Sutra II.46 and a sequence to practice

II.46 sthira sukham asanam

*Asana is perfect firmness of the body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit.

This week I taught backbending asanas for all different levels of practitioners and all types of bodies.  From a young and flexible 23 year old to a 77 year old who is eager and wants to gain flexibility. I find that teaching these type of asanas not only requires effort and patience of the student, but also compassion and observation of the teacher.  It is so important as a teacher that I notice the small things like the color of skin, pattern of breath, and even the eyes, are they tense or soft.  It is also on the student to make sure they are listening to instructions I give, but also to their own bodies.

In Light on the Yoga Sutras,  Guruji explains that sutra II.46 does not just mean you feel comfy in a pose, but to develop discipline to move the student to a more refined pose. An asana that penetrates to the core of ones being. I have not yet seen this state in completion but I feel in certain poses I am moving towards this steadiness, this sattvic or illumined state.  It does not come without hard work, dedication and the "twin disciplines", abyasa and vairagya. (see sutra I.16-LOYS)

Here is the sequence from last Tuesday nights level 2 class at IYCD.  Make sure to listen to your breath, your body, do not sell your self short either. There is that fine line of pushing to your physical limit and pushing past it.  Guruji explains it like this, "Asanas should be performed without creating aggressiveness in the muscle spindles or the skin cells. Space must be created between muscle and skin so that the skin receives the actions of the muscles, joints and ligaments."

Adho Mukha Svanasana-emphasis on moving thoracic spine in, not just thoracic, but bottom tips of the shoulder blades in in in
Tadasana with shoulder openers-baddhanguliasana, gomukhasana, paschima namaskarasana
Trikonasana
Ardha Chandrasana
Uttanasana xs 3 moving towards final pose
Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana-from hands on the floor, lifting each leg 3 times to get the leg higher
-full pose 2nd time, then a 3rd time making sure to keep hips level
Vimanasana to Virabhadrasana III with the chair first, moving to final pose in the middle of the room
Uttanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukha Vrksasana-hands turned out
Pincha Mayurasana-against the wall with brick and belt
Quad opener at the wall-xs 2
Virasana
Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana with the chair-use rolled sticky mat down the length of spine
Urdhva Dhanurasana-from the chair, hands on the floor or baseboard
Urdhva Dhanurasana-from the floor, hands on rolled sticky mat, roll those triceps in!
Adha Mukha Svanasana-with chair at the wall
Savasana with calves in the seat of the chair-10 minutes
 

Sutra III.9-Silence is Golden

The last few weeks I have started to prepare for my Junior 1 assessment in the Iyengar method.  I have friends who teach in other methods who practice other methods and they may ask why I do these tests, these assessments. Why does a yoga method even have tests?  It seems to go against yoga as a whole, being judged, being told if you are a good teacher or not, being tested to see if you have really studied the sutras.  This is not my first rodeo in the assessment arena.

In 2008 I began the Iyengar Teacher Training in Denver. In 2009 I thought I was ready to take the Intro I exam,  on the way to Boulder for the actual test, I was rear ended at 60 mph and was not able to go to the Friday portion. For some reason, I thought (my ego)it was a good idea to try to do the teaching skills, with a concussion, whiplash, and severe anxiety. I did it, I failed. I took this as a sign, I took the rest of 2009 and 2010 off and got married, enjoyed life a little and came back in 2011 & 2012 to do Intro I and II and pass.  It was not really until that time that I realized how I had not really been listening at all.  To my body, my teachers, and most importantly to the quiet in betweens of my thoughts.

For Junior I, the required Sutras are all of Pada I, II, and half of III. In the study group I am in we are starting with Pada III since it seems to be the most esoteric in nature, hardest to understand without some discussion.  It took me a couple weeks after meeting with them to really get this sutra.

Sutra III.9
Study the silent moments between rising and restraining subliminal impressions is the transformation of consciousness towards restraint.

Transformation by restraint of consciousness is achieved by study of the silent moments that occur between the rising of impressions and our impulse to restrain them,  and between the restraining impulse and the resurgence of thought.

