“Buddha-bones”, or “moving consciously” is an essential foundation for Meditation, or “watching inside”. Becoming aware of, and sensing and feeling the motions of all of your bones can be so delightful. Witnessing how our bones, muscles, nerves, blood, and Breath, flow and dance together moment to moment as an organic unity, enabling us to move in space and feel inside… it’s really a day to day miracle if you think about it. Healthy, pain-free, and graceful movement is entirely inter-related to the healthy “Fascial Continuity and Integrity” hidden inside and throughout our Energy-field. Today i want to point out the tremendous benefit Yoga and the “Breath of Meditation” gives to all of our “connective tissues and Fascia”.
Nature’s Design of our “Human Energy-Field” is both mysterious and challenging. “Mysterious” in the sense that the most meaningful and profound experiences of life are impossible to manufacture of force… we can only become available and receptive to the secrets and gifts of Existence. And for me, it so mysterious and interesting how our Body and “individual Life Force” appears to be made up of equal parts “Voluntary” and “Involuntary”… some things “we can do”, but the fact we are alive today remains a mystery and out of our voluntary control. The Discipline of ARUN/ OSHO Yoga gives equal value and appreciation to our “Voluntary” and “Involuntary” Life Energies.
The more you become aware of the flow of your involuntary life energy, the more relaxation and ease you will be capable of experiencing while you are moving, thinking, talking, eating, relaxing, etc.
Nature’s Design is “Challenging” in the sense that each one of us exists in a ‘seed-form’, with only ‘the possibility’ of growing into and realizing our hidden potential. Physical maturity and the accumulation of knowledge and information will not necessarily help us to experience deep contentment, love, or the expansion of consciousness.
If we do want to “know ourselves” and live life to our fullest potential, we must become more interested in and capable of“Watching inside”- without judging, evaluating, complaining or controlling, or trying to change anything… keeping all of our senses alert, our mind open, and our heart present in everything we do- without unnecessary effort or tension. For it is only by relaxing from deep inside that we can influence and support the growth and expansion of our consciousness.
Not only is living in your “Human Energy-field” both mysterious and challenging; it is also a miracle of design, function, adaptability, and sensitivity. But again, it is only a miracle in seed-form; it requires our consistent love and gratitude, and awareness to enable it to spread roots, flower, and bear fruits.
{“Bamboo Temple” in Kamakura, Japan}
“Prem Anubuddha, meditation covers a very long pilgrimage. When I say “meditation is witnessing”, it is the beginning of meditation. And when I say “meditation is no-mind,” it is the completion of the pilgrimage. Witnessing is the beginning, and no-mind is the fulfillment. Witnessing is the method to reach the no-mind. Naturally you will feel witnessing is easier. It is close to you.
But witnessing is only like seeds, and then is the long waiting period; not only waiting, but trusting that this seed is going to sprout, that it is going to become a bush; that one day the spring will come and the bush will have flowers. No-mind is the last stage of flowering.
Sowing the seed is of course very easy; it is within your hands. But bringing the flowers is beyond you. You can prepare the whole ground, but the flowers will come on their own accord; you cannot manage to force them to come. The spring is beyond your reach – but if your preparation is perfect, spring comes; that is absolutely guaranteed.
It is perfectly good, the way you are moving. Witnessing is the path and you are starting to feel once in a while a thoughtless moment. These are glimpses of no-mind… but just for a moment.
Remember one fundamental law: that which can exist just for a moment can also become eternal. You are given not two moments together, but always one moment. And if you can transform one moment into a thoughtless state, you are learning the secret. Then there is no hindrance, no reason why you cannot change the second moment, which will also come alone, with the same potential and the same capacity.
If you know the secret, you have the master key which can open every moment into a glimpse of no-mind. No-mind is the final stage, when mind disappears forever and the thoughtless gap becomes your intrinsic reality. If these few glimpses are coming, they show you are on the right path and you are using the right method.
But don’t be impatient. Existence needs immense patience. The ultimate mysteries are opened only to those who have immense patience.” OSHO
{ to read the whole question and answer, you can click here: http://wp.me/p14Qm1-v }
Intelligently Stretching, Compressing, and Twisting our Bodies’ cells and tissues on a regular basis has innumerable benefits… The muscles maintain a juicy, pliable, flexible tone, which is so vital for our Skeletal joints. Remember {and then ‘feel’}, that almost every bone has at least 2 articulations at the top and bottom { each separate lumbar vertebrae has 6 joints, for instance! each thoracic vertebrae has 10 places of movement! }, and each bone has muscles all around it… so if all of the muscles are kept in a healthy tone, the spaces “between the bones” will keep their “natural full range of motion”, and have a chance to be “pain free”. We often think of “muscles” in relation to “strength”, but i my view, the key to a healthy Energy-field is having “flexible, supple muscles” that are capable of contracting when needed, and of also resting when not needed. The blood vessels and nerves also benefit immeasurably from the regular “stirring up” that happens with Yoga… if we do not “stir the tissues and glands”, many stagnations and problems develop throughout the body, mind, and emotions.
