I pray Patanjali to bless the readers so that the … - December...2 I pray Patanjali to bless the readers so that the illuminative rays of yoga may penetrate and reach them, and the

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I pray Patanja l i t o b less the readers so that the i l l uminat i ve rays of yo ga may penet ra te and reach them, and th e po ise and peace may f l ow in them as a p eren nia l r i ve r f l ows in to the sea of sp i r i t ua l w isdom.

- - BKS Iyengar

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CONTENTS

Message from The Chair 4

Ed’s Notes 5

Brahmanda to Pindanda to Brahmanda 6

Practical Lesson: Coping with Fatigue 10

Burrowing into Balance 12

What’s My Line 13

Iyengar on Pranayama 16

Indian Ramblings 20

Kiran Lalla 21

Stephanie Quirk in Cape Town 22

News from the Regions 23

Courses 27

Notices 30

A Poem 31

YogAfrica December 2012

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

STRATFORD CANNING

As we approach the end of 2012 we can re f lect on how d i f f i cu l t t he year has been, not on ly eco nomica l l y , but po l i t i ca l l y as wel l . South Af r i ca and the wor ld face many chal lenges, making i t d i f f i cu l t f or the ord inary c i t i zen to

cope.

Thankfu l l y we have yoga. Th ink how ca lm ing a sess ion of pranayama i s , how the s t resses of the wor ld recede

dur ing an asan a c lass, how inv igorated one fee ls a f ter . Certa in l y an ant idote to the s t resses of everyday l i f e .

So we g ive thanks to Sr i BKS Iyengar and congratu la te h im on reaching the young age of 94. Appropr ia te ce le-

brat ions are tak ing p lace in Ind ia and a l l over the wor ld .

The h igh l ight o f our year wa s the launch of our n ew websi te a f ter 5 months of hard work by a dedicate d team who sacr i f i ced many hou rs o f the i r t ime. My thanks go to Br ig i t t a Tummon for her i ns ight , Judy Fara h for her support and R iva for her knowled ge. Thanks a lso g o Adr iaan Gie our new webmaster and Lauren Ryc rof t who

ass is ted in the new look des ign.

What we st rove to ach ieve was s impl i c i t y , ease of nav igat ion and increase d funct ional i t y . I t h ink that , j udg ing by the feedback rece ived, we ha ve achieved that . However, we would enco urag e you to be c r i t i ca l o f t he product

and i f you fee l t hat there i s anyth ing that can be improved p lease le t us know.

Ear l i er i n the year we hosted Dean Lerner who led seminars in Johannesbu rg and Cape Town. Fu l l report s ap-peared in our June i ssue. In November we were pr i v i l eged to host S tephanie Qui rk once again. She presented a one day worksho p in Cape Town on the 3 r d November and then the f i f t h of her Remedia l Tra in ing Course s f rom 5 t h t o 8 t h Novembe r. The cou rse was once ag ain he ld a t Goudin i Spa, a very specia l venu e. Twenty seven teach-ers qual i f i ed to a t tend and report s f i l t e r ing back ind icate that a l l f ound i t reward ing and a great benef i t to the i r

own knowledge of I yengar yoga. 2013 w i l l see the s i x th and f i na l course be ing prese nted in Johannesb urg.

Lo is Ste inberg has agreed to be in South Af r i ca in 2013 and w i l l present course s in Johannesbu rg and Cape

Town.

The reg ions were act i ve in present ing reg ional courses and these were wel l a t tended. The out reach programme saw Br ig i t t a Tummon and Pat Deacon present worksh ops in East London, whi le Br ig i t t a a l so presented in Johan-

nesburg.

We end the year w i th a pa id up membersh ip base of 434 made up of 124 teachers, 39 s tudent teachers and 271 associa te members. Regret tab ly we saw our numbers cont ract as we star ted the year w ith 467 members. Part o f t he prob lem was the change in o f f i ce bearers and the d i f f i cu l t i es faced by them in tak ing of f i ce. As they set t l e i n to the i r ro les I h ave no doubt that they w i l l be ab l e to reve rse the negat i ve g rowth and increase mem bersh ip again. There are app rox. four thousan d I yengar Yo ga pract i t i oners in Southern Af r i ca so there i s a large un-

tapped potent ia l here.

Fo l low ing a dec is ion at our l ast AGM, the Eastern and Southern Cape membersh ip was successfu l l y m igrated to

and incorpo rated in the Western Cape.

I congratu la te Lars Kruge r, Natasha P incus, Rhe Wessels , Pat t i Gr i f f i t hs, Ju l ie Pearson and Bet t i na S impson on obta in ing the i r I n termediate Junio r Level 1 cert i f i ca t ion. Thei r dedicat ion and perseve rance i s to be com-

mended. The Inst i t u te i s r i cher for the i r ach ievement s.

In September we were faced w i th the t rag ic news of the pass ing of K i ran La l la , a teacher in Johannesbu rg, as a resu l t o f a motor acc ident . We were a l l shocked that such a gent le, dedicated, popular and wel l l oved person

could be taken so suddenly . Our thoughts a re w i th h is fami l y and f r i ends.

F ina l l y I would l i ke to thank my team for the i r ongoing support and advice. My thanks a lso go to our reg ional cha i rpe rson s and the i r commi t tees for keeping the wheels o f the inst i t u te wel l o i l ed. Thei r dedicat ion to the in-s t i t u te i s grat i f y ing. Further thanks go to G i l l i an Bacon and he r Asscomm commi t tee for the i r work in t eacher

t ra in ing and Mo Marshak for tak ing on the Eth ics and Cert i f i cat ion funct ion.

A l l t hat remains i s for me to w ish a l l our members w el l over the fest i ve se ason. May i t be a t ime of pea ce and

happiness and may 2013 b r ing you a l l success.

Yours in Yoga

St ra t ford


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RIVA HIRSCHOWITZ What an incred ib le year and i t i s a lmost a t i t s end. At a t ime when so much seems out o f ba lance, I was in-sp i red by a n ar t i c le sent to me by Jenn y Morr i s ent i t l ed "Brahmanda to P indanda to Brahmanda " . The ba lance that i s poss ib le to create in our i nne r wor ld thro ugh Asana t rans la tes in to the ba lance in our oute r wor ld . Thank you as wel l t o G i l l i an Bacon for the ar t i c le "Pract i ca l l esson: cop ing wi th Fat igue " which I am sure you wi l l agree i s very va luable a t th i s t ime of the year Thanks once again to St ra t ford for the many hours to he lp put together the YogAf r i ca hosted on our wonderfu l new websi te as wel l as a l l t he other cont r ibutors to th i s magazine. I hope you are insp i red to take a look arou nd the websi te www.bks iyengar.co.za i f you have not a l ready d one so I w ish you peace and seren i t y , s tamina and ba lance. B less ings to you and your love d ones ove r th i s ho l i day per iod.

Namasté

R iva E-mail: [email protected]

ED’S NOTES


Look for the l i ght . Ego i s not the source of l i ght . Consciousne ss t ransmi ts the d iv ine l i ght o f or ig in , of t he soul . F ind the sun, says yo ga, d i scove r the sou l . That i s what Hatha Yoga means.

- BKS I y engar

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BRAHMANDA TO PINDANDA TO BRAHMANDA


STEPHANIE QUIRK

To know your p lace in the grand scheme of th ings i s great knowledge, but to know the grand scheme of t h ings w i th in you sounds a b i t wei rd . Can we rea l l y consider that the "grand-scheme" of th ings i s w i th in ourse lves? The concept o f t he Brahmanda w i th in the Pindanda or the un iversa l w i th in the ind iv idual i s one that has been

expre ssed in many d i f f er ing systems of thought .

I n the Mai tr i Upanisad , you f i nd the fo l l ow ing be ing expre ssed: "He ( the se l f ) bears h imsel f i n two ways, as he who i s breath and he who i s the sun. Therefore two, ver i l y are these paths, i nward and outward. - - - - Yonde r sun (co smos) i s the outer se l f , t he inner se l f i s brea th. Hence, the course of the inner se l f i s measured by the course of the outer se l f . L i kewise the cou rse of the outer se l f i s measured by the course of the inner se l f . " (Ch

VI .1)

Rumi has wr i t t en, "Therefore whi le in form Thou art t he m icrocosm, in rea l i t y Thou art t he macrocosm. Exter-na l l y the branch i s the or ig in o f the f ru i t ; but i n t r i ns i ca l l y the branch came in to ex is tence for the sake of the f ru i t . Had there been no hop e of the f ru i t , would the garde ner have p lanted the t ree ? So in rea l i t y the t ree i s

born of the f ru i t , t hough the f ru i t seems to be born of the t ree. "

On the back cover o f Astadala Yogamala 2, Guru j i says, 'The very hea rt o f my teaching has been an at tempt to demonst ra te in the most pract i ca l and usefu l way how any perfected part o f yoga conta ins the essence o f every o ther aspe ct , t he macrocosm ins ide the m icro cosm or the un ive rsa l cou ched w i th in the part i cu la r , l i ke the ge-

net i c code which l i es in the DNA of each of our ce l l s"

Knowing h imsel f and knowing the un iverse h as fasc i nated man f rom t ime immemoria l . Since ear l y t imes the an-c ient nomads and mar iners found ways for nav igat in g the g lobe. They observed the pat tern o f the s tars and ce-lest ia l spheres; they measu red the pa ss ing of the se asons and began to ca lcu la te angle and de cl inat ions in or-der to bu i ld great s t ructures as the pyramids of the anc ient Egypt ians and Aztecs. They made the i r way across

the great oceans and found new lands.

Out o f man's exp lor ing of h i s i nner and outer sphere s, there have evolved the many forms of s tudy now known as the sc iences. The sc iences invo lved in the mapping of the wor ld in part i cu lar have used l i ne, p lane, degre e and angle, a l l i n re la t ionship to the card ina l po in ts o f North , South, East and West and the i r i ntermediar ies o f

NW, SW, NE and SE. These are a l l ways of measur ing p lace in re la t ionship to a cent ra l ax is or the North Pole.

A map g ives us a d iagram of the g lobe, our env i ron menta l un iverse. One may a sk, "How help fu l i s su ch a d ia-gram to us personal l y?" Obvious ly o ne has to learn t o use the d iagram; one has to ident i f y onesel f w i th i ts com-ponents, so that those components become summari es of our personal expe r ience. In the example of the map of the wor ld , we use the abst ract o f t he l i nes and angles of the card ina l po in ts and the d i rect ions of space as a lens to focus. In our asana pract i ce we ma rk ou rse lves in space and na vigate ou r own inne r be ing f rom the ex-terna l surface, the per iphe ry to the ve ry co re. From Brahmanda t o Pindanda . The asana i s ou r vessel to cross

the great ocean.

Of ten Guru j i says that we lack a sense of d i rect ion . We do not know ou r no rth , south, east and west . We are not connected to our i nn er po le s tar . He i s ta l k ing about our i n ner d i rect ion an d or ie ntat ion which we do not

observe. Of ten there are d isparate pa rt s o f ourse lves po in t ing to d i f f erent d i rect ions.

Asana i s posture, or pos i t i on. I t i s p lacement w ith in a whole, o f var ious part s and aspects o f our body. A cor-rect asan a , means that the body i s fo l l ow ing part i cu l ar l i nes and a ngles. When we ta l k o f a l i gnment , one of the part i cu lar a t t r i butes of " I ye ngar Yo ga" , we are ta l k in g about the ar rangement o f the facets o f the body a long a part i cu lar l i ne or d i rect ion. The asana becomes the lens for the personal exper ience of un iversa l pr inc ip les.

When correct l y a l i gned, they a l i gn us to the same pr inc ip les o f the cosmos.

Not on ly are there the card ina l po in ts w i th the la t i t udes and longi tudes; but there are a lso angles an d square s de l ineat ing he ight , breadth and w idth ; sp i ra l s depic t ing the energy ra d ia t ing inward and outwa rd ― i .e . , t he

cent r ipeta l and cent r i f uga l forces w i th in the body. (Refer preface to Astadala Yogamala-2 ) .

When look ing at the asanas i n Light on Yoga (LOY), these un iversa l des igns in Guru j i ' s asana are o f ten not seen. Yet the i r recog ni t i on i s important for the pra ct i ce of asanas and p rana yama . The pur i t y o f l i ne, angle , square and curve in Guru j i ' s asana goe s unnot i ced and unapp rec ia ted. To miss seeing th i s a spect i s a great

l oss for a pract i t i oner, as o therw ise the asana be comes a "show" of phys ica l ab i l i t y and ag i l i t y . Remarkable and

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a t t ract i ve to us though that may be, Guru j i ' s understanding and study of h imsel f as a subject has gone far , f ar

beyond.

