I was sent some questions about Vinyasa Krama this morning from somebody who generally practices Ashtanga but recently picked up Ramaswami's Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga and is wondering how to approach it.
Part I. Some Questions on how to approach Srivatsa Ramaswami's Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga
(This is my current personal approach, at the end of the blog I post Ramaswami's own guidelines for practice).
Q: In each routine it seems surya namaskar is only practiced once, is this correct?
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Surynamaskara is optional for Ramaswami and indeed seems to have been so for Krishnamacharya. It came into vogue (again?) in the 1920s and there were surynamaskara classes all over India. The Maharaja of Mysore apparently wanted to have one at the palace yoga school but Krishnamacharya doesn't seem to have been interested, seeing it no doubt (correctly) as an exercise fad. There is suggestion that Pattabhi Jois might have taught such a class, I seem to remember Mark Singleton wites about this in his Yoga Body book,
However, Krishnamacharya did appear to teach Surynamaskara with mantras when in Mysore (Indra Devi), as well as later to Ramaswami ( see the back of Ramaswami's book), it's an option. I come from Ashtanga so still practice some A and B.
Often I'll take a Krishnamacharya approach where I...
stay in each asana of the surynamaskara vinyasa for five or ten breaths
followed by
Surynamaskara with mantras
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara As
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara Bs
Generally Ramaswami would start practice with a short tadasana sequence ( there is a ten minute video of mine on youtube).
See these postsBalasahib's 'original' 1928 Suya Namaskar , sun salutation
and
The Ashtanga Key - Surya Namaskar
Q: Can one sequence be practiced daily, on a rotational basis, or is it better to incorporate elements from each? Plus subroutines?
Ramaswami recommends we learn the sequences as sequences to gain an understanding of and/or familiarity with the relationships between asana, how some lead towards a key asana and others develop and extend that asana as well as how one group (subroutine) of asana may be related to another. Even after we have learned those sequences he still recommends we revisit them regularly, practice one a week say.
We (Vinyasa Krama teachers) need to be careful I think not to slip into the trap of presenting these sequences as the be all and end all of Vinyasa Krama in an attempt to promote either ourselves or the practice as a competing style to Ashtanga. The sequences are a pedagogic resource, we pick asana and/or subroutines from them to construct our practice, generally daily as deemed appropriate. ( I however tend to practice a relatively fixed group of asana/Vinyasa Krama subroutines ( or part of) that make up Ashtanga 2nd series ( see below), mostly out of habit and familiarity but practiced slowly and followed by pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
Practicing a full sequences we might begin with a little tadasana, a surynamaskara or two with or without mantra, perhaps a short triangle subroutine then a full Vinyasa Krama sequence from the book. After the sequence we could then do something along the lines of shoulderstand, headstand shoulderstand again and padmasana. Somewhere in the practice it's also recommended to work in maha mudra and pascimattanasana.
It's not like modern Ashtanga, you don't have to stop at whichever posture you struggle with. The Vinyasa Krama sequences are made of subroutines, asana that lead up to a key asana and then develop and expand it, you might only get some way along the preparation asana. Stop where appropriate in that subroutine but then move on perhaps to the next subroutine in the sequence. So you don't need to be able to do all the marichi's before moving on to the Janu sirsasana subroutine or be able to put your leg behind your head before moving on to the trianmukha subroutine.
Q: There is no instruction for savasana at the end of each sequence, is one supposed to meditate/ breathe as an alternative? Or always complete the wind down sequence and finish?
Ramaswami would recommend you take a short Savasana whenever your breath loses some control or your heartbeat increases.
Nice story from when he was teaching at a hardcore Ashtanga shala full of Advanced series students. He apparently taught a nice slow tadasana subroutine then suggested they take a short savasana : )
But yes, take a short savasana at the end of the sequence (or at several places during the sequence), then ideally some finishing asana along the lines of sarvangasana, sirsasana, savangasana again and padmasana. Then another short savasana followed by pranayama, another short savasana and then a few minutes of pratyahara and a meditation practice.
Vinyasa Krama is an integrated practice, it's expected that you will practice asana, pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
Q: finally there does not seem to be instruction in asanas traditionally not recommended for menstruating women (inversions, strong backbends, band has, breath retention etc)- are these covered in other texts?
There is actually a whole chapter on inversions, the Inverted sequence, shoulderstands come in the Supine sequence.
Kapotasana comes in the meditative sequences as it's based on vajrasana. I tend to practice the Bow sequence and then some of the meditative asana, ustrasana, Laghu and kapotasana just like in Ashtnaga.
There is also a camel walk sequences that would fit as an extension of the meditative sequence, Ramaswami includes it at the end of the book.
Bandhas are mentioned throughout, usually something like "draw in the belly" and of course in the pranayama instruction.
See too, Ramaswami's Yoga Beneath the Surface written with David Hurwitz where David asks a hundred questions or more on yoga practice and philosophy, nice discussion of bandhas in asana there.
In Ramaswami's other book Yoga for the Three Stages of Life ( still my favourite book on yoga) there is a Yoga for Women chapter. There are also some articles he produced as part of a serialisation on antenatal that cover several issues. http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2012/09/ante-natel-yoga-article-by-srivatsa.html
I hope that helps a little. I'm from Ashtanga originally too as I'm sure you saw from the blog, for a while Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama seemed such different practices but when you go back to Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makranda (1934), written in Mysore when he was teaching the Young Pattabhi Jois you see that Krishnamacharya recommended long slow breathing, Long stays and we see the shoulderstand and headstand variations in the 1938 movie that we find in Ramaswami's book. When you practice Ashtanga slowly it doesn't seem so different. An Ashtanga practice is basically made up of several subroutines ( going to show that below). Usually you probably wouldn't practice as many asana ( half an Ashtanga series perhaps) because you'd want to leave time for pranayama and meditation.
Hope that helps a little, feel free to ask any other questions that come up
Best Wishes
Anthony
Part II. Ashtanga Second Series made up of Vinyasa Krama subroutines (or part of)
* I prefer to think of Ashtanga Primary and Second series as Krishnamacharya's Primary Group and Middle Group asana - see Krishnamacharya's full asana table. Yogasanagalu (1941).
from the first part of the post
( Recently however I've tended to practice a relatively fixed group of asana, Vinyasa Krama subroutines ( or part of ) that make up the Ashtanga 2nd series, mostly out of habit and familiarity (and partly because I feel some of us should be exploring this consistency in Krishnamacharya's teaching) but practiced slowly and followed by pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
As far as I'm concerned, in practicing Ashtanga 2nd series I'm practicing Vinyasa Krama. Sharath in fact often refers to Ashtanga as a Vinyasa krama.
So my current practice
I'll often begin with a short tadasana arm movements warm up.
Often I'll take a Krishnamacharya approach where I...
stay in each asana of the surynamaskara vinyasa for five or ten breaths
followed by
Surynamaskara with mantras
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara As
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara Bs
Next up are some triangle subroutines, some on one leg subroutines and perhaps another triangle subroutine.
After Pasasana and Krouchasana I practice much of the Vinyasa Krama Bow sequences followed by part of the Meditative sequence (called meditative because they are based on vajrasana, a meditation posture, and include ustrasana, supta vajrasana and Kapotasana.
