Documentary from KYM 2004
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Very much from the KYM perspective of course but nice footage, some I hadn't seen before
Very much from the KYM perspective of course but nice footage, some I hadn't seen before
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Some new(ish) footage of Krishnamacharya
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Festival Report: Back from the Yoga Rainbow Festival,
Back from a week in Cirali, Turkey and the Yoga Rainbow Festival, where I was invited to teach three classes. I Wasn't sure what to expect before I went but what a great experience, so glad I said yes.
The location was beautiful, seems it's a national park, two hours out of Antalya along the coast of the Turkish Riviera. I loved the shape of the mountains here, wonderful to swim towards them each morning after practice in my room. I should probably have gone to one of the Russian 7am classes but, Ashtangi's what can you say, so protective of our morning practice, let me get that out of the way then think about sitting in on a class
Dropbacks in my cabin
Wonderful locations, I was praying to get the opportunity to teach on the platform below.
Those are mostly lemon trees so not that high but still a wonderful view.
Turned out my first class was here, a Vinyasa Krama class, love this picture, I'm there at the front in the white vest and blue tengui (Japanese bandana)
The picture above was 10 minutes before class, it continued to fill up until there was only tiptoe space between the mats, challenging, like Manju I still think Yoga asana classes should be capped at around 25 but hey, it's a festival.
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| can't believe I was ever this stern looking. |
Next up was the talk on Krishnamacharya, I was a bit worried about this, could I really talk for two hours about Krishnamacharya..... no problem, could have/would have gladly talked about him for another four if they had let me, think we only got up to the 1950s
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| Blessed with a wonderful translator Maria Vorobyeva, who would be teaching her own Yin classes later in the week. |
My last class was on Krishnamacharya's Original Ashtanga Primary group/series. I think this was the class I most enjoyed presenting. The Vinyasa Krama class was just a little big and I haven't had enough experience teaching large classes and on reflection I think I would have approached it differently, Simon suggested I organise a small stage next time so those at the back can see more easily.
The Krishnamacharya class was fun though, I did a mini jump back/through workshop in the middle of it but could have got several of the attendees to teach it for me, some beautiful floaty practices. Pictures are still filtering in, hoping for some of this class to be posted.
I was asked over breakfast what 'style' of yoga I teach. I said I offer Ashtanga, Krishnamacharya's early Ashtanga as found in his first two books as well as the Vinyasa Krama he taught Ramaswami.
They then asked who else taught Krishnamacharya's early Ashtanga, who my teacher was. That stumped me, in the end I jokingly said just me but actually, seriously, who does teach/share/present/offer Krishnamacharya's early Ashtanga as found in Yoga Makaranda and Yogasanagalu. I think you need Krishnamacharya's 2nd book Yogasanagalu to help give you the approach to presenting his first, more famous book, Yoga Makaranda and it was Satya Murthy and I who first translated and presented his Yogasanagalu in English (Satya doing all the hard work of actually translating it).
There are so many similarities of course between Pattabhi Jois presentation of Ashtanga vinyasa and what we find in Krishnamacharya's early books and yet some important differences. On the surface the first two series seem almost exactly the same and yet in Pattabhi Jois the Sequences are generally fixed while in Krishnamacharya they seem to be intended as more flexible groups of postures. Krishnamacharya seems to advocate some longer stays and stresses longer, slower breathing. There is also the question of Kumbhaka, completely absent from Patabhi Jois' Ashtanga Vinyasa yet prevalent in Krishnamacharya's early Ashtanga also the application of internal drishti that I'm only just beginning to explore. If nobody practices and shares the approach to asana that Krishnamacharya presented in his books it will be lost... again, a curiosity in the history of Ashtanga Vinyasa.
That question over breakfast convinced me that I should keep practicing this approach, keep sharing it where possible, as an option, in the hope that enough practitioners explore it in their own practice and pass it along in turn. It's a nice practice and really, what does it matter what we practice between our opening chant, our pranayama and pratyahara, it may as well be early as later ashtanga.
And as we are seeing there may well be health benefits to the use of Kumbhaka in asana. I paused for a while to ask myself, "If kumbhaka is so beneficial why don't we just stick to practicing it in our pranayama, why bring it into asana?" I have a theory though that the asana helps move the blood around the body, it might even be possible to direct the blood flow to particular areas of the body. There are studies that suggest kumbhaka increases the Co2 in the blood and that this can have a 'healing effect'. If we practice kumbhaka, increase the CO2 then use particular asana to direct that super blood where it is needed then we may well be on to something interesting.
It's a theory to be explored.
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| Krishnamacharya's Original Ashtanga in the Limon Studio. |
So, great fun to teach here but more than that it was just such a pleasure to be at the festival to see how seriously the attendees took their yoga, most were doing seven and a half hours of yoga a day.
For most of the festival the weather was gorgeous but the last two, three days it rained.... a lot and yet what struck me was nobody seemed to mind. Here they were in Turkey, on holiday and it rained three days and yet...... I don't think they thought of themselves as being on holiday, they were here to practice, sun, rain, it didn't seem to matter they all just turned up with their mats from their different hotels and pensions and campsites and went to class.
I wish I had taken more classes myself, I could have gone to some of the Russian classes, some would have been more suitable than others in that the language barrier would perhaps matter less, as it was I only managed to go to Dr Madhavan's classes but these were wonderful.
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| Madhavan Munusamy |
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| Satya's demonstration before Dr. Madhavan;s first session |
I want to do another post devoted to Dr Madhavan's classes they made a great impression on me, I loved his direct questions
" I see many of you are wearing Om shirts....What is Om, what is the meaning of OM"
What is Prana?
What is Yoga?
What is the purpose of these Yoga practices?
..... and so on.
But what made the most profound impression on me was the soft smile on his lips as he practiced his pranayama, this is how I want to practice my own pranayama.
And his stress on yama/niyama, I asked hi afterwards if it made sense to think of yama/niyama as Pratyahara, of course he said and explained why....but as I say this needs another post.
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| Pierre Tortois |
Such a great pleasure also to meet Simon Borg-Oliver whom I now consider a dear friend
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| Simon Borg-Oliver |
We decided to try and capture some of this in an interview, time was a problem, we only managed to grab an hour to actually do it but hopefully its come out OK, some editing to do but hopefully I'll be able to post that the beginning of next week.
Pictures below were while preparing for the interview.
So much more to share, another post to come perhaps with more pictures of other teachers and classes, pictures are still filtering out, perhaps a scrapbook post.
I'll end with this picture that I love. This was taken just as Dr Madhavana and Satya were about to leave, people kept coming up and jumping in and out of photo's, Simon , was called in, I was called in, more camera phones appeared, it got silly, lots of laughter, I remembered at the last minute that I had my Ipad with me.
This post has mostly been about the English program which seems to be growing, last year for instance Mark and Joanne Darby were here, I managed to get my hands on a DVD of their workshop.
It's a festival to look out for, mark in your diary and consider for next year. There are some issues about the English teachers often teaching at the same time, a problem if you wanted to catch all of Simon's classes or Dr. Madhavan's say, there are arguments for organising it that way but we could spread it just a little more perhaps, one more English speaking teacher next year would probably do it, also some more indication on which of the classes in Russian should be OK for non Russian speakers to attend, some classes for instance will have more talking than other, more explanation. There were wonderful Russian teachers here it was a shame I didn't take more advantage of that and sit in. Many of the Russian attendees spoke wonderful English, others enough to get by or would bring somebody over to help ask a question or just to chat it was such a great pleasure to be there with everyone.
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| Dearbhla Kelly |
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| Lori Shepard and Brian Yuen |
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| Konstantin Amrit |
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| Leyla Gadzhinskaya |
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| Ilya Zhuravlev |
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Mikhail Baranov.
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I'll close with Savasana of course and my friend Oleg's selfie, now you know what your teacher is up to while your 'taking rest'.
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| Oleg Flow |
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Science of Pranayama " Do not hesitate........".
Some selections from....
Table of Contents
The Science of Pranayama
What is Pranayama
Pranayama (According to the Gita)
Pranayama (According To Sri Sankaracharya) Pranayama (According to Yogi Bhusunda) Control of Breath
Varieties of Pranayama
Three Types of Pranayama
The Vedantic Kumbhaka
Pranayama for Nadi-Suddhi
Mantra During Pranayama
Exercise No. 1
Exercise No. 2
Exercise No. 3
Exercise No. 4
Deep Breathing Exercise
Kapalabhati
The External Kumbhaka (Bahya)
Easy Comfortable Pranayama (Sukha Purvaka) Pranayama for Awakening Kundalini Pranayama During Meditation
Pranayama While Walking
Pranayama in Savasana
Rhythmical Breathing
Surya Bheda
Ujjayi
Sitkari
Sitali
Bhastrika
Bhramari
Murchha
Plavini
Kevala Kumbhaka
Pranic Healing
Distant Healing
Relaxation
Relaxation of Mind
Importance and Benefits of Pranayama Special Instructions
Easy Comfortable Pranayama (Sukha Purvaka)
Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana in your meditation room, before the picture of your Ishta Devata (guiding deity). Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Draw in the air very, very slowly through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril also with little and ring fingers of the right hand. Retain the air as long as you can comfortably do. Then exhale very, very slowly through the nostril after removing the thumb. Now half the process is over. Then draw air through the right nostril. Retain the air as before and exhale it very, very slowly through the left nostril. All these six processes constitute one Pranayama. Do 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening. Gradually increase the number. Have a Bhava (mental attitude) that all the Daivi Sampat (divine qualities), e.g., mercy, love, forgiveness, Santi, joy, etc., are entering into your system along with the inspired air and all Asuri Sampat (devilish qualities) such as lust, anger, greed, etc., are being thrown out along with the expired air. Repeat OM or Gayatri mentally during Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka. Hard-working Sadhakas can do 320 Kumbhakas daily in four sittings at the rate of 80 in each sitting.
Pranayama During Meditation
Pranayama While Walking
Kapalabhati can also be done during walking. Those who are very busy can practise the above Pranayama during their morning and evening walks. It is like killing two birds with one stone. You will find it very pleasant to practise Pranayama while walking in an open place, when delightful gentle breeze is blowing. You will be invigorated and innervated quickly to a considerable degree. Practise, feel and realise the marked, beneficial influence of this kind of Pranayama. Those who walk briskly, repeating OM mentally or verbally do practise natural Pranayama without any effort.
from Questions and Answers
Q. Is it dangerous to practise Pranayama without the assistance of a Guru (Teacher)?
A. People are unnecessarily alarmed. You can practise ordinary Pranayama exercises without the help of a Guru. A Guru is necessary if you want to practise Kumbhaka or retention of breath for long time and unite Apana with Prana. The books written by realised Yogins can guide you if you are not able to get a Guru. But it is better to have a Guru by your side or you can get the lessons from him and practise them at home. You can keep regular correspondence with him. You can retain the breath from 1/2 to 1 or 2 minutes without any difficulty or danger. If you cannot get a realised Yogi, you can approach senior students of Yoga. They also can help you.
from Special Instructions
26. You must find out for yourself according to your health and constitution what sort of dietetic regulation will suit and what particular Pranayama will exactly help you. Then only you can safely proceed with your Sadhana. First read all the instructions of the various exercises given in this book from the beginning to the end. Clearly understand the technique. If you have any doubts, just ask any Yogic student to demonstrate and then practise it. This is the safest method. You should not select any one of the exercise at random and begin to practise it in a wrong way.
49. Once again I will tell you that Asana, Pranayama, Japa, Dhyana, Brahmacharya, Satsanga, solitude, Mouna, Nishkama Karma are all absolutely necessary for spiritual attainments. One can hardly obtain perfection in Raja Yoga without Hatha Yoga. At the end of Kumbhaka you should withdraw the mind from all the objects. By gradual practice you will be established in Raja Yoga.
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You don't need a......
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Sri K. Pattabhi Jois memorial practice Kristina Ireland at Gingi Lee's The Shala
Tomorrow's Mysore practice is dedicated to the memory of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, it seems there are a lot of these dedicated mysore practices going on around the world tomorrow commemorating his passing May 18, 2009.
Looks like there might still be mat space at The Shala if you would like to come along but get in touch quickly info@theshala.co.uk
I asked Kristina three questions last week related to tomorrow's memorial practice, here they are with her response, thank you as ever to Niko for his help ( i also asked her for her favourite picture of Guruji, she just sent me these two.
1. What do you remember as being your first impression of meeting Guruji, of that first trip to Mysore and perhaps how he was with you in the beginning, your first impressions.
2. How did your impression of Guruji and perhaps of his teaching, your relationship with him change over subsequent visits, as you grew to know him a little better and he you.
3. With the passing of time, what has stayed with you most strongly and as you dedicate next Sunday’s practice to his memory what is it about him that you most wish to remember
It was back in 1995 and after having completed more than five years of practicing that I decided to visit Mysore for the very first time. The main reason was, that it was considered a great honor for any Ashtangi to find himself practicing under the guidance of the Guru in his Shala and become directly connected with his teachings while practicing in the birthplace of the method. Back then the modern authorization system of a teacher did not exist, making thus any visit to Mysore a pure case of connecting to the lineage and practicing with the most important figure of Ashtanga. That's why it was very important to prepare yourself with a direct student of the Guru before actually visiting him.
I arrived on a Saturday together with my son Dennis Ireland, who at the time was 10 months old, and with a friend who actually offered to help me around with the kid at least for the first few days. The day I arrived, the Shala was closed, so I visited Guruji in his house. The moment he opened the front door I saw this impressively strong man dressed in a traditional outfit while chanting. The few words we managed to exchange did not disturb his spiritual practice of chanting. I informed him that I was there with my son, and he asked me to be at the Shala the next morning in a late shift.
The meeting was obviously really short, but his complete understanding of my family status and the needs of motherhood earned my respects and love. His approach as a family man was always the key up until the end. Knowing that I was Derek Ireland's wife and mother of his children he would always show great interest in their well being especially after Derek's untimely departure.
On the first day of my practice what made the biggest impression to me, was the direct relationship of Guruji with his students. I had always thought that being in the Shala of a great teacher would actually make it impossible to approach him and build a relationship with him. However, this was not the case in Mysore. Guruji together with Sharath would assist each and every one of the practitioners in the Shala with the aim of actually getting to know them not just in a physical level but in a more personal and honest way, in order to help them improve so much as practitioners but also as human beings. He had the gift of extracting the best out of you as he was capable of forging a relationship without the limitations of time and space. The simplicity and clarity of his teachings would actually welcome you to his own spiritual environment where everyone could feel at home.
