到血液或是尿液中，這就像沉積在水底的泥土muddy water，如果我們把水倒出來，就有機會把泥土流出。
他說現在其實是個Upside down world，very disturbing，世界上有很多violence, war，大自然也有劇烈變化，北極與南極的冰層都在移動，因此練習倒立能讓我們習慣世事的千變萬化，了解無事恆常，我們就有能力ability to change, not resistant，不須消極抵抗。
David老師說頭倒立與肩立式在瑜珈中是屬於特別分類，稱為Yoga Mudrasana身印(Yoga Seal Pose)，Mudra是Prayer的意思，因此是一種用整個身體祈禱的方式，Padmasana也是一種。他說很多站姿或坐姿前彎動作其實都是倒立的準備式，反而是次要的動作。
他特別提到我們也要reverse breathing flow，因為一般人都只重視吸氣，卻不重視吐氣，其實兩者一樣重要，但只見有人大口吸氣，卻沒有人大口吐氣，他舉例說只有人吸一大口氣跳入水中、卻不見有人吐一大口氣才跳入水中，''Yogi might do that.'' 哈哈，Yogi可真是深不可測的喔。
所以瑜珈練習裡更要強調exhale，同時也會影響我們的心理層面，因此今天倒立課第一個練習的卻是Kapalabhati呼吸法，因為就是吐氣強卻只有small inhale，他說當然也有吸氣強的進階呼吸練習法，所以並不是錯誤與否，只是那就不稱為Kapalabhati，Kapala是skull, bhati是light，我們練習時可用左手扶住腹部，右手放在鼻孔前方去感覺自己吐氣的強度有多遠，然後試著用口吐氣，再換成閉口用雙鼻孔吐氣，再換壓左鼻孔吐氣，他要我們去感覺壓力的改變，用口最小，其次是閉口用雙鼻孔，而用單鼻孔時壓力最大feel more pressure，就像water gun出水孔像針孔般小才能射出，如果口徑大就像倒出來一樣沒有力量了，出口越小則水量越大，Kapalabhati也是同樣的道理。他強調不要用口呼吸，因為這樣是缺乏意識的，所以很多人jogging時用口喘氣，這樣無法達到提升意識的功效，英文中用mouth-breather去形容部用大腦思考的人，可見其來有自。
(筆記繼續整理中...)
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