I include Bakasana, the pratkriya twists bharadvajrasana ( facing both over the shoulder and to the frount) and ardha matsyendrasana then start on an Asymmetric subroutine leading to eka pada sirsasana, both legs behind the head in dwi pada sirsasana and yoga nidrasana from seated and supine sequences.
After some arm balances ( titibhasana - back of Ramaswami's book) and a couple of extra postures, again all found in Ramaswami's book I move to supine subroutines, inverted subroutines and finally a lotus subroutine.
The Ashtanga sequences are made up of these subroutines that we also find in Ramaswami's book, no doubt lifted by Pattabhi Jois from Krishnamacharya's asana table. The full sequences Ramaswami presents are intended only for learning the relationship between asana. Once we are familiar with these relationships we would pick subroutines or parts of subroutines from them depending on the perceived needs of the day.
The Ashtanga sequences pick those asana for us that we then repeat each day, a nice varied range of asana. In my practice I might add a couple of extra asana from Ramaswami's presentation if I feel I might benefit from more preparation that morning. I might stress one asana or subroutine more than another, I might also drop some asana if it feels appropriate. I tend to include key asana, paschimattanasana after dropping back, and maha mudra/baddha konasana before padmasana in finishing
I tend to rotate asana that I wish to repeat or stay in longer. A long stay in paschimattanasana one day, bharadvajrasana another
The practice is the same but different each morning.
Depending on time available, splitting the above practice over two days might be appropriate ( or even three, I can't bring myself to practice quickly anymore).
Personally I tend jump back between asana and perhaps full vinyasa between groups of asana, again out of habit. In Vinyasa Krama there is a tendency to jump back between subroutines rather than after each asana or side.
Ramaswami says the count to and from standing was always implied although might only be included after every subroutine or sequence rather than every asana, it's up to us and our physical condition.
I breathe slowly just as in Vinyasa Krama, three breaths as Ramaswami often indicates in his book, three long slow breaths takes around the same time as five quicker breaths found perhaps in Ashtanga, the same time spent in the asana. Some asana I choose to stay in longer or repeat (perhaps with a different arm variation)
Some asana I will include kumbhaka (often rotating the asana) just as Krishnamacharya indicated in his Mysore books. The kumbhaka is inexplicably not found in Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga despite being in Krishnamacharya's manual written at the time he was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois
After practicing asana I practice pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
*
I tend to Alternate my Krishnamacharya/Vinyasa Krama approach to Ashtanga 2nd series with a similar approach to Ashtanga Primary (either every other day or every two, days thus covering a wide range of asana affecting much if not all of the body).
See also this post on my other blog
The Vinyasa Krama subroutines in Ashtanga Primary Series
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APPENDIX
How to practice Vinyasa Krama
An Excerpt from Ramaswami's September 2009 Newsletter :
Vinyasakrama Practice
Most of the readers of this newsletter have studied Vinyasakrama Asana
practice with me for varying durations, a weekend program, a weeklong
Core Vinyasa program, a 60 hour complete Vinyasa Yoga program or the
200 hour Teacher Training Schedule. Many people see something unique
about this system, somewhat different from the contemporary mainstream
yoga. Most have read the “Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga” book and
finally ask the question, what next? How can I do a daily practice
from these sequences? There are more than 700 asanas/vinyasas and I
normally recommend doing each vinyasa three times. At the rate of
about 4/5 movements per minute (it could be even 3 per minute for good
breathers), it could take about 8 to 9 hours to do the complete
vinyasakrama. Then my Guru would commend doing a short stint of
Pranayama, say for about 15 to 30 mts and then chanting or meditation
for another 15 to 30 mts, daily. We also have to consider that in
asana practice, there are a few heavy weight poses which require one
to stay for a long time. So it is almost impossible to practice all of
it everyday even by a full time ‘practice-live-and-sleep-in-yoga mat’
yogi. The book was written to give as complete as possible, a
presentation of all the vinyasas in a series of sequences that is
logical and easy to learn, as I learnt from my Guru. It is a book for
learning the system. Any serious student of yoga who would spend years
studying and teaching yoga should have in one’s repertoire as many
asanas, vinyasas and logical sequences (krama) as possible. So, one
should firstly study the entire range of asanas and vinyasas of the
vinyasakrama system from a teacher say in the 60 hr vinyasakrama
program. Then note down all the vinyasas that are a bit difficult to
do. One should practice daily for half hour to one hour as many
vinyasas as possible following the recommended sequence, with special
emphasis on the difficult ones. In about six months to one year of
consistent practice one would be comfortable with the system, the
sequences and especially the required synchronous breathing. This
would complete the learning process. Then one may prepare a green list
of asanas and vinyasas one would be able to do and wants to practice
regularly. There will be another list, amber list which would contain
those vinyasas which are difficult now but one would like to practice
them even if they are somewhat imperfect. Then there would be another
red list which will contain procedures that are not appropriate or
possible for the practitioner—which could probably be taken up in the
next janma. Then it would be time for concentrating on using
vinyasakrama for daily practice and also teaching to individuals for
their daily yoga practice.
Adapting yoga to individual requirements is an art by itself. We must
understand that there is no one standard practice that is suitable to
everyone. In medicine you have to give different treatment to
different patients; what is suitable to one suffering from digestive
problem would be different from the one that is suitable for one who
is suffering from some low back pain. According to an important motto
of Krishnamacharya, yoga for children and the adolescents (growth
stage) is different from yoga practice in their midlife which again is
different from the practice in old age. The body, mind and goals
change during different stages of life. Sri Krishnamacharya’s teaching
is based on this principle as we could discern from his works, Yoga
Makaranda and Yoga Rahasya.
Basically yoga for kids and young adults will have a considerable
amount of asana vinyasa practice -- many vinyasas, difficult poses,
etc. It will help them to work out the considerable rajas in their
system and proper growth (vriddhi). Of course they should also
practice some pranayama and meditation or chanting. For the midlife
yogi, the practice will still include some asana, but specifically
some of the health giving and restorative postures like the
Inversions, Paschimatanasana, Mahamudra, etc., in which poses one may
be required to stay for a longer period of time. There will be more
emphasis on Pranayama and then more meditation, chanting, worship etc.
When I started studying with my Guru I was 15 years old. During the
beginning years of my study it was mostly difficult asanas and
vinyasas. Swing throughs, jump arounds, utplutis etc and other fun
filled unique sequences were the order of the day. As I grew up, my
teacher slowly but surely changed the mix, focus and direction of my
yoga practice. On the last day I was with him (I was close to 50 then)
it was just chanting of Surya Namaskara (Aruna) mantras for the entire
duration with him. During the third stage of life, the old age, the
emphasis is usually spiritual and/or devotional even as one is
required to do some simple movements and pranayama.
And within the group, the daily practice can be varying depending upon
the requirements and goals set forth by the yogi for herself/himself.
For instance, for the midlife yogi, the main goal will be to maintain
good physical and mental health, rather than being able to stand, say,
on one leg or even on one hand (Of course the child in me wants to do
that). He/She would like to avoid risky movements so that the practice
would be safe and does not cause injuries—immediate or cumulative. Too
much exertion (kayaklesa), like several rounds of continuous,
breathless Suryanamaskaras again should be avoided, says Brahmananda
in his commentary on Hatayogapadipika. A few may be more inclined to
have some spirituality thrown in. Many would like to develop the
ability to and the habit of visiting the peace zone of the mind daily.