Th is ar t i c le t r i es to br ing the read er ' s a t tent ion to these other q ual i t i es that ex is t i n an asana. You w i l l not f i nd some new technique f rom Pune, but I would l i ke to convey and of fer to you a lens for you r own se l f -s tudy, a

lens of cosmic a l i gnment .

Let us f i rs t l ook at Guru j i ' s Tadasana (Samasth i t i ) LOY p la te 1 .

In Light on Yoga Guru j i g i ves a def in i t i on of Samasth i t i ― upright, straight , unmoved . Eas i l y we see that Guru j i ' s asan a i s upright and th at i t i s straight . I f you run a l i ne up the m idd le (a) you ca n see the s t ra ight , ver t i ca l up r ightness. You may th ink that th i s i s what every one does, but i t i s surpr i s ing how many students cannot fee l t hi s cent ra l

s t ra ight upr ight ax is .

Run a l i ne through the cent re o f the s ide la tera l v i ew and that l i ne w i l l run through th e cent re o f the ea r, shoulde r, h ip , f emur, knee and a nkle . Th is i s impossib le to f i nd in a

genera l c lass, i t i s someth ing that not many people observe or ach ieve in the i r l i f e t ime.

That was basic , but the other word Guru j i uses to def ine Samasth i t i i s - unmoved . What i s unmoved about the

asana? Taking the measure of the ce lest ia l sphere, which we ca l l earth and apply ing i t t o the personal sphere -

our bod y, we can see that we have a ce nt ra l ax is o f l ong i tude f rom south at the feet to north a t the crown of the

head, the cent ra l ax is has para l le l l i nes mark ing o f f t he longi tud ina l degrees. But what i s unmoved about Gu-

ru j i ' s asana i s that the para l le l , say f rom the south po in t o f t he m idd le metatarsa l goes through, exa ct l y the

same poin t on h is body on e i ther s ide of the cent ra l ax is . Not on ly are they equal and para l le l l i nes, upright

and straight , but they run exact l y through the cent re metatarsa l , cent re o f the sh in bone and th igh muscle ,

l ower and midd le abdomen, thorax and up to the exact cent re o f the c lav ic le . The l i nes are unmoved , t hey are

constant l y i n the cent re o f the l imb or the m id-d iv i s ion of the torso. The bones of the legs are arrang ed on top

of one another, t he i r muscles and the sp ind le s of t he sk in are ar rang ed evenly a roun d the bone, as much on the

ins ide as the outs ide of the leg. The co rners o f the d iaphragm a re evenly space d f rom the cent re l i ne, so too

are the co l larbones ― th is i s the unmovedness or un dis tor tedness of Guru j i ' s Samasth i t i . I t i s snayu vr t t i n i rod-

hah .

I n the Samasth i t i f rom Light on Yoga Guru j i ' s north i s to the north , h i s south to the south. The east faces east

and the west faces t rue west , t he para l le l s have no d is tor t i on in between.

Let us a lso see the la tera l a x is . The na vel can be considere d the equato r o f t he bo dy, g i v ing the d iv i s i ons of the upper and lower hemisphe res of the body. Col larbone to co l larbon e, d i v i s ions of the s terna l -costa l j o in ts , armpi t crease, e lbow c rease, pe lv i c g i rd le , t he f ronta l gro ins, the p i t o f t he inner gro ins, the outer femur j o in ts , t he four corners o f the knee ( f ront and back), t he inner and outer ank le jo in ts , t hese are a l l perfect l y hor i zonta l and exact l y p ara l le l t o each other. Th ose pa ra l le l s a re "unmoving " . Th is "unmoved " q ual i t y o f Guru j i ' s Sa mast -h i t i d i s t i ngu ishes h is asana f rom a l l o thers. I t i s not so much that he remained st i l l , but that a l l t he d i rect ions, a l l t he or ientat ions of l a t i t ud ina l and longi tud ina l para l le l s o f h i s sphere do not change. Now, let us see how we can use the ca rd ina l d i re ct ions as a nav igat ion a id f or ou r own a sana . What are the po in ts o f the compa ss that

we should be fac ing in our asana?

Utthi ta Trikonasana ― (R ight s ide)

In the Eastern v iew of the un iverse there are ten d irect ions of space, N, S, E , W, the i r m id po in ts as wel l as

f ront and back, or an ax is pe rpendicu la r to the N, S, E and W axes.

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The or ientat ions fo r Tad asana should be ke pt undis t urbed th rough Ut th i ta Hasta Padasana . I t i s when w e go to

Parsva Hasta Padasa na t hat we lose our way a l though a l l we have done i s ro ta te the f ront l eg, 90 degrees to

the s ide. The cent ra l l i ne through metatarsa l , sh in , knee and th igh should be mainta ined even af ter the ro ta t ion.

Most pract i t i oners fa i l t o turn the knee. Fo r t rue n av igat ion, one need s to see that the ent i r e ins ide surface

faces the east . Usual l y the top inner g ro in , t he knee and the ca l f muscle fa i l t o turn; the surfaces o f those part s

shr ink or turn in a d i f f erent d i rect ion. I t i s on ly af ter they turn that the other faces, N, S and W a lso can face

the i r card in a l d i rect ions. Now go to T rikonasana . I n orde r to keep the chest fac ing in i t s easte r l y d i re ct ion there

needs to be a t remendo us rest ra in t on the back le g w i th a cou nter revo lu t iona ry ro ta t ion on the p e lv i s . The

arms have to br ing the i r i nne r su rfaces, prev ious ly h i dden, to face forward so that the shoulder b la des wo rk and

keep the upper ch est fac ing forward.

Utthi ta Pa rsvakonasana - (R ight s ide w i th the le f t f oot against the wal l )

Do the asana w i th body at 90 d egre es to a wal l , t he back foot suppo rted at the wal l . Hold a ro pe in t he le f t hand and go to the po se (natura l l y the le f t a rm wi l l not be ove r the he ad). Make sure that the rop e exa c t l y d i s-sects the cent ra l ax is o f t h i s l a tera l extending pose. You w i l l f i nd that i f any part o f t he body dev ia tes f rom i t s N, S, E and W ax is you fee l as though the rope i s pu l l i ng you of f cent re . For instance, i f t he outer port i on of the back of the th igh loses i t s West fac ing d i rect ion and t i l t s forward to the ground, you fee l t he rope s l i ght l y tugs you to the back. I f t he r ight i nner gro in vee rs west again you fee l t he pu l l on the rope. The rope i s l i ke a p lumb l i ne for the pose so that you can exact l y gauge i t s ax is . Watch for the pu l l on the ro pe as you go in to the pose and adjust . A lways lo ok for the ca rd ina l p o in ts o f N , S, E and W in a pose and co rrect any movement toward s the m id po in ts , i . e . , t he outer th igh on the back l eg s lant ing south-ea st . The pa ra l le l s o f t he abdomen and torso should remain in Tadasana . So these a re the ways of us ing the card ina l po in t s as nav igat ion a ids or as a lens

for one 's own inner voyag e or se l f -d i scove ry.

Let us look at two more of Guru j i ' s poses. See P arip urna Matsyend rasana ( p la te 339 LOY ) , t here i s a la t i t ud ina l ax is f rom one shoulde r j o in t ; I have d rawn the l i ne a lso f rom one s ide f l oat ing r ib to the othe r an d f ro m one head of the pe lv i c g i rd le to the other. The re i s a ve r t i ca l ax is pass ing f rom the throat through the navel to the anus. I f you look at the v iew of the back, h i s sp ine i s p laced cent ra l l y i n the torso, i n a s t ra ight l i ne, w i th an even w idth o f to rso to each s ide. The sp ina l muscle s remain evenly para l le l t o the sp ine. Pa ripu rna Ma tsyen-drasan a i s an advan ced tw is t ing pose and yet Guru j i has mainta ined Tada sana o n the ent i re f ront an d b ack of the torso. To mainta in that proport ion and pa ra l le l i t y o f t he vert i ca l and hor i zonta l ax is in Paripu rna M atsyen-

drasan a i s a d i f f erent mat ter a l l t ogether.

Now look at the Parivr t ta Janu S i rsasana i n Art o f Yoga .

Here I have drawn in the l i nes of the to rso. I f s tanding in Tadasa na t hese l i nes would be the la t i t ud ina l para l -

l e l s . I t i s rea l l y very remarkable how Guru j i mainta ins an even spacing between a l l t he para l le l s , t he most

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remarka ble be ing the equ ator ia l l i ne th rough the n avel , not on ly d oes that navel mainta in i t s po s i t i on in the

cent re o f the body, m idway between the crown of the head and the crown of the knee, but a l so the navel i t se l f

mainta ins the same sha pe as though Gu ru j i was s tan d ing in Tada sana i . e . , hor i zonta l l y ac ross the bod y. Th is i s

the unmoved o f Samasth i t i .

There a re two fu r ther beaut i f u l examples of Gu ru j i ' s asanas be ing wel l a l i gned w i th the ten d i re ct ions. In th i s case both the a sanas are p erfo rmed w i th very l i t t l e base on the f l oo r. See the Natara jasana , t he due north , south east and west o f t he back leg (sh in due east , ca l f muscle due west , f ro nt o f t he th igh due south an d back of the th igh - i ns ide and outs ide due north) , t he perpendicu lar i t y o f t he s tanding leg, the ascending torso, the ba lance of the extended arm. A l l are due po in ts on the compass. Then in Vrschikasan a , t here i s a love ly SW to NE l i ne on the inner sp ina l co lumn as wel l as the l a tera l edge s of the back torso. To kee p an un -de via ted d i rect l i ne between h ip and knee as he has done re qui res not on ly that the length of the torso i s mainta ined but a l so the inner and outer s ides of the torso are kept para l le l . Then there i s the support ing arm, especia l l y the upper arm ― NORTH/SOUTH. To use the ten d i re ct ions of space as a too l f o r asana means we a re work ing w i th an " idea" - agamah . Agamah i s one of the three var ia t ions of pramana . Pramana i s one of the f i ve modi f i cat ions of c i t t a (see Yoga Sut ra , 1 .6 , and 1.7) . To go f rom th e idea to the ideal i s to move f rom agamah t o p ratyaksa . From us ing a scr ip tu ra l autho r i t y , i n th i s case the te n d i rect ions of space are to b e noted, and fo l l owed w i th our own d i rect pe rcept ion. We use the wal l and rop e an d the card in a l po in ts as a mea sure, or an idea f rom there v ia s tudy, analys is and in ference (anuman a) . From here, we can take ourse lves to d i rect knowled ge. Agamah , anumana and pratyaksa a re a l l f orms of va l id knowledge. They lead us to the very core of ou r be ing that i s

a l i gned w i th the ten d i rect ions of the ce lest ia l Universe.

Th is way, i f asana and pranayama are do ne w i th the ten d i rect ions as or ientat ion, t here can be no ro om for doubt , confus ion o r bewi lde rment . There i s on ly p la ce and space fo r c la r i t y , and a c le ar g u ided p ic tu re for a

r i ght performance that has no mistakes in thought and act ion.

The ef fect o f yoga i s that you are k ind led w i th the l i ght on

knowledge, which keeps you complete ly pure w i th an innocent

m ind and not w ith an arrogant m ind.

- - B.K.S l yengar

Repr i n t ed f rom Yo ga Rah as y a 8 Vol 8 . 4 , 2001

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PRACTICAL LESSON: COPING WITH FATIGUE


YOGACHARYA BKS IYENGAR

"The mind f luc tuates and br ings fear . One has to be above the mode o f the mind

to reach the ul t ima te of body 's mobi l i ty"

Mind i s f l u id and body i s so l id . M ind be ing f l u id , f l uctuates br ing ing fea r to perfo rm. I t i s a natura l phenomenon. But , t he purusa , t he atma or the sp i r i t i n u s has to b e brou ght to the su rface. Not on ly have I t o keep th e m ind under cont ro l but a l so learn to come out f rom the c ompuls ions of ag e. One ha s to be ab ove the mode of m ind

and bu i ld up a f rame of th ink ing to reach the u l t imate of the body 's mobi l i t y .

Menta l f a t igue i s exper ienced main ly when the bra in and nerve s get t i red. The exce ss ive use of the bra in , nerve s, senses of percept ion; main ly the eyes and e ars, cause menta l f a t igue. On the other hand, phys i ca l f a-t i gue i s fe l t main ly in the s t ructura l body. When ove rworke d, the neuromuscula r system begins to get a f fected, causing the nerves to suf fer . Obvious ly the bra in does not respond a long w i th the motor funct ion ing of the

body, a f fect ing the menta l f unct ion ing l i ke th ink ing or reasoning.

