We have just enjoyed an amazing yoga retreat at a monastery in Springbrook.
A weekend of silence, contemplation, Tibetan Diamond Light Yoga, mantra and sound healing. Deeply transformative.
One of the central tenets of the retreat was to learn to move from your centre: every thought, every action and every intention originating from your central channel and the centre of your being.
From a purely physical perspective, moving from your centre means all movement originates from your spinal column and from your core.
Your core is the container of your torso and includes your abdominals, spinal muscles, pelvic floor and diaphragm.
Moving from our core centres us, and allows us to move through space fluidly and find strength in our standing poses, focus in our balance poses, and space in our backbends.
From a spiritual perspective, moving from your centre focusses on the central channel in your spine. Most people would see this as your spinal cord; in yoga this is shushumna nadi.
The locus of Tibetan Diamond Light yoga is your central channel.
We anchor here using the breath, visualization and physical postures and constantly move energy away from the side channels and into the central channel.
This practice dissolves mental obstructions, activates your inner fire (tummo), and cultivates a diamond-like or clear light state of awareness, bridging deep meditation with body awareness.
The ultimate aim is to evolve to the ‘rainbow body’ or ‘vajra body’ – a state unshakable by time, karma, or aging.