There are some who are more rajasic or tamasic in which case the mix
of asana and pranayama should be properly adjusted, sometimes taking
care of even the day to day variations of the gunas. It requires some
careful attention in deciding a particular day’s practice. Hence, to
suggest a practice of a set of asanas or a routine for everyone
irrespective of the age, condition, temperament and goal is incorrect.
Such an approach does not take into consideration not only the
versatility and richness of orthodox, traditional vinyasakrama yoga
practice but also does not take the varying factors of individual
requirements. Sri Krishnamacharya’s yoga can appropriately be termed
as ‘Appropriate Yoga’.
However, as a general rule, for the serious mid-life yogi, a daily
practice of about 90 mts to 2 hrs will be necessary and sufficient.
Here is modifiable one. After a short prayer, one could do a brief
stint of Tadasana doing the main vinyasas two or preferably three
times each. It should take about ten minutes. Then one subsequence in
the asymmetric could be taken up, say Marichyasana or Triyangmukha or
the half lotus. The choice may be varied on a daily basis. Five minute
stay in Paschimatanasana and the counter poses may be practiced. Then
one may do preparation of Sarvangasana and a brief stay in it,
followed by headstand stay for about 5 to 10 minutes or more and then
staying in Sarvangasana for 5 to 10 more minutes, if one can do
inversions. Paschimatanasana, Sarvangaana and Headstand are to be
practiced preferably daily for their health benefits. If time permits
one may do few vinyasas in these inversions. One may do a subsequence
of Triangle pose like warrior pose and /or one sequence in one legged
pose. Mahamudra for about 5 minutes each on both sides can then be
practiced. Why are these important? In an earlier article I had tried
to explain the unique health benefits of the twin inversions. . In
fact the inversions, Sirsasana and Sarvangasana are mudras, the
viparitakarani mudras. I remember my Guru asking us to do
Paschimatanasana sequence quite often-- it is said to be an important
pose for Kundalini Prabhoda, especially when the bandhas are also done
and the pelvic muscles/floor are drawn towards the back. You could
also observe that Paschimatanasan helps to stretch all the muscles and
tissues in the posterior portion (as the name of the asana indicates)
of the body where there are heavy muscles--thighs calves, glutei etc.
Mahamudra as the name indicates is considered to be the best/great of
Mudras. It is believed that it helps to direct the prana into the
sushumna as it is supposed to block the ida and pingala separately.
Aided by Jalandharabandha, it also helps to keep the spine straight
Then sitting in Vajrasana or Padmasana after doing some movements one
should do a suitable variant of Kapalabhati, say for about 108 times
and then an appropriate Pranayama, Ujjayi, Nadisodhana or Viloma with
or without mantras for about 15 minutes to be followed by five minutes
Shanmukhimudra and then chanting or meditation of about 15 minutes.
The efficacy of Pranayama on the whole system and mind cannot be
overemphasized. Please read the article on “Yoga for the Heart”, in an
earlier newsletter... It refers to the benefits of Pranayama to the
heart and the circulatory system.
If interested, one may allocate an additional 30 minutes (or practice
at another time in the day, say, in the evening) during which time one
may practice a few subroutines from the other scores of sequences that
have not been included in this core yoga practice. Even though the
book contains 10 main sequences, the reader will be able to discern
more than a hundred asana sequences, each one having a unique
structure. In fact each chapter is a major sequence (wave) of many
specific sequences (ripples), which itself is made up of a few vinyaas
(dops of water). Then the whole book is a mega sequence (tide) of
major sequences in the ocean of Yoga. If you take Tadasana itself,
there are firstly the hasta vinyasas, then, parsva bhangis, different
uttanasanas, utkatasana, pasasana and finally the tadasana. Each
subroutine itself may have anywhere between 3 to even 20 vinyasas. So
there is considerable versatility in the system. It is better to stick
to the integrity of the subroutines (like Ushtrasana, Virabhadrasana
or Vrikshasana for instance), as enunciated in the book. Thus we have
a variable component and a fixed component in the daily practice.
Everyday before the start of the practice the yogi should take a
minute and decide on a definite agenda and as far as possible try to
stick to the agenda. What asanas and vinyasas, which pranayama and how
many rounds and other details should be determined before hand and one
should adhere to it. It brings some discipline and coherence to one’s
practice. It is customary to end the practice with peace chant.
Adapting vinyasakrama to individual requirements can be termed as
viniyoga krama. For instance when my Guru gets a middle aged person or
a nine year old with specific condition like scoliosis, he would
design a specific program to the individual requirement. Almost
everyone who comes to him will have a routine developed which will not
be the one that is given to someone else. I have written about the
family class we had with my Guru when we started learning from him.
During the same time period he would teach different vinyasas, poses
and procedures to each one of us, my older father, my somewhat heavy-
set mother, my supple, talented younger sister, my more challenged
brother and me. One reason why people nowadays look for a definite
routine is because a few of the more popular vinyasa systems have a
very small number of regimented sequences which are taught over and
over again almost to all students. So there is a mindset that there
should be a rigid sequence that is applicable for everyone, but that
is not the way we learnt yoga from my Guru. Firstly the teacher should
learn the whole system and then apply it to individuals as per the
requirements -- pick and choose those vinyasa sequences, pranayama and
meditation practices, dietary requirements, etc.. The question that is
to be answered is what does the practitioner want/need and how should
the yoga routine be designed to get the required benefit. Vinyasakrama
is like a yoga supermarket, and each one should put into the cart what
one needs. And the term Vinyasakrama includes not just asanas but also
other aspects of yoga like pranayama, meditation, etc. It is a
progression of different aspects of Yoga. The Vinyasakrama has a huge
collection of asana vinyasas, a well stocked section on Pranayama,
then the meditation department and a spiritual study/contemplation
section as well. So a lot of initiative should be taken by the
individual consumer, like our practitioner who should take the
responsibility of working out with the teacher how to design an
intelligent purposeful yoga practice pertaining to oneself. To reduce
Vinyasakrama to a standard routine as is done with several other
contemporary Vinyasa systems and put it in a straight jacket is not
desirable. I have explained these ideas to many participants of the
longer versions of the programs and thought to touch upon them for the
general reader who would be wondering how to force the VK elephant (or
a camel) into the needle’s eye of daily practice.
There are some friends who after completing the program take a few
private lessons to tailor-make the VK system to their requirements. We
discuss about their physical conditions and mental makeup, age,
obesity, pulse rate, blood pressure, breath rate and breathing
constraints, general disposition, time availability, stress levels,
etc., and design a routine for their benefit. Because there is a
bewildering array of vinyasas, pranayama methods, mantras, etc., we
have a better choice of designing and fine-tune a program suitable to
the particular individual. If there is problem with VK it is a problem
of plenty.