At the same time Guruji was an exceptionally generous figure. Although everybody had told me that, since I could not bind myself in Marichyasana D or Kurmasana after having given birth he would ask me to stop, he actually assisted me himself in those two and urged me to do the whole primary series. Many times he would sit beside me, giving important information on the nature and technique of Asana. He was always keen on sharing knowledge and was so very much tuned with the practice of his students, that despite his heavy workload and tiredness he would always have the awareness to remind the practitioner what he might have missed in his practice.
I will never forget that when I found myself seriously ill during the third week of my visit there, he immediately noticed and started asking about me and my whereabouts. As soon as I was back in the Shala his main concern was how I could regain my strength in order to be completely healthy and fit again. He would always pay attention on the emotional physical and psychological state of his students considering them part of his greater family.
Derek died in September 1998. Funnily enough I found myself without a husband, a job, in a foreign country having to look after my 2 adorable and very young boys. I had to make some very tough decisions in order to keep balance in a chaos.I knew what my priorities were. In the funeral a time when I felt really supported by Derek’s students and friends, a lovely bunch of flowers came. It was from Guruji and his family as well as my dear Mister Joseph who is not with us anymore.
The words of that card were so moving that a few days later I found myself in Mysore with my younger son Liam who was then 18 months old. Both Guruji and Sharath took care of me. It was the place to go as I knew that Guruji would accept me with my pain. It was only a few months after he himself had lost his beloved wife. He was in the class every day, teaching and mourning for his loss, sitting on his stool for a few seconds while Sharath would carry on, crying until he could feel that somebody needed him. He never tried to hide his human nature. Every morning after having received my humble gift of flowers he would place them on the pictures of the dead members of his family that were decorating his shala, his own private world. He would ask me If I was ok, and when tears used to come while I was practicing he knew and he would gently lift my head saying “No, no, no. Don’t cry.” shaking his head to the left and to the right.
In this visit I used to love sitting next to him in afternoon meetings. There were really few students in October thus the questions were few but we used to love being with him, just sitting there, being in his company. These moments were so precious to me. One day I said to him, “You know Derek and Ama will see us suffering from above and they’ll probably have fun with us”, and we liked the idea so much that we immediately burst into laughter.
The family gave me again the message of independence and the strength to move on like a warrior. I returned to the UK, sold my flat so that I could build up again my work as a teacher, alone this time but with the blessings of Guruji and of my beloved till this day Derek.
Sri k. Pattabhi Jois was a very strong man and his students admired him for that. He was a scholar, a great philosopher, teaching in universities for years, nobody could be compared with him on that matter. He was like his teacher Krisnamacharya. Really strong. He had the great respect of all his male and female students, strong practitioners that travelled the world to spread the method and share Guruji’s strength, to help people and make them strong. These teachers are still doing the same thing today.
I remember the period when the new shala was under construction. He was so excited to show me the place. He used to live in Saraswati’s house that was at the time opposite the new building site. By then I had seen the family a couple of times in London. Guruji always wanted to see the boys, so we were lucky to have some extra time with him on the place he was staying. His close students would be invited with their family and spend few hours with him away from the busy shala. This is where I met Saraswati for the first time as she used to escort Guruji to the tours, to cook and look after him. Later and as time passed by we had the pleasure to receive her teaching in the shala.
So back to Mysore in 2002, Guruji insisted on showing the new shala. So we walked to the other side of the road and he gave me a private tour of his new practice room where so many students practice today. Then he started climbing the stairs leading to the next floor, the one with his family house.
I remember that climb because he would walk slowly supporting himself by keeping close to the walls in case he lost his balance. My friend stayed in front of him and I was following him at the back in case he fell back. After big effort he showed me the four corners of the flat. He said there were going to be four small apartments on each corner: one for him, one for Saraswati, one for Sharath and one for Manju . I remember asking him if Manju would return, and of course his answer was “Yes, yes, Manju will come to stay here.” I find it so wonderful that he wanted everyone together. I was so excited that till this day I have the whole Jois family in my mind like one sole power. That was his vision, not division but unity.
It was then that Guruji gave me the most beautiful letter of Authorization. It was a personal letter where he would recognize not just how far I had studied with him but also Derek's contribution referring to him as his beloved student. At the time the blessing from your teacher was the most important tool for us in order to spread this knowledge. When he gave me the letter he said to me “Open it! Open it!” like he was the one that was receiving this gift. Only it was me actually receiving that gift, that blessing which made me what I am today and I am sure that he wanted me to feel protected and secure.
After that we met again in his European tours and every time he wanted to see the boys. In his 2005 workshop in London, I visited him with my good friend and business partner Michael Anastassiades. In our meeting I asked him what I should do to help in this effort of sharing the Ashtanga method. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said quietly: “You Teach!” Then I said “Just that?” He turned to me and with a very strong voice he repeated “YOU TEACH!!!” Since then these words are guiding me. In that tour I invited him to Greece, and he agreed which had made me really happy and excited. However, this workshop never actually happened as he had some health problems so I did not want to push him.
There is always a point and a place that somebody feels he belongs. For Guruji this place was his shala. I can understand this now. In his shala he offered us the most important tools to get an honest job; a job that has great benefit for the people by showing freedom to them. He showed us Ashtanga as it is; the Ashtanga of Patanjali. He wanted his students to be honest, to be knights serving humanity with nobility. He asked from us to care and look after other people and help them get involved by making them teachers of their own selves. Independent and free.
The night he was dying, I experienced a sense of stress and necessity towards this practice and the teaching. As it seems I was not the only one of his students that had this experience. Only when the morning came a lovely feeling of liberation spread through the community. Guruji had left without leaving tears behind. He spread his message about unity, love and sense of duty through the community all the way to the end. On the 18th of March 2009 Guruji left, leaving a better world behind him because of his teachings. He and his family have managed to contribute to the change of the vibration of the planet.
There are no words to express my gratitude to sri K ,Pattabhi Jois. His legacy continues threw his family and his students. Some times when I look back I feel that I have been one of the luckiest people in the world even if I could not notice at the time the impact of the love I had received from the Jois family. I am so honored to be part of this tradition, to have met these teachers, to be an Ashtangi.
Thank you Guruji! Thank you for reminding me how precious this practice is, this life is.
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| Managed to find excellent coffee here thanks to Peter's recommendation |
Nice day actually, I really should get out more and visit a few other London shala's before I leave the UK, my friend Susan at Yoga Place E2, Hamish at AYL, Scott at Stillpoint to name but three.
That said it's hard work, living outside London I had to leave at 7am this morning for a 10:30 start and being a workshop I had to lug a mat and two sets of soggy yoga towels and practice clothes across London and back home, Ok you guys do this all the time, home Ashtangi here.
First practice this morning was Mysore practice and I went for straight Primary. Thankfully I've been practicing with a friend the last couple of days (thank you J. it helped) so getting used to a full on Ashtanga practice again (after a year of exploring Krishnamacharya's original Ashtanga Primary group, slower with kumbhakas so only time for half a series). Despite the prep I was still sweating a couple of Kilo's into my towel, not used to breathing group air perhaps.
Nice practice though with Kristina coming around with a little squish here, refocusing there. I love Kristina's adjustments, they make sense to me and you know she's just done them to a thousand bodies before (actually that's probably not an exaggeration). I'm looking forward to spending July and August at her Shala in Rethymno, Crete and attending Maju's TT again in August.
Good to listen to stories over coffee and lunch before heading back to a talk through the first six postures or so of 2nd series. See, I thought this would be pretty light, just a couple of postures from 2nd but no, all the sury's, full standing and although we only practiced the first six of 2nd Kristina decided it would be a good idea to practice each posture twice (groan).
So two full Ashtanga practices, there was a point in Standing where I feared I hadn't taken enough water after the morning but it was fine of course, the breath carries you through. Kristina gives a nice intro to 2nd series, I highly recommend it, nothing to fear.
And that was that, bit more chat on the train back to London before rushing home for a long hot bath ( which is now run and ready so will cut this short).
Looking forward to tomorrow, thankfully only one full practice, the second session seems to be a talk and Q and A etc.
Sunday morning: Mysore self practice
Sunday afternoon: tips and ways for the practice, based on questions and answers, plus breathing techniques and chanting.
One more thing, Kristina brought me a present. I had admired this presentation of Primary and 2nd series (demonstrated by Apollo) at Kristina's Shala in Rethymno, she seems to have remembered because she brought me a copy. Thank you Kristina and for this and for the adjustments even though I was so sweaty (aren't Ashtanga teachers amazing). Word is she's going to putting a drain in between me and Niko for the summer.
Here's the link to Gingi Lee's The Shala (20 minutes from Victoria and five minutes from the station)
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| Derek assisting Gingi Lee, The practice Place |
Details of the workshop
Ashtanga weekend with Kristina Ireland
May 2014 course dates
Friday 16 May 7-9pm
Saturday 17 May 10.30-12.30am & 2–pm
Sunday 18 May 10.30-12.30am & 2–4pm
Cost:
£140 for 5 sessions
£115 for 4 sessions
£100 for 3 sessions
£70 for 2 sessions
Back by popular demand, the legendary Greek-born Kristina Ireland will be hosting another weekend workshop at the Shala in 2014. Kristina taught alongside her late husband Derek Ireland, who was instrumental in bringing ashtanga to Europe. Trained and authorised by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, she has a world-wide reputation and is one of the few teachers to offer the second and third series. She is an inspiring and dedicated teacher who teaches from the heart.
The course will take the following structure:
Friday evening: talk through of primary series
Saturday morning: Mysore self practice
Saturday afternoon: talk through of part of second series (optional)
Sunday morning: Mysore self practice
Sunday afternoon: tips and ways for the practice, based on questions and answers, plus breathing techniques and chanting.
Students should have a reasonably established yoga practice ie working at Level 3 (or about to move to Level 3) or at Mysore level. The course is not suitable for beginners. Knowledge of second series is not essential and the Saturday afternoon session is optional. Early booking is recommended
For more about Kristina see this post which includes an interview we did together with the help of our friend Niko
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Sri K. Pattabhi Jois memorial practice with Kristina Ireland at Gingi Lee's The Shala
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| Kristina Ireland http://www.yogapractice.gr |
So the second day of Kristina's workshop, Saturday we had Mysore practice in the morning I'd done a full Primary sweated a couple of kilo into my mat, then in the afternoon we looked at the the first six postures of 2nd series, each posture done twice as well as all standing and finishing, so basically two practices.
Today (Sunday) was another Mysore session this one dedicated to the memory of Guruji , Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who had passed away on this day five years before, 18th May 2009.
I noticed in the mirror as I was getting ready that I looked a little shabby thought I'd tidy the beard up then thought what the hell and shaved the whole thing off, kind of a gesture.
Regretted it immediately, M. says I now have a boiled egg face and of course sweaty practice to come, gonna sting.
On the train in I thought perhaps I'd roll out my much neglected 2nd series, with all the work on Krishnamacharya's original primary over the last year, 2nd series had been almost forgotten about. Occasionally I would add the first half of second to my Primary or bring kapo etc into the evening Vinyasa krama practice but most of the time I was exploring such long slow breathing and Kumbhakas that I was happy if I made it to navasana before moving on to finishing. The thought came to me that it might actually have been at Kristina's Shala in Crete with Manju August last year that I last practiced full 2nd.
The morning's practice, as I mentioned, was dedicated to Guruji, Kristina said a couple of words of dedication before the opening mantra, that was nice and I still had in mind the little interview about Kristina's memories of him from the night before (see below).
I've spent a lot of time on this blog trying to bringing out the debt we have to Krishnamacharya that seemed to be almost forgotten ( the odd line or brief mention here and there) but there is no denying that we wouldn't have Ashtanga Vinyasa without Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, he preserved for us the early Krishnamacharya practice we find in Yoga Makaranda, pretty much intact ( however the few differences are interesting). He adapted it slightly perhaps for the college course at the Sanskrit college in the 1940's and this format/approach seemed to work well for the western visitors who came trickling in to Mysore the 70's and then as the river we have now, the practice flows from it's source. It felt an honour to pay my respects yesterday morning as we do each time we practice.
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| Gingi Lee and Kristina under a picture of Kristina's late husband and Gingi's teacher Derek Ireland |
So second series with Kristina.... now I know Kristina is a pussycat, big softhearted, heart on the sleeve Greek but boy she's tough too "BREATHE", she'll bark across the room again and again, and at nobody in particular I might add, but you always think it's at you directly, "TRISTANA, BANDHA, DRISHTI, BREATHE", she'll repeat that too again and again before going back to chanting softly as she works the room. I'm trying to decide if she puts the tristana in any particular order or changes the order throughout, "BREATHE".
Strong firm adjustments, interesting, pressing down here, guiding there each time an AHAH moment.
I've practiced in Crete with several of Kristina's students, many teachers themselves now (they all seem to come back each year to take Manju's workshops), I know how much they love her, are devoted to her but have seen too how she'll make them work, make them want to work, to give a little more not just to her but to their practice.
Come to think of it wasn't Guruji like this, from the stories we hear, the love but also resignation that you will have to work, that he wouldn't let you ease up.... there is no rest in this practice, each time we begin again, if you coast through your prayers they aren't prayers.
And this is serious stuff, ...this is learning" (Kristina again).
There was a point in the second session where I was tempted to ask a smart arse question along the lines of "If you only have two hours to practice is it better to practice two hours of asana or one hour of asana and half an hour of pranayama, half hour of mediation". But then I thought to myself Kristina's answer would probably be "Do three hours, four" (speculating here).
This yoga is a gift, look at us, we've discovered yoga (I'm not talking just asana here), we've looked or begun to look inwards, to devote time to that search to understand our nature, or just to be present, open, are we fully aware how remarkable that is. And this practice is how some of us choose to go about it, our baby steps (paraphrasing my interpretation, impression of something Kristina seemed to stress in the after lunch session).
July and August I'm heading to Crete to practice at Kristina and her student's shala, two months of daily practice, I'm a little terrified. Since the first day I walked up to the shala door and saw her standing there, so familiar as if I'd known her for years, I've tended to think of her as my Ashtanga teacher, her and Manju and her Rethymno shala as my shala, how weird is that, curious how these things work.