-BKS Iyengar Light on the Yoga Sutras-

To me this sutra defines what most of us go through on a daily basis.  We let our thoughts and the samskaras (past impressions left on our mind by an experience) take a hold and push us around.  In yoga we talk about cutting ourselves off from external objects, or pratyahara, things like sounds, smells, pain in our bodies, other people, but as we delve deeper into ourselves, it is so much more.  We all have inner pain, things that make us do things that we think we have no control over.

We are intrinsically designed to have the samskaras, but can we begin to change our reactions as these come up?

I will use my fear of Volleyball as an example.  From such a young age I have really hated volleyball. I am not only scared of the ball itself, getting a jammed finger or hitting me in the face (it really happened!) But I am scared of getting yelled at, letting team mates down, having someone tell me that they wished I had not been on there team because I really suck, (it also happened). So pretty much whenever I am walking my dogs at the park near my house and I see that sea of volleyball nets and people laughing and having fun, my body and mind seize up. I almost loose control of my thoughts at that moment just from the fear of getting hit and yelled at. Even when people just talk about it, saying, "Hey that would be fun, let's get a team together..." I just think to myself, "They are crazy, volleyball is so dangerous, no way people..."

If I would just listen to the quiet in betweens of these thoughts......listen to what I am really thinking.
"OH that might be fun if someone taught me how to play, it might be fun to come out with the dogs on a nice day, get some exercise,  those people look so happy, they are having fun, maybe I could really have fun if I gave it another try..." These are my in betweens, the silent parts of my brain that until recently stayed very quiet.  If I would just stop these negative thoughts, stayed still for more than a minute, I may have some good thoughts towards volleyball, skydiving, kickball, or anything else I am totally freaked out by.

Why again do I keep on doing these assessments, these things that make me nervous, doubt myself?  I do these assessments not to gain a title.  I do them to push my own boundaries of what I can learn, I do them to open my mind to new thoughts, teachings, and ways to do things.  They make you really look at yourself, look at your actions, your words, and more than anything, to enjoy these moments where the mind is still, or still-er,  where you can actually connect to your body and mind.

*Today take a few minutes and sit still. Each time you do this, do it a little longer. No noise, no people around you. No phone, no computer. Listen, really listen. What thoughts come up for you?  What emotion is brought up from those thoughts? Now, can you let go of that emotion, good or bad,  for a moment and just be?

Guruji says that "Just as one feels refreshed after a sound sleep, the seer's consciousness is refreshed as he utilizes this prolonged pause for rejuvenation and recuperation. But at first, it is difficult to educate the consciousness to restrain each rising thought. ......To transform the consciousness into a pure sattvic state (light-pure radiant light) of dynamic salience, we must learn by repeated effort to prolong the intermissions. If no impressions are allowed to intervene, the consciousness will remain fresh and rest in its own abode." -Light on the Yoga Sutras-

 

My mind is radically open-actually it is percolating!

Happy New Year in mid-January!

This weekend we have senior teacher Carolyn Belko at the studio.  She is not only pushing our boundaries, but teaching us to do something different in the asana practice. She is asking us to let go of the 22 points we all know about Trikonasana and saying to feel the pose, let it percolate within you.  Very Prashant in a tiny lady body.

Last nights sequence was right out of one of those Pune classes I am sure.  It was crazy.  We did handstand at 3 intervals,  did twists,  parighasana, ustrasana,  anatasana, chaturanga.  I really thought my arms were going to fail me, but the did not.  I really thought I was going to sweat so much I would fall out of Sirsasana, I almost did, but caught myself. 

She is encouraging, firm, and can see everything.  Maybe in another life she was an Iyengar:-)

Till this afternoon.........

 

Sutra I.33

Sutra I.33
Through the cultivation of friendliness, compassion, joy, and indifference to pleasure and pain, virtue and vice respectively, the consciousness becomes favourably disposed, serene and benevolent.

The day before Christmas and all through the house,  the vizslas are napping and Angie is weepy.......