Holding each of our individual, unique “Energy-fields” together is “Fascia”, or “connective tissue”- the organ of support. Fascia is continuos from top to bottom, side to side, surface to depth, and everywhere in between! It’s a kind of membrane, or “spider web” surrounding each muscle, tendon, nerve, organ, blood vessel, and holding everything in place. If we separated all the fascia from everything else in the body, we would be left with a most perfect “fibrous net” and exact representation of the whole body. Our blood vessels also make up a 
vascular, or “fluid net” that takes the complete form of our Body. And our Nervous System, “the neural net”, if it could be removed intact, would also give us a complete replica of our Body. { The great Italian anatomist and artist, Vesalius, has made very famous drawings of the Skeletal system, the Circulatory system, Muscle system, and Nervous system in the mid 16th century, that show how these systems make up the whole body }.
{ Take a few moments to image/ feel what is happening under your skin inside… you have an incredible city humming under your skin- and it is a city that never sleeps! }
{this photo below is taken from a great pictorial book- “Anatomy Trains’ by Thomas Myers… it shows how fascia holds the nerves and blood vessels together}
So each individual part of our body has its unique role to play… and it needs to be “separate”, yet “connected” and cooperating with everything else at the same time… every individual muscle, bone, nerve, vessel, etc. is floating in a gelatinous liquid medium, sliding and gliding against each other… held in place by Fascia. It is all pretty amazing, to say the least!
From the beautiful and insightful book, “Hara Diagnosis: Reflections on the Sea”, {by Kiiko Matsumoto & Stephen Birch}, come these insights about our connective tissues, or “Fascia”:
“At any particular level in the body the connective tissues form a continuous network ensheathing muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and extending down microscopically onto the surfaces of cells and even into the cells themselves. This latter concept is a relatively new way of visualizing connective tissue. It has arisen because of the discovery that every cell has within it types of connective tissue consisting of rigid, flexible, and contractile elements. Moreover, it has been discovered that this cytoplasmic system is linked to the extra-cellular connective tissue via specific structures that transverse the cell membranes from the inside to the outside.”
{This drawing below of The Spiral Fascial Line is also from “Anatomy Trains”. Thomas Myers says: “The Spiral Line loops around the body in a double helix, joining each side of the skull across the upper back to the opposite shoulder, and then around the ribs to cross in front at the level of the navel to same hip…”}
“Hara Diagnosis & Reflections on the Sea” continues: “While the “fascial planes” are continuous sheets, there are more subtle relationships present. The fibers comprising those sheets are not randomly oriented, but are instead laid down in a precise way.
There is also a close anatomical relationship between the fascial sheets and the Autonomic Nervous system, to the extent that the autonomic ganglia are embedded in the fascia. The precise physiological significance of this has not been given adequate attention. There are many case studies suggesting relief of autonomic dysfunction as a consequence of alterations in the fascia.”
“It is quite feasible that the meridians described by Chinese medicine as being in the “lining” {the superficial fascia} can pass from the surface of the body to the interior, to any organ. There will be numerous variations by which any one pathway may be traced and there will be numerous fascial continua by which the connections may be effected. That these connective lines could be pathways of energy or qi is also quite feasible. The fascial systems are composed of connective tissues that have demonstrated abilities to transmit a variety of biological energies”.
{ another exquisite drawing below from “Anatomy Trains”… Thomas Myers says: “The Functional Lines extend the Arm Lines across the surface of the trunk to the contralateral pelvis and leg (or up from the leg to the pelvis across to the opposite rib cage, shoulder, and arm, since our meridians run in either direction). These lines are called the “functional” lines because they are rarely employed , as the other lines are, in modulating standing posture. They come into play primarily during athletic or other activities…” }
{This is all pretty far out if you can “read between the lines”! Our fascia “creates and holds the space where all the invisible energy lines, meridians, chakras, marma points are living”… it is in the “spaces between”. So if our muscles are rigid, our blood vessels clogged with impurities, our nerves always on alert… then the fascia becomes more solid, all you experience much less “fascial gliding”.
This is a physical explanation of why the majority of people CAN NOT FEEL and OBSERVE their finer energies inside… their bodies are TOO DENSE! Regular stretching, removing unhealthy, mucus producing foods from their diet, and Conscious touching can rejuvenate the fascia so that ANYONE CAN AWAKEN THEIR VITAL ENERGY BODY AWARENESS!- Anubuddha}
Hara Diagnosis: Reflections on the Sea continues: “Research has shown that the connective tissues are capable of communication, connection, and energy conduction in the form of electron and proton transmission. Thermoelectric properties, pressure-activated responses that result in tissue change and functional changes, piezoelectric currents, and a variety of properties have all been discerned. The connective tissues are an amazingly plastic, malleable, changeable, and highly functional group of tissues.