Let me refer to dyu rveda here which re fe rs to the de rangement o f the three h umours in the bo dy. The de range -ment occurs when the re i s e i ther l oss o r exce ss of h umour. I f one humour i s v i t i a ted the other two a l so get d i s-turbed. The vayu o r vata i s bas ica l l y the ne rvou s sys tem. Over-exert ion, shock or fea r, and menta l d i s turbance s cause the loss of nerve force. Th is can cause lan gu or, du l lness, ove rs leep, u neasiness, absen ce of hap piness

or h i l ar i t y , shortness o r l oss of speech, e tc . Th is may happen when there i s l oss of vayu .

On the other hand, when there i s excess of vayu , on e fee ls t remor or t rembl ing of l imbs, i nsomnia and decrease of bodi l y s t rength. In o ther wo rds, whene ver the re i s l oss or e xcess of vata , pi t ta and s lesma i t a f fects the body in the beginn ing and la ter the m ind. S im i lar l y , i f t he body fa t igue i s a l l owed to cont inue, i t w i l l l ead t owards

menta l f a t igue. The f i rs t i nd icat ion of th i s ascend ing fa t igue i s fe l t on the nerves.

Loss of pi t ta i ncreases bodi l y heat an d d igest ion i s i mpai red. The d is turbe d funct ion ing of the d igest i ve system causes menta l d epre ss ion. Obvious ly , l oss of phys ic a l s t rength w i l l l ead toward s menta l f a t igue. Excess of pi t ta causes weakn ess of the sense organs an d d im in ish ing of s t rength. For example, when the eyes suf fer w i th

g laucomia l t ens ion, i t causes bra in fa t igue leading towards menta l f a t igue.

So as a teacher, I see the reason behind the fa t igue. When I know that a person i s suf fer ing w i th insomnia, or

overs lee p or i nd igest ion, the programme of pract i ce has to be changed.

When phys ica l l y t i red, the l imbs, nerves do not re sp ond. The system gets dr ied u p. I t hen resort t o re juvenat ion pract i ces throu gh inve rted asana -s , Ad o Mukha Vr i k shasana and back be nds such as Vipar i ta Dand asa na an d

Kapotasana.

Adho Mukha Svana sana, Ut tanasana, S i rsasana, Adho Mukha Vrksasan a, P incha Mayura sana, V ipar i t a Dan-dasana, Kapotasan a, Setubandha Sa rvang asana, Sa rvanga sana, Halasana a nd Paschimot tanasan a he lp in re-

cover ing f rom phys ica l f a t igue.

When I am menta l l y t i red, I f ee l t he fa t igue at the back of the bra in , I resort t o asana f or rest ing the lobes of the bra in and re juven at ion of the m ind. For th i s I do Si rsasan a on a rope, forwa rd bend s such as Jan u S i rsa-sana, Tr iang Mukhaikapcida Paschimot tanasana and s tay for l ong pe r iods of t ime in these asana-s ; ba ckb ends, Sarvang asana, Halasana and the i r var ia t ions and f i na l l y Savasana wi th weights on the th ighs w i th back of the

chest on hard rectangula r p lanks.

The extent o f f a t igue a lso depend s upon the p rofess ion of a perso n. A surge on af ter pe rforming a compl i cated surg ica l op erat ion may fee l ph ys ica l as wel l as menta l f a t igue. Then I have to chang e the cou rse of pract i ce and g ive rest ing asa na-s l i ke ro pe Si rsasana, Dwi Pada V ipar i ta Danda sana o n chai r , Setu Bandha S arvan -gasana o n ben ch, suppo rted Halasana an d Sava san a wi th bearable weig ht on the forehead w i th the e yebrows

moving towards the eyes.

Phys ica l f a t igue i s l essen ed w i th invers ions an d forward extens io ns l i ke Ja nu S i rsasana , an d so fo r th , wherea s

menta l f a t igue i s l essened w i th invers ions as wel l as backward extens ions.

Fat igue causes ho rmonal imbalance which could be temporary.

The menta l Pressure comes w i th phys ica l e xert ion. I n the forwa rd exten s ions l i ke Janu S i rsasana, ob vious ly theover s t imulated adren als are q u ie tened. But on the other hand, i f menta l f a t igue has caused the p hys ica l

du l lness and laz iness, then back -bendin gs such as D wi Pada V ipar i ta Dandasana are he lp fu l . The adrenal s w i l l

11


be st imulated. Therefore, the ad justment in one 's pract i ce req ui res vast d i sc ret ion. Phys ica l exe rt ion do ne be-yond one 's ph ys ica l cap aci t y , l i ke carr y ing heavy weights or walk ing may cause breath lessness. The sup ine asana open the tho rac ic cav i t y , expan d the chest an d br ing f reedom in d iaph ragmat i c reg ion. Therefore, Supta Baddha Konasan a, Supta V i rasana, Supta Svast i kasana . As the breath lessness i s removed, the menta l f resh-

ness i s fe l t .

Therefore, as one cannot demarcate between the body and mind, so a lso one cannot demarcate between phys i -ca l and menta l f a t igue. Of ten I say where the body a wareness ends, the m ind awareness be gins, so a lso where

the body fa t igue cu lm inates, the menta l f a t igue too cu lm inates.

"One cannot demarcate between body & mind , so also one cannot

demarcate between body & menta l fat igue.

When body fa t igue culminates, mental fa t igue too culminates ."

Repr i n t ed f rom Yo ga Rah as y a, Vo l . 1 . 5 No. 1 : 20

I f t he mind i s predominant dur ing inhala t ion, you are do ing egot i s t i ca l pranayama. I f t he m ind descends, and i t i s the heart t hat i s predominant , you are do ing t rue, humble

pranayama.

- - BKS I y engar

12

BURROWING INTO BALANCE


MERYL URSON

One of the most common reasons p ract i t i oners g ive for hav ing in i t i a ted and mainta ined a yoga p ract i ce i s the i r search for ba lance. The yogic approach teache s that phys ica l ba lance creates emot ional , menta l and spi r i t ua l ba lance and that a l i ght , ca lm and ha rmonious s ta t e on the mat can be t ra nspo rted in to eve ry o the r facet o f

l i f e .

But how does ba lance work? Acco rd ing to BKS Iyengar, t he body’s in te l l i gence i s the main ingred ient requi re d to create i t , ra ther than raw st rength. I f on ly the l a t ter i s used an i l l us ion of b a lance may be found i n the asanas, but i t w i l l a lways lack the e ssent ia l symmet ry an d re laxat ion that def ine t rue ba lan ce. Real l e arn in g

can a lso on ly occu r in a s ta te o f concord and awaren ess.

When at tempt ing to f i nd one’s ba lance in an asana, as in l i f e , one s ide of the body (or l i f e i ssue) w i l l a lways overpowe r the other. Guru j i ’ s adv ice here i s to a l l ow the s t ronger s ide to teach the wea ker, so that the pract i -t i oner i s cha l lenged constant l y to t ransfer knowledg e, consc iou sness and power f rom on e s ide of the b ody t o

the other. Th is process i s ca l led ‘ sparsha’ .

When th i s occurs the s t ron g and chal lenging s ide of the body i s met by an equal counter cha l lenge on the

weaker s ide. Th is way a t rue and dynamic ba lance i s created and mainta ined, pu ls ing w i th v ibrant energ y.

But not on ly the le f t and r ight s ides are to be brough t i n to ba lance. A l l aspects o f t he asana must be pa id the same at tent ion: s tab i l i t y , s t re tch, i n tens i t y and spac ing, so that no aspe ct i s ne glected o r i d le . E ven th e per -

sp i ra t ion should f l ow evenly f rom corre sponding pa r t s o f t he body.

To begin the process of ba lanc ing in an asa na, one must a lways at tend met i cu lous ly to the base and ensure that i t i s s tab le on a l l o f i t s pa rt s . Whether these a re the two feet , t he two s ide s of the crown of the h ead o r any other pa rt s , a l l corresp onding areas on them must be weighted equal l y on le f t and r ight , back and f ront . The s tab i l i t y cre ated by th i s a l l ows fo r a gra dual evo lu t ion and r ip ening of the asan a, a re f inement t hat e ventu-

a l l y marks the pract i ce as c lear and mature.

These qual i t i es se ep s i l ent l y i n to the p ract i t i oner ’ s l i f e out o f t he habi tua l pract i ce of co nstant i nvest ig at ion, scrup ulous ad ju stment and pat ient rest ra in t . The s t a te o f ba lance requi res in tense pre sence of body a n d mind – a s ta te which a lso becomes more habi tua l w i th su sta ined pract i ce. And as Gu ru j i says: ‘ I f you ba la nce in

the present , you are l i v ing in Etern i t y . ’

The next v i t a l i ngred ient for f i nd ing b a lance in an asana i s to see k the median l i ne of the body in ord er t o d i s-t r i bute the ene rgy opt imal l y . Th is i s the imagina ry l i ne that ru ns vert i ca l l y f rom the crown of the head th roug h

the per ineum to a po in t between the feet j ust a t t he front o f t he heels .

Accord ing to yogic th ink ing, waver ing away f rom th i s l i ne draws one in to the past or the fu ture. Waver ing for-ward or vert i ca l l y upwa rd i s gen era l l y rega rded a s a fu ture or ientat ion. Waver ing ba ckward or vert i ca l l y down-ward – a past o ne. The task the refore i s to sp read the part s o f t he bod y ho r i zonta l l y e .g . the a bdomen, so that past and fu ture may meet in the pre sent . Balance, acco rd ing to the se ideas, the refore becomes locat ed not

on ly in space, but i n t ime too.

An aspect o f ba lance that sho uld never be omi t ted f rom pract i ce i s that o f l ee la , o r p layfu lne ss. S ince p erfect ba lance in l i f e or yo ga w i l l probably cont inue to e lu de most o f us for a long t ime, we may as wel l l i ghten the ser iousn ess of the subjects w i th humour. Remembering that our imperfect ions def ine our humani t y , ro l l i ng

laughing on the f l oor w i th that thought when we fa l l out o f ba lance may be just the spur to get us up again.

And when those moments o f ba lance a re at ta ined, th ey should become moments o f dhyana – of contemplat ion.

S i lent they are, sacred and pre c ious enou gh to keep our pra ct i ce a l i ve w i th poss ib i l i t y .

13

WHAT’S MY LINE


ROGER COLE

Once you f ind proper a l ignment in Tadasana, you' l l balance wi th ease in Headstand.

Can you complete the fo l l ow ing sentence? "A good Salamba S i rsasa na (Suppo rted Head stand) i s l i ke (a) a banana, (b) a jackkni fe , (c ) a leanin g tower, (d) a ta l l , e legant sp i re . " The answe r i s obv io us ly d , but w hat i f t he sentence i s i nstead, "My Headstand i s l i ke . . . "? For a lo t o f people, the answer i s " I don ' t know. " A f ter a l l , you can ' t see your own body when yo u ' re s tanding on your head, so un less you have outs ide he lp , yo u have to use in terna l sensat ions f rom you r muscles, tendons, and jo in ts in order to l i ne you rse l f up in the pose. B ut when you learn wh ere to d i rect you r a t tent ion, i t i s remarkably easy to avo id common mistakes such as a rch ing b ack too far i n to the in famous banana shape, bending forwa rd at the h ips and c reat ing the jackkni fe , or t i l t i ng your ent i re body forward o r backward, making you the Leaning Tower o f Headstand. W i th just a l i t t l e pract i ce, you can fee l your way in to near-pe rfect Headstand a l ignment .

When you f i nd your l i ne in Headstand, i t ' s a beaut i f u l t h ing. Your bone st ructu re natu ra l l y supp orts you, and the pose fee ls l i ght , easy, qu ie t , and re juvenat ing. You st i l l use your muscles, but on ly for the re la t i ve ly unde-manding task of kee ping you r bon es s tacked ve rt i ca l l y on one anothe r. When yo u a re out o f l i ne in Head stan d, on the other hand, the po se become s a tense, wobbl y , f a-t i gu ing s t ruggle against gra v i t y i n which you r musc le s bea r too much of you r weight a nd must gr ip consta nt l y to prevent co l lapse. So i t ' s wel l worth your whi le to p ut i n the m in imal i nvestment o f t ime and ef for t i t t akes to learn good Headstan d a l ignment .