This time of year seems to always make me cry.  I cry for many reasons,  watching someone give the Salvation Army guy a $20 at King Soopers.  I cry at silly movies that are so unrealistic. I cry when I wrap a gift because I can actually afford to buy a couple of them now. I cry because I think of where I was 5 years ago and cannot believe how far I have come. I cry because I miss my family to pieces, the ones living and the ones not of the physical anymore. I cry at the generosity of people because these people still exist!

I know what you are thinking.  What about the focus only on Christmas?  What about other people who don't celebrate Christmas? What about the over buying, living out of our means, retail gone crazy mode?  What about the natural disasters? What about people killing each other with guns? What about the poverty in other countries?  Angie, have you gone mad?

No, I have not, I am just choosing to watch the good that happens instead of the bad.  Our yoga practice should be moving us all in this direction. It does not mean that we ignore those in need,  those who are ill,  those who are sad.  We just need to find a balanced approach to it all. 

Having a daily yoga practice is the key for me. I am not saying you should do just because I do. Find something that helps you to focus, to still the mind. Maybe it is creating art,  hiking with your dogs, cooking for your family, sewing, singing, sitting still, reading a romance novel, watching golf....
.  Whatever it is, find a little time where you can be free of distractions, find a little stillness. Most of all think before you act and speak. You never know who might be listening. You may inspire someone else to do something good too. 

Why did I pick this sutra for today?  I will quote right from Guruji himself,

"These qualities keep the mind in a state of well-being. Patanjali here lays the groundwork for our journey towards Self-Realization.  ........This sutra asks us to rejoice with Happy, to be compassionate to the sorrowful, friendly to the virtuous, and indifferent to those who continue to live in vice, despite attempts to change them.  This mental adjustment builds social as well as individual health......This approach to life keeps the mind of the sadhaka serene and pure."
-BKS Iyengar LIght on the Yoga Sutras-

Selfless Service & Wisdom in action

I have been keeping up with a blog written by Lisa Walford who spent the last 6 weeks in Pune studying with the Iyengar family.  Her posts were inspiring, her words are thoughtful, I felt as though I had nothing to write after reading about the classes happening at the Institute right now. 

I also realize that I have been sorely using my excuse of not being in India as the source for my lack of inspiration or inner fire, tapas.  Excuse after Excuse I have been finding. Not having Prashant to push these thoughts into my head, to really make me think about why I do and teach yoga anyways.

 I think of all the people right now in my life I can use for the inspiration.  Students who week after week come to class, my teachers who teach even when they feel a bit down.  The ladies in my women’s group who pay dues to this educational non-profit, come to meetings, do many different fund raising events year after year with very little $ to work with.  They never complain, they always smile, laugh and support each other through the good and the bad.  The IMIYA board members who every month meet and discuss how we can spread the teachings of Iyengar yoga purely out of their love of the subject and the Iyengar family.

One thing I have learned the last few months, is this path of yoga can be a lonely one.  You are truly on the path to self-realization, not a path to popularity and masses of wealth.  It is so funny, I think of all the times where I only had 1 person in a class or no people in a class. Wondering why I still do this?  I do it because this yoga has changed my life.  It has the potential to change anyone’s life who chooses the path. I also find that when you teach from the heart, teach from the place of being humble, students come, they multiply even (not in the Gremlin sense…).  Even the ones who challenge you, ask hard questions, have physical issues, those are the ones we learn the most from.

This brings me to the wisdom in action part.  Even if I don’t have the teachings of the Institute at my fingertips, I have to make myself study.  It is not easy to sit down at 7 am and read the Gita.  I do however realize if I am to continue teaching and learning, this is a part of the process. Not just the physical asana part.  Yes, that part in important, but the real reason I do yoga is to become more open. Open to new possibilities, open to new people, new ideas. All this studying and practice I do to build a strong foundation of purpose and meaning in my life.

