Living a Spiritual Life
Tibetan Yoga: Principles and Practices
CJ Liu interviews Ian A. Baker, author of seven acclaimed books on the Himalayan and Tibetan culture history, on his newest book “’Tibetan Yoga: Principles and Practices.” Find out why National Geographic Society honored him as on the six “Explorers for the Millennium.”
Part 1: What is Embodiment?
Ian explains how working with the body, through such physical practices, can awaken dormant aspects of the mind and consciousness. Body and spirit are integrated in the Tibetan Yoga practices. Divine is not something outside of us, but within us.
Part 2: Element Practice
Ian shares the various traditions how the world around us can be expressed through elements, such as Pitta/ Vata/ Kapha or Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. These practices are geared toward experiencing a deeper connection both to the world around us and to find these same states within our own body.
Part 3: Tsa Lung Practice
Ian explains the different paths of subtle energy in our body expressed as channels/pathways (nadis) or lung (prana or vital energy). These practices are about finding the vital essence that travels along these pathways. Through breath retention and a dynamic breathing practice we are able to activate the energy channels within our bodies and to bring about a transcendent state. Ian explains that there are other practices such as Chi Gong that also bring about these states.
Part 4: Tumo Practice
The inner fire practice is used to release karmic winds with the intent of creating ananda (Bliss). Once we cultivate this state of bliss, it has the effect of supplanting desire. As bliss reaches completion and is inseparable from emptiness/interconnectedness, we will naturally be kind.
At the conclusion of Part 4, Ian shares how you integrate and combine these practices.
More on Ian A. Baker
Ian studied art history, literature, and comparative religion at Middlebury College, Oxford University, and Columbia University and Medical Anthropology at University College London. He was honored by National Geographic Society as one of six ‘Explorers for the Millennium’ for his field research in Tibet’s Tsangpo gorges and his team’s discovery of a waterfall that had been the source of myth and geographic speculation for more than a century.
Ian is the author of seven critically acclaimed books on Himalayan and Tibetan cultural history, environment, art, and medicine. These include The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place, Celestial Gallery, The Tibetan of Art of Healing, and The Dalai Lama’s Secret Temple, a collaborative work with His Holiness The Dalai Lama that illuminates Tantric Buddhist meditation practices. Ian’s latest book, Tibetan Yoga: Secrets from the Source, was published in 2016.
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