Healing blessings of yoga
I first met Kaye Aboitiz during my trip to Siargao early last year. We bumped into her as she was parking her scooter and a few days later, my son Simon asked me to join him in doing yoga with Kaye as our facilitator. Aside from being a yoga facilitator, Kaye is also a Kirtan singer. Her main areas of devoted study and practice are those of Yin Yoga and Kirtan. Yin Yoga is a slow, meditative movement practice that focuses on relaxation. Kirtan is the communal singing of devotional mantras. These teachings were received through her teachers in London, Bali and the Philippines.
Kaye’s offerings center around receiving the blessings of gathering in community and in friendship. When asked what made her so interested in taking further studies in yoga, she replied, “I began dipping my toes into yoga asana at around 14 or 15 through a yoga teacher I crossed paths with in Cebu. That is my earliest memory of engaging with yoga. My parents also practiced yoga (and continue to practice!) so that surely had an effect on me. I would say that my practice started in earnest when I was in my early twenties working in the fast-paced art world in London. When I would have a day or weekend off from my gallery job, yoga really helped me find a peaceful respite. During my time in London, I was lucky enough to be able to cross paths with teachers that illuminated various yogic practices to me.”
In spite of the devastation that super typhoon Odette left when it hit Siargao in December 2021, Kaye has been traveling back and forth between the island and Manila, and eventually sees herself moving permanently to Siargao.
At present, Kaye is helping raise awareness and funds for Siargao, which will be used to provide invaluable support to the local communities of General Luna, the main tourist center of the island.
I have extremely fond memories of visiting Siargao with my family, especially with my grandparents in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those memories formed the foundation of my love for the island. When I moved back to the Philippines in 2017, I started spending more and more time there, eventually leading me to take the leap and move there in 2021. I live there because I enjoy the quietness, the slowness of life, and most of all, the community. I treasure being able to teach in person on the island, to spend time with my dogs at the beach in the morning or evening, to be able to scooter around easily, to have time to surf some days in the week,” shares Kaye.
As she continues to help the communities on the island rebuild and heal through yoga, Kaye shares the eight healing blessings of yoga, which can potentially be supportive of mind-body-soul healing.
1. Pranayama - Breath. Pranayama or breathwork is the foundation of most, if not all, yoga. We require breath to move, to meditate and to chant, to communicate with others. You might notice that when you are stressed compared to when you are relaxed, the rhythm of your breath changes. Through observance of the breath, we can begin to learn to regulate our body’s rhythms with more conscious control.
2. Asana - Physical Shapes. One of the most popular modern ways to experience yoga is through asanas, which are physical postures combined with breath. If you have attended a traditional studio class, you would have most likely flowed through this one type of yogic practice. Asana has incredible healing potentialities for the mind-body. It can help us become more grounded in our physical body, preventing disassociation and disconnection. It can allow us to develop a more appreciative relationship with our body as it is today rather than what we wish it to be. Each particular asana also has its own healing properties, which are known to circulate energy throughout the body. Moving through physical shapes also can help us prepare for the stillness of a seated meditation.
3. Yoga Nidra - Meditation. Something that might surprise people to learn is that there is a wide variety of meditation practices currently in existence. The specific type that I personally practice is called Yoga Nidra, sometimes known as “yogic sleep meditation.” Yoga Nidra is a completely guided meditation that suspends practitioners in a restful, sleeplike state — much like the time between rest and sleep. This type of meditation has been proven to activate multiple areas of the brain that govern emotions, body sensations and past emotions, among others. This, in turn, assists our mind in processing feelings and memories more gently.
4. Mantra - Sacred Sound. Mantras are sacred sounds that carry a special resonance. When chanted repeatedly and with devotion, mantras have the potential to induce a calm, thoughtless state. When chanted together with others, they can also cultivate a sense of connection. Traditionally, mantra is also known to carry the blessing of unraveling ingrained patterns and behavior. In more scientific terms, chanting has been proven to stimulate the vagus nerve, which in turn increases an overall sense of wellbeing.
5. Kula- Community. Our kula is our direct spiritual circle. Radhanath Swami, a respected teacher, once stated that if you can choose one blessing, choose the blessing of community. The associations that we surround ourselves with have the potential to change the course of our entire lives. With time and experience, we learn to discern for ourselves the individuals who will support our spiritual growth and learning.
6. Sakhya - Friendship. Friendship or sakhya is maintaining a state of mind where we are constantly wishing well to others rather than harm. We learn this through the example of great spiritual leaders who show us the way. Being friends with all those we cross paths with is certainly not an easy task.
7. Seva - Service. Once you develop a state of mind focused on friendship, you naturally cherish this group of dear friends. When we love others, the desire to be of service arises naturally. To serve others without expectation of reward is known as seva. Many would consider this one of the most important blessings of yoga.
8. Bhakti - Supreme Love. Sacred scriptures share with us that the ultimate gift of yoga is that it helps us to cultivate bhakti: supreme love. Bhakti is love for the divine, which can be experienced through love for others, for ourselves and for the earth. This is traditionally written to be the goal of all yoga. *
(If you would like to support a community in need of healing from trauma, I invite you to contribute to Siargao-based initiatives: Lotus Shores Rebuilding Fund @lotus_shores_siargao and Baybayin Library @baybayinlibrary generalluna. You may also email Kaye at [email protected].
A gentle reminder to all readers that while yoga can be an amazing supportive tool for healing, it is vital to check in with a mental health professional first.)
(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)
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