There are a few serious practitioners who have their daily routine cut
out, but then do the complete vinyasakrama separately say in the
evening for about an hour so that they could go through all the
vinyasa sequences in a span of one week. In vedic chanting, the
Taittiriya saka , consists of about 80+ chapters and it would take
about 40 to 45 hours to chant the whole. Those who have learnt the
entire Taittiriya Saka duing their childhood, have to keep chanting
them all their lives. They do it by doing chanting for about 1 to 1 ½
hours per day so that they could complete it in a Mandala or about 40
days. Similarly Carnatic musicians learn several songs, but for their
practice they take a few songs per day and over a period of several
weeks they would cover all the songs they had learnt. Likewise the
yoga practice can be varied and rich. The rich variety makes it
possible to maintain abiding interest in a personal Yoga Practice at
home. It does not become a chore.
A list of more than 120 asana vinyasa routines contained in the book,
“The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga” is added as a post script. Based
on the discussion above on the criteria for daily practice you may
decide on your daily routine by picking specific asana sequences and
have a unique program made specifically for you and by you every day.
Please stick to the integrity of the sequences in the asana. If you
teach, you may modify them for persons who are sick or physically
challenged. Pranayama, inversions, paschimatana mahamudra and
meditation may be included for sure. You have myriad possibilities.
There is no one rigid universal daily practice routine in Vinyasakrama
as I have explained.
Excerpt from Ramaswami's February 2011 Newsletters
(Notes from one of Krishnamacharya's lessons/lectures/articles)
Now let me give a comprehensive treatment of practice krama of yoga
There are several essential factors that should be kept in view by
both the yogabhyasi and the teacher. The student, as instructed by the
teacher should check the quality of recaka and puraka (exhalation and
inhalation). Are there any obstructions in the airways? It is mainly
because asanas unaided or synchronized with breathing is of no use.
For instance, the teacher and the student should check the number of
matras (measure of time) the breath takes while inhaling, exhaling. If
there is considerable difference in these durations, the teacher
should first ask the abhyasi to practice controlled rechaka-puraka
even prior to the practice of asanas.
Then one should start practicing asanas as per instructions. There are
many asanas--sitting, standing, supine, prone, lying on the sides—
there are thus many starting positions. Further there are upside down
positions, like Sarvangasana. If the students has good well
proportioned body the teacher can teach the inversions, Sarvangasana
and Sirsasana even in the beginning of study. And such a person
should also possess very long and smooth inhalations and exhalations.
Further he should learn to maintain the inhalations and exhalations of
even duration. If one does 8 to 10 recaka-purakas in sirsasana, then
one should practice sarvangasana for the same number of recaka-puraka
and of the same duration. Sarvangasana and sirsasana are like the two
eyes of yogabhyasa. These help to maintain “bodily
freedom” (sariraswatantriyam)The various vinyasas of these poses also
have similar effects. Only by these two poses the acuity of the senses
and capacity of the lungs increase. Even as Sarvangasana is an
essential pose for persons with heart ailment, it should be done with
the help and involvement of the teacher/trainer. While teaching
Sarvangasana to such persons, the teacher should stand behind the
trainee and at the end of each exhalation should gently nudge the
trainee's back a little forward and hold for a second. After about a
month's such practice, the trainer should check the strength of
recaka, the general health or growth of the body the duration of
recaka-puraka and then if they are good should help the trainee stay
for about a minute or so. Thereafter the abhyasi should be given rest.
If one has some ailment the posture should be repeated two or three
times. For instance to an asthmatic doing even half a dozen breaths in
Sarvangasana will be difficult. So the trainee should make the abhyasi
practice atleast 12 breaths over a number of tries. Trying to do many
breaths in one go could create some chest pain and discomfort. So,
with a relaxed approach in four or six tries one should do the
required number of breaths. One should return to the lying down
position slowly. The same will apply to obese people while learning
sarvangasana, they should be taught the asanas with a lot of care. In
this manner the teacher and taught should learn to remain in an asana
for several minutes without any doubts about the pose. With
sarvangasana and sirsasana other asanas like paschimatanasana,
purvatanasana, chatushpada peetam; Parvatasana, vajrasana,
Bhujangasana etc can also br practiced.
When one starts to learn Yoga, in the beginning the duration of
practice can be as little as 15 to 20 minutes. One can gradually
increase the duration. The teacher should check the breath every day
and then increase the duration of practice. Whatever be the posture,
if one could stay for a long time without the limbs going to sleep (or
numb) or any pain or discomfort then such a practitioner is known as
jitasana (the conqueror/master of an asana.) While staying in an asana
one should not unnecessarily shake the body, bend or contort or move
and if one can stay for hours then such a yogi is a jitasana. We learn
from the works and sayings of yogis that in the olden days the rishis,
every day would remain in any one asana for three hours and do
pranayama and meditation. Then if the yogi is able to remain doing
long inhalation, exhalation and kumbhaka without feeling any kind of
fatigue and for a long period of time such a person would be called
“Jitaprana” or Jitaswasa, or one who has conquered the breath.
Remaining in a posture and gazing at one's favorite (ishta) icon and
experiencing a feeling of bliss is called “trataka”. It is of two
types, anta and bahi. To gaze at an outside object like an icon is
external trataka. Closing one's eyes and 'imaging' the object
internally and continually focusing attention in between the eyebrows
is the antah(r)trataka or internal gazing. One can practice this
between one to ten minutes.
In the yogasana practice it is good to include a Mudra as well
everyday. Mahamudra and Shanmukhi mudra may be done. Further one
should do a kriya called plavana (jumping/stretching). For instance,
remaining in the same place after a particular asana practice, one may
place the palms on the floor, lift the body and then stretch the legs
one by one . Then in recaka one should bend the leg and in puraka
return to the floor If one stays in an asana for a long time, the
muscles could slightly cramp and the plavana would help restore the
muscles attain normal tone. The yogabhyasi should practice asana,
pranayama, mudra and kriya together even from the beginning. Only then
all the benefits mentioned for the varied asanas will accrue. Likewise
if one by Pranayama becomes known as Jitaswasa, and then by meditation
is able to conquer the mind such a yogi is known as jitamanaska. All
the three are necessary. One should practice the same duration for
both asana and pranayama and then twice the duration for dhyana or
meditation. In the olden days the sages did yoga on three occasions
everyday, at dawn, noon and dusk. The time and regulation in Kumbhaka
are essential. With regulated time,one should practice all aspects of
yoga, like asana, kriyas, pranayama and mudra. One should do a few
asanas that one enjoys doing for about 15 mts and then do the
pratikriyas or counter poses. For instancee one may do 15 mts of
sirsasana followed by 15 mts of sarvangasana,. Or perhaps 15 mts of
viparita dandasana followed by 15 mts of uttana mayurasana.
Asanas like sirasasana done while the body trembles or unsteady will
not be beneficial. Done correctly, it helps to maintain prana in
sushuna. Without proper practice one will not get faith in Yoga, nor
will one get the benefits mentioned in the sastras. One should know
the kriyas (like plavana) and there is a relationship bertween asanas
and plavana(jumping/stretching) kriya. As mentioned earlier, one
should bring under control the body by asana, with recaka kumbhaka the
prana and by meditation or dhyana the mind. For dhyana it may be
useful to choose a charming icon
Part I. Some Questions on how to approach Srivatsa Ramaswami's Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga
(This is my current personal approach, at the end of the blog I post Ramaswami's own guidelines for practice).
