"They act as a diagnostic tool."

This quote from Emmy Cleaves in the book American Yoga by Carrie Schneider caught my eye this morning. In class we have been working at linking the standing poses into a series. It is difficult and the series includes many asanas. Sometimes I wonder if challenging sequences are helpful or not. Emmy Cleaves' comment reassured me. She was referring to Bikram Choudhury's twenty-six posture series. Choudhury's series is so comprehensive that, in her opinion, it covers a normal range of motion for most people and allows practitioners the opportunity to discover their own problem areas. I do not do Bikram's series, nor do I work in a hot room. But, I do find that there is benefit in challenging sequences when they are done with wisdom and respect for one's body. The sequence I have been teaching is from Brad Priddy's Yoga Notebook. Working poses one right after the other focuses my attention and challenges me. I discover the areas where I am weak or tight or simply unsure of the dynamic of the pose. It is helpful to work on individual poses at the wall as a compliment to the vinyasana and take the insights gained back into the series. I try to cultivate a light-hearted attitude and go with the flow. The sequences are our tools of self-discovery not tests. The movement from one asana to the next keeps us from getting stuck in our difficulties. We just keep moving toward greater freedom.

Suryanamaskar

Sun salutation can be very simple as seen in this animation at santosha.com or you can add as many different asanas as you like to the series. I often add additional elements to the prone part of the sequence including ardha bujungasana (half cobra), salabasana (locust pose), and half and full dhanurasana (bow pose). These backbends extend the work that begins with the initial standing backbend of the series. It is instructive to compare ardha bujungasana to the standing back bend. The actions required to do the prone backbend contribute to our understanding of the standing backbend. There are variations on table position that fit in nicely as a transition to the prone position including lifting and extending an arm and leg on opposite sides of the body to create the "bird dog" balance. Cat and cow poses worked from table position are a good warm up during your first sun salutation of the day. Most yoga books include a version of the sun salutation. These provide a starting point for your own custom series. Ending suryanamaskar with the hands in namaskarasana (palms together in front of the chest) is a meditation in itself. The balance of the body facilitated by the series of poses finds its reflection in the relationship between the two hands. The thumbs near the center of the sternum remind us to lift the chest, to breath and to balance our intelligence of mind with the intelligence of the heart.

Sutra 3.32 Immobile like a tortoise

Sutra 3.32 is in the vibhutipada, the book that discusses the exceptional faculties attained by yoga adepts. With so many people suffering sore throats around here I went looking for a sutra that pertained to the throat area. I found this one in BKS Iyengar's "Light on Pranayama". "By samyama on the pit of the throat, the yogi can make his body and mind firm and immobile like a tortoise." Who would want to be immobile like a tortoise? Or have the power to "hibernate mentally by completely immobilizing the functions of the body and intellect."? Maybe a student or anyone who works hard on mental tasks would appreciate such a rest. There are many possible interpretations of the sutras. The image of the tortoise withdrawing into its shell and not emerging until she is good and ready is a powerful one. The limbs that are withdrawn could represent many different aspects of a person. Iyengar associates them with negative emotions that are brought into a state of steadiness and transformed within the shell. I thought of the five senses and pratyahara, withdrawing the senses. We go inside in savasana, relaxation pose, and we quiet our senses. We take a break from the sensations of the world to emerge with greater freshness and steadyness of mind.

Yantras

Yantra has fascinated me for awhile. I love these yantra images.
This is the work of E.J. Barnes of Massachusetts. How can we use yantra in our yoga practice? What is the effect on our brains and consciousness of looking at or imagining a yantra?

A Sense of Balance

We had a great start for our new series of classes at the Ray School yesterday. Everyone jumped right into the stream as we challenged ourselves with some vinyasanas from Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti yoga. Interestingly, Sharon's sequences require precise balance and this week Jane Brody's column in the NYtimes.com:"Preserving a Fundamental Sense:Balance" addresses the importance of balance. A quote:

"Remember, balance is a motor skill,.....To enhance it, you have to train your balance in the same way you would have to train your muscles for strength and your heart for aerobic capacity."

I'd say we had some good balance training yesterday. You can find the article online (you may have to go through a free registration process first). The article includes some simple balance exercises.

The Bond Between Body and Soul

"...the bond between body and soul is indivisible. The life of one gives life to the other. Every physical act, except simply mechanical ones, has an inner source of feeling. Consequently we have both an inner and outer plane in every role, inter-laced. A common objective makes them akin to one another and strengthens their bonds." This passage from: "An Actor Prepares" by Stanislavski is consistent with yoga, the body and the soul are modified together. I would add to this link our emotional and mental lives. So supporting our minds, emotions and soul with yoga asanas is not far-fetched but very practical. I am really enjoying the parallels between the study of yoga and the study of acting that I am finding in this book.

"Decidedly more supple, agile and expressive."

I have been reading "An Actor Prepares" by Constantin Stanislavski. To my surprise he has a chapter on "Relaxation of Muscles". His method calls for the development in actors of a "sort of control; an observer, as it were. This observer must, under all circumstances, see that at no point shall there be an extra amount of contraction. This process of self observation and removal of unnecessary tenseness should be developed to the point where it becomes a subconscious, mechanical habit. Nor is that sufficient. It must be a normal habit and a natural necessity, not only during the quieter parts of your role, but especially at times of the greatest nervous and physical lift." This level of observation of the body reminded me of the skills developed in yoga practice. Later in the chapter the acting students are asked to raise their right arms, " Their arms were slowly raised like the bars at a grade crossing. As they did it Rakhmanov felt their muscles and made comments: 'Not right, relax your neck and back. Your whole arm is tense" - and so on." This reminds me of yoga class and urdva hastasana. How a simple action can "throw the whole body off in the opposite direction from the raised arm, to compensate for the movement." Stanislavski goes on to instruct about cultivating the ability to isolate one group of muscles from another and use only those that are required for the action and relax the rest. After the lesson the student said, "The impression that remains with me from today's lesson is that the Director took us all apart , like so much machinery, unscrewed, sorted out every little bone, oiled, reassembled and screwed us all together again. Since that process I feel myself decidedly more supple, agile and expressive." Just the way we hope to feel after a good yoga practice. The key is to do this for ourselves in our own practice.