But she took away my 2nd series rest postures! There are a couple of asana that I tended to feel were put there to give us a breather, I don't know.... Bharadvajrasana, gomuukhasana, couple of others maybe, now those too now are work.
This summer then in Crete, hopefully, I'll get to ground my 2nd series, I say hopefully, who am I kidding, Kristina wouldn't let me do otherwise, I know she won't let me go near a wall as a karandavasana security blanket, guess this is the surrendering thing huh.
Once 2nd series is back I can start looking at what Krishnamacharya was up to with his kumbhaka in 2nd series.... but that's for Japan.
This may well be my favourite end of workshop photo ever (despite my lack of beard), I felt like a sore thumb standing up there but I love the mix of standing, kneeling seated, turned in, turned out, looking here, looking there, thank you to Ella for taking these wonderful photos.
And to both Gingi and Ella for bringing Kristina here and allowing her to share this practice with us.
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Memorial practice Interview with Kristina Ireland
I posted this when it came in late Saturday night but it kind of belongs in this post more so here it is again and besides who reads blog posts at the weekend.
I asked Kristina three questions last week related to tomorrow's memorial practice, here they are with her response, thank you as ever to Niko for his help ( i also asked her for her favourite picture of Guruji, she just sent me these two.
1. What do you remember as being your first impression of meeting Guruji, of that first trip to Mysore and perhaps how he was with you in the beginning, your first impressions.
2. How did your impression of Guruji and perhaps of his teaching, your relationship with him change over subsequent visits, as you grew to know him a little better and he you.
3. With the passing of time, what has stayed with you most strongly and as you dedicate next Sunday’s practice to his memory what is it about him that you most wish to remember
It was back in 1995 and after having completed more than five years of practicing that I decided to visit Mysore for the very first time. The main reason was, that it was considered a great honor for any Ashtangi to find himself practicing under the guidance of the Guru in his Shala and become directly connected with his teachings while practicing in the birthplace of the method. Back then the modern authorization system of a teacher did not exist, making thus any visit to Mysore a pure case of connecting to the lineage and practicing with the most important figure of Ashtanga. That's why it was very important to prepare yourself with a direct student of the Guru before actually visiting him.
I arrived on a Saturday together with my son Dennis Ireland, who at the time was 10 months old, and with a friend who actually offered to help me around with the kid at least for the first few days. The day I arrived, the Shala was closed, so I visited Guruji in his house. The moment he opened the front door I saw this impressively strong man dressed in a traditional outfit while chanting. The few words we managed to exchange did not disturb his spiritual practice of chanting. I informed him that I was there with my son, and he asked me to be at the Shala the next morning in a late shift.
The meeting was obviously really short, but his complete understanding of my family status and the needs of motherhood earned my respects and love. His approach as a family man was always the key up until the end. Knowing that I was Derek Ireland's wife and mother of his children he would always show great interest in their well being especially after Derek's untimely departure.
On the first day of my practice what made the biggest impression to me, was the direct relationship of Guruji with his students. I had always thought that being in the Shala of a great teacher would actually make it impossible to approach him and build a relationship with him. However, this was not the case in Mysore. Guruji together with Sharath would assist each and every one of the practitioners in the Shala with the aim of actually getting to know them not just in a physical level but in a more personal and honest way, in order to help them improve so much as practitioners but also as human beings. He had the gift of extracting the best out of you as he was capable of forging a relationship without the limitations of time and space. The simplicity and clarity of his teachings would actually welcome you to his own spiritual environment where everyone could feel at home.
At the same time Guruji was an exceptionally generous figure. Although everybody had told me that, since I could not bind myself in Marichyasana D or Kurmasana after having given birth he would ask me to stop, he actually assisted me himself in those two and urged me to do the whole primary series. Many times he would sit beside me, giving important information on the nature and technique of Asana. He was always keen on sharing knowledge and was so very much tuned with the practice of his students, that despite his heavy workload and tiredness he would always have the awareness to remind the practitioner what he might have missed in his practice.
I will never forget that when I found myself seriously ill during the third week of my visit there, he immediately noticed and started asking about me and my whereabouts. As soon as I was back in the Shala his main concern was how I could regain my strength in order to be completely healthy and fit again. He would always pay attention on the emotional physical and psychological state of his students considering them part of his greater family.
Derek died in September 1998. Funnily enough I found myself without a husband, a job, in a foreign country having to look after my 2 adorable and very young boys. I had to make some very tough decisions in order to keep balance in a chaos.I knew what my priorities were. In the funeral a time when I felt really supported by Derek’s students and friends, a lovely bunch of flowers came. It was from Guruji and his family as well as my dear Mister Joseph who is not with us anymore.
The words of that card were so moving that a few days later I found myself in Mysore with my younger son Liam who was then 18 months old. Both Guruji and Sharath took care of me. It was the place to go as I knew that Guruji would accept me with my pain. It was only a few months after he himself had lost his beloved wife. He was in the class every day, teaching and mourning for his loss, sitting on his stool for a few seconds while Sharath would carry on, crying until he could feel that somebody needed him. He never tried to hide his human nature. Every morning after having received my humble gift of flowers he would place them on the pictures of the dead members of his family that were decorating his shala, his own private world. He would ask me If I was ok, and when tears used to come while I was practicing he knew and he would gently lift my head saying “No, no, no. Don’t cry.” shaking his head to the left and to the right.
In this visit I used to love sitting next to him in afternoon meetings. There were really few students in October thus the questions were few but we used to love being with him, just sitting there, being in his company. These moments were so precious to me. One day I said to him, “You know Derek and Ama will see us suffering from above and they’ll probably have fun with us”, and we liked the idea so much that we immediately burst into laughter.
The family gave me again the message of independence and the strength to move on like a warrior. I returned to the UK, sold my flat so that I could build up again my work as a teacher, alone this time but with the blessings of Guruji and of my beloved till this day Derek.
Sri k. Pattabhi Jois was a very strong man and his students admired him for that. He was a scholar, a great philosopher, teaching in universities for years, nobody could be compared with him on that matter. He was like his teacher Krisnamacharya. Really strong. He had the great respect of all his male and female students, strong practitioners that travelled the world to spread the method and share Guruji’s strength, to help people and make them strong. These teachers are still doing the same thing today.
I remember the period when the new shala was under construction. He was so excited to show me the place. He used to live in Saraswati’s house that was at the time opposite the new building site. By then I had seen the family a couple of times in London. Guruji always wanted to see the boys, so we were lucky to have some extra time with him on the place he was staying. His close students would be invited with their family and spend few hours with him away from the busy shala. This is where I met Saraswati for the first time as she used to escort Guruji to the tours, to cook and look after him. Later and as time passed by we had the pleasure to receive her teaching in the shala.
So back to Mysore in 2002, Guruji insisted on showing the new shala. So we walked to the other side of the road and he gave me a private tour of his new practice room where so many students practice today. Then he started climbing the stairs leading to the next floor, the one with his family house.
I remember that climb because he would walk slowly supporting himself by keeping close to the walls in case he lost his balance. My friend stayed in front of him and I was following him at the back in case he fell back. After big effort he showed me the four corners of the flat. He said there were going to be four small apartments on each corner: one for him, one for Saraswati, one for Sharath and one for Manju . I remember asking him if Manju would return, and of course his answer was “Yes, yes, Manju will come to stay here.” I find it so wonderful that he wanted everyone together. I was so excited that till this day I have the whole Jois family in my mind like one sole power. That was his vision, not division but unity.
It was then that Guruji gave me the most beautiful letter of Authorization. It was a personal letter where he would recognize not just how far I had studied with him but also Derek's contribution referring to him as his beloved student. At the time the blessing from your teacher was the most important tool for us in order to spread this knowledge. When he gave me the letter he said to me “Open it! Open it!” like he was the one that was receiving this gift. Only it was me actually receiving that gift, that blessing which made me what I am today and I am sure that he wanted me to feel protected and secure.
After that we met again in his European tours and every time he wanted to see the boys. In his 2005 workshop in London, I visited him with my good friend and business partner Michael Anastassiades. In our meeting I asked him what I should do to help in this effort of sharing the Ashtanga method. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said quietly: “You Teach!” Then I said “Just that?” He turned to me and with a very strong voice he repeated “YOU TEACH!!!” Since then these words are guiding me. In that tour I invited him to Greece, and he agreed which had made me really happy and excited. However, this workshop never actually happened as he had some health problems so I did not want to push him.
There is always a point and a place that somebody feels he belongs. For Guruji this place was his shala. I can understand this now. In his shala he offered us the most important tools to get an honest job; a job that has great benefit for the people by showing freedom to them. He showed us Ashtanga as it is; the Ashtanga of Patanjali. He wanted his students to be honest, to be knights serving humanity with nobility. He asked from us to care and look after other people and help them get involved by making them teachers of their own selves. Independent and free.
The night he was dying, I experienced a sense of stress and necessity towards this practice and the teaching. As it seems I was not the only one of his students that had this experience. Only when the morning came a lovely feeling of liberation spread through the community. Guruji had left without leaving tears behind. He spread his message about unity, love and sense of duty through the community all the way to the end. On the 18th of March 2009 Guruji left, leaving a better world behind him because of his teachings. He and his family have managed to contribute to the change of the vibration of the planet.
There are no words to express my gratitude to sri K ,Pattabhi Jois. His legacy continues threw his family and his students. Some times when I look back I feel that I have been one of the luckiest people in the world even if I could not notice at the time the impact of the love I had received from the Jois family. I am so honored to be part of this tradition, to have met these teachers, to be an Ashtangi.
Thank you Guruji! Thank you for reminding me how precious this practice is, this life is.
Entelechy : An Interview with Certified Ashtanga Teacher Kristina Karitinou
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Here's the link to Gingi Lee's The Shala (20 minutes from Victoria and five minutes from the station)
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| Derek assisting Gingi Lee, The practice Place |
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My One Day Krishnamacharya Original Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama Workshop in UK, 22 June 2014
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| I didn't choose the pictures, not sure I can still do either of those, maybe |
My friend Digby up at Stone Monkey in the beautiful town of Royal Leamington Spa (an hour and a half from London on the train) has invited me up for a one day Sunday workshop 22 June 2014.
How great are one day workshops, I get to squeeze in as much as possible with minimal disruption to our regular practice, it's perfect I'd give this workshop every week if I could.
I've made it a longer day than usual, 10-6 this allows for a half hour Intro to Krishnamacharya talk, a Led practice of Krishnamacharya's Original Ashtanga Primary looking at Vinyasa Count, the longer, slower breathing that we are often used to, kumbhaka (as well as a discussion of possible health benefits), bandhas, a look at jumping through, etc.
I Loved presenting this on the Yoga Rainbow Festival the other week, looking forward to offering it again.
After lunch there will be another short intro then a Vinyasa Krama class employing the key asana Krishnamacharya suggested we practice everyday giving a framework for practice. We'll practice the the Bow and Mediative sequences which allows us to explore back bending ( most of the first part of Ashtanga 2nd series comes into these sequences but with a more gentle approach and build up). Vinyasa Krama is an integrated practice so there will also be some pranayama, pratyahara and 'meditation'.
The last hour ( longer if there are still questions) will be Q and A, on Krishnamacharya and developing and maintaining a home practice.
If anyone is thinking about coming up from London (timetable below), it may be a bit of an ask to get to Leamington Spa, let alone the studio for dead on 10am, that's OK and to be expected, no bad karma accrued by anyone coming late, we'll know how many are coming so will have mat space all ready for you. Also the first half an hour will be talk, an introduction. If your a reader of this blog then it won't be anything that new. The led practice will start with Krishnamacharya's approach to the postures of the surynamaskara ( Krsihnamacharya practiced them as individual asana), again familiar and the important points will come up again and again through the practice so not a disaster if you end up missing the first hour or so and it's a long day anyway. If you have to leave early to catch your train back, again not a problem as the last hour will be Q and A, roll up your mat and leave quietly whenever you need to I won't take it personally. Plus I'll be doing a follow of post here and the blog and you'll be free to ask me any questions about the day either here on the blog or via email.
Here are some details about stone monkey
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| http://www.stonemonkey-yoga.co.uk |
digby@stonemonkey-yoga.co.uk about reserving a place, hope to see you there
Stonemonkey Yoga from Mark Ellis on Vimeo.
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By the way, my teacher Srivatsa Ramaswami is coming to London this month and if your interested in Krishnamacharya and Vinyasa Krama you really should try and make his weekend workshops if there is still space. Also, he's giving a week long course on Samkhya down in Wells in Somerset.
And he will be giving a talk at Jivamukti Yoga London on his thirty years with Krishnamacharya, I'm looking forward to it.
detail sof Tamaswami's visit
Ramaswami UK Visit 2014 24th May – 8th June, 2014
and the talk at Jivamukti Yoga London
My Overview of Krishnamacharya`s Yoga with Srivatsa Ramaswami
Saturday, May 31st 6:30pm – 8:30pm
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Trains from London to Leamington Spa
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Ashtanga like Clockwork, a thank you letter
Just recently I've had the opportunity to practice my Ashtanga with a friend in the mornings, I've been struck by their practice, I aspire to their practice.
My own Ashtanga has been disrupted this last year with experiments in longer, slower breathing, Krishnamacharya's use of Kumbhaka as well as the disruption that surrounds workshops as you prepare ,leading up to them, and come back afterwards a little drained.
The impression my friends practice made on me was one of clockwork, there is a regularity, each breath, each inhalation and exhalation appearing the same throughout the practice, from Sury to savasana.... I could set my watch by it.
But more than that, their practice gives me the impression of of the workings of a clock, a wristwatch perhaps where each part seems to work in relation to another, the different groups of asana the different parts that make up the working of the watch, the movement the vinyasa. My friend is a dawn horologists, measuring time with the breath and the movement of the practice.
All those who criticise Ashtanga as being took fast, too energetic, to athletic, gymnastic should observe my friends practice, it's unhurried, focused, steady, it's an essay in meditative practice.
I aspire to this practice.
