Ashtanga Yoga Ki Jai! with David Garrigues

Ashtanga Discussion Room: Guruji said, "Medium breath!"

2012-01-31T22:33:00.000-08:00

Greetings,
Joy and I have landed in Kovalam and are enjoying our house nestled up in the jungle (there is a quarry near our house where I go swimming each evening!) It is now less than a week before the Mysore Intensive begins. I have been using the days off of to help Joy on her upcoming film, resting, practicing, and of course writing and talking about Yoga.

Last week Joy asked me the question about the difference between receptivity and effort in the practice? (This turned into the second video posted below.) However, the next morning while we were on a walk she asked me about how the role of breath plays into receptivity (first video posted)...so the discussion continued!

I decided to post both videos. If you only have time to watch one then I recommend the first video posted but if you want more information and to go deeper into the conversation then I recommend you watch both.
I hope you get some useful info out of these videos. Over the past 20 years of teaching I have realized that receptivity is one of the hardest aspects of the practice to teach but once a student understands and starts to truly work with the idea through their breath the students practice will completely change.
Hari Om,
David

Notes on the concept of receptivity (it could also be thought of as simply receiving).

The deepest person within each of us knows the larger, more comprehensive nature of things beyond the limited appearance of things that the ego and senses apprehend. Learning to identify ourselves with this greater perspective is the subject of receptivity. When we use our ego and senses to become aware in an inward direction, we will find that there is a sort of knowing that has its own direction, its own intelligence, its own necessity to fulfill something through us. And so in a practical, on-the-mat way, receptivity is the sustained effort to give up control enough to receive the wisdom that lies within our inmost core. And then to follow the direction of this wisdom with as much trust as we put in our ego and our ideas and feelings of how we control or shape our lives through our choices.

Set up to the JUMP BACK or Can a woman jump back?

2012-01-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Joy and I have been extremely busy the past five weeks with workshops and traveling. We have finally settled down in Kovalam where I am preparing for the month long Mysore Intensive and working hard on some short Asana Kitchen videos! You can expect my bimonthly blog posts to start in motion again.

Hari Om,

David

P.S If you are near Kovalam and want to make your way for some Mysore classes and some beach time there is availability! More info on my website.

Asana Kitchen: Pasasana

2011-12-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

This will be my second to last blog post in the year 2011! In the month of December I will be traveling to Spokane for a workshop, holding a one day workshop on backbending in Philly, beginning the year with my Second Series workshop at A.Y.S, and then off to Tel Aviv, Mysore and Kovalam to start 2012 off with a bang.
I've had many students write in regarding Pasasana and since its the first posture of the second series I thought it would be fun to leave 2011 with an Asana Kitchen post on the ever challenging pose that wields Ganesha's noose. Please read the summary of notes and then scroll down for the video.

Hari om,
David

Summary Notes On Pasasana (The Noose Posture)

1)Establish a Grounded, Immoveable Foundation

Balancing in a full squatting position is one of the most important and challenging aspects to this posture. The feet are your foundation, they are directly in contact with the earth. Organize your posture directly over this foundation noticing when/if you are either too far behind or in front of your foundation. Start by planting the feet while feeling the support of the arches. Squat all the way down. Close the knee joints entirely. Lower the hips, touch buttocks to the backs of the lower legs. Orient your squat directly over your feet. If you have any difficulty squatting you will feel unstable when you squat as though the hips are too heavy, that they drag you down and back. You may want to lift up the heels. But instead elevate your heels with just enough height to truly balance on the feet as you feel your hips, torso and head align more clearly over this foundation. When you feel stable, centered and immoveable in your squat, then you are ready for the next step.

2) Remember the Twist
As you develop and refine how you work in the posture remember to return your orientation to the twist along the central axis. Study the rotation of the torso in order to study the middle channel. Remember that part of creating a satisfying twist is in becoming receptive, especially within the torso and spinal area. And so position yourself to receive the action of turning the spine, and endeavor to rotate your spine more evenly from base to crown. Notice the inner refinement that can take place along shushumna, the middle pranic axis.

3) Position of the feet/knees

To make the posture easier place one foot or knee slightly forward of the other. If you are twisting to the left you can facilitate the twist to the left by moving the right foot and/or knee forward of the left. This also brings the right hip forward of the left hip and thus makes twisting to the left easier. For some of you this will serve to clarify the central axis, and give you more freedom in a certain direction to twist, and will help establish a more stable, grounded foundation. Your posture and twist will not be served If you are too strict and insist on keeping the feet/knees together or the heels down.
But for others keeping the feet and knees more together will help you to hone in on the vertical axis and improve the feeling of the rotation. In each case you want to continue to refine your sense of the breath, cultivate an awareness of the actions and the resulting counter actions along the glorious axis set in motion by the breath, and observe how that awareness leads to intelligence in your asana's.