Star t at the Mountain

A t r ied-and -t rue tech nique for f i nd ing you r a l i gnment ups ide down i s to s tar t r i ght s id e up, i n Tadasana (Mounta in Po se). I f you learn to c reate a s t ra ight ve rt i ca l l i ne in Tad asana by cu ing in to in terna l sensat ions ra the r than re l y in g on extern a l feedback, you can re -create the expe r ience in Headstand. Three a l i gnment techniques in Tadasana a re pa rt i cu lar l y h e lp fu l . They are (1 ) neut ra l i z ing yo ur pe lv i c t i l t and lumbar curve, (2) neut ra l i z ing the f ront - to-ba ck p lacement o f your pe lv i s (meaning, don ' t push you r h ips too far fo rward or too far back), and (3) a l i gn ing you r whole body w i th grav i t y .

Find a Neutral Curve

To learn the f i rs t a l i gnment pr inc ip le , set up the foundat ion for Tadasana by s tan ding w i th your heels on e inch apart and the s ides of your b ig toes (or the jo in ts a t the base of the toes) touching. D is t r i bute your weight equal l y between your inne r and outer feet . S t ra ighten your knee s and po in t your kne ecaps s t ra ight ahead .

To p lace you r pe lv i s i n a neut ra l pos i t i on, put your f i ngers on you r le f t and r ight pe lv i c r ims ( the top e dge of your pe lv i s j u st be low the s ides of you r wais t , a l so known as the i l i ac c rests ) a nd t race fo rward a long bot h r ims as far as you can go. A t the f ront o f each r im you ' l l f i nd a bony prot rus ion; that ' s the anter ior super io r i l i ac sp ine, or ASIS. Keeping your f i ngers on each ASIS, br ing your a t tent ion to the p os i t i on of yo ur pubic tub erc le s ( the forwardmo st po in ts o f bone on the m id l ine of your pe lv i s , about s i x i nch es be low you r navel , o f ten incor-rect l y re fer red to as " the pubic bone ") .

T i l t your pe lv i s so you r ASISes move forwa rd and yo ur pubic tube rc les move b ack. Note how th i s l i f t s your ta i l -bone (coccyx ) away f rom your heels . Cont inue t i l t i ng unt i l you fee l t he vertebrae of your lower back ( l umbar sp ine) compress ing again st one another.

14


Next , gent l y cont ra ct the muscle s that co nnect the b ase of your but tocks to the b ack of you r th ighs ( t he g lu teus maximus and hamst r ing muscles ) to move you r ASISes backwa rd and your p ubic tuberc les forwa rd. Feel how i s t i l t s your ta i l bone toward you r heels and de compresses your lower ba ck. S top t i l t i ng prec ise ly a t the po in t where yo ur ASISes an d pubic tube rc les l i e i n the sa me vert i ca l p lane; that i s , t he tuberc les should be ne i ther i n f ront o f nor behind the two ASIS bones. When you achieve th i s neut ra l pe lv i c t i l t , your lower back w i l l have a moderate inward cu rve and w i l l f ee l ne i ther compressed nor s t re tch ed. Th is i s your neut ra l l umbar cu rve.

Trace i t w i th your hand to get a se nse of i t s shape. Now repeat the same pelv i s- t i l t i ng sequen ce seve ra l t imes, both w i th and w i thout the he lp o f your hands, u nt i l you get an in tu i t i ve, i n terna l , hands -f re e sense o f h ow to move your pe lv i s and lumba r sp ine f rom the forwa rd - t i l t ed, overarched po si t i on back to neut ra l . Th is w i l l come in very handy in Headstand.

Place your Pelvis in Space

The next s tep i s to pos i t i on you r pe lv i s i n Tadasana so that , when v iewed f rom the s ide, your an k le jo in t , h ip jo in t , and ear a l l l i e on the same l i ne. Bend you r r i ght knee and l i f t your r i ght foot o f f t he f l oor t o create a crease in your h ip jo in t . Press you r r i ght f i ngert i ps i n to the m idd le o f the crease, where you w i l l f ee l your h ip f l exor muscles cont ract ing s t rongly . Kee ping yo ur f i n gert ips on th i s sp ot , re turn you r foot to Tadasana, a nd f i nd the same spot on the other s ide w i th the correspo ndi ng f i ngert ips o f your o ther hand.

Now, w i th both feet on the f l oor, press you r f i ngers in f i rm ly to indent the f l esh, and not i ce how hard o r sof t i t f ee ls . I f your p e lv i s i s i n neut ra l , t hen the h ip f l exo rs w i l l f ee l sp r ingy. Keepin g you r f i nge rs the re, d ra w you r ta i l bone toward your heels to pre vent compress ion i n your lower back, and then de l ibe rate ly sh i f t your h ips for-ward u nt i l your pe lv i s i s d i rect l y ab ove you r toes. Not i ce that the f l esh hardens unde r you r f i ngers. Tha t ' s be-cause yo ur h ip f l exo r muscles a re s t re tch ing; i t ' s a cue that you ' re c reat ing a ban ana sha pe w i th your b ody b y backbendin g at the h ip jo in ts ( the banana would hav e a d eepe r cu rve i f you le t you r lowe r b ack arch more, but don ' t do that ) .

Next , sh i f t your h ips backward so your p e lv i s and t ru nk t i p forward and you r f ront h ip creases d eepen. Fe el the f l esh become sof t under your f i ngers a s the muscles s lacken. You are now in the jackkni fe shape. Repeat the forward and backward sh i f t o f your pe lv i s , f i rm ing your g lu tea l reg ion each t ime you move forward, unt i l you f i nd the pos i t i on where the f l esh unde r yo ur f i nge rs f ee ls sp r ingy, exa ct l y ha l fway between hard and sof t . I f you have not l ost your neut ra l p e lv i c t i l t , your ank le jo i n t , h ip jo in t , and ear w i l l now a l l l i e on the same s t ra ight l i ne.

To apply th i s to Headstand, you ha ve to learn to do t he same th ing w i thout us ing you r f i nge rs. Repeat the same exerc ise in Tad asana, h ands f ree, pay in g c lose at ten t ion to the sensat ion of s t re tch that ar i se s in yo ur h ip f l ex-ors when yo u sh i f t your h ips forwa rd and the fee l ing of l ax i t y that develops when you sh i f t t hem backward. Learn to ident i f y i n tu i t i ve ly what your f ront h ip creases fee l l i ke when they are exa ct l y ha l fway be tween st re tched and sof t . I f you 've kept your pe lv i c t i l t neutra l , you 've found your s t ra ight Tadasana l i ne.

Al ign your Whole Line

Al though your body i s now in a s t ra ight l i ne, the l i ne may not be perpendicu lar to the f l oor. Your whole body might be t i l t ed, j ust as the famous Leaning Tower o f P isa t i l t s a t an angle to the ground. I f you are leaning for-ward, you w i l l f ee l more weight on the ba l l s o f your feet than on your heels ; i f you are lea ning backwa rd , your heels w i l l f ee l t he excess weight .

However, t here ' s anothe r, more p rec ise way to gau g e whether your T adasa na i s t i l t i ng. Your ne rvou s sys tem is prog rammed to know exact l y where vert i ca l i s . I f you lean forward, i t w i l l automati ca l l y cont ract your lowe r-ba ck muscles to prevent you f rom fa l l i ng forward; and i f you lean back, i t wi l l automat i ca l l y cont ract your abdominal muscles to prevent you f rom fa l l i ng backward. Theref ore, to detect when you are p rec ise ly vert i ca l , a l l you need to do i s f i nd the pos i t i on in which both sets o f muscles re lax.

The main muscles to watch are the lumbar erector sp inae group in back and the rectus abd omin is in f ront . To fee l t hem in act ion, press the f i ngert ips o f one han d in to your abd omen so they s t raddle you r na vel , and the thumb and f i ngert ips o f the other hand in to the corre sponding spots s t ra ddl ing your sp in e. Mainta in ing your Ta-dasana l i ne, l ean yo ur whole body fo rward as a un i t , f rom head to ank les, and you ' l l f ee l t he erecto rs i mmedi -a te ly cont ract , whi le the abdominals w i l l re lax i f you le t t hem. Next, t i l t f ar back on you r heels w i thout arch in g your back, and your abd ominals w i l l cont ract , whi le your ere ctors sof ten and re lax.

Lean forward an d back again and again, more and m ore subt l y , unt i l you reach the p lace where both you r erec-tors and yo ur abd ominals are re laxed at the same t ime. Assuming that your pe lv i c t i l t , l umbar curve, an d h ip-crease st re tch are a l l s t i l l neut ra l , t he l i ne of your body should now be perfect l y vert i ca l . Repeat the same forward-ba ckward t i l t i ng exerc ise i n Tadasana a few more t imes, fee l ing when the abdominal

15


and erecto r muscles are cont racted an d when they are re laxed. Pract i ce unt i l you can in terna l l y sen se the p lace where both are re laxed at the same t ime.

Turn I t Over

Once you 've ma stered the se ad ju stments, i t ' s easy to t rans la te them to Head stand. The inst ruct ions be l ow as-sume that you a l re ady have a s t rong, wel l - a l i gned fo undat ion in Hea dstand and can ba lance easi l y w i thout sup-port . Neverthe less, do the pose w i th your back abo ut one foot away f rom a wal l so you can exper imen t w i th sh i f t i ng your weight backward w i thout fear o f f a l l i ng.

Come in to Headstand w i th your e lbows shoulde r -w idth apart . Once you a re up, press the l i t t l e - f i nger s ide of your hands, wr i s t s , and fore arms st ra ight d own in to the f l oor so the y suppo rt pa rt o f yo ur body weight . P lace your head so the remainde r o f your body weight fa l l s on, or a l i t t l e i n f ront o f , t he crown ( the h ighest spot on the top of your head when you are s tanding, i n l i ne w i th the openings of your ears) . L i f t your shoulder b lades toward the ce i l i ng and press them f i rm ly forward in to your back. S t ra ighten your kn ees complete ly . Br ing you r heels one inch apart and touch the s ides of your b ig toes together. Press the inner edg es of your feet upward.

Tak ing specia l care not to d i s turb your foot pos i t i on, neut ra l i ze yo ur p e lv i c t i l t and lumbar cu rve b y cont ract ing your g lu teus maximus and hamst r ing muscles and moving your ta i l bone toward your he els . Now, contract ing even ha rder to p revent comp ress ing you r lower back, de l iberate ly cre ate a banana -sh aped pose by sh i f t i ng you r h ips hor i zonta l l y forwa rd (so they are now d i rect l y a bove yo ur e lbows) and sh i f t i ng your feet backwa rd a s im i lar amount to keep your ba lance. Feel the s t rong s t re tch that th i s creates on your f ront h ip crease s.

Next , change to a jackkni fe pos i t i on by s lowly sh i f t ing your h ips b ackwa rd and yo ur feet forward, ove r your e l -bows. Sense the sof tness of your f ront h ip crea ses. From the jackkni fe , cont ract your g lu tea ls again and s lowly move you r h ips fo rward and feet backwa rd u nt i l your f ront h ip c reases just b egin to fee l overst re tched. F ina l l y , make su re that your ta i l bone i s drawing toward you r heels so that your lumbar cu rve i s s t i l l neut ra l , t he n move your h ips s l i ght l y back and you r feet s l i ght l y fo rward unt i l you r f ront h ip c reases come to neut ra l , ne i th er too s t re tched no r too sof t .

Your body w i l l now be in a s t ra ight l i ne f rom ankles to h ips to ears. Wi thout d i s turb ing that l i ne, de l iberate ly t i l t t he ent i re length of your body forwa rd, as a un i t , unt i l you fee l excess weight on your e lbows and sense the e rector muscles a lo ngside yo ur lum-bar sp ine cont ract ing. Th en, s t i l l keeping the l i ne , t i l t backward b i t b y b i t , t ry ing at each moment to re lax the lower-back muscles. The instant you are ab le to re lease them, s top. Check to be sure that you have not t i l t ed so far back that your a bdominal muscles cont ract .

F ine-tune yo ur p ose u nt i l your a bdominals and ere c tors a re both sof t , whi le your low back and f ront h ip crea ses are both neut ra l and, vo i là ! You w i l l be in a perfect l y vert i -ca l Headstand, exquis i te l y ba lanced and re aching s t ra ight for the h eaven s, l i ke a ta l l , e legant sp i re . A nd the rea l b eauty o f th i s i s that , no w, you know how to f i nd yo ur wa y back to th i s p lace anyt ime you w ish.