My friend of course, being an Ashtangi, would probably not recognise this description, and no doubt be more than a little embarrassed. Ever critical of their own practice, Ashtangi's when not aspiring to the next asana, a floaty jump through perhaps, are constantly tweaking here, tweaking there.... at what point do we accept our practice for what it is with gratitude, I've taken to include a small prayer of thanks for the morning's practice, however it turned out, along with my closing chant.
I thought I'd begun to, accept my practice for what it is. I no longer concern myself with new or fancy postures but here I am aspiring to more balance, more steadiness.
Practicing on the next mat I find I'm aware of the unevenness of my own practice, discord, double action, a sliding between the cogs, a lack of steadiness, of regularity, an unevenness of the breath. There are times however when our practices come into sync and I'm reminded of how powerful a practice this is, to practice with such balance, evenness, for ninety minutes, two hours, now there is a thing.
This time then is a re grounding of my practice, a steadying, evening out, a balancing.
And it makes me think, my breath tends to be a little longer, a little slower than my friends but is it perhaps a little too long. Fine in certain postures but in others it will naturally need to shorten, the binds for example of the marichiyasana's and kurmasana, is there perhaps a breath, a rate of breathing that I can maintain throughout, from sury to savasana, what is the longest, the slowest my breath can be that I can maintain comfortably throughout my practice.
And once my practice has been rebalanced, what of kumbhaka, when I then reintroduce my kumbhaka into my morning practice is there an ideal length of kumbhaka that will balance with the inhalation and exhalation, Krishnamacharya talks of the length of Kumbhaka in Yoga Makaranda II, he explored this to some degree.
At the end of June I move to Crete for a couple of months to practice at Kristina's shala in Rethymno, hopefully to work on Intermediate, to reground that practice in preparation for introducing Krishnamacharya's use of Kumbhaka into my 2nd series. I began to explore it a short while back but I had allowed my Intermediate series to become ragged, it needed tidying before I introduced Kumbhaka in any disciplined way.
Now though I'm starting to think of balance in 2nd, not merely tidying the practice but balancing each of the elements, the breath, each movement, asana, vinyasa....
It would be nice to have a 2nd series that would be like clockwork, steady and even and balanced.
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| Thank You |
*Of course there are problems with a practice like clockwork metaphor, it suggests that each part is necessary and what of half a practice (half a watch?). There are of course many designs for a watch/clock and is our watchmaker somewhat blind perhaps.
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More pictures from My Vinyasa Krama Class (tree house) Yoga Rainbow festival
Not really a tree house but I like to think of it that way and those are orange and lemon trees.
See my Yoga Rainbow festival post
and in Russian at WILD YOGI magazine
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| Utkatasana - Cirali, Turkey at Yoga Rainbow Festival http://rainbow.yogafest.info/turkey/ |
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| before class |
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| from tadasana sequence |
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| from 'On your feet' sequence |
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| Utkatasana - Ramaswami would have us do this posture for three minutes and count the number breaths then repeat later for the same amount of time but aim for half the number of breaths #proficiencyinasana |
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| from Triangle sequence |
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| from seated sequence |
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| from Bow sequence |
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| from Bow sequence |
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| from Bow sequence |
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| from the meditative sequence (called thus because it's built on and around Vajrasana, includes kapotasana) |
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| Vinyasa krama is an Integrated yoga practice, finishes with pranayama, pratyahara, meditation |
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| Srivatsa Ramaswami - Complete book of Vinyasa Yoga |
See also my Krishnamacharya resource page
Next weekend Ramaswami will be discussing Krishnamacharya, his teacher for over thirty years, at the Jivamukti centre, London, see you there perhaps
Saturday, May 31st 6:30pm-8:30pm
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The next few months I'll be travelling back and forth quite a bit before settling in Japan for good most likely at the end of the year.
My schedule is looking something like this
July - Aug - Crete (Manju), UK,
September - Japan,
November - UK, Russia, UK,
December onwards - Japan.
I will be available to present this workshop or something like it in the short visits back to the UK/Europe (and possibly while in Crete), perhaps a weekend or Sunday workshop, please do get in touch if this is something you would like to discuss grimmly2007@googlemail.com
While In Japan I'll pretty much be doing nothing but exploring my practice and working on my Japanese for months at a time and waiting for my work Visa. Again, please get in touch if you'd like to discuss a workshop in that part of the world.
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Falling ( safely ?) out of Pinca Mayurasana and Karandavasana : Moving away from the wall
Feels a bit like a post from my when I first started blogging, old school, feel quite nostalgic.
Kristina mentioned that I was 'fearless' on fb the this morning, that put me to shame a little because there is one thing (at least) in Ashtanga that scares the bejesus out of me, Pincha mayurasana, let along karandavasana, away from the wall.
This never used to be an issue, as a Home Ashtangi I would happily do my Pinca Mayurasan and Karandavasana in front of the wall at the end of my mat. If I was facing the other way in my practice I would tend to turn around and go to the back of my mat for those two asana, no problem.
I learned to do Karandavasana what, five years ago with my Richard Freeman Two week Karandavasana challenge (actually I think I took the duck back up for the first time the week following that challenge). Five years and I still like to have a wall there even though I rarely need it.
Last year at Kristina's shala in Rethymno on Manju's TT I found myself practicing my 2nd series in front of Kristina's beautiful alter, I was terrified of flipping over landing on the alter and sending everything flying. When she came to spot me I felt uncomfortable and couldn't go up, karandavasana too felt all wrong with somebody standing there. Later that week I tried to sneak over to a wall during practice, Kristina called me back..... top of the mat or not at all grrrrrrr.
Next month I'm going back to Crete to practice at Kristina's shala for two months as well as attend Manju's TT again, that Pinca without a wall is haunting my dreams.
"Why you fearing?" Pattabhi Jois would supposedly ask. Well Guruji it's not so much the falling, I was fine about tic tocks (eventually) it's the way the arms are set up, it seems all wrong, I'm not convinced I can drop out of it, land on my feet without ripping my arms out of my socket and I never liked the twisting out of a fall method.
Perhaps Youtube can help, it owes me one. I found these
OK, so it seems you don't rip your arms out of your sockets after all.
The evening after watching these I went up to the shala with great determination and intention, did my evening Vinyasa Krama practice and set up for pinca mayurasana, did one at the wall as well as my first karandavasana in pretty much a year (been exploring the ultra slow, kumbhaka infused original Krishana primary all year), went to the end of the mat, set up again....... and decided not today. Again, it felt all wrong, "Why fearing?"
Gee'd up by Kristina's 'fearless comment this afternoon I decided to 'overcome the asana' (subtitle of my blog, overcoming the difficulties we have with asana as well as out fixation on asana). But still with great reluctance.
I was a little worried about the shoulders and back so did a short shoulder and backbend focused Vinyasa Krama practice, did a couple of pinca's at the wall then set up at the top of the mat... paused went back the the wall and walked down it into a forearm version of urdhava danhurasana (wheel), just to double check, still felt all wrong, couldn't visualise it, what the hell.....
The idea here then was to try and 'fall' safely such that I would no longer worry about falling and feel more confident about Pinca Mayurasana and Karandavasana away from the wall.
And so here it is my first attempt at intentionally falling out of pinca mayurasana, followed by my first ever Pinca Mayurasana and Karandavasana away from the wall. To be honest the Karandavasana barely counts, I'm still not comfortable enough away from the wall to lower it nice and tightly which pretty much cancels any thoughts of getting it all the way back up, but hey, first one, I'll take it.
It felt fine for me but then I have pretty good backbends and flexible shoulders, you'll have to make your own decision based on your own practice on whether you want to try this yourself at home.
So a little more fearless this evening perhaps..... however coming back up from Karandavasana still in lotus and flipping over..... now that scares the bejesus out of me.....
"Why you fearing?"
Here's my friend laruga showing how karandavasana can be done, look how far she takes her hips back as she goes back up, terrifying.
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And here's David with the argument for the wall that is there but we pretend that it isn't
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Interview with Simon Borg-Olivier: Breath, Kumbhaka, Bandhas in Ashtanga and vinyasa Yoga. Yoga Rainbow Festival 2014
Simon Borg-Olivier MSc BAppSc (Physiotherapy) is a Co-Director of Yoga Synergy, one of Australia’s oldest and most respected yoga schools. The Yoga Synergy style is based on a deep understanding of yoga anatomy, yoga physiology and traditional Hatha Yoga. Simon has been teaching since 1982. He is a registered physiotherapist, a research scientist and a university lecturer. Simon has been regularly invited to teach at special workshops and conferences interstate and overseas since 1990.
While on The Yoga Rainbow Festival earlier this month I got to meet and hang out with Simon Borg-Oliver and discuss over breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as while walking up and down mountains, among other things, the breath, kumbhaka in particular as well as it's possible health benefits, bandhas and how to employ them to effectively push blood around the body, keep down the heart rate during practice and make you fancy a salad rather than a steak after practice.
The Interview is below
My friend Mick, you may remember his guest post recently,(CASE STUDY: "The Benefits of employing Kumbhaka (retaining the breath in or out) during Asana." Guest post by Mick lawton) insisted I asked Simon lots of questions about the health benefits of kumbhaka and seeing as I couldn't exactly take notes over breakfast we decided to make a short interview and try and cover some of the topics we had been discussing while breaking bread or in Simon's case consuming huge bowls of salad.
Over the last couple of days I've tried to use Youtube's sub-title/caption tools but have lost the work three times. I can't bare to hold of on publishing this any longer so here it is, I'm going to be uploading an extra copy of the video tonight and will work on subtitles and a full transcription over the following week.
The interview revolves around the question of Kumbhaka and it's possible health benefits. I begin the interview by reminding Simon about my Ashtanga friend Mick Lawton and the the hereditary illness he suffers from and how his healing seems to be improved when he employs kumbhaka in asana and pranayama.
"I have a rare genetic auto inflammatory disease. As a result I am in the fortunate position that I get extensive blood and medical checks performed on an almost weekly basis. Without going into huge medical details, the tests include full blood test, inflammatory markers, kidney and liver fiction, blood pressure, blood sugars............, the list is endless". Ideal for a case study.
As someone who has a genetic disease there are times when I can flow through Primary and Intermediate without ever questioning the sequence. However, during times of active disease I have to modify and question the sequences, often changing things to best serve the therapeutic repair of my body."
During the periods when I employed Kumbhaka during asana practice I generally enjoyed an improved state of health. This was reflected in my blood tests that showed lower CRP, lower SAA and lower cytokine markers for inflammation.
Generally speaking, all my markers for inflammation were lower during the periods I employed Kumbhaka during my asana practice.
This effect was further enhanced if I employed pranayama within 10 mins of Asana practice.
The period when my inflammatory markers were at their lowest was when I employed Kumbhaka during asana and then immediately followed the asana practice with 20 mins of pranayama.
I also advocate a slow, deep inhalation and exhalation.
I wanted to ask Simon if this apparent healing effect made any sense to him from his Molecular Biology, Physiotherapy and Yoga background and if so why.
We talked about the breath and how CO2 could be increased through different methods in the body, allowing greater release of oxygen to the cells due to the Bohr effect (which Simon explains with a Big toe example). Krishnamacharya's use of kumbhaka in asana and how this might be a useful method of directing blood to particular areas of the body as well as the use of bandhas was also discussed. We talked about how the PH levels in the body could be effected through particular approach to the employment of bandhas and how this could effect whether you fancied a steak after practice or a salad. One of my concerns as a kidney stone sufferer is to sweat less in my Ashtanga practice ( I need liquids to flow through my system, through my kidneys rather than miss them altogether through sweating excessively). Simon relates sweating to heart rate and how this can be controlled during practice, again through the use of bandhas and our approach to breathing. We discussed different approaches to breathing and use of bandhas in Ashtanga vinyasa practice as well as within yoga in general.
Here's the interview (with transcription to come).
NOTE: "I have apologise that on the video at 7:30 - 7:45 i made a mistake in what i said - I actually meant to say "The only way to ensure oxygen gets to the cells is by increasing CO2" and by not by decreasing CO2 as in unintentionally spoke - thank you Mick Lawton for pointing this out
thank You to Eva Kincsei for filming this and getting the video to Anthony". Simon
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from Simon's book Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga |
Preparing for the interview
Simon's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/yogasynergy
Some extra background info from Simon on topics raised in this Interview from his Yogasynergy blog https://blog.yogasynergy.com click on the title to continue reading.
To Breathe or Not to Breathe!
Is it Correct to ‘Pull the Navel towards the Spine’? Answer: Yes and No!
Many people in the world of yoga, Pilates and fitness tell their clients and students to do something like ‘pull the navel to the spine’. If you google this expression you find articles that give a flurry of controversy on whether on not it is a good idea to ’pull the navel to the spine’.
In this video, exercise-based physiotherapist and yoga teacher Simon-Borg Olivier, discusses core stability and different ways to interpret the instruction “pull the navel to the spine”. This can be a confusing instruction and is often misunderstood, depending on the experience and the body of the practitioner.
However, just what exactly does it mean to ’pull the navel to the spine’. It turns out that when people are given this instruction they actually appear to move the navel towards the spine in 3 main ways. Neither of these ways can be said to be wrong or right as such, but they do have different effects....
Exhale for Pleasure, Strength and Freedom
In this short video below I discuss the seven main ways you can exhale and how by understanding and mastering these ways of exhalation you can stimulate the pleasure centres of your brain, improve core strength, save energy, reduce stress, make your spine more mobile and flexible, and massage your internal organs to improve the function of your digestive system, immune system and reproductive system.
The body can derive benefit from making passive minimal exhalations, which are seemingly effortless and help promote a calm restful state; and complete exhalations, which benefit the body by eliminating toxins from the body in the ‘stale’ air. The seven (7) main ways to exhale shown in this video and some of their applications are as follows:
1. Passive Abdominal Exhale
2. Passive Chest Exhale
3. Passive Postural Exhale
4. Active Postural Exhale
5. Forced Oblique Abdominal Exhale
6. Transverse Abdominis (TA) Exhale
7. Active Chest Exhale
See also
Preview of Simon's excellent book Applied Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga
http://anatomy.yogasynergy.com/book
Also information on Simon's Online Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga
See also my earlier post on Simon's book
The nine bandhas (yes Nine) in the APPLIED ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY OF YOGA of Simon Borg-oliver and Bianca Machliss
And this just in a blogtalkradio interview today
Five Things that Block Energy and 10 Ways to Move Them With Simon Borg-Olivier
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Mark and Joanne Darby, Ashtanga in Mysore in the 70s "Eight was crowded"
 |
| Old Shala - http://ashtanganews.com/2006/03/06/mysore-style/ |
Mark and Joanne Darby talks about their first year in Mysore, India. They stayed for a period of 4 years studying with yoga master Shri K Pattabhi Jois at the old and famous Lakshmipuram shala. This interview was recorded in May 2014 where Darby was teaching mysore classes at www.astangastudio.dk.
