Winter sky. Bare trees. Reflection.
The breath can be a key to unlocking the mystery of the relationship…..
In looking at how to deepen (rather than broaden) our personal practice choosing to focus on exploring the breath can be a key to unlocking the mystery of the relationship between body, breath, mind and beyond.
Here we can think of the deepening into our practice arising through progressively slowing the patterning of our breathing. To do this we have to reconsider our practice, not in terms of what we do with our body but what we do with the breath within our body.
This means firstly knowing what is our basic practice breath rate per minute and then progressively slowing that rate as we progress from Āsana, through to Mudrā and then to Prāṇāyāma.
For example when working with Āsana we can start with four breaths per minute, then with Mudrā slow it to three breaths per minute and finally with Prāṇāyāma, slow it again to two breaths per minute.
An accomplished practitioner may be working with three breaths a minute in Āsana, two breaths a minute in Mudrā and one breath a minute with Prāṇāyāma.
Whereas a less experienced practitioner may be working on five breaths a minute in Āsana, four breaths a minute in Mudrā and three breaths a minute in Prāṇāyāma.
The starting point does not matter and is something that is appropriate to the history, health and training of the student. What is more important is that no matter where we start from, the journey into the mystery of the breath and its relationship to the slowing of psychic activity, is through the progressive slowing of our breathing patterns.
This is realised within the long term developmental refinement of the practice limbs of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma within our journey into the evolution of Haṭha Sādhana towards Rāja Sādhana.
Dwelling Together…..
”Sahavāsam (Dwelling Together)
– What you associate with becomes part of you.”
TKV Desikachar January 15th 2000
Research on Back Pain
Interesting research from University of Limerick (UL) on back pain, from an article published in the Irish Times on the 19 January 2021.
Some key points of interest as follows:
1. “Sitting up very straight is no longer advised as treatment for or prevention of back pain, according to a new international study involving researchers at the University of Limerick (UL).”
2. “For those who do suffer from back pain however, Dr O’Sullivan said that it’s reasonable to see if changing your posture helps your pain. “Don’t assume that the solution is always sitting up straight. Some people benefit from sitting up straight but slightly more people benefit from slouching.”
3. “According to Dr O’Sullivan, psychological factors such as worries and mood and lifestyle factors such as sleep and fitness are bigger influencers of back pain than posture.”
4. “The study builds on other recent research at UL which found that physiotherapists and members of the public have an unnecessarily negative view of “slouched” sitting posture and also that physiotherapists and manual handling instructors often promote very stiff straight ways of bending and lifting, even though they are not shown to prevent or ease back pain.“
5. “The best advice on back pain is to move and relax, get fit and strong and not worry about the angle of your back when sitting,” said Dr O’Sullivan.”
Integrating…..
Integrating the past to move forward with the future
“Saṃskāra always looks
to our past experiences
to determine our choices
for our future actions.”
Pointer 87 from the series:
108 Yoga Practice Pointers by Yoga Studies
Withdrawal…..
Listening to…..
“Listening to the breath between Āsana is more
important than listening to the mind between Āsana.”
Pointer 64 from the series:
108 Yoga Practice Pointers by Yoga Studies
Changing perspective…..
Finding my way…..
State of the Mind
“It is possible to be aware of the state of the mind
by observing the body during an Āsana practice.”
Reference for this post:
Yoga Studies – TKV Desikachar England 1992
Suffering and Pleasantness
“Some define their experience of life by seeking Duḥkha,
some by seeking Sukha.
The Yoga Practitioner sees both as Avidyā
and defines their experience of life by seeking
what lies beyond duality through unwavering Viveka.”
Commentary on Yoga Sūtra Chapter 2 verse 26 by Yoga Studies
Bhāvana for the Breath in Kumbhaka
“Bhāvana for exploring Kumbhaka
– Explore the Antar Kumbhaka with a soft holding.
– Explore the Bāhya Kumbhaka with a firm surrender.”
Pointer 5 from the series:
108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers by Yoga Studies
As soon as you trust yourself…..
The viniyoga of Yoga is the application of the principles…..
“The viniyoga of Yoga is the application of the principles that link together to offer possibilities to enhance your relationship with yourself through your practice. This opens the possibility that a deepening of your practice comes not from adding more difficult postures, but from refining your relationship with what you already have.”
“Yoga is a relationship within which you commit yourself to depth of involvement rather than breadth of involvement. In that sense, Yoga is no different from how any relationship with someone or something we care for and wish to spend time with should be.”
Excerpts from a post published by Yoga Studies
Life shrinks or expands…..
The pursuit of ‘Yoga happiness’…..
“One irony from this pursuit is that any experience
will not be exactly the same next time we reach for it,
once we have been through that ‘first time taste’.
This is the nature of Avidyā and its illusory mimicry,
as lived through its child Rāga.”
