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| Krishnamacharya Mysore 1934 At the time Krishnamacharya was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois. This niralumba sarvangasana variation never made it into Jois' Ashtanga Vinyasa presentation of his teachers teaching, except perhaps while passing through to Urdhva Padmasana but we see it in the 1938 Mysore demonstration footage by Krishnamacharya ( see below), and he continued to teach niralumba sarvangasana variations to his long standing student Ramaswami in Chennai from the 1950s onwards. |
Is this all.... 'traditional'? Sharath and indeed Manju are wrong I suspect to argue that Ashtanga Vinyasa is 'traditional practice' as would Krishnamacharya were he to suggest that what he was teaching was 'traditional' ( I don't remember Ramaswami ever suggesting he indicated such a thing). 'Tradition' has no meaning here unless it's perhaps asana (most likely a seated asana) followed by pranayama and a sit of/for self enquiry all on a foundation of appropriate yama/niyama.
Ultimately there is just sincere, committed ( and appropriate for you) practice with intention.
Words like 'tradition' are mostly promotion.
Words like 'tradition' are mostly promotion.
*
I was reminded of this post from 2010 by my friend Sharon Hascall and realised that how I'm practicing today really isn't that much different from how I was practicing back then..., the more it changes the more it stays the same. Sharath of course reminds us of late, that Ashtanga Vinyasa too is a Vinyasa Krama.
Here's the post from 2010 followed by my fb post from a couple of days ago, more of a Simon Borg-Olivier approach to tadasana/Standing perhaps but otherwise.....
2010
As mentioned in yesterdays post, I seem to have settled down into a Vinyasa Krama in the morning and Ashtanga in the evening routine.
Ashtanga we know righ,t but perhaps a closer look at what I mean by a 'simple' and 'core' VK practice is called for.
There seem to be recommendations and suggestions (I'm taking recommendations as stronger here).
Following his teacher Krishnamacharya, Ramaswami recommends practicing daily
A long, five to ten minute Paschimotansana
A five minute Shoulderstand, the first three minutes of which are done with the legs relaxed.
A five to ten minute Headstand.
Another shoulderstand for five minutes and a counter posture.
Maha Mudra ( like janu sirsasna A without the forward bend )
also in a suitable posture for meditation
Kapalabhati 108
Pranayama
Meditation
He also suggests
A short Tadasana sequence
Some preparation postures preceding the first shoulderstand
Backbend counter poses following the shoulderstands
Baddha Konasana
I tend to throw in a chanted Sury namaskara as well as a short Asymmetric subroutine
Put both the recommendations and suggestions and my additions together and you have my Simple core Vinyasa krama practice
A short Tadasana sequence
A short Asymmetric routine
A long Paschimottanasana
Some preparation postures preceding the first shoulderstand
A five minute shoulderstand, the first three minutes of which are with the legs relaxed
Backbend counter posture
10 Minute headstand
Another Shoulderstand
followed by another backbend counter pose
Maha Mudra
Baddha Konasana
In Padmasana
Kapalabhati 108
Pranayama ( nadi shodana )
Japa ( mantra) meditation
Vinyasa Krama is a naturally flexible approach
I tend to do a basic ten minute tadasana routine but there are several other options within the full On your feet 'tadasana' sequence. You may wish, as I did earlier in the week, to substitute in a few more twisting movements or squats.
I tend to rotate daily the Asymmetric subroutine, one day maha mudra, another, the marichi or half lotus subroutine. Find them all the options here.
I tend to stay in straight paschimottanasana and work on my breath and bandhas but there are some options while in the pose.
Backbend counterpose options are here
Following Ramaswami's advice I keep the first shoulderstand simple, relaxed legs for the first three minutes, just working on breath and bandhas but for the second Shoulderstand there are all kinds of options (the link includes the shoulderstand prep). I tend to do standard ashtanga finishing, halasana etc out of habit.
Headstands too have many options ( the headstand comes up at 3:45 )
I manage to keep the practice down to an hour, nothing feels rushed, overall it has a highly meditative feel to it. For me, my morning asana practice is preparation for extended pranayama and meditation but, of course, if that's not your bag, you can add in another half hour of Subroutines, some Triangle or On one leg subroutines perhaps to bring it up to a 90 minute practice in line with a standard Ashtanga practice.
https://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2010/10/looking-at-my-morning-vinyasa-krama.html?m=0
2017
and here's my post from a couple of days ago
As much as I'm enjoying exploring Simon Borg Olivier's spinal sequence in Standing ( as well as in some seated postures) AND the longer stays with kumbhaka in my 'proficient' Primary ( http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/p/proficient-primary-project… ) AND the moving up and down from Sirsasana to gomukhasana and back and likewise with Buddha konaasana and padmasana.... IT'S Krishnamacharya's Mysore 1938 shoulderstand variations ( many of which a Ramaswami taught us on his Vinyasa Krama TT) that I perhaps ENJOY the most in my practice and look forward to each morning. I think you can tell from the video that perhaps Krishnamacharya enjoyed them
too.
