These are useful starting poses, for they begin mobiliz-
ing energy in the body. According to Ayurveda, yoga’s sis-
ter branch of Vedic science, the vital airs of the body,
known collectively as vayu, are the basis of all movement.
Vayu governs the movement of thought, the movement of
air, the movement of muscles, the movement of blood,
and the movement of elimination. On a cellular level, it
regulates the movement of DNA molecules, the move-
ment of proteins, and the movement of hormones. Health
results when vayu is moving harmoniously.
Vayu has a natural lightness, which naturally impels it
to move in an upward direction. When vayu is disrupted
as a result of stressful experiences, its job of eliminating
toxins down and out from the body is impaired. Impair-
ment in the elimination function of vayu results in
energy stagnation, and the accumulation of subtle toxic-
ity in the body. These wind relieving poses bring vayu
back to its appropriate home in the pelvis so it can per-
form its essential duty of moving toxins down and out of
the body.
SARVANGASANA—SHOULDERSTAND
While still on the floor, with your hands alongside your
body, slowly raise your legs so they are perpendicular to the
floor. Gently roll your weight onto your upper back as you
Consciousness in Motion 127