Q: In each routine it seems surya namaskar is only practiced once, is this correct?
Surynamaskara is optional for Ramaswami and indeed seems to have been so for Krishnamacharya. It came into vogue (again?) in the 1920s and there were surynamaskara classes all over India. The Maharaja of Mysore apparently wanted to have one at the palace yoga school but Krishnamacharya doesn't seem to have been interested, seeing it no doubt (correctly) as an exercise fad. There is suggestion that Pattabhi Jois might have taught such a class, I seem to remember Mark Singleton wites about this in his Yoga Body book,
However, Krishnamacharya did appear to teach Surynamaskara with mantras when in Mysore (Indra Devi), as well as later to Ramaswami ( see the back of Ramaswami's book), it's an option. I come from Ashtanga so still practice some A and B.
Often I'll take a Krishnamacharya approach where I...
stay in each asana of the surynamaskara vinyasa for five or ten breaths
followed by
Surynamaskara with mantras
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara As
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara Bs
Generally Ramaswami would start practice with a short tadasana sequence ( there is a ten minute video of mine on youtube).
See these posts
and
The Ashtanga Key - Surya Namaskar
Q: Can one sequence be practiced daily, on a rotational basis, or is it better to incorporate elements from each? Plus subroutines?
Ramaswami recommends we learn the sequences as sequences to gain an understanding of and/or familiarity with the relationships between asana, how some lead towards a key asana and others develop and extend that asana as well as how one group (subroutine) of asana may be related to another. Even after we have learned those sequences he still recommends we revisit them regularly, practice one a week say.
We (Vinyasa Krama teachers) need to be careful I think not to slip into the trap of presenting these sequences as the be all and end all of Vinyasa Krama in an attempt to promote either ourselves or the practice as a competing style to Ashtanga. The sequences are a pedagogic resource, we pick asana and/or subroutines from them to construct our practice, generally daily as deemed appropriate. ( I however tend to practice a relatively fixed group of asana/Vinyasa Krama subroutines ( or part of) that make up Ashtanga 2nd series ( see below), mostly out of habit and familiarity but practiced slowly and followed by pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
Practicing a full sequences we might begin with a little tadasana, a surynamaskara or two with or without mantra, perhaps a short triangle subroutine then a full Vinyasa Krama sequence from the book. After the sequence we could then do something along the lines of shoulderstand, headstand shoulderstand again and padmasana. Somewhere in the practice it's also recommended to work in maha mudra and pascimattanasana.
It's not like modern Ashtanga, you don't have to stop at whichever posture you struggle with. The Vinyasa Krama sequences are made of subroutines, asana that lead up to a key asana and then develop and expand it, you might only get some way along the preparation asana. Stop where appropriate in that subroutine but then move on perhaps to the next subroutine in the sequence. So you don't need to be able to do all the marichi's before moving on to the Janu sirsasana subroutine or be able to put your leg behind your head before moving on to the trianmukha subroutine.
Q: There is no instruction for savasana at the end of each sequence, is one supposed to meditate/ breathe as an alternative? Or always complete the wind down sequence and finish?
Ramaswami would recommend you take a short Savasana whenever your breath loses some control or your heartbeat increases.
Nice story from when he was teaching at a hardcore Ashtanga shala full of Advanced series students. He apparently taught a nice slow tadasana subroutine then suggested they take a short savasana : )
But yes, take a short savasana at the end of the sequence (or at several places during the sequence), then ideally some finishing asana along the lines of sarvangasana, sirsasana, savangasana again and padmasana. Then another short savasana followed by pranayama, another short savasana and then a few minutes of pratyahara and a meditation practice.
Vinyasa Krama is an integrated practice, it's expected that you will practice asana, pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
Q: finally there does not seem to be instruction in asanas traditionally not recommended for menstruating women (inversions, strong backbends, band has, breath retention etc)- are these covered in other texts?
There is actually a whole chapter on inversions, the Inverted sequence, shoulderstands come in the Supine sequence.
Kapotasana comes in the meditative sequences as it's based on vajrasana. I tend to practice the Bow sequence and then some of the meditative asana, ustrasana, Laghu and kapotasana just like in Ashtnaga.
There is also a camel walk sequences that would fit as an extension of the meditative sequence, Ramaswami includes it at the end of the book.
Bandhas are mentioned throughout, usually something like "draw in the belly" and of course in the pranayama instruction.
See too, Ramaswami's Yoga Beneath the Surface written with David Hurwitz where David asks a hundred questions or more on yoga practice and philosophy, nice discussion of bandhas in asana there.
In Ramaswami's other book Yoga for the Three Stages of Life ( still my favourite book on yoga) there is a Yoga for Women chapter. There are also some articles he produced as part of a serialisation on antenatal that cover several issues. http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2012/09/ante-natel-yoga-article-by-srivatsa.html
I hope that helps a little. I'm from Ashtanga originally too as I'm sure you saw from the blog, for a while Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama seemed such different practices but when you go back to Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makranda (1934), written in Mysore when he was teaching the Young Pattabhi Jois you see that Krishnamacharya recommended long slow breathing, Long stays and we see the shoulderstand and headstand variations in the 1938 movie that we find in Ramaswami's book. When you practice Ashtanga slowly it doesn't seem so different. An Ashtanga practice is basically made up of several subroutines ( going to show that below). Usually you probably wouldn't practice as many asana ( half an Ashtanga series perhaps) because you'd want to leave time for pranayama and meditation.
Hope that helps a little, feel free to ask any other questions that come up
Best Wishes
Anthony
 |
| Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga |
*
Part II. Ashtanga Second Series made up of Vinyasa Krama subroutines (or part of)
* I prefer to think of Ashtanga Primary and Second series as Krishnamacharya's Primary Group and Middle Group asana - see Krishnamacharya's full asana table. Yogasanagalu (1941).
from the first part of the post
( Recently however I've tended to practice a relatively fixed group of asana, Vinyasa Krama subroutines ( or part of ) that make up the Ashtanga 2nd series, mostly out of habit and familiarity (and partly because I feel some of us should be exploring this consistency in Krishnamacharya's teaching) but practiced slowly and followed by pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
As far as I'm concerned, in practicing Ashtanga 2nd series I'm practicing Vinyasa Krama. Sharath in fact often refers to Ashtanga as a Vinyasa krama.
So my current practice
I'll often begin with a short tadasana arm movements warm up.
Often I'll take a Krishnamacharya approach where I...
stay in each asana of the surynamaskara vinyasa for five or ten breaths
followed by
Surynamaskara with mantras
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara As
3 x Ashtanga Surynamaskara Bs
After Pasasana and Krouchasana I practice much of the Vinyasa Krama Bow sequences followed by part of the Meditative sequence (called meditative because they are based on vajrasana, a meditation posture, and include ustrasana, supta vajrasana and Kapotasana.
I include Bakasana, the pratkriya twists bharadvajrasana ( facing both over the shoulder and to the frount) and ardha matsyendrasana then start on an Asymmetric subroutine leading to eka pada sirsasana, both legs behind the head in dwi pada sirsasana and yoga nidrasana from seated and supine sequences.
