I am back in beloved India and it feels great! I'm bursting with ideas after my first day studying at Krishnamachrya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai. I am really glad I decided to join the course and go directly to the root of the teachings inspired by the great guru of modern yoga, the teacher of teachers Krishnamachrya and his equally brilliant son Desikachar who has mastered the therapeutic application of yoga.
It's only day one and we've already explored soo much which I want to share with you all. Here's a run day down of the daily schedule:
07.00 - 08.15 ASANA PRACTICE
The practise consisted of exercises taken from Desikachar's Heart of Yoga which are repetitive simple vinyasas (breath linking movement). Doing this type of practise highlights that sometimes by taking things away you can gain greater level of attention, the beauty of simplicity. For example when we take the opening postures from surya namaskar (sun salutation) on it's own (inhaling the arms above the head, exhaling hands to earth in uttanasana, inhale extend the spine look out in ardha uttanasana) seperate from the full sequence we really refine the movement and aknowledge the details of each asana in its own right.
09.00 - 09.50 YOGIC ANATOMY
I found this session particularly mind-blowing, it connect many dots and helped me comprehend the yogic philosophies inherent in Hindu cosmology and to appreciate the relevance. Some very complex ideology by will try put into words...
As I had wriiten about in my previous post in yogic philosophy there is the concept of supreme, universal consciousness, Purusa, in sanskrit. It's primordial, we can't intellectualise it we must accept it, it is:
SAT - It is /Absolute
CIT - Consciousness
JNANA - Wisdom
ANANDA - Bliss
ANANTA - Endless / Beyond All
NIRGUNA - Changeless
On the micro cosmic level there is Prakti which is the source of all creation, fundamental material matrix and an interplay of the three Guna's (matter/quality/attribute) - Sattva (lucidity, light, clarity), Rajas (movement) and Tamas (heaviness, inertia). Prakti is tangible to us because we can feel it through the body, mind and senses.
In our understanding we want to or don't have an option but to start from the gross level, Prakti, and then we have to accept the subtle, Purasa, as it is beyond intellectual comprehension.
The elements that exists in the universe on a macro level are present in the body on a micro levelas follows. The moon and the sun are also represented in the body.
BRAHMAN / PURUSA - Supreme Consciousness
AKASA - Space / Ether
VAYU - Wind / Prana
AGNI - Fire
ABA - Water
PRITHI - Earth
OSADH - Plant /Herbs
AMAM - Food
PINDA - Human
PURUSA - Human soul embodied
These elements go from the most subtle down to the gross, from those that we can't see to those that we can see, touch, smell and taste.
Purusa exists in us, it is embodied in the soul. Yoga happens when Purusa on our inner soul, micro level unites with Purusa on the sumpreme conscious universal macro level.
How do we access the Cosmos?
We access the cosmos through the structure of 14 realms (sun, moon, mountains to be much to fully go into here..) for example Meru which is translated as mountain. Meru is reflected in the body as the spine. The Ancient masters, who predate modern medicine by 2,000 years, that the spine is at the centre of the body and the way to access higher consciosness. In sanskrit the spine is Merudanda, translated as 'mountain stick'. When we are thinking of the spine we are considering it from an esoteric, energitical perspective rather than the bones and muscles. The key chakras (energy centres) and nadi's (subtle channels of energy) are loacated.
By enquiring into this we get closer to the perfect nature, we no longer percieve ourselves as just the gross body and we move to our highest potential.
Churning of the Milky Ocean (the good / bad cycle)
In this story from Hindu cosmology there is a mountain, Meru, which stands in the milky ocean, on one side there are the Gods and on the other the Demons. Both good and bad sides want to release the nectar from the mountain and to do this they churn the ocean. Each side needs the help of the other to make this happen but the problem is the churn keeps slipping and they need help. They pray to Vishnu, the God of preservation, who goes under the mountain to give support and enables the nectar to be realised. In another adaptation they call on Shiva who consumes the poison so everyone is safe and can enjoy the nectar.
This story is interesting from a yoga perspective because we have both good and bad within us. We have to start from the stability of the spine which relates to meru / the mountain. Yoga is the process of churning, refining oneself to acquire extraordinary power, the nectar/the siddhis, which are released by the ocean. The ocean is the mind, it is constantly moving but when this ceases and there is stillness this is when nectar is released.
