Breath of the Gods

Posted on September 8, 2014 by admin

Breath of the Gods is a documentary by a German film maker (now available on Netflix) who sets out to discover the origins of modern yoga postures by exploring the life of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, teacher to the big three in modern hatha yoga; Pattabhi Jois of the Ashtanga Vinyasa line, TKV Desikachar, a son of Krishnamacharya and linked to Viniyoga, and B.K. S. Iyengar, brother-in-law of Krishnamacharya. It is quite amazing to see the three totally different and amazingly popular approaches to teaching the postures that grew out of Krishnamacharya’s yoga school.

Pattabhi is down to his last few months and dies during the filming, but we do see him reminiscing, discussing yoga, and instructing a group class to get a feel for his presence. Unfortunately, Desikachar, whose style is probably the closest to that of Krishnamacharya in his later years does not appear at all, possibly because of illness; but the youngest of Krishnamacharya’s sons, T.K. Shribhashym, and two of his daughters, Alamelu and Shubha are wonderful at helping articulate their father’s teaching methods and how they evolved. Shribhashym has a big role in the film and helps us realize his father’s impressive dedication to reviving hatha yoga in India, in spite of the total lack of respect accredited to ‘yogi’s.

There are several archival segments of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar, Alamelu and Shubha, some familiar to those who have seen the 1938 practice that has been around a while, and some new. There are also some ‘reconstructions’, modern enactments of actors pretending to be Krishnamacharya and his students, but these actors are ‘eye opening’ in the ease in which they perform some very advanced yoga poses. Try this padangustha dhanurasana on for size! Or this natarajasana!

Iyengar is, of course, a scene stealer and gets lots of face time. He talks about his relationship with Krishnamacharya, (no new ground here), and how he learned to teach himself the poses. You also see him practicing amidst the chaos of the Pune studio, and the some of the best parts are when we watch him teach. Follow as he instructs his granddaughter in a twist to differentiate between the object (the outer aspect) and the subject (inner aspect) of the pose. In urdhva dhanurasana, watch him help her find the height in the pose from the DFL (deep front line) by using the ankles. From the other end, extend through the armpits, do not force the wrists. In teaching the director sirsasana, he show how to ground the wrists and lift through the twin pillars of the side bodies activated by the leg action. It was almost painful to watch, knowing he is no longer here.

If you have more than a passing interest in the modern yoga scene, this is definitely worth a look.

B.K.S. Iyengar, 1918 – 2014

Posted on August 19, 2014 by admin

“PUNE: Yoga guru BKS Iyengar passed away at a private hospital in Pune on Wednesday.

The 96-year-old yoga exponent was admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital here for poor heart function and difficulty in breathing.

“Iyengar died at 3.15 am on Wednesday,” said a treating doctor.

Iyengar was ill for three weeks prior to hospitalization but refused to get himself admitted and was treated at home by his family physician. He was even put on intravenous fluid at home.

His family members could finally persuade him to get admitted after his condition worsened. He was admitted to the hospital on August 12. But by then, his condition had deteriorated a lot. He was put on non-invasive ventilator for a day but he refused to undergo aggressive treatment and hence, he was put off artificial respiration.

Iyengar’s heart muscles had become very weak following which there was less amount of blood being pump by the heart.”

This was from The Times of India web site. His passing is a great loss for all students of yoga. Iyengar’s dedication to practicing with depth, clarity and passion inspired millions. My formative years in yoga were totally shaped by his guiding hand and insightful advice. He supported me when I was enthusiastic but clueless, and we had a cosmic/heart connection that transcended time and space and is ever present in my own personal practice. May he come back to this world quickly as we still have a long way to go in this planetary transformation he so deeply embodied.

2014 YLT 1st Half Summary

Posted on July 29, 2014 by admin

General Principles:

1. Establishing Presence, Opening the Heart:
How can we practice ‘Presence’, stabilize our awakening, realize the unbounded present moment, silent and still, un-graspable and yet, ever available, and rest here, abide here, as the world of form, the manifest universe, unfolds in its own way, in its own time; and from here allow the heart to open into its natural fullness so we can engage our karmic path with both wisdom and compassion.