Mark Darby's DVD
from my old 2009 post Developing a home practice Part 2
I was now thinking about Ashtanga rather than Yoga and wanted a video and a mat. I remember feeling a bit sheepish going to an exercise shop and looking at the yoga section. I bought a box that had a purple mat and some blocks and wanted to say at the counter that it wasn't for me but a present for a friend. But I loved that first mat (still have it). I remember reading Elsie's blog (that I miss, by the way) where she talks about 'old blue', that's how I felt about my purple mat. As soon as I got home I rolled it out and threw down a few Sury A's.
I can't remember how came across the Mark Darby DVD http://www.amazon.com/Ashtanga-Yoga-Primary-Mark-Darby/dp/B0006I036C but I still think I was really lucky to choose it and that it's THE best beginners ashtanga DVD. I lent it to a friend and still haven't got it back. I think it starts with a little Demo of Mark doing his own practice, a mixture of 1st 2nd and Advanced I think, very very cool. Could I ever do that, loved the jump back and the handstand/arm balances even then.
The video has Mark Darby doing the standard Ashtanga Primary but his student Nicole Bordeleau practicing alongside, but doing some simplified variations and explaining them in her French Canadian accent...I'm still madly in love with Nicole Bordeleau. Presenting it this way the practice didn't seem dumbed down for beginners but rather just making allowances for an individuals flexibility. Here was a simplified Jump back or rather step back allowing you to link the poses. I began to get the hang of the Ujjayi breath. I remember it being described somewhere as constricting the throat and trying to sound like Darth Vader. I was skeptical about the Bandhas (no change there then).
If I'd started by going to Shala to learn Ashtanga I guess I would have been given one pose at a time and not allowed to progress past the current pose until it was... acceptable. I didn't hear about any of that until much later, and was, (still am) very surprised by it. I was only constrained by time. The video was an hour and a half, I would just do Standing and finishing on a work day but follow the whole video through on my day off and on Sundays. So within a month I was practicing all of primary, though using variations throughout.
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June2014 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami-Question
I have just completed teaching for nine days in London. The programs were organised by Harmony Yoga UK. There was a two day workshop on Essentials of Vinyasakrama Yoga (12 Hrs), a 25 hour week long Core Vinyasa krama Yoga TT program, a 12 hr program on Developing a Daily Home Yoga Practice during another weekend. Then there was 2 hour talk at Jivamukti Yoga Studio in London
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The London TT Group
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http://groups.google.com/group/vinyasa-krama
The Saskatoon TT Yogis
In May I had also completed a 25 hour Core Vinyasa krama Yoga program in Saskatoon, Canada organised by One Yoga, Saskatoon. I also did a weekend workshop there
During these programs a couple of questions repeatedly came up. Of course I have talked about in other programs, written about it earlier and also dealt with it in my book. One of the questions was about Vinyasakrama methodology. How is it that the program I teach is somewhat different from the teachings of many well known teachers of the Krishnamacharya lineage? In fact this question bad been raised for several years now.
Many pointed out that the vinyasa krama movements are very slow, most people who do yoga are used to brisk movements or vinyasas. Seldom is the organised regulated, synchronised conscious breathing takes any part in modern yoga exercises. It is done with breath completely under autonomic nervous system unlike in vinyasakrama wherein the breathing is completely under voluntary control. This perhaps is the most important element of Sri Kriahnamacharya's teaching of yoga as I learnt from him. Because people are used to rather brisk movements many felt that this is very slow. Further the number of vinyasas I had learnt from my Guru was over 700 in about 150 asanas and grouped into ten major sequences. So when I started teaching in the West more than a decade ago, I found that there were very few people interested in this system even though many people came to my programs out of curiosity and to know how one more of Krishnamacharya's students taught yoga
So after some time, as I was getting older I realized that there may not be anyone interested in this system I learnt from Krishnamacharya. So I decided to write a book detailing all the ten major sequences , 150 asana subroutines and the 700+ vinyasas with instructions about the accompanying breathing. Fortunately a few of my old students and friends from Kalakshetra the famous Bharatanatyam dance school in Madras worked as models.
How is it that the system I teach is different from other schools of the same lineage. I started studying Yoga with Sri Krishnamacahraya when I was about 15 years old . I studied several asanas, vinyasas, pranayama and after several years he stared teaching vedic chanting and the study of the texts like Yoga Sutras and the Upanishads. One day after about 20 years I had been his student, he said that I could teach Yoga if I wished. I had absolutely no such plan, but after a few days, I was asked by Sri Desikachar if I would be interested in teaching at Kalakshetra an institution considered to be of national importance by the Government of India. I met the director, the well known dancer and administrator Smt Rukmini Devi. From then on I taught yoga to the students of Kalakshetra for about 20 years. When I started teaching I was asked to teach yoga for the first two years of the under graduate program. I was very enthusiastic and taught them whatever I had learnt from my Guru. Since they were young, very agile and talented, many of them could do asanas beautifully. You could feel that Yoga is really an art when you see them do asanas slowly gracefully with the breath. In fact I have some videos of them doing yoga way back in the 1980s uploaded on my channel in YouTube.
Coming back to the story,- after I found that I had very little new to teach after about 6 months, I approached my Guru and told him about my predicament. I told him that I had to teach the same students another 1 ½ years and I was stuck. He smiled and asked me if I had taught a few specific vinyasas. I said that I did not, because he had not taught those asanas and vinyasas. Then he taught me a few new asanas and vinyasas, which I practiced at home and taught in Kalakshetra. Then he taught more vinyasas and asked me in what sequence and with which asana I should teach. Slowly I saw a beautiful system emerge. When I finally completed the 2 year teaching I had a wonderful system of Vinyasakrama as taught to me by my Guru Sri Krishnamacharya. He also instructed me in what order I could teach.
This is the story of the Vinyaskrama system I teach. It is a very comprehensive sikshana krama (teaching or learnig method) of yogasanas and vinyasas I learnt from Sri Krishnamacharya
There are questions asked about teaching of Yoga Sutras by my Guru. In India Yoga sutras are considered to be a very abstruse text and is a fertile field for scholars to play around. But Krishnamacharya used to call it an adhyatma vidya or a body of knowledge meant for the welfare every human being. It was not just a scholarly exercise but something very down to earth. His elucidation of the word Yoga as derived from different roots to indicate yoga as union or yoga as peace of mind or chittavritti nirodha as Patanjali points out was a revelation. He also explained that the Yoga sutras are written for three different levels of yogis. The first chapter nirodha yoga was for the born yogi who can get into samadhi effortlessly. He is called a samahita chitta. Then in the second chapter Patanjali talks about kriya yoga for the entry level yogis who are in a state of vikshepa—agitated and distracted. He would point out that Patanjali talks about a more involved yoga a more comprehensive system than Kriya yoga called ashtanga yoga made of eight parts for the lifelong committed yogi. This would make understanding of the YS easier. It was remarkable to know that these nivritti shastras as samkhya yoga and vedanta are developed for individual good. They may be treated not as scholarly exercises but systems for personal development and evolution
Srivatsa Ramaswami
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"Look to the count"
From comments to this post, Problems with the Ashtanga vinyasa count.... it doesn't seem to add up
"Wouldn't you say that the count is now moving to the back ground, and the breath is coming forward?"
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Given my obsession with the breath, if your a regular reader of this blog you might expect me to agree with the above comment but I wonder....
".....the count is now moving to the back ground".
Wasn't it always thus, hands up who knows the count. No, not who can follow the count but those who know it enough to comfortably lead the count.
Now hands up who counts through their practice.
I've come to trust my instincts a little, this year my instinct has yelled at me to look to the count.
Did anyone else focus on the count, really pick up on it before Lino and John Scott. I wonder, The number of vinyasa is there on the 1974 Syllabus that Pattabhi Jois gave Nancy and David. I need to do some research on this, do me a favour ask some of those senior teachers next time you in a workshop and let me know. remember Pattabhi Jois didn't start doing led counted classes until the mid to late 80s although John and kino say he was counting softly to himself all the time.
This weekend John Scott mentioned that Derek Ireland was one of the first, if not the first, to give spoken Led classes, talking students through the series.
this is the other approach to led classes, the teacher is very present here.
With the count there is a stepping back, the teacher retreats and merely offers up the count, it's an offering, a different kind of service.
I keep coming back to the memory of Ramaswami leading us through the pranayama chant, I think it went on for forty minutes or longer, couldn't imagine myself doing it.... and yet I have, recently but only perhaps for ten minutes or so.
John Scott reminded us that Pattabhi Jois counted for sixty years, that's a practice right there.
There is something going on with the count and it's relationship to the breath it indicates.
Perhaps we don't notice it when the breath is quick but when we slow the breath and bring in the count we bring in form and structure, frame, vessel, the count becomes a vessel of the breath. vassal?
What happens if we just breathe without the count, we can lengthen the breath, slow it, but I would argue we still connect it to the movements of the body to the stages of the asana, this too is a count of sorts.
Purakaaaaaaaaa
Ekam
rekakaaaaaaaaaa
dve
///////////////////////
trini
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
catvari..........
The count marks the completion of the inhalation and then of the exhalation it is also an indicator of the mini kumbhaka but that is for another post.
Try this
Inhale and then exhale
Now inhale and at the end of the inhalation say ONE, exhale fully and then at the end say TWO
It's different yes? Good different or bad different or just different.
Trying this now, for me, time seems to stand still during that inhalation between the counts, that's interesting. John does twelve of these twice a day and calls it his main practice.
How many are there in a full Ashtanga practice?
John talks about how over time the count is just there, he doesn't think it, perhaps he doesn't even hear it but is still on one level aware of it.
The count, like the teacher, retreats into the background and yet gives form to the breath, opens up a clearing perhaps.
It allows the breath to appear and then disappear, presence and absence.
I don't know, there's something here I feel I'm circling, I trust my instincts, something is yelling at me....
"Look to the count".
UPDATE
The question of tradition came up and how the count is and has changed a little over the years. I was asked whether Ramaswami counts, if Krishnamacharya counted the vinyasa in his later years
If anything was fixed In this (Krishnamacharya) tradition it may well have been the number of vinyasa and the state(s) of the asana, Krishnamacharya will mention the Vinyasa number in the table In his second book Yogasanagalu (1942) as well as in the instructions in his first book Yoga Makaranda (1934) and Jois seems to stress the same numbers, 22 vinyasa for janu sirsasana say (It's there in the syllabus he gave David and nancy in 1974 but it seems it goes back to when he began teaching in (1939). Who knows where that numbers originally come from. Ramaswami doesn't seem to indicate a count anywhere but he did say that Krishnamacharya would still say an asana had a set number of vinyasas (in it's formal version).
There is freedom I think in how many extra breaths get included and where they go, perhaps even where the the states of the asana are placed in the vinyasa count. They should I think all try to keep the odd/even aspect true but that's tricky on the asymmetric postures.
Is it (the count) traditional, important, necessary? I don't know, but I like the effect if has on the breath.... For me at least.
I've been thinking about it since writing this post last night, I don't quite nail it here do I, don't put my finger on it on, why the count is special, what it is about this relationship with the breath.
It's one of those things we have to try for ourselves and see how we find it. I used to just breathe long and slow but when I do add in the count, ekambefore the first inhalation (rather than during the inhalation), dve at the end of the inhalation and marking the beginning of the following exhalation and so on, there is a completion of the stage of the breath that I find interesting.
I remember chuckling to myself once at seeing an advertisement for an Ashtanga shala it said you needed to try Ashtanga for 10 years. I remember imagining somebody asking for their money back after the completion of their ten years.
Perhaps you have to practice/teach/lead the count for ten, twenty, sixty years to see what effect it truly has, let me know.
UPDATE 2
This just in from Priya's Travel Blog her write up of Sharath's last Mysore conference of the season a little while back
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the count in the led practice? I understand they are numbers…is there more to it?
A: It is not a mantra, it’s just 1, 2, 3… counting. The counting in Sanskrit, that’s all. Ekam, dve, trini is 1, 2, 3. So that you can understand how many vinyasa is there in each asana, that is why we do the counting. Mantra is totally different. Mantra is chanting. In English, you call it chanting.
Sharath's view is always interesting, especially for me the slight shifts in focus season to season but it's still one teachers view (however senior his role) one practitioners view ( all long term practitioners views are perhaps of equal value - I've only got seven years on the mat, I'm thinking more of twenty, thirty to count as long term) it always comes down to whether it is useful to us in our practice, how beneficial it is to take a metaphoric view of the count and/or think of it as a mantra, a mala, how imaginative we choose to be.... does the count get in the way of our practice or deepen it, is it useful to us to focus on it, push it to the background or abandon it altogether.
"Wouldn't you say that the count is now moving to the back ground, and the breath is coming forward?"
Given my obsession with the breath, if your a regular reader of this blog you might expect me to agree with the above comment but I wonder....
".....the count is now moving to the back ground".
Wasn't it always thus, hands up who knows the count. No, not who can follow the count but those who know it enough to comfortably lead the count.
Now hands up who counts through their practice.
I've come to trust my instincts a little, this year my instinct has yelled at me to look to the count.
Did anyone else focus on the count, really pick up on it before Lino and John Scott. I wonder, The number of vinyasa is there on the 1974 Syllabus that Pattabhi Jois gave Nancy and David. I need to do some research on this, do me a favour ask some of those senior teachers next time you in a workshop and let me know. remember Pattabhi Jois didn't start doing led counted classes until the mid to late 80s although John and kino say he was counting softly to himself all the time.
This weekend John Scott mentioned that Derek Ireland was one of the first, if not the first, to give spoken Led classes, talking students through the series.
this is the other approach to led classes, the teacher is very present here.
With the count there is a stepping back, the teacher retreats and merely offers up the count, it's an offering, a different kind of service.
