The Elemental Series
Check out Padma’s new 26-episode television series
PADMA YOGA: THE ELEMENTAL SERIES
The series started airing across Canada on Monday, July 20, 2009 on channel ONE: Body, Mind, Spirit.
Join Padma and her friends Monday to Friday at 5AM, 7:30AM (PST) for gentle classical hatha yoga plus easy and delightful meditations and breath work.
Padma introduces a daily ‘Sanskrit Word of the Day’ and explores how these essential words of yogic philosophy can inspire our daily lives as well as our yoga practice.
Each week there is a beautiful Sanskrit Chant with guest singer Joelle Lazar, and each week there is a special guest who joins Padma for a discussion of how yoga and meditation integrate into our regular daily lives.
Each five episodes focusses on one natural element and explores the qualities of this element in our lives. Each element represents one of the five subtle bodies addressed in yoga. Buy the DVDs of the first 10 episodes here.
Episodes 1 to 5 are focussed on the EARTH element.
The qualities of Earth are balance, solid support and a firm foundation. We look at how to find these in our physical body and in our life. The element Earth relates to the physical body, also known as our ‘food body’, the anamayakosha, in yogic terms. These episodes establish a secure foundation for yoga practice and develop balance and a sense of calmness and safety within us.
Episodes 6 to 10 are focussed on the WATER element.
The qualities of water are fluidity, change and flow. Water represents the subtle energy within us, also known as the ‘breath body’, the praanamayakosha, in yoga. These episodes offer practices that help to purify the subtle body and refresh your life force.
Episodes 11 to 15 focus on the FIRE element.
Fire is dynamism. It is both heat and light. Heat represents the efforts and practices we engage in in yoga and meditation, and light is the brightness of intelligence that results from all these efforts. Heat is also the passions and emotions we experience in life, and light is the mind that forms perceptions of all our sensory experiences. Fire represents the manomayakosha, ‘the mind body.’
Episodes 16 to 20 are the AIR element.
The qualities of air include speed, intangible movement and constant change. Air relates to the intellect and the decisive power in us to discern and select our actions and thoughts. Air represents the ‘intellect body’, or the vigyaanamayakosha. The practices this week are for settling the unsteady mind and awakening the intellect to its higher capacities.
Episodes 17 to 26 (one extra) are the SPACE element.
This is the subtlest element of all, subtler even than air. Space represents the spiritual aspect in us that is not formed. This element relates to the aanandamayakosha, or the ‘bliss body’ we have. The practices in this week are more meditative and subtle and bring our awareness to that quality within ourselves that is the most fine, intelligent and loving.
See here for more episode contents (PDF)
See here for the translations of the five Feature Sanskrit Chants (PDF)
