Set Free Your Past, Present, and Future Self with Yoga

In today's seasonal yoga blog, we continue our exploration of the Metal element, a cornerstone of Taoist Yoga philosophy, with its qualities of beauty, clarity, reflection, and setting free.

Like the ocean tides, each of the 5 Elements - the energetic personalities alive in all living things - experience a time of "high tide" throughout the year, when one specific element is most present and accessible. Similar to the resonant frequency of tuning forks with the power to activate the same frequency in another tuning fork, the elements can awaken specific qualities within us during their high tide season. Harnessing this power of elemental awareness and intuition helps us craft a yoga practice and lifestyle that beats in harmony with the universal heartbeat of the world.

Every autumn, we witness nature display her Metal element personality. First, she offers a bountiful harvest of beauty and nourishment, and next, she unabashedly sets it all free, leaving the trees bare, the crops barren, and even our hearts a little bit heavy if we are unable to accept this dramatic lesson on impermanence.

How can we channel the seasonal grace to appreciate our own beauty, evaluate our lives, cut through old patterns, and cherish the treasures of lessons learned and choices made, all while accepting change and the passage of time?

I seek yoga practice as a good place to start. Read on to discover how to set free your past, present, and future self with yoga.

Inhale the Present Moment, Exhale the Past

Breath, the most fundamental aspect of yoga, becomes our guide in this journey.

Inhaling, we embrace the present moment, accepting it with all its imperfections. Exhaling, we let go of what no longer serves us, releasing attachments to the past. To honor the Metal element during yoga practice, focus on breathwork.

A breath-centered practice never fails to calm the mind, encourage acceptance, and provides support to inhale the present moment and exhale the weight of the past.

Here is a closer look:

The Physical Body

The lungs are the ruling organ of the Metal element and claim their throne to dominate the physical experience of the body each autumn. This means that the lungs are most receptive at this time of year to yoga and pranayama (yoga breathwork) techniques that can physically strengthen their capacity.

Because the lungs are primed to absorb and distribute not only the body's life-force energy during this phase of the year, but also the collective life-force energy of the universe, they are also more vulnerable at this time of year, sensitive to distress like asthmatic flareups, chest colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Lucky for us, a consistent yoga practice can help reduce and clear phlegm while conditioning the lungs to work more efficiently, hence cutting down on occurrences of phlegm production and build-up over time. While pranayama techniques support and increase lung capacity and breath-control, many yoga postures open the chest and ribcage by stretching the intercostal muscles located between the ribs. When combined in a yoga session, these two lung-centric practices physically support the lungs, diaphragm, and ribcage to achieve the deeper breathes we are striving to attain.

The Emotional Body

Emotionally, in Taoist 5 Element Yoga Philosophy, the lungs both hold and release grief, they mirror how we interact with and process the present moment, and they embody our capacity to either embrace or resist the future.

For example, do you hold your breath in a suspense, unable (or unwilling!) to embrace uncertainty? Have you ever noticed a natural desire to breathe deeply during a meaningful moment, in the hopes that it will somehow keep it alive longer, or make the experience stick? And remarkably, that deep breath actually does.

Deep breathing, along with the sensory signal of smell, sets in memory. Shallow breathing, more likely to occur when we are agitated, threatened, scared, or in distress, has an inability to hold in a memory. It's why we often can't clearly recall a traumatic or highly emotionally charged situation. We didn't have the breath capacity to set in the memory of the events as they occurred. The trauma, emotions, and feelings can vividly remain, but the detailed, factual specifics are more difficult to recall. In Ayurvedic Medicine and Chinese Medicine, this phenomenon is an example of how the lungs, through Metal element energies, function as a vessel for memory and interact with our past, present, and future self.

Whether manifesting as holding onto the past with an inability to fully exhale and release, breathing deeply to process the present moment, or finding acceptance and making space for the future through exhaling, sighing, or crying, the Metal element embodies our relationship to self, our acceptance or resistance to time, and our ability to either embrace or resist change.

The Metal element is our internal mirror of self-knowledge and self-exploration. It reflects who we are, who we were, and even who we can become. But only if we can learn to accept ourselves, welcome change, and gracefully partake in time's cycle of growth, harvest, shedding, hibernation, and regeneration.

The Spiritual Body

On the spiritual plane, beyond the body and the mind, the lungs bridge our conscious and subconscious mind. The lungs facilitate a direct interaction between our limited, physical body and the ethereal, limitless part of ourselves that transcends time, space, and physical boundaries. The lungs house life-force energy, also called prana or qi, which animates the spirit and sets us apart as unique individuals, yet connects us to every other living thing because we all interact with life through breathing. The nourishing, recharging, replenishing, and distributing this life-force through the lungs is another fundamental aspect of breath and at the core of all yoga practices.

Set Free Your Past, Present, and Future Self with Yoga

This season on the mat, redirect your attention to the breath. Soon this habit of keeping part of your mind on your breath will carry over into your daily life. Below is a basic guide on how to direct the breath in yoga practice to set free your body, mind, and soul:

• Free Your Past Self. Feeling sad, overwhelmed, or immobile? Focus on the power of the exhale within your yoga practice to release the past and free your mind and body. Crying can be the ultimate catharsis, so don't hold back when those sobs come on. I've cried a lot in yoga and so have my students. Often we don't know why and it doesn't even matter. It was time to release past thoughts, patterns, or emotions. Sometimes an exhale takes you deeper into your postures and the release comes from freeing the physical body. Yoga practice aligns the physical body and emotional mind to ease the multilayered process of letting go. Release and purging manifest many different ways, but it's one of the reasons we feel so much better after yoga!

• Align Yourself in the Present. Resisting the present moment? Focus on even, measured, inhales and exhales. Agitated breathing is a refection of an agitated mind and heart. Settle yourself through the breath. A yoga flow that moves continuously and mindfully from one posture to another, connected by the cycle of breath, is a particularly powerful tool to embody the present moment. Vinyasa sequences symbolize the continuous flow of time, requiring presence and adaptability. When the mind wanders during a flow, we fall out of step with the rhythm of the class, and move further away from the present moment. Allow every breath to set a measured cadence to follow during practice and to keep your mind, breath and movements aligned with each other and with your classmates, if you're in a studio practice. Adding a moment of stillness between the in and out breaths will also aide you to become more at ease with yourself in the present moment without rushing forward or lagging behind. Enjoy the energy of moving in synchronicity with your yoga classmates. Power is born from presence.

• Prepare for the Future. Just as the shedding of autumn leaves prepares nature for the stillness of winter, acknowledging and releasing the past prepares us for the future. Every release creates space for new growth. In yoga, the same principle applies. By shedding old patterns and limitations, we make room for personal growth on and off the mat. Set intentions during your practice that align with your future aspirations. Whether it's cultivating more patience or embracing change with an open heart, let these intentions be seeds for future growth. (For more Metal element intentions to use during yoga practice, look here)

In Closing

Embody Metal element wisdom to guide you in navigating life's changes, transitions, and transformations. Through yoga practice, learn to acknowledge change, embrace the present, and open to the future. As you step onto your mat, remember that each practice is an opportunity to embody your own Metal element qualities as part of life's ever-changing beauty. Breath is our constant companion in this life. Let it guide the journey. Learn to channel it‘s power to set free your past, open to the present moment, and welcome the infinite possibilities of the future.

Namaste,

Lara