I keep coming back to the memory of Ramaswami leading us through the pranayama chant, I think it went on for forty minutes or longer, couldn't imagine myself doing it.... and yet I have, recently but only perhaps for ten minutes or so.
John Scott reminded us that Pattabhi Jois counted for sixty years, that's a practice right there.
There is something going on with the count and it's relationship to the breath it indicates.
Perhaps we don't notice it when the breath is quick but when we slow the breath and bring in the count we bring in form and structure, frame, vessel, the count becomes a vessel of the breath. vassal?
What happens if we just breathe without the count, we can lengthen the breath, slow it, but I would argue we still connect it to the movements of the body to the stages of the asana, this too is a count of sorts.
Purakaaaaaaaaa
Ekam
rekakaaaaaaaaaa
dve
///////////////////////
trini
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
catvari..........
The count marks the completion of the inhalation and then of the exhalation it is also an indicator of the mini kumbhaka but that is for another post.
Try this
Inhale and then exhale
Now inhale and at the end of the inhalation say ONE, exhale fully and then at the end say TWO
It's different yes? Good different or bad different or just different.
Trying this now, for me, time seems to stand still during that inhalation between the counts, that's interesting. John does twelve of these twice a day and calls it his main practice.
How many are there in a full Ashtanga practice?
John talks about how over time the count is just there, he doesn't think it, perhaps he doesn't even hear it but is still on one level aware of it.
The count, like the teacher, retreats into the background and yet gives form to the breath, opens up a clearing perhaps.
It allows the breath to appear and then disappear, presence and absence.
I don't know, there's something here I feel I'm circling, I trust my instincts, something is yelling at me....
"Look to the count".
UPDATE
The question of tradition came up and how the count is and has changed a little over the years. I was asked whether Ramaswami counts, if Krishnamacharya counted the vinyasa in his later years
If anything was fixed In this (Krishnamacharya) tradition it may well have been the number of vinyasa and the state(s) of the asana, Krishnamacharya will mention the Vinyasa number in the table In his second book Yogasanagalu (1942) as well as in the instructions in his first book Yoga Makaranda (1934) and Jois seems to stress the same numbers, 22 vinyasa for janu sirsasana say (It's there in the syllabus he gave David and nancy in 1974 but it seems it goes back to when he began teaching in (1939). Who knows where that numbers originally come from. Ramaswami doesn't seem to indicate a count anywhere but he did say that Krishnamacharya would still say an asana had a set number of vinyasas (in it's formal version).
There is freedom I think in how many extra breaths get included and where they go, perhaps even where the the states of the asana are placed in the vinyasa count. They should I think all try to keep the odd/even aspect true but that's tricky on the asymmetric postures.
Is it (the count) traditional, important, necessary? I don't know, but I like the effect if has on the breath.... For me at least.
I've been thinking about it since writing this post last night, I don't quite nail it here do I, don't put my finger on it on, why the count is special, what it is about this relationship with the breath.
It's one of those things we have to try for ourselves and see how we find it. I used to just breathe long and slow but when I do add in the count, ekambefore the first inhalation (rather than during the inhalation), dve at the end of the inhalation and marking the beginning of the following exhalation and so on, there is a completion of the stage of the breath that I find interesting.
I remember chuckling to myself once at seeing an advertisement for an Ashtanga shala it said you needed to try Ashtanga for 10 years. I remember imagining somebody asking for their money back after the completion of their ten years.
Perhaps you have to practice/teach/lead the count for ten, twenty, sixty years to see what effect it truly has, let me know.
UPDATE 2
This just in from Priya's Travel Blog her write up of Sharath's last Mysore conference of the season a little while back
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the count in the led practice? I understand they are numbers…is there more to it?
A: It is not a mantra, it’s just 1, 2, 3… counting. The counting in Sanskrit, that’s all. Ekam, dve, trini is 1, 2, 3. So that you can understand how many vinyasa is there in each asana, that is why we do the counting. Mantra is totally different. Mantra is chanting. In English, you call it chanting.
Sharath's view is always interesting, especially for me the slight shifts in focus season to season but it's still one teachers view (however senior his role) one practitioners view ( all long term practitioners views are perhaps of equal value - I've only got seven years on the mat, I'm thinking more of twenty, thirty to count as long term) it always comes down to whether it is useful to us in our practice, how beneficial it is to take a metaphoric view of the count and/or think of it as a mantra, a mala, how imaginative we choose to be.... does the count get in the way of our practice or deepen it, is it useful to us to focus on it, push it to the background or abandon it altogether.
 |
| M's version |
Guruji called vinyasa "Counted Method".
When my good friend Lino Miele was in France and witnessed Guruji counting the whole class through as One, he saw it all come together, and he took this counting on as a research project to document the Vinyasa. Lucy and I became involved with Lino's project and became very much part of Lino's book. From that point onwards I made it my focus to learn Guruji's Vinyasa Count.
In Guruji's own book 'Yoga Mala' referring to the practice as a mala, a garland of postures, he refers to every posture having a 'State' and every state or 'Asana' has a specific number of counted vinyasa to enter and exit all choreographed to the Breath.
"The Vinyasa are all like beads, Choreographed breath/body movements, all to be counted and meditated on and it is the students requirement to learn this Counted method as a mantra for their own personal practice"
John Scott, Winter, 2013 Stillpointyoga London
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Kumbhaka: Vinyasa krama full tadasana speeded up x 4
First ipad post
Back when I first started posting videos on Youtube I was only able to upload ten or fifteen minutes, I had to speed up some of the full vinyasa Krama sequences . This is one such speeded up video that was pretty early, possibly even before I attended Ramaswami TT and was working from his book Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga. I cam across it this morning as I'm sharing some VK with friend and thought I'd see what movements I tend to miss out from my regular practice. I was struck by the use of kumbhaka even back then, you can't notice it so much after the inhalation (although it's there) but it's very apparent after the exhalation from watching my belly, I seem to have been exploring uddiyana kriya after every breath back then. This I should point out is optional.
Have a look at my recent interview with Simon Borg-Oliver on the possible health benefits of kumbhaka
http://grimmly2007.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/interview-with-simon-borg-olivier.html
Vinyasa Krama On your feet / tadasana sequence speeded up x4
Back when I first started posting videos on Youtube I was only able to upload ten or fifteen minutes, I had to speed up some of the full vinyasa Krama sequences . This is one such speeded up video that was pretty early, possibly even before I attended Ramaswami TT and was working from his book Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga. I cam across it this morning as I'm sharing some VK with friend and thought I'd see what movements I tend to miss out from my regular practice. I was struck by the use of kumbhaka even back then, you can't notice it so much after the inhalation (although it's there) but it's very apparent after the exhalation from watching my belly, I seem to have been exploring uddiyana kriya after every breath back then. This I should point out is optional.
Have a look at my recent interview with Simon Borg-Oliver on the possible health benefits of kumbhaka
http://grimmly2007.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/interview-with-simon-borg-olivier.html
Vinyasa Krama On your feet / tadasana sequence speeded up x4
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Meditation: 1994 Interview with K Pattabhi Jois
"What about the other limbs of ashtanga yoga?
Do you teach a method of meditation?
K Pattabhi Jois: Meditation is Dhyana, the seventh step in the Ashtanga system. After one step is perfect, then you take the next step. For dhyana, you must sit with a straight back with your eyes closed and focus on the bridge of the nostrils. If you don't do this, you're not centered. If the eyes open and close, so does the mind.
Do you teach a method of meditation?
K Pattabhi Jois: Meditation is Dhyana, the seventh step in the Ashtanga system. After one step is perfect, then you take the next step. For dhyana, you must sit with a straight back with your eyes closed and focus on the bridge of the nostrils. If you don't do this, you're not centered. If the eyes open and close, so does the mind.
Yoga is 95 percent practical. Only 5 percent is theory. Without practice, it doesn't work; there is no benefit. So you have to practice, following the right method, following the steps one by one. Then it's possible. "
***
Where did you learn yoga?
K Pattabhi Jois: From my guru, Krishnamacharya. I started studying with him in 1927, when I was 12 years old. First he taught me asana and pranayama. Later I studied Sanskrit and advaita philosophy at the Sanskrit College in Mysore and began teaching yoga there in 1937. I became a professor and taught Sanskrit and philosophy at the College for 36 years.
I first taught in America in Encinitas, California, in 1975. Now I'm going all over America. I will teach anyone who wants the perfect yoga method-ashtanga yoga-just as my guru taught me.
Full interviewhttp://www.ashtanga-yoga-victoria.com/k-pattabhi-jois.html
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Is seated meditation necessary in Ashtanga? Stillness in movement, perfection in asana
A provocative post from David Garrigues This morning, What about the other 7 limbs, I think we need to read it a couple of times and reflect on what he actually is and perhaps more importantly not saying.
He seems to be concerned that some feel that we progress from asana to pranayama to meditation, leaving asana behind in the process, I've come across that idea before in some of the comments on my posts here and yet I doubt those same commentators would argue that one would leave behind Yama niyama on progressing to meditation practice.
If I see another post or comment on what Yoga is or isn't, I swear I'll....... Let's leave the ontic questions to one side shall we, just for a little while.
Our practice then becomes more sophisticated, more subtle perhaps... as we become more 'proficient' ( Jois seems to have used 'perfect' but I prefer Krishnamacharya's 'proficient'), the limbs reflecting back on each other like a hall of mirrors.
David does appear to be suggesting that a seated meditation practice is not necessary even going so far as to suggest seated meditation is not part of our Jois Ashtanga lineage but rather we should seek the meditative quality in/of our asana and pranayama practice,
"The source of this idea that there is something else besides the daily practice did not come from within the lineage, because according to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the practice is IT, there is not another set of techniques that join or replace what you already do (other than the eventual addition of pranayama) And thus there ought not to be a need, among the circle of serious ashtanga students and teachers, to defend the central premise of the method that says the best means to Self knowledge is through performing your asana’s daily as your life long sadhana (discipline)."
but I'm not convinced that is his intention in this article, he closes with this
"The asana vs meditation question perfectly illustrates that there is a collective need among us to allow for a wider interpretation of what constitutes practice. The system ought to encourage you to decide for yourself what aspect or technique to emphasize. Exercising freedom and independence becomes increasingly important as you log in the years of practice and gather knowledge and maturity in the system. And thus it is one thing to decide that you want to allot a portion of your practice to a seated meditation practice from a different tradition. But it is another thing to decide that asana or the system is deficit in itself. To find fault or shortcoming in the technique of asana is simply to misunderstand the depth of technique and the creativity that is required to develop your asanas to full maturity".
A while back many were saying a pranayama practice was not necessary as Ashtanga is a breathing practice David however stresses the importance of an ongoing pranayama practice. Surely an ongoing seated meditation practice is as important as deepening our asana practice, our approach to our asana practice whatever series or whatever form our asana practice takes.
I would argue that however profound the meditative quality we find in our asana practice ( and I do find my Ashtanga meditative, my vinyasa Krama profound) surely it is not, nor will it ever be a substitute for seated meditation where 'nothing else is going on' but just sitting and focussing on one point, one object and then on no object, that's the Yoga sutras right there and David Gordon White or not, the Yoga Sutras certainly are a stressed aspect of the Jois Ashtanga lineage.
I'd like to ask Richard Freeman about this he has both a proficient seated meditation practice and asana practice, would he say one is a substitute for the other?
Or perhaps my friend Hyon Gak Sunim who is both a Korean Zen Monk and an Ashtanga practitioner http://vimeo.com/73936096
Mirror of Zen /// A Day in the Moment of a Modern Zen Monk from Christine Schmitthenner on Vimeo.
Below though is David on 'stillness in movement' read this perhaps before this morning article, What about the other 7 limbs to give it some context.
He seems to be concerned that some feel that we progress from asana to pranayama to meditation, leaving asana behind in the process, I've come across that idea before in some of the comments on my posts here and yet I doubt those same commentators would argue that one would leave behind Yama niyama on progressing to meditation practice.
If I see another post or comment on what Yoga is or isn't, I swear I'll....... Let's leave the ontic questions to one side shall we, just for a little while.
Our practice then becomes more sophisticated, more subtle perhaps... as we become more 'proficient' ( Jois seems to have used 'perfect' but I prefer Krishnamacharya's 'proficient'), the limbs reflecting back on each other like a hall of mirrors.
David does appear to be suggesting that a seated meditation practice is not necessary even going so far as to suggest seated meditation is not part of our Jois Ashtanga lineage but rather we should seek the meditative quality in/of our asana and pranayama practice,
"The source of this idea that there is something else besides the daily practice did not come from within the lineage, because according to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the practice is IT, there is not another set of techniques that join or replace what you already do (other than the eventual addition of pranayama) And thus there ought not to be a need, among the circle of serious ashtanga students and teachers, to defend the central premise of the method that says the best means to Self knowledge is through performing your asana’s daily as your life long sadhana (discipline)."
but I'm not convinced that is his intention in this article, he closes with this
"The asana vs meditation question perfectly illustrates that there is a collective need among us to allow for a wider interpretation of what constitutes practice. The system ought to encourage you to decide for yourself what aspect or technique to emphasize. Exercising freedom and independence becomes increasingly important as you log in the years of practice and gather knowledge and maturity in the system. And thus it is one thing to decide that you want to allot a portion of your practice to a seated meditation practice from a different tradition. But it is another thing to decide that asana or the system is deficit in itself. To find fault or shortcoming in the technique of asana is simply to misunderstand the depth of technique and the creativity that is required to develop your asanas to full maturity".
A while back many were saying a pranayama practice was not necessary as Ashtanga is a breathing practice David however stresses the importance of an ongoing pranayama practice. Surely an ongoing seated meditation practice is as important as deepening our asana practice, our approach to our asana practice whatever series or whatever form our asana practice takes.
I would argue that however profound the meditative quality we find in our asana practice ( and I do find my Ashtanga meditative, my vinyasa Krama profound) surely it is not, nor will it ever be a substitute for seated meditation where 'nothing else is going on' but just sitting and focussing on one point, one object and then on no object, that's the Yoga sutras right there and David Gordon White or not, the Yoga Sutras certainly are a stressed aspect of the Jois Ashtanga lineage.
I'd like to ask Richard Freeman about this he has both a proficient seated meditation practice and asana practice, would he say one is a substitute for the other?