After some arm balances ( titibhasana - back of Ramaswami's book) and a couple of extra postures, again all found in Ramaswami's book I move to supine subroutines, inverted subroutines and finally a lotus subroutine.
The Ashtanga sequences are made up of these subroutines that we also find in Ramaswami's book, no doubt lifted by Pattabhi Jois from Krishnamacharya's asana table. The full sequences Ramaswami presents are intended only for learning the relationship between asana. Once we are familiar with these relationships we would pick subroutines or parts of subroutines from them depending on the perceived needs of the day.
The Ashtanga sequences pick those asana for us that we then repeat each day, a nice varied range of asana. In my practice I might add a couple of extra asana from Ramaswami's presentation if I feel I might benefit from more preparation that morning. I might stress one asana or subroutine more than another, I might also drop some asana if it feels appropriate. I tend to include key asana, paschimattanasana after dropping back, and maha mudra/baddha konasana before padmasana in finishing
I tend to rotate asana that I wish to repeat or stay in longer. A long stay in paschimattanasana one day, bharadvajrasana another
The practice is the same but different each morning.
Depending on time available, splitting the above practice over two days might be appropriate ( or even three, I can't bring myself to practice quickly anymore).
Personally I tend jump back between asana and perhaps full vinyasa between groups of asana, again out of habit. In Vinyasa Krama there is a tendency to jump back between subroutines rather than after each asana or side.
Ramaswami says the count to and from standing was always implied although might only be included after every subroutine or sequence rather than every asana, it's up to us and our physical condition.
I breathe slowly just as in Vinyasa Krama, three breaths as Ramaswami often indicates in his book, three long slow breaths takes around the same time as five quicker breaths found perhaps in Ashtanga, the same time spent in the asana. Some asana I choose to stay in longer or repeat (perhaps with a different arm variation)
Some asana I will include kumbhaka (often rotating the asana) just as Krishnamacharya indicated in his Mysore books. The kumbhaka is inexplicably not found in Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga despite being in Krishnamacharya's manual written at the time he was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois
After practicing asana I practice pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.
The Full Vinyasa Krama Bow Sequence
I tend to practice the regular Ashtranga 2nd series sections but may add more if I feel the need for
more prep
I tend to practice the regular Ashtranga 2nd series sections but may add more if I feel the need for
more prep
 |
| from My Vinyasa Yoga Practice Book |
Video below from my Krishnamacharya Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama workshop in Leon, Spain 2013, at http://www.centrovictoria.com here I'm demonstrating the pace of the practice with my friend Oscar describing what I'm doing so nobody has to look up/over.
*
I tend to Alternate my Krishnamacharya/Vinyasa Krama approach to Ashtanga 2nd series with a similar approach to Ashtanga Primary (either every other day or every two, days thus covering a wide range of asana affecting much if not all of the body).
See also this post on my other blog
The Vinyasa Krama subroutines in Ashtanga Primary Series
APPENDIX
How to practice Vinyasa Krama
An Excerpt from Ramaswami's September 2009 Newsletter :
Vinyasakrama Practice
Most of the readers of this newsletter have studied Vinyasakrama Asana
practice with me for varying durations, a weekend program, a weeklong
Core Vinyasa program, a 60 hour complete Vinyasa Yoga program or the
200 hour Teacher Training Schedule. Many people see something unique
about this system, somewhat different from the contemporary mainstream
yoga. Most have read the “Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga” book and
finally ask the question, what next? How can I do a daily practice
from these sequences? There are more than 700 asanas/vinyasas and I
normally recommend doing each vinyasa three times. At the rate of
about 4/5 movements per minute (it could be even 3 per minute for good
breathers), it could take about 8 to 9 hours to do the complete
vinyasakrama. Then my Guru would commend doing a short stint of
Pranayama, say for about 15 to 30 mts and then chanting or meditation
for another 15 to 30 mts, daily. We also have to consider that in
asana practice, there are a few heavy weight poses which require one
to stay for a long time. So it is almost impossible to practice all of
it everyday even by a full time ‘practice-live-and-sleep-in-yoga mat’
yogi. The book was written to give as complete as possible, a
presentation of all the vinyasas in a series of sequences that is
logical and easy to learn, as I learnt from my Guru. It is a book for
learning the system. Any serious student of yoga who would spend years
studying and teaching yoga should have in one’s repertoire as many
asanas, vinyasas and logical sequences (krama) as possible. So, one
should firstly study the entire range of asanas and vinyasas of the
vinyasakrama system from a teacher say in the 60 hr vinyasakrama
program. Then note down all the vinyasas that are a bit difficult to
do. One should practice daily for half hour to one hour as many
vinyasas as possible following the recommended sequence, with special
emphasis on the difficult ones. In about six months to one year of
consistent practice one would be comfortable with the system, the
sequences and especially the required synchronous breathing. This
would complete the learning process. Then one may prepare a green list
of asanas and vinyasas one would be able to do and wants to practice
regularly. There will be another list, amber list which would contain
those vinyasas which are difficult now but one would like to practice
them even if they are somewhat imperfect. Then there would be another
red list which will contain procedures that are not appropriate or
possible for the practitioner—which could probably be taken up in the
next janma. Then it would be time for concentrating on using
vinyasakrama for daily practice and also teaching to individuals for
their daily yoga practice.
Adapting yoga to individual requirements is an art by itself. We must
understand that there is no one standard practice that is suitable to
everyone. In medicine you have to give different treatment to
different patients; what is suitable to one suffering from digestive
problem would be different from the one that is suitable for one who
is suffering from some low back pain. According to an important motto
of Krishnamacharya, yoga for children and the adolescents (growth
stage) is different from yoga practice in their midlife which again is
different from the practice in old age. The body, mind and goals
change during different stages of life. Sri Krishnamacharya’s teaching
is based on this principle as we could discern from his works, Yoga
Makaranda and Yoga Rahasya.
Basically yoga for kids and young adults will have a considerable
amount of asana vinyasa practice -- many vinyasas, difficult poses,
etc. It will help them to work out the considerable rajas in their
system and proper growth (vriddhi). Of course they should also
practice some pranayama and meditation or chanting. For the midlife
yogi, the practice will still include some asana, but specifically
some of the health giving and restorative postures like the
Inversions, Paschimatanasana, Mahamudra, etc., in which poses one may
be required to stay for a longer period of time. There will be more
emphasis on Pranayama and then more meditation, chanting, worship etc.
When I started studying with my Guru I was 15 years old. During the
beginning years of my study it was mostly difficult asanas and
vinyasas. Swing throughs, jump arounds, utplutis etc and other fun
filled unique sequences were the order of the day. As I grew up, my
teacher slowly but surely changed the mix, focus and direction of my
yoga practice. On the last day I was with him (I was close to 50 then)
it was just chanting of Surya Namaskara (Aruna) mantras for the entire
duration with him. During the third stage of life, the old age, the
emphasis is usually spiritual and/or devotional even as one is
required to do some simple movements and pranayama.
And within the group, the daily practice can be varying depending upon
the requirements and goals set forth by the yogi for herself/himself.
