Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
With the viniyoga of Yoga approach to āsana practice, the breath is fundamental. The breath enables us to bring focused awareness to what is happening in our bodies during practice. In āsana practice the breath has two important roles:
Return to home page
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
“Krishnamacharya would introduce the Sūtra philosophy when students were resting during an Āsana practice, because he felt that this was the only time they had available to them.”
– TKV Desikachar April 1992
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes – Centre for Yoga Studies
Return to home page
“It doesn’t matter how beautifully we do a posture or how flexible our bodies are,
if we do not have the unification of the body, the breath, and the mind,
it is difficult to say that our practice falls within the definition of Yoga.”
Religiousness in Yoga – TKV Desikachar
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
The body can be underused, overused and abused, we need to be aware of what is happening with the body, but we also need to do something for the mind.
It is possible to be aware of the state of the mind by observing the body during an Āsana practice.
– There are many postures to suit a variety of different body types.
– Āsana practice is to prepare the body, to sit for Prāṇāyāma.
– Āsana also helps to get rid of impurities so that it is possible to do something deeper, inside the mind.
– Planning should precede practice, fix your goal, building step by step and there should be check points along the way.
– There are simple postures for Prāṇāyāma and Dhyāna, so that we can relax in the body and not be distracted by it.
– There are challenging postures, to enable us to master our bodies and for young people who will be engaged by the performance aspect of the posture.
– There are also corrective postures.
– Notes from TKV Desikachar’s lectures at a 6 day retreat in England in April 1992
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes Centre for Yoga Studies
Return to home page
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
“Any posture far removed from the normal posture is a problem and therefore risky if there is any problem with the body.”
– Notes from TKV Desikachar’s lectures at a 6 day retreat in England in April 1992
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes Centre for Yoga Studies
Return to home page
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
“Better the feeling you’re being held by the Āsana than the feeling you’re holding the Āsana.”
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes Page cYs
Return to home page
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
Āsana and Breathing – Lecture Notes from TKV Desikachar April 1992
“The trunk is the most important part of the body, most postures are adjustments of the legs and to a lesser extent the arms. It is possible to do many postures without moving the trunk.
The trunk is involved in the breathing, it brings out changes in the most vital part of the body.
So much happens in the spine with the breath, we need to be aware of our breathing to have a maximum effect on the spine.
– Inhalation – straightens the spine – expanding/ awakening
– Exhalation – contracts the spine – shrinking/ contracting
The lower abdomen is the dullest part of the spine, it is the starting point for the exhalation. Exhalation is the most important part of the breath, it encourages the inhalation. By increasing the exhalation we bring attention to the lower abdomen.
Emphasis on the inhale brings attention to the upper chest, with the retention of the breath after the inhale the spine will stretch and create heat.
There can be refinement of the posture through the breath.
The attention is within the posture if we concentrate on the breath.
– Breathing is done in a harmonious way, Yoga is non-violent.
– Breath should be slow, smooth and powerful. It should be held for 1”-2” after the inhale to prevent contraction.
– Retention is also the extension of the hold after the exhale and it is carried out to retain the state of contraction.
Breath presents different possibilities in Āsana. The breath makes it possible to find ways to achieve access to the posture, it is possible to adapt a posture through the breath. By varying the breath we vary the effect.
The focus should be on the contraction or expansion of the abdomen or chest during Āsana.
It is necessary to complete an exhale otherwise the inhale will get shorter. Contraction of the stomach after the exhale will make it more effective.”
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes Page cYs
Return to home page
“The breath makes it possible to find ways to achieve access to the posture, it is possible to adapt a posture through the breath.”
– Notes from TKV Desikachar’s lectures at a 6 day retreat in England in April 1992
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Centre for Yoga Studies
Posted by Michele Harney, Yoga Rathgar & Dundrum – Dublin
“It is possible to be aware of the state of the mind by observing the body during an Āsana practice.”
– Teaching notes from a 6 day retreat with TKV Desikachar in England April 1992
Courtesy – Paul Harvey’s Daily Quotes Page cYs
Return to home page
Āsana practice should take into account:
– Where we are – Where am I?
– Where are we going – What is my goal?
– What happens afterwards – How do I continue with my life?
There needs to be steps in the sequence to lead to the goal and counter postures to prepare for life after the Yoga practice, a Vinyāsa (Special placing).
The postures need to be visualised prior to being executed, Bhava (becoming, turning into).
It is important to prepare for life after a Yoga practice so that a student is fully prepared for life outside the Yoga room.
A teacher needs to know a students body and state of mind to prepare a suitable practice, to take into account the particular students problems be they physical or psychological.”