Or perhaps my friend Hyon Gak Sunim who is both a Korean Zen Monk and an Ashtanga practitioner http://vimeo.com/73936096
Mirror of Zen /// A Day in the Moment of a Modern Zen Monk from Christine Schmitthenner on Vimeo.
Below though is David on 'stillness in movement' read this perhaps before this morning article, What about the other 7 limbs to give it some context.
Perfect that Single Asana!
The theme or premise is that asana practice is based on a single asana created by breath. That posture could have several names including
The theme or premise is that asana practice is based on a single asana created by breath. That posture could have several names including
Shavasana, Sarvangasana,
Hanumanasana, Samasthiti
Tadasana, Bhairavasana
Mula Bandhasana
Generally speaking in our daily practice we can get sucked in by the lure of our fantasy about the forms of the asanas in sequences. Each asana in the sequence could be thought of as an excursion towards and/or away from that one single asana that is the essence of all asana. In our fantasy of what we will look like and how good it will feel we overextend ourselves in our efforts to achieve what we consider to be the end goal or final pose. Our excursions take us too far away from the center where the skeletal support is, where our breath really does lead the way-- where we make optimal use of our muscles and organs and where our brains are situated properly to minimize reality obscuring ego striving.
For example, to go for a drop back and be unheeding of the position of the skeleton in order to get your hands to the floor is a long term mistake. In the short term there might be a thrill, a sense of accomplishment and a sense of maximizing progress. a feeling like you are working at the edge so you will improve and be an intense student--- (like yoga sutra 1-21 for the intense student--- yoga--nirodah is near). How strict are you going to be? How close to center are you going to stay? How many props (please note: only if necessary and desired and under certain, specific conditions) are you willing to use to remain close to center, close to principles?---We want to explore the foundational principles of the positions and see how those principles will always lead back to that central asana that has so many important names---but actually is unnameable---
--- this is precisely why asana is limb 3 and Samadhi is limb 8--- samadhi is more based around the center, where movement is subtle and stillness reigns---
you have to be sure you are not sacrificing your body to your ego. That you are not going too far in order to compensate for unconscious feelings of unworthiness--- you don't need to use your asana practice to 'prove' you are good and worthy.
and yet don't underestimate the amount of shakti, energy, both physical and mental, that it takes to strike a pose and remain utterly centered in dynamic absorption.
It is ironic that the more gymnastic posture appears to be more difficult---But from an energetic and emotional place, sitting, working with breathing, can be more challenging, require more energy--- because of what will be revealed about you, because of what you will experience about yourself."
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Update
Just noticed this video from David posted 'one day ago'
Take a look perhaps at my previous post, an interview with Pattabhi Jois where he discusses Seated meditation.*******
Update
Just noticed this video from David posted 'one day ago'
"What about the other limbs of ashtanga yoga?
Do you teach a method of meditation?
K Pattabhi Jois: Meditation is Dhyana, the seventh step in the Ashtanga system. After one step is perfect, then you take the next step. For dhyana, you must sit with a straight back with your eyes closed and focus on the bridge of the nostrils. If you don't do this, you're not centered. If the eyes open and close, so does the mind.
Do you teach a method of meditation?
K Pattabhi Jois: Meditation is Dhyana, the seventh step in the Ashtanga system. After one step is perfect, then you take the next step. For dhyana, you must sit with a straight back with your eyes closed and focus on the bridge of the nostrils. If you don't do this, you're not centered. If the eyes open and close, so does the mind.
Yoga is 95 percent practical. Only 5 percent is theory. Without practice, it doesn't work; there is no benefit. So you have to practice, following the right method, following the steps one by one. Then it's possible. "
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Ashtanga Yoga Meditation Manual - How should one meditate
"Ah! Meditation. The Yoga world is divided into two camps. On one side we have enthusiastic hatha yogis who specialize in asanas and the other group which believes fervently in meditation as a panacea for all the ills". Ramaswami Nov. 2009
A couple of years ago I put together what I like to think of as a short Yoga Meditation Manual for my own personal use ( I don't think I ever posted it and can't find my original), it's based on Ramaswami's November 2009 newsletter Meditating on Meditation (below), it's pretty much a numbering of the sentences outlining practice in the newsletter. I'd wondered why it was that we turn to the yoga tradition for asana and perhaps pranayama but when it comes to meditation often follow other traditions, Zen, Vippasana...... This then was an attempt to make yoga meditation a little more accessible.
There is of course a more in depth yoga meditation manual, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras,
Here is my own personal copy, the original file is on my Mac currently on a cargo ship to Japan but this seemed like a good week to post it.
Meditating on Meditation by Srivatsa Ramaswami
Newsletter Nov 2009
I was watching a live television program in India some 30 years back when TV had just been introduced in India. It was a program in which an elderly yogi was pitted against a leading cardiologist. It was virtually a war. The yogi was trying to impress with some unusualposes which were dubbed as potentially dangerous by the doctor. Almost everything the yogi claimed was contested by the non-yogi and soon the dialogue degenerated. The yogi stressed that headstand will increase longevity by retaining the amrita in the sahasrara in the head and the medical expert countered it by saying that there was no scientific basis for such claims and dubbed it as a pose which was unnatural and dangerous and will lead to a stroke. The Yogi replied by saying that Yoga had stood the test of time for centuries; it had been in voguemuch before modern medicine became popular. Thank God it was a black and white program; else you would have seen blood splashed all over the screen.
Things have become more civil in these three decades. Now neti pot, asanas, yogic breathing exercises and yogic meditation have all become part of the medical vocabulary. There is a grudging appreciation of yoga within the medical profession. Many times doctors suggest a few yogic procedures, especially Meditation, in several conditions like hypertension, anxiety, depression and other psychosomatic ailments.
Ah! Meditation. The Yoga world is divided into two camps. On one side we have enthusiastic hatha yogis who specialize in asanas and the other group which believes fervently in meditation as a panacea for all the ills.
But how should one meditate? Many start meditation and give it up after a few days or weeks as they fail to see any appreciable benefit or perceivable progress. The drop out rate is quite high among meditators. The mind continues to be agitated and does not get into the meditating routine. Or quite often one tends to take petit naps while meditating. Why does this happen? It is due to lack of adequate preparation. Basically one has to prepare oneself properly for meditation.
The Yogis mention two sadhanas or two yogic procedures as preparations. They are asanas and pranayama. Asanas, as we have seen earlier, reduce rajas which manifests as restlessness of the mind, an inability to remain focused for an appreciable amount of time. But another guna, tamas also is not helpful during meditation, manifesting as laziness, lethargy and sloth and this also should be brought under control if one wants to meditate. Patanjali, Tirumular and several old Yogis advocate the practice of Pranayama to reduce the effects of Tamas. Patanjali says Pranayama helps to reduce avarana or Tamas. He along with conventional ashtanga yogis also mentions that Pranayama makes the mind capable of Dharana or the first stage of meditation.
Pranayama is an important prerequisite of meditation.There is evidence that pranayama has a salutary effect on the whole system. In an earlier article I had explained the beneficial effects of deep pranayama on the heart and the circulatory system. Further, when it is done correctly, it helps to draw in anywhere between 3 to 4 liters of atmospheric air compared to just about ½ liter of air during normal breathing. This helps to stretch the air sacs of the lungs affording an excellent exchange of oxygen and gaseous waste products. These waste products are proactively thrown out of the system by deep pranayama, which yogis refer to as reduction of tamas. Thus soon after pranayama, the yogi feels refreshed and calm andbecomes fit for the first stage of meditation which is called Dharana.
What should one meditate on? Several works talk about meditating on cakras, mantras, auspicious icons, various tatwas and on the spirit/soul etc. But, the method of meditating, only a few works detail. Perhaps the most precise is that of Patanjali in Yoga Sutras. Patanjali details not only a step by step methodology of meditation but also the various objects of prakriti and ultimately the spirit within to meditate on. Hence his work may be considered as the most detailed, complete and rigorous on meditation
For a start Patanjali would like the abhyasi to get the technique right. So he does not initially specify the object but merely says that the Yogi after the preliminary practices of asana, pranayama and pratyahara, should sit down in a comfortable yogasana and start the meditation. Tying the mind to a spot is dharana. Which spot? Vyasa in his commentary suggests going by tradition, a few spots, firstly inside the body, like the chakras as the Kundalini Yogi would do,, or the heart lotus as the bhakti yogi would do, or the mid-brows as a sidhha yogi would do or even an icon outside as a kriya yogi would do.
The icon should be an auspicious object like the image of one’s favorite deity. Many find it easier to choose a mantra and focus attention on that. Thousands everyday meditate on the Gayatri mantra visualizing the sun in the middle of the eyebrows or the heart as part of their daily Sandhyavandana** routine. It is also an ancient practice followed even today to meditate on the breath with or without using the Pranayama Mantra.
(** Namarupa published my article “Sandhyavandanam-Ritualistic Gayatri Meditation” with all the routines, mantras, meanings, about 40 pictures, and also an audio with the chanting of the mantras in theSep/Oct 2008 issue).
What of the technique? The Yogabhyasi starts the antaranga sadhana or the internal practice by bringing the mind to the same object again and again even as the mind tends to move away from the chosen object of meditation. The active, repeated attempts to bring the mind back to the simple, single object again and again is the first stage of meditation (samyama) called dharana. Even though one has done everything possible to make the body/mind system more satwic, because of the accumulated samskaras or habits, the mind continues to drift away from the object chosen for meditation. The mind starts with the focus on the object but within a short time it swiftly drifts to another related thought then a third one and within a short time this train of thoughts leads to a stage which has no connection whatsoever with the object one started with.
Then suddenly the meditator remembers that one is drifting and soon brings the mind back to the object and resumes remaining with the “object”. This process repeats over and over again. This repeated attempts to coax and bring the mind to the same object is dharana. At the end of the session lasting for about 15 minutes, the meditator may (may means must) take a short time to review the quality of meditation. How often was the mind drifting away from the object and how long on an average the mind wandered? And further what were the kinds of interfering thoughts? The meditator takes note of these. If they are recurrent and strong then one may take efforts to sort out the problem that interferes with the meditation repeatedly or at least decide to accept and endure the situation but may decide to take efforts to keep those thoughts away at least during the time one meditates.
If during the dharana period, the mind gets distracted too often and this does not change over days of practice, perhaps it may indicate that the rajas is still dominant and one may want to reduce the systemic rajas by doing more asanas in the practice. On the other hand if the rajas is due to influences from outside, one may take special efforts to adhere to the yamaniyamas more scrupulously. Perhaps every night before going to sleep one may review the day’s activities and see if one had willfully violated the tenets of yamaniyamas like “did I hurt someone by deed, word or derive satisfaction at the expense of others’ pain”. Or did I say untruths and so on. On the other hand if one tends to go to sleep during the meditation minutes, one may consider increasing the pranayama practice and also consider reducing tamasic interactions, foods etc.
Then one may continue the practice daily and also review the progress on a daily basis and also make the necessary adjustments in practice and interactions with the outside world. Theoretically and practically when this practice is continued diligently and regularly, slowly the practitioner of dharana will find that the frequency and duration of these extraneous interferences start reducing and one day, the abhyasi may find that for the entire duration one stayed with the object. When this takes place, when the mind is completely with the object moment after moment in a continuous flow of attention, then one may say that the abhyasi has graduated into the next stage of meditation known as dhyana. Many meditators are happy to have reached this stage. Then one has to continue with the practice so that the dhyana habits or samskaras get strengthened. The following day may not be as interruption free, but Patanjali says conscious practice will make it more successful. “dhyana heyat tad vrittayah”. If one continues with this practice for sufficiently long time meditating on the same object diligently, one would hopefully reach the next stage of meditation called Samadhi.
In this state only the object remains occupying the mind and the abhyasi even forgets herself/himself. Naturally if one continues the meditation practice one would master the technique of meditation. Almost every time the yagabhasi gets into meditation practice, one would get into Samadhi. Once one gets this capability one is a yogi—a technically competent yogi– and one may be able to use the skill on any other yoga worthy object and make further progress in Yoga. (tatra bhumishu viniyogah)
The consummate yogi could make a further refinement. An object has a name and one has a memory of the object, apart from the object itself (sabda, artha gnyana). If a Yogi is able to further refine the meditation by focusing attention on one aspect like the name of the object such a meditation is considered superior. For instance when the sound ‘gow” is heard (gow is cow ), if the meditiator intently maintains the word ‘gow’ alone in his mind without bringing the impression(form) of a cow in his mind then that is considered a refined meditation. Or when he sees the cow, he does not bring the name ‘gow’ in the meditation process, it is a refined meditation.
The next aspect-after mastering meditation— one may consider is, what should be the object one should meditate upon. For Bhakti Yogis it is the Lord one should meditate upon. According to my teacher, a great Bhakti Yogi, there is only one dhyana or meditation and that is bhagavat dhyana or meditating upon the Lord. There is a difference between a religious person and a devotee. A devotee loves the Lord and meditates on the Lord, all through life. The Vedas refer to the Pararmatman or the Supreme Lord and bhakti yogis meditate on the Lord.
The Vedas also refer to several gods and some may meditate on these as well. By meditating on the Lord one may transcend the cycle of transmigration. At the end of the bhakti yogi’s life one reaches the same world of the Lord (saloka), the heaven. Some attain the same form as the Lord. Some stay in the proximity of the Lord and some merge with the Lord. The Puranas which are the later creation of poet seers personify the Lord and the vedic gods. Thus we have several puranas as Agni purana, Vayu purana and then those of the Lord Himself like the Bhagavata Purana , Siva Purana , Vishnu Purana. Running to thousands of slokas and pages the puranic age helped to worship the Lord more easily as these stories helped to visualize the Lord as a person, which was rather difficult to do from the Vedas. Later on Agamas made the Lord more accessible by allowing idols to be made of the Lord and divine beings and consecrating them in temples. Thus these various methods helped the general populace remain rooted to religion and religious worship. So meditating upon the charming idol/icon of theLord made it possible for many to worship and meditate .
Of course many traditional Brahmins belonging to the vedic practices stuck to the vedic fire rituals, frowned upon and refrained from any ‘form worship’, but millions of others found form worship a great boon.
