Access health and happiness with ancient yet
little-known Mayan Yoga practices that tap into the
healing powers of the natural world.
IN KAT TUDOR’S YOGA CLASSES,things
start as you might expect: with warm-up
asana. But 3o minutes in, you might find
yourself unapologetically stomping your
feet and playing a rattle as you call upon
the healing power of natural elements
like earth, wind, and fire. Which could
leave the uninitiated to wonder: What
do the elements have to do with yoga?
As it turns out, quite a lot. Tudor’s
teachings are inspired by what she calls
Mayan Yoga—a tradition she learned
from Miguel Angel Vergara Calleros,
her teacher in Yucatan, Mexico. With
mytho-historic roots, their practice
combines classical yoga with Mayan
rituals from approximately 7oo years
ago, many of them considered
shamanistic, to channel the energy
of the natural world and elevate
consciousness. “In every way, Mayan
Yoga is linked to what we Westerners
consider yoga,” says Tudor. “The words
are different, but Mayan Yoga addresses
all the levels of a person through
mantra, mudra, breath, poses, and
stories.”
For starters, the elements can relate
to the chakras, internal energy centres
associated with various moods and
ailments and that yoga practices aim to
unblock or keep in balance. For
example, if you’re feeling ungrounded,
your root chakra or the earth energy
61july 2017yogajournal.com.auwithin you may be blocked.(See some of
the benefits associated with each element,
page 63.)But the yoga-element
connection goes deeper than that. The
idea that you can heal mind, body, and
spirit by mastering the balance of subtle
energies within you—energies that
carry the qualities of natural elements—
originally comes from ancient Hindu
philosophy and the underpinnings of
yoga and Ayurveda, explainsYoga
Journal contributing medical editor
Timothy McCall, MD. “Then, around
the fifth century BCE, Hippocrates (the
father of modern medicine) started
talking about elements that exist within
us ... I think the Greeks likely got many
of their ideas from Ayurveda,” says
McCall. Later, colonists brought those
Hippocratic ideas of mind-body
balance—their conventional
medicine—to Latin American cultures,
possibly including the Maya, he
explains.
To sample these magical, medicinal,
shamanistic forms of yoga, practice the
Mayan sequences on the following
pages. The poses aim to balance body
and mind by encouraging a harmonious
flow of elemental energy. Try these
poses on their own, or start to
incorporate the movements into your
regular yoga practice if something feels
off-kilter, physically or mentally.It’s all
ELEMENTAL
By Tasha Eichenseher