Blog post with screenshots here http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/…/krishnamacharyas-1938-shou…
Note: Re the long stay in Pachimottanasana and maha mudra mentioned in the 2010 post.... I'm more interested in of late in moving in and out of variations of a posture, a one breath/one asana or variation of an asana approach. So I will enter one hand hold variations of paschimottanasana, perhaps a prep version with the knees bent and take a kumbhaka on the exhalation, raise out of the fold and then enter again to another hand variations and another kumbhaka and so on. Still a long stay in the key posture but more movement in and out of it via the variations. Ramaswami suggested I think at one point of our TT that one reason Krishnamacharya introduced variations was to to stop the boys of the palace getting bored, likewise having them chant a mantra during the kumbhaka. It's Simon Borg-Olivier's thoughts on active movements that is interesting me however rather than getting bored. This from Simon's recent share of my post
"Active movements are the traditional way to come into yoga postures. These are movements that are done by the muscles that would be used to enter a posture without the assistance of external forces such as gravity, momentum, or one limb pulling on another limb. Active movements can give you strength without stress, flexibility without painful stretching, and improved circulation without increasing your heart rate."
....and this on inversions from something I wrote this morning
'... very interested in exploring transplanting what you're doing in standing into inversions, moving perhaps not as deeply into inverted postures/variations as I've tended to in the past but rather, more gentle movements of the spine, this way and that, waving my legs around as if they were my arms, rolling vertebrae by vertebrae into and then back up out of a posture. It seems to make sense but early days'.
Is this all.... 'traditional'? Sharath and indeed Manju are wrong I suspect to argue that Ashtanga Vinyasa is 'traditional practice' as would Krishnamacharya were he to suggest that what he was teaching was 'traditional' ( i don't remember Ramaswami ever suggesting he indicated such a thing). 'Tradition' has no meaning here unless it's perhaps asana (most likely a seated asana) followed by pranayama and a sit of/for self enquiry all on a foundation of appropriate yama/niyama.
Ultimately there is just sincere, committed ( and appropriate for you) practice with intention.
Appendix
Is this 'traditional'?
Not in the slightest but then what is.....
and yet on the other hand.....
Above: One minute breath (give or take).
Something I mentioned on my most recent blog post (link on profile).
Generally Simon Borg-Olivier recommends, when beginning physical yoga as well as perhaps a new sequence or approach, to employ natural breathing 'to the abdomen' a babies or sleeping breath. I've been employing relaxed abdominal breathing for a couple of years now but shifting from the Ashtanga one movement one inhalation or exhalation to letting the breath take care of itself has been challenging. But once you begin to get the hang of it other possibilities arise. In the video, I'm exploring breathing through the movements, so a long slow 30 second inhalation through the first stretches, of one arm and then the other above the head, one inhalation for both sides and then again a long slow, relaxed 30 second exhalation through the twists to the left and right. This is an aspect of practice I'm quite excited about exploring right now.
Note: The video is natural speed, it hasn't been slowed down.
Below, Qigong is it just me or is this Simon forty years from now.
Born in 1918, Master Chou now 92 years old and can move much better than most young people. Here is a a preview from a documentary currently in production titled Mentors and Proteges. This segment features the amazing 91 year old Master Chou who was mentored by PU RU of the Imperial Palace, cousin
Qigong/Yoga
"About 1122 B.C., The Book of Change (I Ching) first recorded the concept of qi or vital energy. Studying the relationship of three powers—heaven, earth, and man---was an early step in the development of qigong. Around 450 B.C., Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, described breathing techniques in his book Dao De Jing, recommending that the breath be collected and allowed to descend in the body. Interest in breath and life force (qi) was heightened during this period and became one of the roots of Chinese Medicine, along with the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements".
"Although there is archeological evidence that dao-yin was sometimes coupled with military drills at an earlier time, it was around 500 A.D. that a Buddhist monk, Bodhidarma, came from India to the Shao Lin Temple in China (where he was called Ta Mo). He is credited with unifying the spiritual and martial branches of qigong, by teaching ailing sedentary monks to strengthen their bodies through movements, while also teaching pugilistic martial artists how to softly empower their fighting through internal and spiritual practices. After his death, qigong-like trainings for martial arts continued to develop as it became evident that much advantage could be gained through these methods. These, too, were kept secret so that enemies couldn’t use them to also gain advantage".