Whether you’re an old hand at yoga or new to the game, everyone can benefit from a unique form of the practice: Energy Medicine Yoga. Developed by Lauren Walker, the program utilizes familiar stretches, but with a twist. Lauren seamlessly blends traditional asanas (yogic postures) with the wisdom of the nadis, chakra system and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) meridians.
The end result? A dynamic practice that encourages extraordinary healing and revitalization. In just a few minutes a day, the technique helps to shift energy within the body to boost stamina and clarity, balance the immune system and radically enhance well-being. If you find yourself in a funk, ungrounded or struggling with a health issue, Energy Medicine Yoga may be just what you need to get back on track and truly flourish.
The Basics
Energetic yoga is perfect for those who are strapped for time and cannot engage in a lengthy practice every day. After a brief session, students report they experienced heightened levels of energy, clarity and efficiency — leading to increased productivity and flow in their lives.
Three core principles are the foundation of the practice: activating, crossing over energy, and deep relaxation. Lauren gives us a taste of the power behind the technique in “What is Energy Medicine yoga?”:
To begin, we want to activate the energetic system.
“First, find your collarbones. Slide down to the ends of the bony protuberance and then slide off them into the hollows just below and slightly outward. If you press into these points, they’re likely to feel sore. These are the end points of the kidney meridian, and the kidneys, which clean the body of toxins, need lots of help. Go ahead and thump these points. Or, if they’re too sore, massage them. This also helps to bring fresh oxygen to the brain by stimulating the carotid artery. Thump all over your chest, with your hands in fists.”
Crossing Energy
We then move onto crossing over energy. When our energy isn’t properly intersecting within the body, we tend to feel fatigued, depressed and find it difficult to heal and motivate ourselves. Here’s how to correct the issue:
“Stand and march in place touching the same arm to the same leg. Do this for 10 taps. Then stop, brush off your hands, and march in place crossing your hand over to the opposite knee. Do this 12 times. You have now crossed over your energy, and to “seal it in,” put one finger in your bellybutton and one finger between your eyebrows, push in and pull slightly up. Now take three deep breaths, in the nose, out the mouth.”
The Squat
The next asana is a squat, which keeps the hips flexible while also massaging the internal organs. Feel free to place a pillow or rolled towel under your heels if you cannot keep your feet flat while in this position. Drop your head forward to fully stretch through the tailbone and top of your head. Breathing through the nose, take several deep breaths. Stay in this pose for three minutes.
Forward Bend
Remove the padding support and move into a standing forward bend. Keep the back of the knees slightly bent while dropping the head downwards for a gentle hamstring stretch. Hang the arms to loosen the shoulders and neck. Breathe deeply and hold for up to two minutes.
Figure Eights
Now, while breathing deeply, slowly roll up, vertebra by vertebra, until you are in a standing position. Inhale and lift your arms overhead, then exhale and sweep the hands downward in a figure eight motion, back and forth in front of the body and along the sides. Repeat several times. With this practice, you are essentially clearing and strengthening your energetic field. It also reinforces the crossover pattern.
The Twist
Space your legs 3-feet apart and slightly turn the toes outward. Place your hands on your thighs while leaning forward and stretching the waist. Slightly bend the knees. Turn and twist towards the left with your hands anchored on the thighs, extending the stretch from the spine. Hold for three deep breaths. Repeat by twisting to the right.
Dynamic Bridge Pose
Come down to the floor and lie flat on your back with bent knees. Keep the feet flat. Inhale and raise your hips towards the sky and lift the arms overhead onto the floor behind you. Exhale, lower your arms and hips. Repeat three times.
Come into the pose again, only this time, lower the arms while keeping the hips raised. Hold for several minutes. Relax the gluteus muscles to force the lower back, stomach and legs to hold the pose. When finished, release the hips to the floor and let the knees fall inward. Rest in this position for a moment or two, then bring the knees up into the chest and take a few deep breaths.
Wrapping Up The Sequence
The final asana is shavasana, or corpse pose. Lie flat on the floor, legs straight with arms at your side, palms up. Close your eyes. Deeply relax the body for at least one full minute, focusing on the breath. By taking a few moments to gently complete the session, you’re allowing all the benefits of the practice to permeate the body.
If you engage in energetic yoga on a consistent basis, you will increase your strength, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually too. Once you are able to speak the body’s language, you can identify what is holding you back — and then, obstacles can be effectively cleared and moved past. According to Lauren, this flow is what we’re after, as it brings forward our best and most authentic self, which helps us to shine our brilliant light out into the world.