Teaching notes from a 6 day retreat with TKV Desikachar in England April 1992
Shared from – Paul Harvey cYs
“To cure the ills of the body, use the body.
To cure the wandering of the mind,
practice Prānāyāma.”
– Śrī T Krishnamacharya
Some excerpts from an article by Paul Harvey outlining the viniyoga (application) of prāṇāyāma from a Rāja Yoga and a Haṭha Yoga perspective.
“In the Rāja Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Yoga Sūtra, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of attention, timing and number of breaths.
The fruits of this approach are a reduction in confusion (Yoga Sūtra C2 v52) and fitness for the first steps in the meditative process (Yoga Sūtra C2 v53) towards cultivating an experience of being filled with a subtle sense of stillness (Yoga Sūtra C1 v3).
“In the Haṭha Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of using two primary channels (īḍā and piṅgalā) through a variety techniques to effect a śodhana (clearing of blockages) of the nāḍī (channels for prāṇa).”
“…..the practice of Prāṇāyāma links the student to the more refined aspects of dhāraṇā (concentration) and dhyānam (meditation) as a seated practice.”
Read full article. The article is also available as a downloadable PDF, courtesy of Dharma Downloads
Return to home page
“Use āsana for problems of the body
and prāṇāyāma for problems of the mind”
-Śrī T Krishnamacharya
Return to home page
January being imminent, many will be making New Year resolutions and looking at fitness from the perspective of body and mind. Yoga is a practice that encompasses both. The popularity of Yoga and the choice of classes available in Dublin has increased dramatically over the past 15 years. Reading a recent article in the Irish Independent titled ‘Is Yoga actually bad for you?’ my initial thought was ‘yes’ Yoga, as with many disciplines, may be bad for you if the practice being taught is inappropriate for the individual and being taught by a teacher who does not have a professional qualification.
As there is no formal regulation of Yoga teachers in Ireland, top of the list in terms of selecting a Yoga class is to look at the prospective Yoga teacher’s training and teaching background. Speaking with and/or emailing the teacher to find out more prior to signing up for a class will also help in terms of making a decision.
A number of Yoga teachers in Dublin now also offer individual lessons. However many of these lessons are taught ‘as if’ a group class for one, as opposed to being specific the individual. Yoga taught on a one to one basis provides an opportunity to tailor practice specific to your needs and personal situation. The Yoga teacher must have been taught the skills of appropriate application. There are few teachers in Dublin, indeed in Ireland who are sufficiently qualified in this regard.
Many current Yoga trainings do not provide a sufficient grounding for teachers in the skills fundamental to the application of Yoga to the individual whether it be from a developmental, a recovery or a therapeutic perspective. It is important here to check out the training background of the Yoga teacher. For individual lessons an initial consultation where both you and the Yoga teacher meet to discuss objectives and expectations, prior to committing to individual Yoga lessons is beneficial.
Return to home page
“The practice of Āsana without breathing and without remembering Ananta has no value.”
(Yoga Sūtra C2 v47)
– Śrī T Krishnamacharya
Return to home page
The following is an extract from an article by Gary Kraftsow from Yoga International the Yoga Magazine published by the Himalayan Institute. The article demonstrates how Yoga teaches us to lift ourselves out of stress, anxiety and depression, and move towards a deeper sense of self.
“Yoga teaches us that we aren’t our feelings or our symptoms but live in multidimensional relationship with them. One way to grasp this paradox is to picture the Self (purusha or pure, undifferentiated awareness) as pervading all nine interlocking and interdependent spheres of influence without being any one of them. The first three spheres correspond to our moods, thoughts, and behaviors and, where they overlap, our sense of self or svabhava. These spheres profoundly affect—and are affected by—our memory, unconscious conditioning, and by the fourth sphere, our physiology, particularly our autonomic nervous system (ANS). The remaining five spheres represent our anatomy and our relationships with family, society, the world, and the entire cosmos”
Return to home page
Credit: modernyogaresearch.org
Mark Singleton author Yoga Body, the Origins of Modern Posture Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010) excerpt from conversation with Susan Maier-Moul
Susan Maier-Moul: How does everything we’ve been talking about relate to practice – to actually doing yoga?
Mark Singleton: Practical yoga in modern times has changed immensely, sometimes out of all recognition. This is also a process of translation. Practices are taken from earlier traditions, added to, edited, spun and re-cast, until they become something completely other.
This is particularly visible in the way that yoga these days has become almost synonymous with posture practice—this is a new situation, that has very few precedents in any pre-modern yoga traditions. I examine the reasons for this development in my recent book Yoga Body, The Origins of Modern Posture Practice.