In this process of transformation not just nectar but also toxins are released. Therefore we need Shiva / the teacher to guide us through the process. Shiva keeps the poison in his throat which turns blue. He doesn't absorn any of the poison and he doesn't release it, like an excellent teacher he is not affected by others problems and doesn't share, respects confidentiality.
It's hard to summarise but basically everything in yoga is to transcend the confines of our physical form to Purusa, supreme, universal consciousness, union and this journey is beautifully woven into Hindu stories.
All this in just one 50 minute lecture, needless to stay I can't wait for the rest of these tutorials!
10.00 - 10.50 APPLICATIONS OF TOOLS OF YOGA BASED ON YOGIC ANATOMY
Continuing from the previous class we focused on the spine and how we can make it stronger through the asana. Before doing any postures we stand or sit upright and observe oneself and the breath. This position is called Sama Stithi and can be done standing in tadasana, sitting dandasana or lying savasana and it works to balance the body and mind, right, left, front and back in equilibrium and works as a reference point from which to begin and return to.
Breathing helps to calm the churning of the ocean, the mind, to bring greater consciousness to the practise. Working on the physical spinal alignment, aligns the chakras and strengthens the internal structure.
Next we looked more deeply at how the asanas are traditionally classified in sansrkit by the ancient masters and what this tells us about the postures. We began with the Purvatana (translated to 'east stretch') postures which are traditionally done facing east to the rising sun. These postures are an expansion of the front of the body, the anterior. These postures are done an inhale as it is an upwards expansion of the chest.
Purvatana postures include the following where the front of the body lengthens and the anahata (heart) and vishuddhi (throat) chakra open: Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I), Dhanurasana (Bow), Purvatanasana, Ustrasana (camel), Urdha Dhanurasana (wheel), Ardha Utkatasana (Chair) etc.
Therefore these postures that we typically think of as being backbends when instead the focus is on expanding the front of the body. I was aware of this thanks to Claire Missingham's extremely wonderful teaching but its good to bring it to forefront of the attention by putting it in conext of the sanskrit translation.
11.00 - 11.50 ASANA & PRANAYAMA PRACTICE
14.00 - 14.50 YOGIC ANATOMY IN CLASSICAL TEXTS
We spent this session in an open discussion and interpretation of Pantajali's Sutra III 47:
Svadhyaya Rupa Lavanya Bala Vajna Which roughly means when you reflect on the body it has strength of a diamond.
Most of the time we suffer because we stay in one dimension, we don't like change. But when we reflect and are able to move easily through the five dimensions of the body, Panca Maya, we can accept changes. When you accept you become strong and resilient to the stresses of life and the pure, natural, diamond shines forth.
15.00 - 15.5O APPLICATION OF TOOLS OF YOGA BASED ON YOGIC ANATOMY II
This session explores modifying postures and the therapeutic implications and affects of asana. The form of an asana is unique for everybody as we are all structually different and the fuction of a posture is also different depending on the person. Asanas are modified for injury, illness, age, pregnancy etc as well as to create a new awareness to a posture and prevent it becoming routine for a regular practioner.
Not only can we modify a posture on a physical level but also by introducing new breathing patterns which creates a different focus and experience eg: Inhale for 6 and exhale for 6 to inhale for 6 and exhale for 12.
We broke down ways of observing the body on a superfical level by the key reference points:
Spine
Tip of the nose (is it jutted forward or inline)
Shoulders (are they level? check whilst standing, ideally against a wall)
Naval/centre
Hips (when lying down relaxed, look at the feet to see if they are even when they roll open or if one opens more than other and if one leg is longer than the other)
It is important that when you make these observations that both you and the person are relaxed and that you check a number of alignment points in different positions to clarify any imbalances.
16.10 - 17.00 MANTRA & MEDITATIVE PRACTICE
In the closing practise of the day we incorporated the modifications of the breath in a vinyasa moving from balasana (childs pose) to cow pose as follows:
INHALE EXHALE
2 4
3 6
4 8
In the first round we focused on the lower half of the spine whilst doing 4 rounds each of the breathing patterns above. Next bringing attention to the centre of the spine and repeating same breathing sequence and then again with the attention at the top section of the spine.
Then we sat in ardha padmasana and repeated the breathing as above and keeping the attention at the heart on the inhalation and at the naval on exhalation to prepare for meditation.
When the spine is strong we can support ourselves to sit comfortably for meditation with the spine aligned and completely still. When the spine is still, the mind is still. Asanas are designed to prepare and strengthen the spine by bending forwards and backwards and revolving and twisting.
