From Āsana to Lived Experience: Yoga, Tantra, Somatics, and Lived Experience
In this solo episode, Amy Wheeler explores a fascinating question: What happens when we look beneath the physical practice of yoga and return to its deeper purpose? Beginning with the history of āsana, Amy traces how yoga postures evolved from simple meditation seats into the diverse practices we know today. Along the way, she examines the Tantric influence of the Śiva Saṃhitā, the rise of embodied awareness in modern somatic practices, and the importance of lived experience as a pathway to understanding ourselves more deeply. The episode invites listeners to consider how yoga therapy can serve as a bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary understandings of human experience, healing, and transformation.
In this episode, Amy discusses:
• The Sanskrit root of āsana and its original meaning as a seat or stable posture for meditation
• The role of āsana in the Yoga Sūtras and why Patañjali devoted only a few verses to posture
• The evolution of āsana through the Haṭha Yoga tradition, including the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, and Śiva Saṃhitā
• Why the Śiva Saṃhitā is considered one of the most Tantric of the major Haṭha Yoga texts
• The concepts of prāṇa, nāḍīs, chakras, and kuṇḍalinī as experiential maps of human transformation
• How modern somatic approaches emphasize interoception, self-awareness, and embodied regulation
• The importance of first-hand lived experience in understanding consciousness and healing
• The connection between lived experience, yoga therapy, and the study of consciousness
• How Indigenous ways of knowing value observation, participation, relationship, and direct experience
• Why lived experience may be one of the most important meeting points between yoga, science, and healing
Closing Thoughts
One of the enduring gifts of yoga is its invitation to investigate experience directly. Whether we approach that inquiry through Classical Yoga, Tantra, somatic practice, lived experience, or Indigenous wisdom traditions, each reminds us that transformation begins with attention. The path of yoga therapy is not simply about changing symptoms or improving function. It is also about learning to observe, inhabit, and understand our lived experience more fully. In doing so, we may discover that the body, breath, mind, and spirit have been teaching us all along.
Contact Amy Wheeler:
Optimal State App for iPhone:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/optimal-state/id1604424804
The Yoga Therapy Hour Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/yoga-therapy-hour-with-amy-wheeler/id1564687158
School of Integrative Health at NDMU:
https://www.ndm.edu/academics/integrative-health
Master of Science in Yoga Therapy at NDMU:
https://www.ndm.edu/academics/integrative-health/yoga-therapy
Explore NDMU’s Post-Master’s Certificate in Therapeutic Yoga Practices, designed specifically for licensed healthcare professionals:
Try our Post-Bac Ayurveda Certification Program at NDMU:
https://www.ndm.edu/academics/integrative-health/ayurveda/post-baccalaureate-ayurveda-certification
#IntegrativeHealth #HealthcareEducation #InterprofessionalEducation #GraduateSchool #NDMUproud #SOIHproud #SOIHYoga #SOIHAyurveda #NDMUYoga #NDMUAyurveda #SOIHGraduateSchool