Play i t Safe

Headstand ca n do won ders for your c i rcu la t ion and your s ta te o f m ind, but i t i s usual l y cont ra ind icated i f you have h igh or l ow b lood p ressu re, g lau coma, neck p rob lems, or a re menst ruat ing. Che ck w i th yo ur heal th ca re prov ide r.

Roger Cole , PhD, i s a cer t i f i ed I yengar Yoga teacher and s leep r esear ch scient i st i n Del Mar , Cal i for n ia . For more in format ion , v i s i t h t tp : / / r oger coleyoga.com.

16

IYENGAR ON PRANAYAMA


BKS IYENGAR

Q.‒ Could you explain the di fference between pranayama and deep breathing?

You know, when I p i cked up th i s ro se just now to draw i t s f ragrance, many of you lau ghed. But the ques t ion i s

very app rop r ia te in the way in which I smel led i t . Th is f l ower has a t remendous f rag ran ce. I f I t ake i t i ns ide l i ke

th i s (sn i f f s forc ib l y) , I can ' t g radual l y take o r fee l t he f rag rance of the f l ower, i s i t not? But g ent l y I d ra w the

f ragran ce w i th my breath. I get the f ragrance moving through the ca rpet o f my nost r i l s t i ck l i ng my membranes.

Th is i s the same with deep breath ing and prana yama breath ing.

Deep bre ath ing i s no rmal l y done throug h the ph ys ica l react ion f rom the body when the breath i s taken. A s be-

ing i s e terna l , so i s nature. The sp i r i t , t he se l f , t he soul , i s immutable , whereas nature i s mutable and change-

able . Now, our bodies a re made up of f i ve e lements: e ther, a i r , water, f i re and e arth . When we do dee p breath-

ing, we f orget the subt le e lement , t he ether, and s tar t f rom the other end, the earth . When you b reathe in or

i nha le forc ib l y , t he earth i s act i vated f i rs t . Then act on the qual i t y o f earth , which i s noth ing but the movement

o f the muscles. When you breathe out or exhale an d the breath comes to an end, you e xpe r ience the space

w i th in the body. So, i n deep breath ing, the in i t i a t i ve comes f rom the earth . But i n pranayamic breath ing a l l t he

e lements are kept pa ss ive to exper ien ce the v ib rat i on and spa ce. The qual i t y o f e ther i s v ibrat ion o r sound.

The sound of the incoming breath should be so sof t , so de l i cate, that the sound, which v ibrates comes f rom the

inner in ter io r sp ace to touch the p lace, the body o f the chest wal l . Then i t f orms in to a shape, the r ight l ung,

the le f t l ung, the sp ine, the var ious chambe rs of t he muscles so that they ta ke a certa in ba lan c ing sha p e. You

have to cont ro l and fee l t he qual i t y o f f ragrance o f the breath, how i t i s moving in, when i t t ouches the ext remi -

t i es o f the body, which i s the e lement o f earth , t hen that becomes pran ayamic breath ing. Simi lar l y , whi le ex-

ha l ing, the breath i s not to be pushed out . Whatever shape the bod y or the chest ha s taken in the inhala t ion

proce ss, i t has to be mainta ined throughout the exha lat ion. You have to fee l t he f rag rance of the b reath t hat i s

moving out w i thout d i s f i gur ing the earth e lement to catch the ether e lement . I f t he body i s j erked fas ter than

the breath, i t i s dee p b reath ing. In p ranayamic breat h ing, the breath i s cha nneled, d i rected. In deep bre ath ing

there i s no d i rect ion. Here the a i r i s j u st pu l led in or pushed out In p ranayama t he b ody remains unmove d and

t remendous sp ace and p la ce are cre ated for the dra wn- in breath w i thout d i s turb ing the ch est box. So by chan-

nel ing, the breath i s made to f i nd i t s avenue in the torso that i s not v i s ib le to these phys ica l eyes. But the

pract i t i oner fee ls the channels or pathwa ys very c lea r l y . I f i t i s done in that way, that i s yog ic pranayama

I f you keep a vessel und er the tap, the water which f l ows, touches the bot tom of the vessel and moves to the

s ides to accommodate the water as i t comes. Unless and u nt i l t he f i rs t water which drop ped in to the vessel

f i nds a su rface, the vessel doe s not f i l l a t a l l ; t here w i l l be a i r ga ps. So i f you op en the tap ve ry heavi l y , i t w i l l

seem that the water has come to the top, but i f you s low down the f l ow, the water descends to f i nd i t s l eve l . I f

t he water gushes f rom the tap, the vessel can not be f i l l ed at a l l t o the br im. i t i s the same in deep breath ing.

Though i t a ppea rs that one h as f i l l ed the lu ngs, the vessel o f t he b reath remains empty. Secondly , i f t he tap i s

opened fu l l y , t he force of water f rom the tap makes the vessel v ib rate and d is tor t s i t s pos i t i on. The same hap-

pens for the torso in deep b reath ing an d one w i l l not know whether the drawn - in b reath i s abso rbed o r n ot by

the lungs.

I f t he tap ' s opening i s narrowed, the water that dr ips in to the vessel does not d i s turb, and when the vessel re-

ce ives the water, t he le ve l r i ses smooth ly , rhythmica l l y , cover ing the surface of the vessel eve nly . So a lso in

pranayamic breath ing you make the uppe r pa la te op en in such a way that the a i r t hat i s drawn in i s not made

to gush but f l ow in to the narrow passage throu gh the ha l f c losed pa la te .

One can measure how much one wants to open o r c l ose the uppe r pa la te to a l l ow the breath to go in smooth ly

through the w indpipe to f i l l t he lung s. The w indpip e b i furcates in to two b ran ches, which fur the r b ranch of f . The

t i ssues open out t remend ously in p ranayamic b reath i ng. Th is way the drawn - in breath g oes toward the e xt remi -

t i es and feeds the a lveolar ce l l s . The a lveolar ce l l s absorb the d rawn- in a i r w i thout any d is turb ances, v ibra-

t i ons, or l eav ing any gap between the a i r ce l l s and the bron chio les. The drawn - in a i r i s not re le ased w i thout

feeding those are as. In deep b reath ing, they do not f eed, because the wal l s ha rden. The in te rcosta l musc les of

the chest become hard, therefore that breath ing does not supply the needed energ y to the ext remi t ies.

17


I f you see the su rface of wate r i n a lake or sea, yo u can obse rve how gent l y , how subt l y the wate r wet s the

sand, w i thout d i s turb ing i t So our inha la t ion ha s to move in such a way that the energ y, which i s drawn , wets

the a i r ce l l s so that they can abso rb the ene rgy. I n channel ing a nd co nt ro l l i ng the d rawn - in- b reath, on e g ives

suf f i c ient t ime for the a i r ce l l s to absorb and use the fu l l res idue of the energy which i s s t i l l i n t he lungs before

re leas ing the breath in the fo rm of exhalat ion. Whereas in de ep exhalat ion one expels the ene rgy a long w i th

the unwanted ene rgy b efore the a bso rpt ion takes p l ace in the system. In pranayamic e xhalat ion, there i s no

expuls ion of the ene rgy that i s drawn- in , but s t i l l mainta ined in the system for fu r ther suppo rt as a fee dback

system.

When the vessel i s f i l l ed w i th water, i t t ouches f rom the bot tom and comes to the br im. So a lso in the torso,

when the b reath i s drawn in , one has to f i l l t he dra wn- in a i r , e nerg y f rom the f l oor o f you r torso to the top of

the chest . For an asthmat i c , t he top may on ly be the upper s te rnum. For a thorac ic breather, i t may on ly b e the

bot tom of the s ternum, o r the d iaph ragmat i c a rea. F or those who have got a t remendou s e la st i c i t y i n the d ia-

phragm, i t may be eve n f rom the bot tom of the navel . And i f i t i s s t i l l sof t , t hen the f l oor o f t he torso becomes

the g i rd le o f the pe lv i s . I n de ep b reath ing, due to t he vo lume and ve loc i t y o f t he movement , t he b reath does

not touch f rom the pe lv i s to the top. In pranayamic breath ing, i t t aps the f l oor - t he pe lv i c g i rd les - and f rom

there the breath i s f i l l ed up to the top w ithout s t ra in .

When you sta r t t o go to S alamba S i rsa sana do yo u go on your head at once or do you fee l t he crown o f the

head? You kee p the crown of the head on the b lan ket very ca refu l l y and de l i cate ly . I f you suddenly go on the

head, you fee l heaviness and rush ing of the b lood.

When a vessel i s f i l l ed w i th water up to the br im and i f you suddenly make i t t opsy -turvy to empty out , how

does the water come out an d w i th what sound? T rem endous v ib rat ions, t remend ous je rks take p lace. i s i t not?

But i f t he vessel i s gradual l y s lanted, the water f lows gradual l y , i t does not make a sound and there i s a

smoothness in the f l ow. Then i t i s not forc ing out the water but re leas ing the water f rom the f i l l ed vessel . I f

you turn the vessel topsy-turvy, i t i s as i f one hates that water. But i f one gradual l y s lants , one i s s t i l l a t tached

to that vessel , t hat water. A lso when one waters the p lant , one does not pour the water. W i th compassion, one

a l lows the water to touch that p lant ve ry carefu l l y . I f one p ours the wate r d i rect l y on a p lant , what happe ns to

that p lant? The p lant doe s not rece ive the water. But i f one wets i t grad ual l y , t he su rro unding a rea o f the p lant

ge ls wet and feeds the p lant to grow. In pranaya ma t oo i f one learns th i s ar t , t hen that becomes a yog ic

pranayama and not de ep b reath ing. Unfo rtunate ly , t he yogis o f today do not read the o r ig ina l t ext to lea rn th e

ar t o f us ing the method shown but i nterpret i n the i r own ways and ca l l i t yog ic pranayama

(Guru j i demonst ra tes the way of pranayamic b reath in g taught these days, and then says that for h im i t i s deep

breath ing and not pran ayamic breath ing. )

They do w i th the support o f t he e lement o f earth and neglect the other four e lements: water, f i re , a i r and ether.

Only they make one fee l t he sk in , t he f l esh, moving up and moving d own. Let not the so-ca l led o rd inary deep

breath ing b e ca l led as pran ayamic b reath ing s ince the technique of pra nayama deal t i n an c ient texts d i f f ers

f rom deep breath ing.

Prana i s t he v i ta l energy which modern sc ience names as b io-ene rgy. In pranayama t h i s energy has to seep to

spread in to the a i r sacs. In deep breath ing s t rong ph ys ica l movement i s exp ressed whe re in the in take an d out -

put o f breath i s very l i t t l e . Th is forcefu l movement on ly i r r i t a tes the nerves but does not draw in the prana. I n

pranayama t he ene rgy i s d i s t r i buted to sprea d, and absorb ed so that energy of the n erve s i s mainta ine d and

not wasted as happens in deep bre ath ing.

Q. ‒ Guruj i , when f i rst sta rt ing to practise pranayama, i s I t Inevi table tha t some st rain wi l l be fe l t? I f so,

are the re places where st rain should be part icular ly avoided?

Suppose yo u are gaz ing at a b urn ing candle, what h appens to the eyes af ter some t ime? YOU f ee l t he s t ra in .

But what do teachers say? They te l l you to cont inue. But I don ' t say cont inue. (Laughter )

You have to know that i n any d is c ip l i ned movement t here i s a ce rta in s t ress and st ra in . D isc ip l i ne means regu -

la t ion. Do not take the co l loquia l meaning of d i sc ip l i ne as reg imenta l d i c ta t ion, l i ke t ra in ing so ld iers in the

army. We know only that s ide of the meaning. But d i sc ip l i ne means regulat ion. The ent i re system moves z i gzag

for want o f knowledge and u nderstanding. As i t has to be regulated, a ce rta in s t ress and st ra in i s fe l t , i s i t

not? You have to measure that s t ress and st ra in to know whether the s t ress i s creat i ve o r obst ruct i ve.

18

I spoke yesterday at the demonst ra t ion ' about d i sc r i m inat ion between aggress ive s t re tch and non-aggres s ive

s t re tch. Here, the re m ight be lo t s o f l awye rs. L et me expla in in the i r l ang uage. When you are get t i ng s t ress

on one s ide, and not on the other s ide, one s ide b ecomes a p la in t i f f and the other becomes a respon dent .