For instance, for the midlife yogi, the main goal will be to maintain
good physical and mental health, rather than being able to stand, say,
on one leg or even on one hand (Of course the child in me wants to do
that). He/She would like to avoid risky movements so that the practice
would be safe and does not cause injuries—immediate or cumulative. Too
much exertion (kayaklesa), like several rounds of continuous,
breathless Suryanamaskaras again should be avoided, says Brahmananda
in his commentary on Hatayogapadipika. A few may be more inclined to
have some spirituality thrown in. Many would like to develop the
ability to and the habit of visiting the peace zone of the mind daily.
There are some who are more rajasic or tamasic in which case the mix
of asana and pranayama should be properly adjusted, sometimes taking
care of even the day to day variations of the gunas. It requires some
careful attention in deciding a particular day’s practice. Hence, to
suggest a practice of a set of asanas or a routine for everyone
irrespective of the age, condition, temperament and goal is incorrect.
Such an approach does not take into consideration not only the
versatility and richness of orthodox, traditional vinyasakrama yoga
practice but also does not take the varying factors of individual
requirements. Sri Krishnamacharya’s yoga can appropriately be termed
as ‘Appropriate Yoga’.
However, as a general rule, for the serious mid-life yogi, a daily
practice of about 90 mts to 2 hrs will be necessary and sufficient.
Here is modifiable one. After a short prayer, one could do a brief
stint of Tadasana doing the main vinyasas two or preferably three
times each. It should take about ten minutes. Then one subsequence in
the asymmetric could be taken up, say Marichyasana or Triyangmukha or
the half lotus. The choice may be varied on a daily basis. Five minute
stay in Paschimatanasana and the counter poses may be practiced. Then
one may do preparation of Sarvangasana and a brief stay in it,
followed by headstand stay for about 5 to 10 minutes or more and then
staying in Sarvangasana for 5 to 10 more minutes, if one can do
inversions. Paschimatanasana, Sarvangaana and Headstand are to be
practiced preferably daily for their health benefits. If time permits
one may do few vinyasas in these inversions. One may do a subsequence
of Triangle pose like warrior pose and /or one sequence in one legged
pose. Mahamudra for about 5 minutes each on both sides can then be
practiced. Why are these important? In an earlier article I had tried
to explain the unique health benefits of the twin inversions. . In
fact the inversions, Sirsasana and Sarvangasana are mudras, the
viparitakarani mudras. I remember my Guru asking us to do
Paschimatanasana sequence quite often-- it is said to be an important
pose for Kundalini Prabhoda, especially when the bandhas are also done
and the pelvic muscles/floor are drawn towards the back. You could
also observe that Paschimatanasan helps to stretch all the muscles and
tissues in the posterior portion (as the name of the asana indicates)
of the body where there are heavy muscles--thighs calves, glutei etc.
Mahamudra as the name indicates is considered to be the best/great of
Mudras. It is believed that it helps to direct the prana into the
sushumna as it is supposed to block the ida and pingala separately.
Aided by Jalandharabandha, it also helps to keep the spine straight
Then sitting in Vajrasana or Padmasana after doing some movements one
should do a suitable variant of Kapalabhati, say for about 108 times
and then an appropriate Pranayama, Ujjayi, Nadisodhana or Viloma with
or without mantras for about 15 minutes to be followed by five minutes
Shanmukhimudra and then chanting or meditation of about 15 minutes.
The efficacy of Pranayama on the whole system and mind cannot be
overemphasized. Please read the article on “Yoga for the Heart”, in an
earlier newsletter... It refers to the benefits of Pranayama to the
heart and the circulatory system.
If interested, one may allocate an additional 30 minutes (or practice
at another time in the day, say, in the evening) during which time one
may practice a few subroutines from the other scores of sequences that
have not been included in this core yoga practice. Even though the
book contains 10 main sequences, the reader will be able to discern
more than a hundred asana sequences, each one having a unique
structure. In fact each chapter is a major sequence (wave) of many
specific sequences (ripples), which itself is made up of a few vinyaas
(dops of water). Then the whole book is a mega sequence (tide) of
major sequences in the ocean of Yoga. If you take Tadasana itself,
there are firstly the hasta vinyasas, then, parsva bhangis, different
uttanasanas, utkatasana, pasasana and finally the tadasana. Each
subroutine itself may have anywhere between 3 to even 20 vinyasas. So
there is considerable versatility in the system. It is better to stick
to the integrity of the subroutines (like Ushtrasana, Virabhadrasana
or Vrikshasana for instance), as enunciated in the book. Thus we have
a variable component and a fixed component in the daily practice.
Everyday before the start of the practice the yogi should take a
minute and decide on a definite agenda and as far as possible try to
stick to the agenda. What asanas and vinyasas, which pranayama and how
many rounds and other details should be determined before hand and one
should adhere to it. It brings some discipline and coherence to one’s
practice. It is customary to end the practice with peace chant.
Adapting vinyasakrama to individual requirements can be termed as
viniyoga krama. For instance when my Guru gets a middle aged person or
a nine year old with specific condition like scoliosis, he would
design a specific program to the individual requirement. Almost
everyone who comes to him will have a routine developed which will not
be the one that is given to someone else. I have written about the
family class we had with my Guru when we started learning from him.
During the same time period he would teach different vinyasas, poses
and procedures to each one of us, my older father, my somewhat heavy-
set mother, my supple, talented younger sister, my more challenged
brother and me. One reason why people nowadays look for a definite
routine is because a few of the more popular vinyasa systems have a
very small number of regimented sequences which are taught over and
over again almost to all students. So there is a mindset that there
should be a rigid sequence that is applicable for everyone, but that
is not the way we learnt yoga from my Guru. Firstly the teacher should
learn the whole system and then apply it to individuals as per the
requirements -- pick and choose those vinyasa sequences, pranayama and
meditation practices, dietary requirements, etc.. The question that is
to be answered is what does the practitioner want/need and how should
the yoga routine be designed to get the required benefit. Vinyasakrama
is like a yoga supermarket, and each one should put into the cart what
one needs. And the term Vinyasakrama includes not just asanas but also
other aspects of yoga like pranayama, meditation, etc. It is a
progression of different aspects of Yoga. The Vinyasakrama has a huge
collection of asana vinyasas, a well stocked section on Pranayama,
then the meditation department and a spiritual study/contemplation
section as well. So a lot of initiative should be taken by the
individual consumer, like our practitioner who should take the
responsibility of working out with the teacher how to design an
intelligent purposeful yoga practice pertaining to oneself. To reduce
Vinyasakrama to a standard routine as is done with several other
contemporary Vinyasa systems and put it in a straight jacket is not
desirable. I have explained these ideas to many participants of the
longer versions of the programs and thought to touch upon them for the
general reader who would be wondering how to force the VK elephant (or
a camel) into the needle’s eye of daily practice.
There are some friends who after completing the program take a few
private lessons to tailor-make the VK system to their requirements. We
discuss about their physical conditions and mental makeup, age,
obesity, pulse rate, blood pressure, breath rate and breathing
constraints, general disposition, time availability, stress levels,
etc., and design a routine for their benefit. Because there is a
bewildering array of vinyasas, pranayama methods, mantras, etc., we
have a better choice of designing and fine-tune a program suitable to
the particular individual. If there is problem with VK it is a problem
of plenty.