Wow all this from just the first day and I am sure many more jigaw pieces will slot together and pictures become clear over the next 2 weeks!
It's only day one and we've already explored soo much which I want to share with you all. Here's a run day down of the daily schedule:
07.00 - 08.15 ASANA PRACTICE
The practise consisted of exercises taken from Desikachar's Heart of Yoga which are repetitive simple vinyasas (breath linking movement). Doing this type of practise highlights that sometimes by taking things away you can gain greater level of attention, the beauty of simplicity. For example when we take the opening postures from surya namaskar (sun salutation) on it's own (inhaling the arms above the head, exhaling hands to earth in uttanasana, inhale extend the spine look out in ardha uttanasana) seperate from the full sequence we really refine the movement and aknowledge the details of each asana in its own right.
09.00 - 09.50 YOGIC ANATOMY
I found this session particularly mind-blowing, it connect many dots and helped me comprehend the yogic philosophies inherent in Hindu cosmology and to appreciate the relevance. Some very complex ideology by will try put into words...
As I had wriiten about in my previous post in yogic philosophy there is the concept of supreme, universal consciousness, Purusa, in sanskrit. It's primordial, we can't intellectualise it we must accept it, it is:
SAT - It is /Absolute
CIT - Consciousness
JNANA - Wisdom
ANANDA - Bliss
ANANTA - Endless / Beyond All
NIRGUNA - Changeless
On the micro cosmic level there is Prakti which is the source of all creation, fundamental material matrix and an interplay of the three Guna's (matter/quality/attribute) - Sattva (lucidity, light, clarity), Rajas (movement) and Tamas (heaviness, inertia). Prakti is tangible to us because we can feel it through the body, mind and senses.
In our understanding we want to or don't have an option but to start from the gross level, Prakti, and then we have to accept the subtle, Purasa, as it is beyond intellectual comprehension.
The elements that exists in the universe on a macro level are present in the body on a micro levelas follows. The moon and the sun are also represented in the body.
BRAHMAN / PURUSA - Supreme Consciousness
AKASA - Space / Ether
VAYU - Wind / Prana
AGNI - Fire
ABA - Water
PRITHI - Earth
OSADH - Plant /Herbs
AMAM - Food
PINDA - Human
PURUSA - Human soul embodied
These elements go from the most subtle down to the gross, from those that we can't see to those that we can see, touch, smell and taste.
Purusa exists in us, it is embodied in the soul. Yoga happens when Purusa on our inner soul, micro level unites with Purusa on the sumpreme conscious universal macro level.
How do we access the Cosmos?
We access the cosmos through the structure of 14 realms (sun, moon, mountains to be much to fully go into here..) for example Meru which is translated as mountain. Meru is reflected in the body as the spine. The Ancient masters, who predate modern medicine by 2,000 years, that the spine is at the centre of the body and the way to access higher consciosness. In sanskrit the spine is Merudanda, translated as 'mountain stick'. When we are thinking of the spine we are considering it from an esoteric, energitical perspective rather than the bones and muscles. The key chakras (energy centres) and nadi's (subtle channels of energy) are loacated.
By enquiring into this we get closer to the perfect nature, we no longer percieve ourselves as just the gross body and we move to our highest potential.
Churning of the Milky Ocean (the good / bad cycle)
In this story from Hindu cosmology there is a mountain, Meru, which stands in the milky ocean, on one side there are the Gods and on the other the Demons. Both good and bad sides want to release the nectar from the mountain and to do this they churn the ocean. Each side needs the help of the other to make this happen but the problem is the churn keeps slipping and they need help. They pray to Vishnu, the God of preservation, who goes under the mountain to give support and enables the nectar to be realised. In another adaptation they call on Shiva who consumes the poison so everyone is safe and can enjoy the nectar.
This story is interesting from a yoga perspective because we have both good and bad within us. We have to start from the stability of the spine which relates to meru / the mountain. Yoga is the process of churning, refining oneself to acquire extraordinary power, the nectar/the siddhis, which are released by the ocean. The ocean is the mind, it is constantly moving but when this ceases and there is stillness this is when nectar is released.
In this process of transformation not just nectar but also toxins are released. Therefore we need Shiva / the teacher to guide us through the process. Shiva keeps the poison in his throat which turns blue. He doesn't absorn any of the poison and he doesn't release it, like an excellent teacher he is not affected by others problems and doesn't share, respects confidentiality.