Meditating on the form of the chosen deity either in a temple or at one’s own home has made it possible to sidestep the intermediate priestly class to a great extent. One can become responsible for one’s own religious practice, including meditation. The ultimate reality is meditated on in different forms, in any form as Siva Vishnu etc or as Father, Mother, Preceptor or even a Friend. Some idol meditators define meditating on the whole form as dharana, then meditating on each aspect of the form as the toe or head or the arms or the bewitching eyes as dhyana and thus giving a different interpretation to meditation. Some, after meditating on the icon, close the eyes and meditate on the form in their mind’s eye (manasika).
Darshanas like Samkhya and Yoga which do not subscribe to the theory of a Creator commended ‘the understanding of one’s own Self’ as a means of liberation. The Self which is non-changing is pure consciousness and by deep unwavering meditation after getting the technique right, one can realize the nature of oneself and be liberated. Following this approach, the Samkhyas commend meditating on each and every of the 24 aspects of prakriti in the body-mind complex of oneself and transcend them to directly know the true nature of oneself, and that will be Freedom or Kaivalya. Similarly the Yogis would say that the true nature of the self is known when the mind transcends(nirodha) the five types of its activities called vrittis to reach kaivalya, by a process of subtler and subtler meditation.
The Upanishads on the other hand while agreeing with the other Nivritti sastras like Yoga and Samkhya in so far as the nature of the self is concerned, indicate that the individual and the Supreme Being are one and the same and meditating on this identity leads to liberation. They would like the spiritual aspirant to first follow a disciplined life to get an unwavering satwic state of the mind. Then one would study the upanishadic texts (sravana), by analysis (manana) understand them and realize the nature of the self through several step by step meditation approaches (nidhidhyasana). The Vedas, for the sake of the spiritual aspirant, have several Upanishad vidyas to study and understand it from several viewpoints. For instance, the panchkosa vidya indicates that the real self is beyond (or within) the five koshas (sheaths). It could also be considered as the pure consciousness which is beyond the three states of awareness (avasta) of waking, dream and deep sleep, as the Pranava(Om) vidya would indicate. The understanding and conviction that Self and the Supreme Self are one and the same is what one needs to get, before doing Upanishadic meditation following the advaitic interpretation.
Summarizing one may say that traditional meditation warrants proper preparation so that the mind becomes irrevocably satwic and thus fit for and capable of meditation. Secondly it requires practice on a simple object until the meditation technique is mastered and such meditatin samskaras developed. Then the Yogi should set the goal of meditation based on the conviction of a solid philosophy—bhakti, samkhya, yoga, vedanta, kundalini (or if comfortable, nirvana) or whatever.
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GUEST POST: Even Art has a "Mysore style"
My friend Michelle has allowed me to reproduce her post over at her blog Ashtanga Angel here, recently she's been posting work in progress pictures of many of the pictures below, have been on at her to turn them into a post so I could share them here.
Comments are turned of here because I'm traveling but you can reach Michelle through her blog and this post especially, her work is for sale and i think she also takes commissions.
http://ashtangiangel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/even-art-has-mysore-style.html
She's also just set up an FB page where hopefully she'll we'll get to see more of her work in progress
Yogic Art
I think one of the painting isn't showing up, one of the problems of trying to blog on the ipad, almost impossible to edit, head over to Ashtanga Angel (link above) and see it there.
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Comments are turned of here because I'm traveling but you can reach Michelle through her blog and this post especially, her work is for sale and i think she also takes commissions.
http://ashtangiangel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/even-art-has-mysore-style.html
She's also just set up an FB page where hopefully she'll we'll get to see more of her work in progress
Yogic Art
I think one of the painting isn't showing up, one of the problems of trying to blog on the ipad, almost impossible to edit, head over to Ashtanga Angel (link above) and see it there.
Even Art has a "Mysore Style"!!
During my stay in Mysore, 'after the yoga', I was fortunate enough to spend my afternoons learning how to paint 'Mysore' style. My teacher was a beautiful man called M.S.Anand whose studio was on the 3rd floor on a traditional Mysore apartment block. He lives there with his wife, his gorgeous son and his Great Dane, 'Rocky'! You might think it a bit cruel to keep such a big dog on the 3rd floor of an apartment block, but Rocky loved it, loved the visitors and used to keep us company…by lying across the entrance the studio! But unfortunately Rocky's residence on the 3rd floor was not without incident! Because Rocky loved birds, loved to chase them that is, but despite great efforts on Anand's part to teach Rocky the pitfalls of chasing birds on a 3rd floor balcony, Rocky fell off said balcony no less than 3 times! Breaking his little legs on a couple of occasions, but mercifully surviving! Apparently Rocky used to be a canine model…however I think his modelling days are unfortunately up.. :)
But enough about Rocky. I was lucky enough to be taught by Anand in the beautiful Mysore style of painting in the typical 'Mysore' tradition. Watch and repeat. Watch Anand draw something and then attempt to repeat it until I had perfected it. I had pages and pages of hands in mudras, hands holding lotuses, feet decorated in anklets, until I perfected every possible combination of hand/mudra/symbol combinations!
Anand has his latest masterpiece displayed in the departure lounge at Bangalore Airport. Here's a link to a piece on Anand in the Hindu Times:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/traditional-and-modern-in-a-blend/article5087497.ece
So what makes Mysore painting so special? Apart from its vibrant colours, Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colours, and attention to detail. The themes for most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindhu mythology such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
What Wikipedia says about Mysore painting: (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು ಚಿತ್ರಕಲೆ) is an important form of classical South Indian painting that originated in and around the town of Mysore in Karnataka encouraged and nurtured by the Mysore rulers. Painting in Karnataka has a long and illustrious history, tracing its origins back to the Ajanta times (2nd century B.C. to 7th century A.D.) The distinct school of Mysore painting evolved from the paintings of Vijayanagar times during the reign of the Vijayanagar Kings (1336-1565 AD) The rulers of Vijayanagar and their feudatories encouraged literature, art, architecture, religious and philosophical discussions. With the fall of the Vijayanagar empire after the Battle of Talikota the artists who were till then under royal patronage migrated to various other places like Mysore, Tanjore, Surpur, etc. Absorbing the local artistic traditions and customs, the Vijayanagar School of Painting gradually evolved into the many styles of painting in South India, including the Mysore and Tanjore schools of painting.
Techniques: The ancient painters in Mysore prepared their own materials. The colours were from natural sources and were of vegetable, mineral or even organic origin such as leaves, stones and flowers. Brushes were made with squirrel hairs for delicate work but for drawing superfine lines a brush made of pointed blades of a special variety of grass had to be used. Due to the long-lasting quality of the earth and vegetable colours used, the original Mysore paintings still retain their freshness and lustre even today.
Devotion: Mysore Paintings are characterized by delicate lines, intricate brush strokes, graceful delineation of figures and the discreet use of bright vegetable colours and lustrous gold leaf. More than mere decorative pieces, the paintings are designed to inspire feelings of devotion and humility in the viewer. The painter’s individual skill in giving expression to various emotions is therefore of paramount importance to this style of painting.
Embossing: Gesso work was the hallmark of all traditional paintings of Karnataka. Gesso refers to the paste mixture of white lead powder, gambose and glue which is used as an embossing material and covered with gold foil. The gesso work in Mysore paintings is low in relief and intricate as compared to the thick gold relief work of the Tanjore School. Gesso was used in Mysore painting for depicting intricate designs of clothes, jewellery and architectural details on pillars and arches that usually framed the deities. The work was taken up in the morning when the base of the gold work on the painting was still moist so as to hold the gold foil firmly. After allowing the painting to dry, glazing was carried out by covering the painting with thin paper and rubbing over it with a soft glazing stone known as kaslupada kallu. When the thin paper was removed the painting shone brightly and looked resplendent with the combination of gold and a variety of colours.
Finally following weeks of repetition and perfection, I chose a painting to begin my own Mysore style masterpiece. As a die-hard ashtangi I inevitably chose Patanjali, the beautiful depiction of half man, half snake depicted holding the conch and chakra. Here he is below…
I gave the original to my teacher Vijay Kumar in Mysore, didn't know any other way to thank him... It's now proudly up in his shala next to Krishnamacharya :)
Since I have been back in the UK I have continued to practice the teachings of Anand, experimenting with more modern techniques of embossing, utilisation of gold leaf, form and composition. I think I may possibly be the only artist in the UK offering Mysore style paintings, taught by the master himself M.S.Anand. So far I have been fortunate enough to paint pieces for a number of yoga studios in the UK and India. Should you have any ideas for paintings to adorn your home practice space, puja room or shala, I currently take commissions, you can choose the God, the background, the iconography you want depicted and I will design something one-off especially for you!
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| Peacock Greetings Card |
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| Ganesha Greetings Card |
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| Hanuman |
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| Seated Buddha |
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| Shiva Nataraja |
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| Lord Krishna |
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| Durga Maa (work in progress) |
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Next Sunday, My Krishnamacharya early Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama workshop
Next Sunday, last workshop before leaving the UK, two months in Rethymno, Crete with Kristina and Manju before moving permanently to Japan.
Seems we now have a bigger room so places some places should still be available if you'd like to come along.
Krishnamachary's slower pace (long slow breathing, like the pouring of oil) should make this a good introduction to Ashtanga, the use of kumbhaka and the historical element perhaps of interest to those with an Ashtanga background. The afternoon's Vinyasa Krama can be seen as a tool chest of preparatory postures, variations and extensions for making back bending more approachable or for modifying practice. The afternoon session is an integrated practice progressing from asana to pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
The thought of offering my Krishnamacharya workshop in the UK was too big a temptation, so I'm out of retirement already, that was quick..... quite excited about it actually.
My friend Digby up at Stone Monkey in the beautiful town of Royal Leamington Spa (an hour and a half from London on the train) has invited me up for a one day Sunday workshop 22 June 2014.
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How great are one day workshops, I get to squeeze in as much as possible with minimal disruption to our regular practice, it's perfect I'd give this workshop every week if I could.
I've made it a longer day than usual, 10-6 this allows for a half hour Intro to Krishnamacharya talk, a Led practice of Krishnamacharya's Original Ashtanga Primary looking at Vinyasa Count, the longer, slower breathing that we are often used to, kumbhaka (as well as a discussion of possible health benefits), bandhas, a look at jumping through, etc.
I Loved presenting this on the Yoga Rainbow Festival the other week, looking forward to offering it again.
After lunch there will be another short intro then a Vinyasa Krama class employing the key asana Krishnamacharya suggested we practice everyday giving a framework for practice. We'll practice the the Bow and Mediative sequences which allows us to explore back bending ( most of the first part of Ashtanga 2nd series comes into these sequences but with a more gentle approach and build up). Vinyasa Krama is an integrated practice so there will also be some pranayama, pratyahara and 'meditation'.
The last hour ( longer if there are still questions) will be Q and A, on Krishnamacharya and developing and maintaining a home practice.
If anyone is thinking about coming up from London (timetable below), it may be a bit of an ask to get to Leamington Spa, let alone the studio for dead on 10am, that's OK and to be expected, no bad karma accrued by anyone coming late, we'll know how many are coming so will have mat space all ready for you. Also the first half an hour will be talk, an introduction. If your a reader of this blog then it won't be anything that new. The led practice will start with Krishnamacharya's approach to the postures of the surynamaskara ( Krsihnamacharya practiced them as individual asana), again familiar and the important points will come up again and again through the practice so not a disaster if you end up missing the first hour or so and it's a long day anyway. If you have to leave early to catch your train back, again not a problem as the last hour will be Q and A, roll up your mat and leave quietly whenever you need to I won't take it personally. Plus I'll be doing a follow of post here and the blog and you'll be free to ask me any questions about the day either here on the blog or via email.
Here are some details about stone monkey
Contact
Seems we now have a bigger room so places some places should still be available if you'd like to come along.
Krishnamachary's slower pace (long slow breathing, like the pouring of oil) should make this a good introduction to Ashtanga, the use of kumbhaka and the historical element perhaps of interest to those with an Ashtanga background. The afternoon's Vinyasa Krama can be seen as a tool chest of preparatory postures, variations and extensions for making back bending more approachable or for modifying practice. The afternoon session is an integrated practice progressing from asana to pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
|
| I didn't choose the pictures, not sure I can still do either of those, maybe |
My friend Digby up at Stone Monkey in the beautiful town of Royal Leamington Spa (an hour and a half from London on the train) has invited me up for a one day Sunday workshop 22 June 2014.
How great are one day workshops, I get to squeeze in as much as possible with minimal disruption to our regular practice, it's perfect I'd give this workshop every week if I could.
I've made it a longer day than usual, 10-6 this allows for a half hour Intro to Krishnamacharya talk, a Led practice of Krishnamacharya's Original Ashtanga Primary looking at Vinyasa Count, the longer, slower breathing that we are often used to, kumbhaka (as well as a discussion of possible health benefits), bandhas, a look at jumping through, etc.
I Loved presenting this on the Yoga Rainbow Festival the other week, looking forward to offering it again.
After lunch there will be another short intro then a Vinyasa Krama class employing the key asana Krishnamacharya suggested we practice everyday giving a framework for practice. We'll practice the the Bow and Mediative sequences which allows us to explore back bending ( most of the first part of Ashtanga 2nd series comes into these sequences but with a more gentle approach and build up). Vinyasa Krama is an integrated practice so there will also be some pranayama, pratyahara and 'meditation'.
The last hour ( longer if there are still questions) will be Q and A, on Krishnamacharya and developing and maintaining a home practice.
If anyone is thinking about coming up from London (timetable below), it may be a bit of an ask to get to Leamington Spa, let alone the studio for dead on 10am, that's OK and to be expected, no bad karma accrued by anyone coming late, we'll know how many are coming so will have mat space all ready for you. Also the first half an hour will be talk, an introduction. If your a reader of this blog then it won't be anything that new. The led practice will start with Krishnamacharya's approach to the postures of the surynamaskara ( Krsihnamacharya practiced them as individual asana), again familiar and the important points will come up again and again through the practice so not a disaster if you end up missing the first hour or so and it's a long day anyway. If you have to leave early to catch your train back, again not a problem as the last hour will be Q and A, roll up your mat and leave quietly whenever you need to I won't take it personally. Plus I'll be doing a follow of post here and the blog and you'll be free to ask me any questions about the day either here on the blog or via email.
Here are some details about stone monkey
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| http://www.stonemonkey-yoga.co.uk |
digby@stonemonkey-yoga.co.uk about reserving a place, hope to see you there
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