2. Learning the rules of the world of form, as expressed in: the yin and yang, the tamas, rajas and sattva, the balance of opposites.

3. Studying the nature of the gross body, matter, the sthula sharira, through gravity and weight, muscle, bone and connective tissues, anatomy and kinesiology; using Tom Myers’ ‘Anatomy Trains’ model and other fascial continuities that link movement and perception, and enhancing perception and sensitivity through the practice of yoga postures and flow, gestures and movement.

4. Investigating the level one of the energy body, the physiological or pranic realms through breath perception, observation, and guided practice of asana and pranayama.

5. Exploring ‘mind’ and ‘mind activity’ as expressed in attention, perception, memory, discrimination, identification, discovery, emotions, actions and creativity.

6. Discovering and aligning the energy body with the ‘Cosmic Fields’, using gravity, asana and the imagery of sacred geometry. Building a strong and grounded connection to the ‘Heart Toroidal Field”.

Specific Explorations :
(for the first half of the course; more to come!)

1: Develop familiarity with basic standing poses as ‘tools’ for somatic discovery. These include uttanasana, prasarita padottanasana, trikonasana, ardha chandrasana, parsvakonasana, parsvottanasana, parvrtta ardha handrasana, parvrtta parsvakonasana. Please add your own favorites to this list if necessary.

2. Use these poses to explore the three basic movements of the hip sockets: flexion/extension (or forward and back bending…do not confuse spine with hips!): lateral flexion and extension or ‘fish body’: and rotation or twisting. Again differentiate hips and spine here.

3. Practice dog pose and all variations, including ‘flipping’. Learn to art of ‘double action’ or opposite extension.

4. Grow yourself a tail and use it in all poses to ‘trifurcate’ the mula or root chakra energy. From dog, begin with simple inversions and add sirsasana and sarvangasana when ready. Also simple back bends (sphynx, cobra, up dog, ustrasana, and twists.

5. Become familiar with the ‘Deep Front Line’ of the Anatomy Trains lines. Find it feel it, work from here, integrate perception, stabilize your presence here.

6. Learn the role of props as tools to provide support and leverage to help open up the body. Blocks, belts, bolsters, blankets, weights (sandbags or barbell plates) and chairs are the main ones. Foam rollers and therabands are also wonderful tools. Use for supported bridge and variations to refine double action, aka integrating prana and apana.

7. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: First Pass: get a feel for the structure of the book, the nature of sutras and the different types of information conveyed. Next: Choose a 12 or so key sutras, ones that you can work with. Include as essential I-2 – 1-4, II-46 – II-48, II-1 and I-33. Live with them. Sleep with them.

8. Read some Dan Siegel to get a sense of interpersonal neuro-biology and modern neuroscientific models of mind. What is neural integration and how does that relate to yoga? What is emotional self-regulation?

9. Observe your own ‘ahamkara’, the I making’ aspect of mind activity. Shift it from ‘identifying with’ the thoughts, ideas, beliefs and objects in the mind to ‘spacious emptiness’ aka presence. Make friends with the many ‘voices’ or ‘parts’ that have important roles to play in mind. Create teams of parts that can complement each other as they perform their duties. Just be clear that, although they may pose as “I”, they are imposters. “I AM’ is limitless, luminess emptiness…

10. Listen to ‘awakening teachers’ through their cd’s (‘Sounds True‘ has an extensive collection), or even better, live and in person. Read their writings. Soak it in until awakening becomes second nature. Then keep re-minding your self, ‘stay awake’, ‘stay present’. The reminders are everywhere! My personal living favorites are Adyashanti and Eckhart Tolle, but there are many awakening teachers out and about these days, each with their own unique gifts and gaps. Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nirsagatta Maharaj are two giants of the last century.

Advanced Practice:

Work on your levitation.