Each one wants to w in over the other. I n legal cases, you know you want to w in the case and the other per-

son a lso wants to w in the case. You don ' t know the method, so you engage a lawyer becau se h e kn ows the

law. Th is i s l i ke ca l l i ng a th i rd p erso n ‒ t he in te l l i gence ‒ t o d i sc ip l i ne the f l ow of b reath, the movements o f

the in tercosta l muscles, ba lanc ing the sp ine s t ra ight w i thout hardness and so for th . I n your bo dy, you sh ould

know the laws of you r own system. And when you know the law, you judge a cco rd ing to the law. The in te l l i -

gence has to watch the movement o f the r ight and the movement o f the le f t , t he rhythm of the r ight the un-

rhythmic movement o f the le f t , or the heal thy movement o f the sp ine on on e s ide, the unhe al thy movemen t on

the other s ide whi le inhal ing and e xhal ing, o r the a i r f i l l i ng f ree ly on one s ide a nd w i th a l i t t l e s t ra in o n the

other s ide: these d isp ar i t i es are known a s p la in t i f f and respondent So you have to be a lawye r w i th in your -

se l f . The lawyer sa ys, "Let me study you r case and t hen le t me g ive my v iews. " You as a lawye r w i th in your-

se l f have to s tudy your case. The que st ion i s a lways the same. You say. "My po in t o f s t ress on one s ide i s

s t rong, but my po in t o f s t ress on the other s id e I do not know. " I f you use the d iscr im inat i ve facu l t y , t he rea-

soning facu l t y o f t he in te l l i gence, then you say that t he s t ronge r s ide, the p la in t i f f , i s probably too s t ro ng and

i s annexing the prop erty be lo nging to th i s pan of y our lung. So you sh ould get back, i s i t not? The la wyer

says. "You go on te l l i ng you r p o in ts , l e t me l i s ten. " So a lso the in te l l i gence which i s the seat o f j udgment be-

comes a judg e. The jud ge s i t s the re q u ie t l y . He doe s rea ct or i n teract s ince h e i s n ot suppo sed to fa vou r e i -

ther s ide. So the in te l l i gence te l l s your acqui red kno wledge, "Do whatever you want to do. Let me impart ia l l y

observe. Let me th ink w i th in mysel f . " You do what y ou want to , so you a ct , one s ide th i s way, o ne s ide that

way, a l i t t l e more, a l i t t l e l ess in your presentat ions . The in te l l i gence remains co ld ins ide to watch w i th the

ins ight between th i s s ide a nd that s id e of the lung whi le you are inhal ing, o r b etween th i s p art y and that

part y which a re known a s the f i bres, muscle s, r i bs and what n ot . You ha ve ca l led the w i tness to the court .

The muscles of you r r i bs, the r ibs, the f i bres on r ig ht and le f t s ides, are the w i tnesses to te l l you e i the r the

t ru th or the u nt ru th . So wh en you fee l a ce rta in mo vement the in te l l i gence, as the judg e not i ces ca ref u l l y .

The judge, you r in te l l i gence, ob serves wh ether the r ight or the le f t o f t he lung i s f i l l i ng and moving o r not .

One s ide doe s not move, the in te l l i gence know s that the w i tness i s a fa l se w i tness. He i s h id ing someth i ng.

The t ru th may be l i t t l e but he wants to overdo the t ru th . The in te l l i gence has to measure the movement o f the

breath on the le f t s ide and the r ight s ide, and then you have to go on ba lanc ing w i thout a l l ow ing the weaker

s ide to become weake r or s t rong er s ide to b ecome s t ronger. I f ext ra powe r, ext ra a t tent ion i s thrown by your

in te l l i gence on the s ide that i s weaker, t hen i t i s a s tress. Release the in te l l i gence f rom the s t ronger s ide and

sh i f t i t t o the weaker s ide, then that s t ress i s non-st ress. The purusa i ns ide too should gu ide the in te l l i gence

to look at both s ides of the chest box to see who the p la in t i f f i s and who the respon dent i s . The puru sa sends

the message to the in te l l i gence to l i s ten to the p la in t i f f as wel l as the respo ndent - t he two lu ngs. The in te l l i -

gence l i s tens to both s ides. Then the purusa says to the in te l l i gence to weigh, so that both the s ides rece ive

the energy eve nly . Th is i s l i ke set t l i ng the case outs ide of the court (Laughter ) I hope you have und ersto od.

(More laughte r) Lea rn to have the d ia logue w i th your own in te l l i gence. Of ten, make an appeal and demand

for the judgment .

The most important po in t to note i s when you are inhal ing, the f i rs t i nha la t ion acts as the key po in t o f t he

behaviou r o f your ent i re human system, f rom the ent i re ce l l s to the se l f and v i ce versa.

You know, the f i rs t breath should be l i ke your meet ing w i th a s t ranger for the f i rs t t ime. Somebody comes and

in t roduces you to me or me to you. You say, "How d o you d o? ' A t that t ime, what i s your s ta te o f m ind, what

i s my sta te o f m ind? (Somebody f rom the audience answers, “A loof un ion" . )

Yes! A loof un ion! A loof un ion means ne i ther c lose n or far . Our m inds a re at a d i s tance, yet we say, "He l lo" .

There i s ne i ther pre ju d ice, nor f r i end l iness no r an imosi t y . Hence, there i s a f reshness. Freshne ss in the con-

sc iousness of both. I s i t not? We don ' t know each o ther. Both are complete ly new to each other. As there i s

no background, there i s no room for pre jud ice s, so both see w i th f reshness. There i s a t remendous new ness

and pur i t y i n the f i rs t meet ing. Impur i t i es come when the contact becomes c lo ser a s we study an d judge the

other w i th our own f rame of m ind. The st ra in comes when one stud ies anothe r accord ing to one 's ca l ib re , and

you s tudy someone acco rd ing to your f rame of m ind. I f we do thi s , we both are wrong. How can we judge

someone through one 's ta in ted mind? How can one judge anothe r b y one 's own stan dard ? You r s tand ard i s

d i f f erent ; somebody 's s tandard i s d i f f erent . We have to learn to look w i th aloofness. I f we look moment to


19


moment , day in and day out year in and yea r out , and mainta in that f i rs t s ta te throughout , are we not ever

f resh, a loof i n f r i endship, a loof i n understanding, i n a s ta te o f oneness w i thout pre jud ice?

S im i lar l y you have to fo l l ow the sequence of breath s, keeping in m ind the behaviou r o f t he f i rs t bre ath. The

f i rs t impress ion i s what i s important , an d a l l f u ture movements, cu l t i vated or cu l tured, re f ined and prog ress ive,

should be ba sed on that f i r s t contact becau se that f i rs t movement which i s done un consciou s ly i s ve ry pure.

When you star t , t he se l f i s aloof , t he in te l l i gence i s a l so a loof , t he breath i s a loof , t he ce l l s are a loof . A f ter

three to four bre aths. i f you fee l s t ra in , t hen your m ind should go back to the f i rs t breath. You have to qu est ion

yourse l f how was i t i n the f i rs t breath, you d id not g et s t ra in . How d id th i s s t ra in come now? What m istake d id

you make? Where were you ? Were you a loof , o r d i d you get ca ught up in a ce rta in f l uctuat ion in the se l f?

Which part became f r i end ly to you? Which pa rt d id not become f r i end ly to you ? I t i s for you to not i ce. So as

you are inh al ing on one s ide, you h ave to keep the other s ide a lso in conta ct . I f you can ba lance th i s , t hen

your b reath w i l l be the same foreve r: t here w i l l be no s t ress, n o s t ra in , no pa in , no e xhaust ion. I f t h i s qual i t y

o f a t tent ion and observat ion i s mainta ined, then there i s no s t ra in in the perfo rmance of the a sana a nd th ere i s

no s t ra in in the pract i ce of pranayama

When you do the kumbh aka, when you ho ld the brea th, have you see n in the beginn ing how f resh i t l ooks, the

f ragran ce of the movements o f the ce l l s which act as a f r i end? But l a ter , w i th in a few second s, you rea l i se that

the ce l l s press the bod y; the body p resses a nd push es i t se l f on the sk in ; you r m ind gr ips the bre ath; you r m ind

h i t s the body. The c lashes and the quarre ls commence ins ide.

These u nconscious movements sh ould b e ob served b y you. Y ou should avo id such movements. W i thout g et t i ng

the movement and the breath d is tor ted, see whethe r you can mainta in that unknown pur i t y kn owingly , i n a pur i -

f i ed form. Th is i s known as the cu l ture o f the breath, the lungs, the in te l l i gence, or cu l ture o f the se l f . Cel l i s

a l so cu l tured; se l f i s a l so cu l tured. That i s how you have to learn and d i f f erent ia te between st ress an d non-

st ress. S t ress an d non-st ress a re both wrong. The re should be no posi t i ve tens ion; there should be no nega-

t i ve tens ion. You have to ba lance the pos i t i ve and the negat i ve; on ly then the energy i s p rodu ced. I f one of

them becomes st ronge r, t hen short c i rcu i t occurs a s i t does in the f l ow of e lect r i c curre nt . I n yoga some people

say there should be no s t ress at a l l ; some people say

there sho uld be s t ress. I f I want to look at th i s f l ower, I

have to open i t ve ry l i t t l e , i s i t not? I f I g i ve s t ress more

or force more, i t g i ves way. Th e peta ls w i l l drop. You have

to measure the ze ro s ta te o f fee l ing in the ne rve s and

mind whi le breath ing.

Th is i s the cent re o f the ch est box; these are the s ides.

(He po in ts out a t t he tho rac ic chest . ) I f t he sk in moves,

you th ink you are inhal ing. The posi t i ve cur rent i n the cen-

t re moves very fast ; t he negat i ve current on the s ides

does not move at a l l . You have to fee l t hat the ne gat i ve

and the pos i t i ve are in l i ne w i th each other. Then there

are n o sho cks in you r movements. When there a re no

shocks, there i s no s t re ss. That ' s how you have to master

the breath; that ' s how you h ave to maste r the a sana . That

i s how you have to master the pranayama f rom the zero

s la te o f energy and consc iousness.

Repr in ted f rom ASTADALA YOGAMALA―vol . 4 .

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INDIAN RAMBLINGS


DENISE RUNDLE

The end of May 2012 found me and my dear f r i end K i ran La l la w ing ing our way to Ind ia to take part i n c lasses for the month of June in Pune. Th is was the fourth v i s i t f or each of us to Ind ia and, as a lways, we faced the

journey w i th some in t rep idat ion – one can never be p repa red for what Ind ia o f fers . . . . on any leve l !

A f ter set t l i ng in to our now fami l i ar abode, The Chetak Hote l , and reg is ter ing at the Inst i t ute , we were g iven ou r c lass t imetab les for the month. Women were to rece ive three weekly c lasses w i th Pra shant , two c lasse s w i th Abhi ja ta (Guru j i ’ s gran ddaughte r) and one – P rana yama – w i th Geeta. When I i n i t i a l l y saw th i s t imetab le , I t hought to mysel f t hat I would have preferre d more c lasses w i th Abhi ja ta and Geeta j i – so that the spread of ‘ knowledge- input ’ would ha ve been mo re even. However, as o ne qu ick ly le arns when in Ind ia – yo u can’ t f orce

anyth ing and you must go w i th the f l ow. Why should th ings be ba lanced?

I read somewhere that Guru j i has sa id that h i s own l i f e and teachings resemble the t runk of a t ree that has two main branches. One in te rpretat ion of these two ma in bran ches could be the resemblance of the teachi ngs of Geeta on the one hand, and those of Prashant on t he other. Geeta ’s teachings can be descr ibed a s focus ing on the phys ica l aspects o f yoga p ract i ce – he r i nst ruct ions are p rec ise and can of ten chal lenge our em ot ions. Prashant ’ s tea chings pro voke the in te l l i gence – ope ning our in te l l i gence to h i therto un -exp er ien ced a sp ects o f

yoga pra ct i ce.

I n Geeta ’s c lasses, the s tudent moves through var io us asan as – ca rry in g a theme of pra ct i ce and apply i ng th i s theme to a l l asanas in that c lass. The development o f the theme bui lds f rom the very f i rs t asana to a deepe r awareness of that aspect i n the f i na l asana of the c lass. I n P rasha nt ’ s c lasse s, we of ten fou nd ou rse lves s i t -t i ng at Prashant ’ s feet l i s ten ing to a d i scourse f rom h im on an aspect o f yoga. As an e xample, Prasha nt to ld us that we must have the ab i l i t y to combine the aspects o f the se l f (body, m ind and breath) an d fee l t he ef fects o f work ing w i th them togethe r. We were inst ructed to connect t he pa rt s o f t he body – just a s we connect w i th our f r i ends – and then col lect w i th the pa rt s o f t he b od y (co l lect w i th ou r f r i end s) and wo rk w i th the sum of these part s . To put th i s i n to a rea l e xample, we were ins t ructed to connect wi th the h ips in T r i konasana then col lect w i th the var ious pa rt s o f t he b ody a nd wo rk w i th the m a l l t ogether. Th is bought q u ie tness to the exp er ie nce in the asana a s the pa rt s o f t he body automat i ca l l y worked together. We were not i nst ru cted to l i f t t he h ip , press

the b ig toe down etc . i n the asana.

