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| Hello again to all. My question. One of my students mentioned that she did not want to lie in Savasana head to feet with other people, rather she wanted to lie head to head as she had been told by a previous teacher that people give off negative energy through the feet...I have never heard of this before and didnt really know what to say to her...any clues? do we give off negative energy through our feet?
Thanking you for your reply
Shanti to each and everyone of you.
Izzie  |
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Expert Yogi
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| I would respect her wishes by finding a place in the room where she could be in a non-head to feet place. But I would not be keen to re org my whole class system for her. FWIW, I have been told the reason for not pointing feet at others is out of respect and custom, not because of any energetic reasons. Someone please educate me if I am wrong. |
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| Haven't heard that exactly, though there are supposed to be minor chakras on both the hands and feet. Whether these are positive or negative I would think would have a lot more to do with the person, and their current disposition, than any particular part of the body. |
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| I agree with green jello.
Also, a person may give of negative (or positive) energy which others may or may not be sensitive to.
If you subscribe to the idea that energy follows thought, the student's belief system (in this example, the belief that negative energy comes from the feet) will begin to create a self fulfilling prophecy with regard to the transference and acceptance of other people's energy, regardless of what is actually happening or scientifically correct.
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| jonnie - 2006-10-07 5:16 AM
If you subscribe to the idea that energy follows thought, the student's belief system (in this example, the belief that negative energy comes from the feet) will begin to create a self fulfilling prophecy with regard to the transference and acceptance of other people's energy, regardless of what is actually happening or scientifically correct.
Thanks, I ment to add this as well. |
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| I know a yoga teacher who lives in Nepal and she told me that they never lie with their feet towards the teacher out of respect.
Edited by loli 2006-10-07 5:13 PM
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| Negative energy emitting only through the feet? That's absurd.
And what is "negative" energy? Is it anger? Is it pain? In asana the feet typically connect with Earth energy (in standing poses) to draw that up into the legs, to the pelvis, into the heart center.
Each person does have energy or energetics and I'd be more concerned with a teacher that doesn't wash hands before class, or one that adjusts students without releasing that energy before adjusting the next student than I would about someone's feet behind me in Savasana.
The reasons we orient students in Savasana has to so with the energy of the class, One student askew, one student in landscape with the others are in potrait, disjoints the energy in the room so dramatically that it can bear on other students. It's a vastu concept and the energy flows cleanly in a symetrically oriented space. If you are sensitive you can feel this in yoga nidra when others move.
Now it is possible for a student or teacher to drag in outer world energies on the feet (a reason shoes are removed). This is a Saucha issue and teachers should be washing hands and feet both before and after class (bathing is ideal, washing is a minimum).
In the scenario cited by the OP either the teacher has a philosophy about this, based on exerpience, training, the classical yoga texts, or they just do it because they do it. In the former example the student should be educated as to why the class is oriented this way for Savasana and I'd make no special arrangement. It would lack an integrity to tell the student these are the important reasons we do it this way and then tell them "but go ahead and do it some other way". It weakens the authenticity. If the principal is not that important, then fine allow them to do the thing differently. But not this thing.
In the second example this is not possible. If we don't have apersonal philosophy or understanding for why we are doing something we are doing then we can't possibly make an authentic explanation to the student.
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Expert Yogi
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Location: right where I'm supposed to be | Smelly feet emit some neg energy to me 
Sorry, had to day that!
Mish  |
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| thank you to all for clearing this up...........much love
izzie |
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| I don't know about the energy aspect but I do know that some cultures consider showing the soles of the feet to be an extremely rude thing to do so maybe this is a cultural spill-over thing?
Fee |
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Expert Yogi
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| The original question sounds like a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing - it sounds to me like some info was taken in and misunderstood and/or altered to fit someone's current level of understanding. Maybe the student with the question or someone before them who passed on the information. As Stephen Colbert would say, it has truthiness - sounds good enough to be true so people pass it off as truth for whatever reason. |
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| I agree. It's what happens when people mix a classical system like yoga with a myriad of new age philosphies.
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| I meant 'philosophies'. Having trouble spelling this evening. |
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negative energy through feet?