That the classical Chinese authors related the “triple warmer and the conduction of qi” to the fascia and their connective tissues well before scientific measurement was able to demonstrate such activity is a remarkable achievement.
The connective tissues compose much more than just these systems of fasciae. The fasciae are only the visible portion. There is an even more pervasive system of connective-tissue fibers at the microscopic level that extends into every cell of the body. These are the collagen and glycosaminoglycan fibers of the extracellular matrix and the microfilaments,microtubules, and microtrabeculae of the intracellular matrix. Every cell is explicitly connected to every other cell.”
These are “really big words”, but the point is that if you can maintain your fascia in a flexible, liquid, and sensitive way… you will naturally experience your Body as a “vibrating electro-magnetic field of energy”. And you will also be able to experience what Patanjali, Osho, and other enlightened mystics is possible for all human beings.
Your Fascia is the physical medium that the “Pranamaya Kosha” or “energy body” uses for energy line connections and meridians.
Seung Heun Lee, an amazing mystic Doctor from Korea who specializes in “Brain Respiration” says it very pictorially: “Just as the vital energy flucuates in the vast ocean of universal life, the same energy flows through our body. In our body, there is a road for this energy flow. Throughout each road, there are many intersections like stations, where the energy from the
universe comes and goes. We call these roads ‘meridians’, and the intersections, ‘acupressure points’.”
universe comes and goes. We call these roads ‘meridians’, and the intersections, ‘acupressure points’.”
So Patanjali really is, like Osho says, “an Einstein of the Inner World”. He not only mapped out the Human Energy Field in all of its splendor and complexity… from the physical body to the energy body to the etherial… he also showed the way for any sincere meditator to experience this inside. We can profit from his work, and use it as an inspiration to discover our own Hidden Splendor. But each of us has to “sow the seeds” ourselves… someone else’s experience will not transform our Energy-field! And, on a purely physical level, our health will benefit immensely from the Hatha Yoga asanas…
For “totality’s sake”, and as a summary, i want to include one more practical and elegant quote about connective tissue and fascia by James Oschman from his book, “Natural Science of Healing”…
“The connective tissue and fascia form a mechanical continuum, extending throughout the animal body, even into the innermost parts of each cell. All the great systems of the body – the circulation, the nervous system, the musculo-skeletal system, the digestive tract, the various organs – are ensheathed in connective tissue. This matrix determines the overall shape of the organism as well as the detailed architecture of its parts. All movements, of the body as a whole, or of its smallest parts, are created by tensions carried through the connective tissue fabric. Each tension, each compression, each movement causes the crystalline lattices of the connective tissues to generate bioelectric signals that are precisely characteristic of those tensions, compressions, movements.
“The fabric is a semiconducting communication network that can convey the bioelectric signals between every part of the body and every other part. This communication network within the fascia is none other than the meridian system of traditional Oriental medicine, with its countless extensions into every part of the body. As these signals flow through the tissues, their bio-magnetic counterparts extend the stories they tell into the space around the body. The mechanical, bioelectic, and bio-magnetic signals traveling through the connective tissue network, and through the space around the body, tell the various cells how to form and reform the tissue architecture in response to the tensions, compressions, and movements we make.”
With this somewhat elevated knowledge of the subtle energy of the connective tissues, muscles, bones, blood and breath in mind, you can start to appreciate more clearly why i insist that you don’t need to over-stretch, or “push yourself through barriers” when you do A.O. Yoga… in fact, if you overstretch, i can see why the body-mind is in pain. The stretch is not being felt and observed through the fascial net in an elegant manner. In my understanding, “under-stretching” is better than “over” stretching… but the very best is to feel the stretch and compression as an inner touch, and to bring your bones into intimate angles that bring you totally into the moment with your sensations, mind, feelings, and most importantly- your trust and love. Then, if you are patient and watchful, your fascial lines and connective tissues will stay fluid and be able to conduct finer physical and cosmic energies throughout your life.
Take time to feel all of this “in your own way” from inside… allow the mystery to touch you without any fear or expectations. The next time you play with “changing the angles” of your skeleton… allow the sensations and breath to help you “see and free” all the fascia, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and bones… see how far you can sense inner connections from the points of biggest sensations. Let it be an inner dance of energies… remembering that each stretch and breath “only happens once”… it is always “this moment”.
Feel many good vibrations flowing towards you… from the heart, Anubuddha