Prashant would a lso s t re tch your imaginat ion too – we were to ld – ‘Don’ t expect perfect ion. Your body i s not equal . How can you expect a l i gnment when, i ns ide your body, there i s no a l i gnment – you on ly have one stom-

ach, one heart but you have two lungs, two k idneys etc ’ . . . makes you th ink! !

Our weekly c lass w i th Geeta was l i ke rece iv ing the g i f t of a rare gem. Geeta ’s profound understan ding of Pranayama, cou pled w i th her e xt rao rd inary ab i l i t y t o understan d what we were e xpe r ienc ing at the t ime and to inst ruct prec ise ly in orde r to improve th i s exper ien ce , was someth ing to look forward to each week. Her analo-g ies make her inst ruct ions so e asy for u s mere jun ior s tudents to gra sp. For example, i n l y ing-down pranayama, she inst ructed, “ Imagine you are gr ipp in g a p ipe of f t he p i l l ow w ith your sp ine ” – what an ea sy-to-

understan d inst ruct ion to move the dorsa l i n !

For the f i rs t t ime, K i ran and I were in t roduced to the teaching of Abhi ja ta . Here we w i tnessed the pass ing on of t rad i t i ona l knowledge th rough gene rat ions – o f ten i n the same fami l y . Whi l s t Guru j i was invo lved in h i s own dai l y pract i se, he would a t the same t ime, gu ide Abhi ja ta on h is inst ruct ions which she would t ransmi t t o the c lass. She would not mere ly t ransmi t t hese inst ruct ions though. We would see her pract i s ing them in f ront o f Guru j i so that the part i cu la r i nst ruct ion wa s impr in ted in her consc iou sness before teaching them to us . Abhi -j a ta brought her own b rand of humour to the c lasses too – one day we were to ld that , by the end of the c lass,

we would have a PhD in Adho Mukha!

Before leav ing for Pune, K i ran and I agreed that , over and above the exper ien ces at the Inst i t u te, we would have fun du r ing ou r t ime together. I ndeed we d id . Each day we would ventu re to a n ew a rea of Pune , t ry a new restaura nt , a t t he weekends t rave l out o f Pune and see f i rs t -hand l i f e i n suburb ia and rura l I nd i a . We walked unt i l our l egs a ched at the en d of the day, we ate d i f f erent food, we laughed, I cr ied, we supp orte d each other - - - - - who would the n have known wh at L i fe would present sho rt l y a f ter ou r re turn . . . . . K i ran ’s lesso ns ha d

been learnt - - - we cont inue to rece ive ou rs.

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KIRAN LALLA


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22


STEPHANIE QUIRK IN CAPE TOWN

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NEWS FRO M THE REGIONS


EATERN CAPE

NORMA KANAAR

2012 has indee d pro ved to be a chal lenge fo r us he re in the Eastern Cape w i th much t ime and hard work chan-nel led in to the jun ior i n termediate leve l 1 course un dertaken by Bet t i na S impson, Pat t i Gr i f f i t h and Ju l ie Pear-

son.

Regular c lasse s cont inued in our three s tud ios taugh t by Norma, Bet t i na, & Patt i , w i th Ju l ie & John ass is t ing at

Normas stud io when requi red.

The teache rs weekly c lasses cont inue d to wo rk on a ro ster b as is . Ju l ie , S tua rt & Jo hn repo rted go od at ten-dance w i th the i r c lasses at the gym and due to po pu lar demand and repeated reque st they are now a lso i n-

s t ruct ing at the new Beacon Bay gym.

Norma was In termediate Ju nior t ra iner for four o f t h e s i x mod ules whi le B r ig i t t a Tummon con ducted the othe r two modules. She a lso gave two very successfu l op en days which were at tended by a l l our s tude nts inc lud ing Sue f rom Z imbabwe and one of which was at tended by Monique and two of her s tudents f rom Hogsback and Stut terhe im as wel l as Angela Harvey the In t rodu ctory leve l t eacher t ra iner and he r s tude nt Andrea Watson

f rom Port E l i zabeth.

The pre l im inary assessments were he ld fo r a l l candi dates in Ea st Londo n in m id Se ptember w i th Ang ela, Norma & John Ensl in ha ndl ing the in t roducto ry le ve l & Pat & Norma the jun ior In termediate assessment . A l l were suc -

cessfu l .

Norma & Angela completed the 5 t h The rape ut i c Course he ld by Steph anie Qui rk a t Houdin i S pa at the be ginn ing

of November.

The In termediate Junior Nat ional Assessment took p lace in East London ove r the weekend of 23/24 t h November

w i th G i l l i an Bacon & Gudrun Von Wimmersperg as assesso rs and June Coop er as mode rator .

A l l t hree of ou r s tudents successfu l l y completed the exam and we extend o ur cong ratu la t ions to Bet t i na, Pat t i &

Ju l ie who have worked so ha rd to ach ieve th i s resu l t .

Pat Deacon a lso inst ructed a most en joyable ope n da y for a l l o f us on the Sunday of the weekend of pre l im inary

assessments in East London in m id September.

We would l i ke to extend our grat i t ude to the senior teachers and the assessment commi t tee for the i r help and

gu idance throu gh the out reach p rog ram.

John & Bet t i na w i l l round of f t he year when they at tend c lasses at the Pune Inst i t u te in Ind ia la ter i n December.

GAUTENG

CARLA RECH

Another busy ye ar gone by an d here we st i l l a re , more or l ess s tanding on ou r mats – actua l l y , i n Gauteng at the moment i t i s more l i ke l y ing on our mats, gi ven the heat…

As you w i l l have seen f rom the ar t i c les about h im, we are s t i l l very much g r iev ing the loss of on e of o ur mos t va luable and g enerous members of the I yenga r com muni t y up here. K i ra n La l la , i s sore ly m issed, and every event we have had s in ce h is pa ss ing awa y, has be e n marked b y h is ab sence. We remain commi t ted to he lp ing the Lenasia I yenga r s tudents a s much as poss ib le , a nd to p rov id ing whateve r ass is tance we ca n to Ani la Somla who i s brave ly car ry ing on w i th her own as wel l as K iran ’s c lasse s.

I n September, we he ld a reg ional workshop in h i s h onour. Denise Rundle, who had just re turned f rom Pune, where she at tende d the Inst i t u te for a month w i th Ki ran, taught the worksho p. I t was very wel l a t tended, and we fe l t t he best way to pay homage to hi s memory as a t ru l y commi t ted pract i t i oner and teacher, was by do ing the yoga he loved so much.

On a hap pier note, we a re de l ighted to welcome three newly qual i f i ed In termediate Ju nior tea che rs. T h ey a re Lars Kru ger, Natasha P incus and Rhe Wessels . Congratu la t ions to them – we are so happy that our teachers are cont inu ing w i th the i r own t ra in ing, and remain ing commi t ted to the Guru ’s teachings. A b ig thank you to the

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t eacher t ra ine rs, as wel l as the Assessment Commit tee for a l l t he i r work.

In the p ic ture f rom le f t t o r i ght : Rhe Wessels , Dee Howard (who presented the ce rt i f i ca tes), Lars Kru ger and Natasha P incus

Whi l s t on that subject , our new teacher t ra inees ha ve completed the i r f i rs t yea r o f t r a in ing. The re a re s t i l l s i x o f t he m, they ’ve a l l completed the i r a natomy tasks, done wonde rfu l l y , and so a l l i s wel l on that f ront !

I n October, we h e ld a wee kend workshop fo r i n te rmediate s tu-dents o f fered by a senior teacher f rom Cape Town. Br ig i t t a Tum-mon t rave l led to JHB to teach i t , and i t was such a success, that we envisage cont inu ing w i th th i s i n yea rs to come. Thanks ve ry much to you, Br ig i t t a ! I t was exc i t i ng, fun and hard work. Despi te some groaning, a l l t he people who at tended were very enthus ias -t i c about i t and hop e to be back for mo re ne xt yea r . A lso, we are

p leased by the idea that i n the fu ture, we sho uld make use of a l l t he knowledge and w isd om that we have in ou r own communi t y in South Af r i ca, ra ther than on ly th ink ing i t w i l l reach us f rom across the seas.

In November, a g roup of us t ra ve l led to the Goudi n i Spa in Worceste r fo r the f i f t h year o f the Thera peut i c course pre sented by Step hanie Qui rk . Tha nks to the Cape Town teache rs who o rganized th i s so se amless ly . I t was inva luable; wel l run and in format i ve. We look forward to complet ing the course next yea r.

Jenny Mor r i s , V ig i l Pon Su San and I w i l l be t rave l l i ng to Pune for the month of December. We are exc i ted at the prospect o f l earn ing, pra ct i c ing w i thout d i s t ract ion, and a lso seeing Geeta j i aga in .

We in the reg ion w ish you a l l a wonderfu l , rest fu l and safe ho l iday season.

KWAZULU-NATAL

STEPHANIE ALEXANDER

Another q u ie t yea r comes to an en d, w i th c lasse s i n the KZN Mid lands f l our i sh ing, especia l l y i n P ie termar i t z-burg and Howick, and some members and associa te members he lp ing out w i th Yoga c lasses at spas in the area. Dur ing September an a l l -da y workshop at S tephani e A lexande r ' s s tud io in Wembley, P ie termar i t zburg, was a resoun ding succe ss, w i th a number o f part i c ipants f rom the coast and envi rons, and f rom Greytown, as wel l as a large loca l co nt ingent . Th is was t imed to co inc ide w i th the annual v i s i t o f our American member, M ichael Buchholz , whose enthus iast i c part i c ipat ion i s as much appre c ia ted as the in format ion he br ings about Yoga in the States, and as h is o f ten w ise counsel on a var ie ty o f Yoga-re la ted mat ters .

I n November a ha l f -day workshop fo cus ing p r imar i l y on pra nayama a nd aspects o f p h i losophy wa s a lso w el l a t -tended, and much enjoyed, especia l l y by o lder pupi l s , some of whom who lack the conf idence to come for a fu l l day.

We have been in terested to learn of the prog ress m ade by the s tudent teachers fo l l ow ing David Jacobs 's pro-gramme at the coast . Numbers have dwind led, but those remain ing seem to be work ing w i th purpo se an d dedi -cat ion, and we w ish them wel l as they enter the i r second year o f s tudy.

Readers may l i ke to know that i t w i l l be Joyce Stuart ' s (Padma's) 90 t h b i r thda y in March 2013. She i s , repo rt -ed ly , l i ve ly and act i ve despi te her ser ious v i su a l pro b lems, regular i n her da i l y pract i ce an d da i l y l ong walk on the beach at Munster, a nd swimming as of ten as p oss ib le in the sea she loves. We are hoping to b e ab le to ce lebrate the great occasion w i th her.

NORTHERN CAPE

MARTIM MAREE

Coming to the end of a very busy yea r one looks bac k at what was accompl i shed th i s year in our reg ion

The fact that the re g ion i s now o nly the Northe rn Ca pe was a major s tep for our reg ion a nd the commi t tee. We managed to have the g ara ge sa le whe re a n ice sum was ra ised; th i s w i l l be used to sp onso r ou r members in the

reg ion.

The I yengar yoga f l ag i s f l y ing h igh in the NC. A thi rd school open ed in June and the schools are s t i l l go ing s t rong. The stud ents s t i l l a t tend c lasses regula r l y a nd eage r l y . The teache rs seem to have foun d some ext ra

energy whi le g i v ing chal lenging c lasses.

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An open day i s p lanne d for ea r l y i n the New Year to promote yoga in the re g ion. A lso on the agenda f or next year i s to v i s i t t he Free State speci f i ca l l y B loemfonte in . The reg ional commi t tee i s current l y busy invest igat ing

the poss ib i l i t y o f t ak ing I yengar yoga to th i s area.

Fat ima w i l l be t rave l l i ng to Ind ia in December; we w ish her a l l t he best . She a lso at tended the cou rse p re sented

by Stephanie

I want to use th i s p la t form to ask a l l members to co mmunicate a l l prob lems and quest ions reg ard ing the North-

ern Cape reg ion d i rect l y to the commi t tee.