There are a few serious practitioners who have their daily routine cut
out, but then do the complete vinyasakrama separately say in the
evening for about an hour so that they could go through all the
vinyasa sequences in a span of one week. In vedic chanting, the
Taittiriya saka , consists of about 80+ chapters and it would take
about 40 to 45 hours to chant the whole. Those who have learnt the
entire Taittiriya Saka duing their childhood, have to keep chanting
them all their lives. They do it by doing chanting for about 1 to 1 ½
hours per day so that they could complete it in a Mandala or about 40
days. Similarly Carnatic musicians learn several songs, but for their
practice they take a few songs per day and over a period of several
weeks they would cover all the songs they had learnt. Likewise the
yoga practice can be varied and rich. The rich variety makes it
possible to maintain abiding interest in a personal Yoga Practice at
home. It does not become a chore.
A list of more than 120 asana vinyasa routines contained in the book,
“The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga” is added as a post script. Based
on the discussion above on the criteria for daily practice you may
decide on your daily routine by picking specific asana sequences and
have a unique program made specifically for you and by you every day.
Please stick to the integrity of the sequences in the asana. If you
teach, you may modify them for persons who are sick or physically
challenged. Pranayama, inversions, paschimatana mahamudra and
meditation may be included for sure. You have myriad possibilities.
There is no one rigid universal daily practice routine in Vinyasakrama
as I have explained.
Excerpt from Ramaswami's February 2011 Newsletters
(Notes from one of Krishnamacharya's lessons/lectures/articles)
Now let me give a comprehensive treatment of practice krama of yoga
There are several essential factors that should be kept in view by
both the yogabhyasi and the teacher. The student, as instructed by the
teacher should check the quality of recaka and puraka (exhalation and
inhalation). Are there any obstructions in the airways? It is mainly
because asanas unaided or synchronized with breathing is of no use.
For instance, the teacher and the student should check the number of
matras (measure of time) the breath takes while inhaling, exhaling. If
there is considerable difference in these durations, the teacher
should first ask the abhyasi to practice controlled rechaka-puraka
even prior to the practice of asanas.
Then one should start practicing asanas as per instructions. There are
many asanas--sitting, standing, supine, prone, lying on the sides—
there are thus many starting positions. Further there are upside down
positions, like Sarvangasana. If the students has good well
proportioned body the teacher can teach the inversions, Sarvangasana
and Sirsasana even in the beginning of study. And such a person
should also possess very long and smooth inhalations and exhalations.
Further he should learn to maintain the inhalations and exhalations of
even duration. If one does 8 to 10 recaka-purakas in sirsasana, then
one should practice sarvangasana for the same number of recaka-puraka
and of the same duration. Sarvangasana and sirsasana are like the two
eyes of yogabhyasa. These help to maintain “bodily
freedom” (sariraswatantriyam)The various vinyasas of these poses also
have similar effects. Only by these two poses the acuity of the senses
and capacity of the lungs increase. Even as Sarvangasana is an
essential pose for persons with heart ailment, it should be done with
the help and involvement of the teacher/trainer. While teaching
Sarvangasana to such persons, the teacher should stand behind the
trainee and at the end of each exhalation should gently nudge the
trainee's back a little forward and hold for a second. After about a
month's such practice, the trainer should check the strength of
recaka, the general health or growth of the body the duration of
recaka-puraka and then if they are good should help the trainee stay
for about a minute or so. Thereafter the abhyasi should be given rest.
If one has some ailment the posture should be repeated two or three
times. For instance to an asthmatic doing even half a dozen breaths in
Sarvangasana will be difficult. So the trainee should make the abhyasi
practice atleast 12 breaths over a number of tries. Trying to do many
breaths in one go could create some chest pain and discomfort. So,
with a relaxed approach in four or six tries one should do the
required number of breaths. One should return to the lying down
position slowly. The same will apply to obese people while learning
sarvangasana, they should be taught the asanas with a lot of care. In
this manner the teacher and taught should learn to remain in an asana
for several minutes without any doubts about the pose. With
sarvangasana and sirsasana other asanas like paschimatanasana,
purvatanasana, chatushpada peetam; Parvatasana, vajrasana,
Bhujangasana etc can also br practiced.
When one starts to learn Yoga, in the beginning the duration of
practice can be as little as 15 to 20 minutes. One can gradually
increase the duration. The teacher should check the breath every day
and then increase the duration of practice. Whatever be the posture,
if one could stay for a long time without the limbs going to sleep (or
numb) or any pain or discomfort then such a practitioner is known as
jitasana (the conqueror/master of an asana.) While staying in an asana
one should not unnecessarily shake the body, bend or contort or move
and if one can stay for hours then such a yogi is a jitasana. We learn
from the works and sayings of yogis that in the olden days the rishis,
every day would remain in any one asana for three hours and do
pranayama and meditation. Then if the yogi is able to remain doing
long inhalation, exhalation and kumbhaka without feeling any kind of
fatigue and for a long period of time such a person would be called
“Jitaprana” or Jitaswasa, or one who has conquered the breath.
Remaining in a posture and gazing at one's favorite (ishta) icon and
experiencing a feeling of bliss is called “trataka”. It is of two
types, anta and bahi. To gaze at an outside object like an icon is
external trataka. Closing one's eyes and 'imaging' the object
internally and continually focusing attention in between the eyebrows
is the antah(r)trataka or internal gazing. One can practice this
between one to ten minutes.
In the yogasana practice it is good to include a Mudra as well
everyday. Mahamudra and Shanmukhi mudra may be done. Further one
should do a kriya called plavana (jumping/stretching). For instance,
remaining in the same place after a particular asana practice, one may
place the palms on the floor, lift the body and then stretch the legs
one by one . Then in recaka one should bend the leg and in puraka
return to the floor If one stays in an asana for a long time, the
muscles could slightly cramp and the plavana would help restore the
muscles attain normal tone. The yogabhyasi should practice asana,
pranayama, mudra and kriya together even from the beginning. Only then
all the benefits mentioned for the varied asanas will accrue. Likewise
if one by Pranayama becomes known as Jitaswasa, and then by meditation
is able to conquer the mind such a yogi is known as jitamanaska. All
the three are necessary. One should practice the same duration for
both asana and pranayama and then twice the duration for dhyana or
meditation. In the olden days the sages did yoga on three occasions
everyday, at dawn, noon and dusk. The time and regulation in Kumbhaka
are essential. With regulated time,one should practice all aspects of
yoga, like asana, kriyas, pranayama and mudra. One should do a few
asanas that one enjoys doing for about 15 mts and then do the
pratikriyas or counter poses. For instancee one may do 15 mts of
sirsasana followed by 15 mts of sarvangasana,. Or perhaps 15 mts of
viparita dandasana followed by 15 mts of uttana mayurasana.
Asanas like sirasasana done while the body trembles or unsteady will
not be beneficial. Done correctly, it helps to maintain prana in
sushuna. Without proper practice one will not get faith in Yoga, nor
will one get the benefits mentioned in the sastras. One should know
the kriyas (like plavana) and there is a relationship bertween asanas
and plavana(jumping/stretching) kriya. As mentioned earlier, one
should bring under control the body by asana, with recaka kumbhaka the
prana and by meditation or dhyana the mind. For dhyana it may be
useful to choose a charming icon