It's hard to summarise but basically everything in yoga is to transcend the confines of our physical form to Purusa, supreme, universal consciousness, union and this journey is beautifully woven into Hindu stories.
All this in just one 50 minute lecture, needless to stay I can't wait for the rest of these tutorials!
10.00 - 10.50 APPLICATIONS OF TOOLS OF YOGA BASED ON YOGIC ANATOMY
Continuing from the previous class we focused on the spine and how we can make it stronger through the asana. Before doing any postures we stand or sit upright and observe oneself and the breath. This position is called Sama Stithi and can be done standing in tadasana, sitting dandasana or lying savasana and it works to balance the body and mind, right, left, front and back in equilibrium and works as a reference point from which to begin and return to.
Breathing helps to calm the churning of the ocean, the mind, to bring greater consciousness to the practise. Working on the physical spinal alignment, aligns the chakras and strengthens the internal structure.
Next we looked more deeply at how the asanas are traditionally classified in sansrkit by the ancient masters and what this tells us about the postures. We began with the Purvatana (translated to 'east stretch') postures which are traditionally done facing east to the rising sun. These postures are an expansion of the front of the body, the anterior. These postures are done an inhale as it is an upwards expansion of the chest.
Purvatana postures include the following where the front of the body lengthens and the anahata (heart) and vishuddhi (throat) chakra open: Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I), Dhanurasana (Bow), Purvatanasana, Ustrasana (camel), Urdha Dhanurasana (wheel), Ardha Utkatasana (Chair) etc.
Therefore these postures that we typically think of as being backbends when instead the focus is on expanding the front of the body. I was aware of this thanks to Claire Missingham's extremely wonderful teaching but its good to bring it to forefront of the attention by putting it in conext of the sanskrit translation.
11.00 - 11.50 ASANA & PRANAYAMA PRACTICE
14.00 - 14.50 YOGIC ANATOMY IN CLASSICAL TEXTS
We spent this session in an open discussion and interpretation of Pantajali's Sutra III 47:
Svadhyaya Rupa Lavanya Bala Vajna Which roughly means when you reflect on the body it has strength of a diamond.
Most of the time we suffer because we stay in one dimension, we don't like change. But when we reflect and are able to move easily through the five dimensions of the body, Panca Maya, we can accept changes. When you accept you become strong and resilient to the stresses of life and the pure, natural, diamond shines forth.
15.00 - 15.5O APPLICATION OF TOOLS OF YOGA BASED ON YOGIC ANATOMY II
This session explores modifying postures and the therapeutic implications and affects of asana. The form of an asana is unique for everybody as we are all structually different and the fuction of a posture is also different depending on the person. Asanas are modified for injury, illness, age, pregnancy etc as well as to create a new awareness to a posture and prevent it becoming routine for a regular practioner.
Not only can we modify a posture on a physical level but also by introducing new breathing patterns which creates a different focus and experience eg: Inhale for 6 and exhale for 6 to inhale for 6 and exhale for 12.
We broke down ways of observing the body on a superfical level by the key reference points:
Spine
Tip of the nose (is it jutted forward or inline)
Shoulders (are they level? check whilst standing, ideally against a wall)
Naval/centre
Hips (when lying down relaxed, look at the feet to see if they are even when they roll open or if one opens more than other and if one leg is longer than the other)
It is important that when you make these observations that both you and the person are relaxed and that you check a number of alignment points in different positions to clarify any imbalances.
16.10 - 17.00 MANTRA & MEDITATIVE PRACTICE
In the closing practise of the day we incorporated the modifications of the breath in a vinyasa moving from balasana (childs pose) to cow pose as follows:
INHALE EXHALE
2 4
3 6
4 8
In the first round we focused on the lower half of the spine whilst doing 4 rounds each of the breathing patterns above. Next bringing attention to the centre of the spine and repeating same breathing sequence and then again with the attention at the top section of the spine.
Then we sat in ardha padmasana and repeated the breathing as above and keeping the attention at the heart on the inhalation and at the naval on exhalation to prepare for meditation.
When the spine is strong we can support ourselves to sit comfortably for meditation with the spine aligned and completely still. When the spine is still, the mind is still. Asanas are designed to prepare and strengthen the spine by bending forwards and backwards and revolving and twisting.
Wow all this from just the first day and I am sure many more jigaw pieces will slot together and pictures become clear over the next 2 weeks!
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