WESTERN CAPE

MERYL URSON

Al though the Western Cape was uncommonly wet , q u ie t and d rea ry th i s yea r, ou r Region kept th ings hu mming busi l y through the w inter . Two reg ional workshops we re he ld a t Berg r idge Pa rk dur ing the co ld months. A f resh May morn ing fou nd us invo lved in an inv igorat ing A sana sess ion w i th Yvon ne de Kock and a dee ply re lax ing Pranayama sess io n w i th F iona Frase r.

I n September we chal leng ed ou r ba lance w i th Br ig i t t a Tummon’s Asana se ss ion, whi le w i th E i leen Weinronk we explored the depths of our potent ia l s t i l l ness v ia the pract i ce of Pranayama.

At both these workshops tea was se rved to warm u s up and fo r th i s I extend tha nks to St ra t ford Canni ng and h is w i fe Joan, who came a long to he lp us w ith th i s task.

As October warmed in to spr ing, the annual assessm ents were he ld once again a t G i l l i an Bacon’s s tud io . We of the Western Cape Commi t tee w ish to ackn owledge the hard wo rk done by the Assessment Commi t tee for the Assessments and to cong ratu la te a l l t hose s tudents who passed and w ish them wel l on the i r yoga road.

The f i rs t years rece iv in g these congratu la t ions are : Ju l ia At las, Rahle Dusheiko, Groschaan Emmanuel , Gerda Genis , L inda Kel le t , Caro l -Anne Gainer, G lor ia H iguera, Angie Lawson, P ier-Lu ig i Romeo and Sal l y Stephens.

The second a nd th i rd yea rs a re: Shavonne H i l l , Mar ion Wi t te , Penelope Lankaster , Maya Pfaf f , Cornel ia Proto-papa, Danie l l e R i t te l and Mar ianne Wiid .

As Novembe r b lossomed in to summer, we we re for tu nate to welcome Stepha nie Qui rk once again to the West -ern Cap e. She he ld a successfu l seminar a t Goudin i Spa ne ar Wo rceste r for the teach ers who h ad stud ie d w i th her befo re and a o ne day wo rksh op at Berg v l ie t Pr imary School for Gen era l Level s tudents. S tephanie ’s un-common knowledge of I yengar yoga and unu sual teaching methods once again benef i t ed a l l who at tended th i s year –members an d non-membe rs a l i ke.

Fo l low ing the in tegrat ion of Eastern and Southe rn Ca pe our membersh ip now stand s at 120 Asso cia te Members, 61 Teache rs and 23 Student Teache rs. We urge yo u a l l t o j oin the Inst i t u te , s ince i t s work i s to enhance your yoga l i f e . To f i nd out what the Inst i t u te does, p lease v i s i t our newly reworked websi te , www.bks iyengar.co.za.

Whi le the year seems to rush to a c lo se, i t on ly re mains for me to than k the Western Cape Commi t tee for a l l t he i r hard work th i s yea r, namely St ra t ford Canning (Treasu re r) , R iva H i rschowi t z (Se creta ry ) and S arah Nelson (V ice Chai r ) who w i l l sad ly be leav ing us fo r fu l l t ime un ivers i t y s tud ies next yea r. We w ish her wel l i n her en -deavou rs, but are happy to rep ort t hat Sarah w i l l s t i l l be ass is t ing us w i th the c loth ing sa les next year.

And s ince th i s w i l l be my last opportun i t y to wish you wel l over the summer ho l idays, I t ake th i s opportun i t y to

do just that . En joy the t ime re lax ing w i th famil y and f r i ends and keep p ract i s ing unt i l we meet again .

ZIMBABWE

JENNY GEDDES

This has been a very bu sy yea r in Bulawayo. F i rs t ly there has been the t ra in ing of the two student teachers who have just completed the i r 2n d yea r. Unfortunat e ly for var ious re asons they h ave both dec id ed to t ake a ' gap ' year and cont inue w i th the i r 3rd year in 2014.

Sue Bryant a t tended two workshop s/ t ra in ing days in Port E l i zabeth in May and June th i s year. She has d ec ided not to cont inue w i th the Junior In termediate Level I a t t h i s t ime, due to pressure at work, but hopefu l l y a t some fu ture date w i l l resume the course.

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A weekend worksh op was he ld in September by Jenn y, which was very wel l a t tended and most successfu l .

Jenny at tended the 5th Remedia l Course he ld a t the Goudin i Spa near Worceste r . Much was learnt by a l l t he

teachers who at tended. Western Cape must be congratu la ted in organis ing anothe r very succe ssfu l cours e.

Heal th i s a s ta te o f complete harmony of the body, mind and sp i r i t . When one i s f ree f rom phys ica l d i sab i l i t i es and menta l d i s t ract ions, the gates of the soul open - -B .K.S. I yengar

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COURSES


VISITING INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS

2013: Lois Steinberg: Johannesburg: 8 ― 11 August Cape town: 15 ― 18 August Stephanie Quirk: Goudini Spa: 11 ― 14 November 2014: Dean Lerner: Johannesburg: 4 ― 7 April Cape Town : 11 ― 14 April 2015: Corine Biria: Dates for both Johannesburg and Cape Town to be confirmed.

YOGA RETREAT WITH BRIGITTA TUMMON

Equinox Yoga Retreat

20-24 March 2013 Bodhi Khaya Ret reat Cent re , Gansbaai

For more in format ion and booking p lease co ntact Br ig i t t a on 021 797 2810 or e-mai l : br ig i t t a . tummon@gmai l . com

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IYENGAR YOGA IN OUDTSHOORN

BKS Iyengar Yoga Centre, Schoemanshoek, Oudtshoorn, Klein Karoo, South Africa

Nest led in the beaut i f u l and t ranqui l Schoemanshoe k va l ley on the way to the famous Cango Caves, su r-rounde d by the majest i c Swartberg Mounta ins, the BKS Iyengar Yoga Centre o f fers the complete yoga ex-per ience. Our fu l l y equipped Cent re i s des igned to g i ve you, the yoga pract i t i oner, t he opportun i t y t o ex-per ience qu al i t y yoga tu i t i on in th i s peacefu l and pr i s t i ne set t i ng.

For i n format ion about the 3-day & 6-day re trea ts , r egular workshops and our estab l i shed teachers train-ing program, p lease v i s i t our b logs, which have be en speci f i ca l l y des igned to g i ve you a compre hensi ve p ic ture o f what the Yoga Cent re has to o f fer – v i s i t h t tp / : : i yengaryog aret reats .b logspot . com

The Schoemanshoe k va l ley and Oudtshoo rn, o f fer a var ie ty o f su i tab le accommodat ion to complete the ex-per ience. More about us at h t tp : / / yogawi thdavid .b logspot . com/ 6-day re treat - Friday, 22n d Februa ry 2013 to Wednesday, 27 t h Februa ry 2013

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IYENGAR YOGA PRANAYAMA CLASSES WITH JUDY FARAH

Pranayama removes the ve i l cover ing the l i ght o f knowledge and hera lds the dawn of w isdom” - - Sut ra 11.47

Pranayama, the 4 t h L imb of yoga, i s the sc ience of the breath.

Regular pra ct i ce of Pranayama i s as essent ia l as a regular Asana p ract i ce. On Saturday 16 Feb 2013, I w i l l s tar t a new once per month Pranayama Class;

i n the L i t t l e G len, Camps Bay. Th is beaut i f u l , peacefu l space a l lows for qu ie t and focused Yoga Sadh ana (p ract i ce ) .

The c lass runs f rom 08:30 – 10:00, one Saturday p er month;

Pranayama (breath ing ), A l l l eve ls o f pract i t i oner are most welcome.

For fur ther deta i l s and bookin gs p lease contact Jud y on 082 8256792

or e mai l j udy@yogasouthaf r i ca.com www.yogasouthaf r i ca.com

IYENGAR YOGA AT BUDDIST RETREAT CENTRE, IXOPO

IYENGAR YOGA AT BUDDIST RETREAT CENTRE, IXOPO WITH JUDY FARAH - 28 June to 4 July 2013

Th is magni f i cent Ret reat Cent re in KwaZulu-Nata l o f fers a peacefu l space for the heart and soul

t o open up to some quie t and focused Yoga Sadhana.

I t can be done in two sect ions: 1 Beginn ing Fr iday evening 19h00, 28 June to Sunday lunch 30 June 2 Beginn ing Fr iday evening 19h00, 28 June to Thursday lunch 4 Ju ly .

(Fr iday D inne r i s serve d at the BRC at 17h30)

The re t reat w i l l cons is t o f Asana (Postures ) and Pran ayama (bre ath ing), which w i l l bu i ld up over the course of the 7 days. A l l l eve ls o f pract i t i oner are most welcome.

For fur ther deta i l and booking s p lease contact the BRC on 039 8341863 or

brc i xopo@futurenet . co.za. Check the web s i te h t tp : / /www.brc i xopo.co.za

When you inhale , you are tak ing the s t rength f rom God. When you exhale, i t represents the serv i ce you are g iv ing

to the wor ld .

-- BKS Iyengar

30


NOTICES

RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP FOR 2013

Your annual sub scr ip t ion i s due for ren ewal by 31 s t January 20 13. P lease ensure that you pay your sub s in t ime to your Regional Treasurer , a t t he same t ime advis ing any changes in you r contact deta i l s . Th is w i l l enable us to s tay in touch w i th you. The ra tes remain the same as lev ied in 2011& 2012. The ra tes are: Teachers: R450*

Student Teachers (who teach c lasse s) R300

Associa te Members R180 ( inc lud ing non -teaching teache rs ) * Inc ludes Cert i f i cat ion fee. The renewal form wi l l be sent to you separa tely .

YOGA RAHASYA

The Yoga Rahasya magazine i s pu bl i shed qua rter l y by the Ramamani I yengar Memoria l Yoga Inst i t u te in Pune. Th is magazine consis tent l y o f fers h igh qual i t y ar t i c les cove r ing many aspe cts o f I yengar yoga. Art i -c les are wr i t t en by Guru j i , Geeta and Prashant as wel l as many other knowledgeable people. Thus we are

kept i n formed about I yengar Yoga ‘ f rom the source ’ .

I f you would l i ke to renew your subscr ip t ion or to become a new subscr iber to Yoga Rahasya, p lease com-ple te the necessary form which w i l l be made avai lable separate ly and which w i l l i nd icate the cost . P lease a lso pay your subscr ip t ion fee in to the Cent ra l Commi t tee ’s Bank Account and then advise Br ig i t t a Tum-mon at br ig i t t a . tummon@gmai l . com of same. Bank deta i l s : Bank: Standard Bank Branch: Rondebosch Branch Number: 025009 Account Name: BKS Iyengar Inst i t u te o f SA Account Number: 07 295 882 0

Newslet ter compi led and ed i ted by R iva H i rscowi t z .

Typeset t i ng by St ra t ford Canning.

Our s incere thanks to a l l who took the t ime and made the ef for t t o cont r ibute to the contents o f th i s maga-z ine. Anyone w ish ing to cont r ibute ar t i c les, photos, in format ion or suggest ions to the newslet ter may con-tact our ed i tor : Ph 082 782 8275, emai l : r i va.h i rschowi t z@gmai l . com

31

A RITUAL TO READ TO EACH OTHER


WILLIAM STAFFORD

I f you don ' t know the k ind of person I am and I don ' t know the k ind of person you are

a pat tern that o thers made may prevai l i n the wor ld and fo l l ow ing the wrong god home we may miss our s tar .

For there i s many a smal l bet raya l i n the m ind,

a shrug that l e t s the f rag i le sequence brea k sending w i th shouts the horr ib le er rors o f ch i ldhood

storming out to p lay through the broken dyke.

And as e lephants para de ho ld ing each e lepha nt ' s ta i l , but i f one wanders the c i rcus won' t f i nd the park,

I ca l l i t c rue l and maybe the root o f a l l c rue l t y to know what occurs but not recognize the fact .

And so I appeal to a vo ice, to someth ing shadowy,

a remote important reg ion in a l l who ta l k : t hough we could foo l each other, we should consider -- l est the parade of our mutual l i f e get l ost i n the dark.

For i t i s important that awake people be awake,

or a break in g l i ne may d iscourage them back to s lee p; the s ignals we g ive--ye s or no, or maybe --

should be c lear: t he darkn ess a round us i s deep.

I pray Patanjali to bless the readers so that the … - December...2 I pray Patanjali to bless the readers so that the illuminative rays of yoga may penetrate and reach them, and the

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