“The irony of seeking well being,
is that our being is always well”
“In reality Yoga is about looking inwards at what we fear most,
rather than just looking outwards at what we desire most,
in terms of seeking yet another socially addictive pursuit,
albeit under the guise of bliss, happiness, feeling good, etc.”
Excerpts from a post published by Yoga Studies
The target of Yoga is ‘Svatantra’…..
It is not possible to give examples of illnesses or ailments that can be improved…..
The following are reflections on some questions commonly asked with regard to Yoga and what has become labelled as ‘Yoga Therapy’ – complete extract below published by Yoga Studies.
“I was asked in 2011 to provide ‘expert quotes’ in response to three questions for a media article by a freelance journalist on a Yoga related topic. These were my reflections that I am reposting unedited, especially given the surge in these past 7 years in what has become labelled as ‘Yoga Therapy’:
Q1. What are some examples of illnesses or ailments that can improve or be cured with the use of Yoga?
“It is not possible to give examples of illnesses or ailments that can be improved as it all depends on the matrix of the person who may also have certain combinations of problems. A student with cancer may improve or a student with a history of colds may experience little change.
The viewpoint of Yoga is to look at people as individuals and work from there rather than the more usual view of making lists of problems with flash card like answers to a specific problem. e.g. Sciatica, High Blood Pressure, Insomnia, Osteo-arthrosis, Chrohn’s Disease, etc.
“We cannot say that this Āsana or this Prāṇāyāma
can be given for this disease.”
– T Krishnamacharya 1984
According to Yoga we are all individuals who also have from time to time chronic or acute illnesses or ailments. In this view one hallmark is that the practice must be adapted to the individual and their current situation and immediate potential rather than expecting the individual to adapt to the practice.
This means that two individuals with the same symptoms may need very different approaches to practice and lifestyle choices because of their history, mindset and opportunity and intentions for implementing change.
“It appears that Modern Therapeutic Yoga is increasingly angled
at looking at the problems in front of the person
in terms of Yoga for What,
rather than looking at the person behind the problems
in terms of Yoga for Who.”
Yoga also tells us that nothing is destroyed so nothing is ‘cured’. We can perhaps reduce the symptoms to the point where they are dormant. Given the right sun, soil and moisture they can ‘sprout’ again. So cure is not a term that can be applied.
Yoga Psychology says being symptom free also implies that we still have to take care as the seeds can be re-activated given the right stimuli.”
Q2. Is there a certain type of Yoga which is more beneficial, when it comes to health, than other types?
“Any approach to Yoga which facilitates meeting with a student, developing an understanding of their unique background, looking at the opportunities for change which exist for the student in the immediate and near future, being able to propose a personalised practice appropriate to their situation and meeting regularly to both review and progress the practice according to the experiences and feedback from the student is beneficial.
“Yoga Cikitsā is about
treating a person in a problem.
Rather than
treating a problem in a person.”
This is really only realisable through 121 lessons, though not of the type offered by many which are comparable to a group class for one. A more comparable example would be to consulting a homeopath, or acupuncturist, or medical herbalist, or counsellor, where there is time, attention and personalised support and treatment offered.”
Q3. Is there a certain type of Yoga that can prove especially beneficial to those with asthma, and if so, why is this type of Yoga particularly good?
“As the physical basis of asthma is experienced through its effects on the breath, any approach that sees the breath as the canvas on which the pictures of the poses are painted could be helpful. Along with an approach that has the integral and intimate use of the breath in practice as a first priority, the study and application of the principles of Yoga Psychology would be very relevant to working with issues that could well underpin the student’s history of symptoms and personal experiences.”
Published by Yoga Studies.
The mind has a dual capacity…..
“The mind has a dual capacity – it can
make us prisoners of our own conditioning
or set us free”
The viniyoga of Yoga is about Relationship
“The viniyoga of Yoga is the application of the principles that link together to offer possibilities to enhance your relationship with yourself through your practice. This opens the possibility that a deepening of your practice comes not from adding more difficult postures, but from refining your relationship with what you already have.
Life is already full of pressures to go for the newest model, to bring more in from the outside rather than concentrating on bringing more out from the inside. So we need to take care that we do not become an avid consumer of a new posture or new technique purely for the sake of it.
Yoga is a relationship within which you commit yourself to depth of involvement rather than breadth of involvement. In that sense, Yoga is no different from how any relationship with someone or something we care for and wish to spend time with should be.
From this relationship we can eventually start to experience the fruits that arise from the time, care, effort and attention. Perhaps keeping the following words of a teacher from long ago in our mind as we adapt Yoga to suit our particular needs:
“Only through Yoga Yoga is known,
Only through Yoga Yoga changes.
One who is patient at Yoga,
Enjoys the fruits over a long time”