From the reading have I done this week in the Gita, Chapter 4. Arjuna is wanting a quick fix, to get out of his current situation fast. Krishna is teaching him ancient mystical secrets and Arujuna just does not understand that it is not just the physical action that can lead him on the path to fixing his issue, but a path of Spiritual Knowledge. Of knowing the Self, of being Selfless, giving of ones self with no attachments.  At the end of this chapter, Krishna leaves Arjuna with this last piece of wisdom,

“Those established in the Self have renounced selfish attachments to their actions and cut through doubts with spiritual wisdom. They act in freedom. Arjuna, cut through this doubt in your own heart with the sword of spiritual wisdom. Arise; take up the path of yoga!”

Closing thoughts: My mind feels so bouncy these days. Not quite as focused as I would like. These busy times during the holidays can often times cause me (and everyone else for that matter) distress or depression, or the opposite, giddy and hyper. Even if you do not get caught up in all the craziness in the holidays, you are around people who do. Can we learn to find a balance between all of this?  Not get caught up in the buying aspect, but in the giving aspect? 

First reading of the Bhagavad Gita-Where have I been?

A few months back a friend gave me a yoga shirt from another country. On the back was a quote from the Bhagavad Gita.  My boss and I went online to find out which one it was, from there this obsession with this text has blossomed.  I had never really thought too much about reading it, I always kind of felt it was going to be too long, to hard to understand.   Upon opening Eknath Easwaran's translation I quickly realized that there was nothing to stress over. The translation is so clear, even I, a novice in all this Philosophy, can get it.

I just am moving on from chapter two, the one where we learn about Self-Relization, rebirth, and the meaning of yoga, as it is referred to in the Gita. Eknath says, "It refers primarily to disciplining the mind. Yoga is evenness of mind: detachment from the dualities of pain and pleasure, success and failure.  Therefore Yoga is skill in action, because this kind of detachment is required if one is to act in freedom rather than merely react to events compelled by conditioning." Krishna goes onto tell Arjuna in this chapter, "....if he can establish himself in yoga-in unshakeable equanimity, profound peace of mind, he will be more effective in the realm of action. His judgement will be better and his vision clear if he is not emotionally entangled in the outcome of what he does."  I love the way that Krishna answers Arjuna is a simple terms.  He does complicate things as most of us tend to do.

As a Yoga Asana Teacher I truly believe that the action part of yoga is really important, but as I grow a little older, a little wiser I see that the sitting and being still part of yoga is just as important if not more. When do most of us say, "enough is enough! I am sitting down today and resting, not working, not socializing, not on any kind of social or non-social media."  In this world of Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays and over buying on the Holidays we could use a little detachment from all this material and retail therapy. It makes me sad that our culture has come to this place of extremes. One minute it is "Happy Holidays and May Peace be with you." and the next is "Get out of my way, that's my Furby!"  I really think if these big retail locations would play some sweet Classical Music and offer a quick breathing session before they open the doors, consumers would have a much safer experience....

There is a part of me that says I should not be trying to fix our shopping problem in this country to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.  It seems to me that this is where we should be looking.  It seems more people than ever are looking for something to inspire them to make them feel something, feel anything. Why not use ancient texts to help us? They have been around for thousands of years and have taught even more people to feel balanced, calmer, and even more satisfied without accumulating more stuff.

I will end with this from the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Ekanth Easwaran:
II.47-50
"You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in the world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself-without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. Yoga is the perfect evenness of mind.
See refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Therefore, devote yourself to the discipline of yoga, for yoga is skill in action."

 

Setubandha-a supported backbend

This morning I took Gary's class at IYCD. It was most definitely an All Levels class. From the most beginner to the most seasoned, from 23 years of age to over 75 years young. He handeled the class with grace and ease.

The practice started with simple poses like tadasana, urdvha hastasana, trikonasana. We worked our way to dog, to some abdominal poses and finally to sarvangasana. He looks around the room and realized that not everyone should to it. Gary brought us all around to watch setubandha with the bolster like I have posted below. This is a good alternative for people who may have shoulder, neck, or more rounded shoulders. He stated so simply that doing this pose for 5 minutes a day could radically change your upper back flexibility in a year! So go do it:)

(Thanks Gary for a great class!)