Ayurveda & Apana Vayu
Apana Vayu, the grounding and downward flowing wind. Yoga asanas that help with this wind are sitting, squats, and abdominal compression poses. If one feels imbalances within the urinary system, excess wind in G.I., menstruation, childbirth, working with apana vayu is helpful. There are many ways to accomplish this through yoga therapy and Vedic Thai Yoga. Not to mention, embracing your diet and herbal support for imbalances here. The pranic energy can be channeled according to the doshic needs of the client to support, nurture, and restore the body/mind/heart connection.
Apasana is a very nurturing pose along with supportive breathwork can really help during menstruation and excess wind in G.I. Another asana similar to this one is knee to head pose (think cycling sit-up from pawanmuktasana series). Squats gives one a very grounding influence when you really need it like in childbirth or connecting to the earth element for grounding. With the amount of stress in everyday life, it is vital we work on reconnection to Big Mamma Earth. Putting your feet outside on the earth is another way to establish this connection.
Apana Vayu governs elimination. In Ayurveda there are three types of Mala, waste products. These are byproducts of a form of nourishment (mala of food-feces, breath-sweat (in yoga we are taught to rub excess sweat back in energetically), water-urine. If there is VATA excess, dehydration, deficient moisture, scanty urine VATA imbalance has come into the picture. Excessive intake of diuretics encourages abundant urine flow and overly dry tissues if taken long-term. Water retention, excessive fluid in the dhatus, is a sign of KAPHA imbalance.
Working on asanas, breathwork through yoga therapy and vedic thai yoga can be very supportive and can help rebalance your systems. Anointing Marma Chikitsa points - Basti, Kunkundara, Guda will also help restore apana vayu and its connections to Urninary bladder/ Kidney. What can we do to help the kidney health? For starters, avoid excess diuretics tea, coffee, alcohol, antibiotics, excessive sex, and urine suppression. One needs to also watch the health of the adrenal glands and its connection to the kidneys. They naturally weaken with age so tonifying your kidneys is key for health and vitality.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Urinary System is bonded to the water element with yin and yang influences. The U.B is the seat of yin - water & Kidney is the seat of yang - fire in the body. So now we have a perspective of keeping the apana vayu happy and resilient for the balance of our Yin and Yang energy flow.
I find as a practitioner of Yoga Therapy and Vedic that this point from TCM, that the UB and Kidney are the seat for the Yin / Yang is important to address with the Apana Vayu. We have energy channels of both Yin and Yang. Due to the connection of the yin/yang sitting here in the second chakra - svadhisthana and yet also runs into the root chakra- muladhara chakra (earth), it is important to be aware of the asana and pranayama connections to the yin/yang. For example, nadhi shodana pranayama (helps the nervous system) works with both the ida and pingala nadi (yin/yang and or moon/sun). Learning from a skilled yoga therapy teacher and Vedic Thai practitioners helps you deepen your connection to these qualities of yin/yang and apana vayu, A well balanced and tailored yoga & vedic thai yoga practice for someone touches on all of the Vayus of the body and energy channel theory and addresses them on an individual basis due to our constitutions being diverse. Even in a group practice in-person or virtually. Also consuming foods and herbs for your dosha type is also a really important tool to address the rebalancing and harmonizing within of Apana Vayu and its physical connections.
to learn more, contact me for a consult or sign up for some virtual yoga.
namaste
Lotus Anwen Wachiwi Sagebrush (satya)