As in translation of texts like the Yoga Sutras, the translation of practices is guided by the belief frameworks and needs of that particular time and place. So in early twentieth century India, Hindu Indians were seeking to assert their own indigenous religious practices, in the face of colonial impositions. One of the names given to this project was “yoga”.
Susan: What we are doing now and naming yoga – whether it’s something that’s being called “classical yoga” or “flow yoga” or something else – it isn’t consistent with even the yoga of Patanjali, much less “ancient” practices.
Mark: The body of practices that grew up (mainly among English-educated, urban Indians) was quite different from what we might call “grass roots” versions of yoga.
For one thing, in spite of their assertions of religious and cultural independence from abroad, many of these men (and occasional women) borrowed significantly from Western philosophical and esoteric concepts. It was these people, and particularly the immensely successful Swami Vivekananda, who first brought yoga to the West, and who, to a large extent, shaped early American and European understandings of yoga.
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the THIRD of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Yoga as a tool is more likely to be the starting point for most students these days in that we often choose a style or approach to Yoga as a starting point in our Yoga experience. There are many, many choices these days, although the common denominator now appears to be based around Yoga teachers rather than Yoga teachings.
For example we can choose from Anusāra, Aṣṭāṅga, Bikram, Dru, Gītānada, Integral, Iyengar, Jīvamukti, Kripālu, Kuṇḍalinī, Sahaja, Scaravelli, Śivananda, Satyānanda, Viniyoga, etc.
Which is fine in itself. However the question that arises is how much do the various ‘types’ actually apply the Haṭha energetic principles of Practice in order to realize the View of Yoga? My own field of expertise lies within the teachings often referred to as Viniyoga, so I can only speak with experience from this perspective.
The primary principle here is that the Practices of Yoga must be adapted to the starting point, potential and needs of the student. Within this premise is a further question how, or even how much, the tools of Yoga utilize the Practice principles of Haṭha, in order to realise the View of Yoga as presented in what is seen as the primary teaching on the goal of Yoga, the Yoga Sūtra.”
Read more on Yoga as a Tool – The Art of viniyoga for developing a Personalized Practice
Return to home page
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the SECOND of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Another irony in the emerging role and identity of Yoga in the West today is with regard to the term Haṭha Yoga. The term is mainly used generically these days to identify and group ‘physically’ based Yoga practices. As a teacher I am often asked in connection with the question what kind of Yoga do you teach, is it Haṭha Yoga?
The irony is that when we look at what Haṭha Yoga really is we find that the physical elements are relatively limited with very few Āsana discussed. Furthermore within the few discussed, the largest group are concerned with sitting, in preparation for practice elements other than Āsana. Here primarily to facilitate a quality of being able to sit still and as if move beyond the physical body.
Here the primary concern and field of activity for Haṭha Yoga practitioners is with regard to the energetic or ‘Prāṇa’ body and its role in helping to facilitate a quality of energetic ‘clarity’ and energetic ‘stillness’ ultimately as a ladder to support the practitioners exploration of meditational states of being.
The role of Haṭha is to help take the student towards the View and to help refine the View. What is important also is that we understand the various influences that exist in the West today in terms of ‘Yoga’. What seems to be in danger of being lost in all of this are the ‘energetic principles’ that underpin Haṭha Yoga because people have become very focused on the physicality, or even gymnastic type influences. It seems that modern Yoga practice is dominated by Āsana and the words Āsana and Yoga appears to have become sadly synonymous.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a Practice’
Return to home page
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following are excerpts from the FIRST of a three part article by Paul Harvey.
“It is interesting these days that as a Yoga teacher the question I am more likely to be asked is ‘What kind of Yoga do you do?’ rather than ‘What is Yoga?’. It’s either that we think we already know what Yoga is or, more likely, that the view is becoming lost within the myriad of ways in which Yoga is offered.”
“In terms of what is presented as Yoga today where is the view? We need to have a view, we need to know how to access it and we need to know how to stabilise and sustain it.
In Yoga the View is explored most eloquently in the Yoga Sutra and its main focus is the relationship between two aspects that constantly interact in sustaining our sense of being and individuality. The two aspects are that of the perpetual activity of the mind or Citta and the ever present quality of stillness inherent within the awareness of Cit. When the Citta dominates we are more in the past than the present and when Cit dominates we are more in the present than the past.
The premise of the Yoga Sutra is that when the past takes over we are more liable to act and interact unskillfully. Even within different aspects of our Yoga practice when a disturbance arises it is because the past has taken over, a memory has arisen. However if there was no past there would be no Citta. Citta is like a vault full of past memories. Within this ever active process we want to create a space between impulse and reaction.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a View’