The practice of buti yoga is one that had an unexpected impact on me. This engaging, empowering practice is one of the first things I chose to do knowing that I would feel awkward, oh-so-challenged, and likely embarrassed. My first class left me with that blissful kind of exhaustion you don’t find very often. The intention of buti, and one that it does so well, is to get you in touch with all parts of yourself – mind, body, and soul – in order to find healing through the movement in exactly the ways you need. I can attest that buti is one of those practices that performs its healing magic on you whether you realize it or not.

Buti yoga is a unique practice, and has a few main tenants that you won’t see in most other yoga classes. You’ll tuck your pelvis up and in to activate deep core muscles, you’ll use the spiral structure technique to move energy up from your root to your crown, and a static shake will help you release between cardio bursts. All of this is done in a group of fellow butisattvas (practitioners of buti) moving to some heart-pumping music and led by the instructor. Being in a buti class is so unlike any other yoga class I’ve taken. It’s so dynamic and it feels incredible when everybody gets in sync – the class looks like a giant dance troupe.

Connection is a huge element of buti – both between butisattvas and within oneself. The practice is all about uniting mind and body, but you won’t hear buti instructors talk about the mind-body connection in class. I think buti speaks for itself here. I have yet to meet a physical practice that holds this intention with the same energizing, empowering and joyful energy that buti does. Let me try to sum it up: When you move a certain part of your body and have to learn how to move that area in a new way, you are simultaneously strengthening the neural connections between your brain and that part of your body while also giving it attention and therefore a space in which to heal. Now, throw in movements designed to release trauma, the presence of community, and the power of intention, and you’ve quite a powerhouse practice.

I find it interesting that, most of the time, it’s not until after the practice that I notice the effects of the energy shifts facilitated by buti. Sometimes I’ll leave feeling energized and with a clear mind, ready to take on whatever comes next. Other times, I’ll be going about life days later and will notice that my reaction to something was different than normal. On occasion, I’ll even have realizations or new intuitions during savasana at the end of class. These experiences are actually quite widespread within the buti community – It doesn’t take much to find stories of the power of buti to change lives.

I love the ability of buti to help a human with the energetic work and to act as a catalyst in their process. Perhaps my favorite thing about buti is that the practice makes doing this kind of energetic work feel like playtime. To move and groove in a class with other like-minded, accepting folks in ways that most of us never do in everyday life is just so plain fun. I think many of us, myself included, hold a belief that doing “the work” – meaning the deep, spiritual, trauma-releasing, self-responsible work we all need to do to fulfill our full potential – must be hard and uncomfortable in order to be real. Buti challenges this. It says, “Come to class, move your body, have some fun, and let the practice do the work.” 

Buti is clearly a special practice, and one dear to me. I’ve gone through phases in my practice of it and I found my conversation with Danea particularly fun because I got to put words to all kinds of connections surrounding Buti that I hadn’t ever verbalized before. I’ve always been aware of its energetic power, but never took the time to begin to understand it. If you want to hear these musings with your ears and all the other goods in this conversation, check out this episode of Psychiatria linked below! You can find us on Instagram (@PsychiatriaPodcast) and on your podcatcher of choice. Give us a follow and let me know what you think in the comments and reviews. Stay curious, dear friends.

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