4) The Energetic Chain of The Noose

At one point in the video, using Rob as the model, I trace what I call an 'energetic chain' formed by the upper back, shoulders, arms and connected hands (the parts of the body that form the 'noose' that give the posture its name) Rob was twisting to the right and I used my hands to trace the energetic chain in a counter clockwise direction. But what I didn't mention was that the direction of the chain that I indicated in the video was actually the more subtle counter loop. If you are twisting to the right, first try experiencing a clockwise direction to the energetic chain formed by the loop of the upper torso, arms, and hands. And afterwards experiment with a counter clockwise direction to the loop.

Enjoy!

I have also included an extra clip that didn't end up in the final video on How to work on lengthening your achilles tendon.

Asana Kitchen: Bakasana

2011-10-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

If there is one idea that you take from this week's blog it is this:

BAKASAN*A

AWARENESS

From David's Ashtanga Journals: Perfect that Single Sacred Asana

2011-10-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

"From David's Ashtanga Journals" are unedited excerpts from my ongoing Ashtanga journals.

Greetings,
Fall is in swing here in Philly. At the Ashtanga Yoga School of Philadelphia the heaters are on high as the tapas burns. I would like to thank Dhyana Yoga (Dhyana Vitarelli and John Vitarelli) who have been supporting our school in many ways! Several students from their strong rooted Philadelphia Vinyasa program have taken up ashtanga and I am so happy they are part of our community!!

In the next couple weeks I will begin solidifying my spring schedule and am excited to announce that I will be teaching further south (at Balance Yoga in Atlanta) and north (at Florence yoga in Northampton) ! My teaching is reaching a wider circle of people partly due to you all who enjoy my blog, thank you for continuing to show your support and spreading the DG word! Hopefully this year I will get the opportunity to meet new people and share yoga with many of you.

Now to the goods!

Below are two excerpts from my journals. They were both drawn out of a notebook I used last winter in Mysore. Enjoy!

Excerpt One

Perfect that Single Asana!

The theme or premise is that asana practice is based on a single asana created by breath. That posture could have several names including

Shavasana, Sarvangasana,

Hanumanasana, Samasthiti

Tadasana, Bhairavasana

Mula Bandhasana

Generally speaking in our daily practice we can get sucked in by the lure of our fantasy about the forms of the asanas in sequences. Each asana in the sequence could be thought of as an excursion towards and/or away from that one single asana that is the essence of all asana. In our fantasy of what we will look like and how good it will feel we overextend ourselves in our efforts to achieve what we consider to be the end goal or final pose. Our excursions take us too far away from the center where the skeletal support is, where our breath really does lead the way-- where we make optimal use of our muscles and organs and where our brains are situated properly to minimize reality obscuring ego striving.

For example, to go for a drop back and be unheeding of the position of the skeleton in order to get your hands to the floor is a long term mistake. In the short term there might be a thrill, a sense of accomplishment and a sense of maximizing progress. a feeling like you are working at the edge so you will improve and be an intense student--- (like yoga sutra 1-21 for the intense student--- yoga--nirodah is near). How strict are you going to be? How close to center are you going to stay? How many props (please note: only if necessary and desired and under certain, specific conditions) are you willing to use to remain close to center, close to principles?---We want to explore the foundational principles of the positions and see how those principles will always lead back to that central asana that has so many important names---but actually is unnameable---

--- this is precisely why asana is limb 3 and Samadhi is limb 8--- samadhi is more based around the center, where movement is subtle and stillness reigns---

you have to be sure you are not sacrificing your body to your ego. That you are not going too far in order to compensate for unconscious feelings of unworthiness--- you don't need to use your asana practice to 'prove' you are good and worthy.

and yet don't underestimate the amount of shakti, energy, both physical and mental, that it takes to strike a pose and remain utterly centered in dynamic absorption.

It is ironic that the more gymnastic posture appears to be more difficult---But from an energetic and emotional place, sitting, working with breathing, can be more challenging, require more energy--- because of what will be revealed about you, because of what you will experience about yourself.

Excerpt Two

The World is a Sacrament

Never mind that to many people it is blasphemy. The truth is that you don't need to be inside a church or in some official place to worship God. In fact, I've found that for me being outside, under the sky, feeling the air, seeing the sun, or the sea, or the mountains puts me in touch with God. I've taken to saluting the sun, facing the sun and moving through a set of exercises. I coordinate my movement with breath and I become prayerful. Filled with joyous connection and know a sense of deep peace and belonging. To me the entire world is a sacrament--- everything and everyone everywhere is sacred--- and its up to me to attune to this ever present beauty wherever I may be.

Ashtanga and Diet (pts 2 and 3)

2011-09-23T08:44:00.001-07:00

Greetings and welcome back!

Here are parts 2 and 3 of my series on Ashtanga and Diet. If you haven't watched part 1, I strongly suggest you watch it. I have included it in this post for your convenience. I am so pleased to see such a strong and enthusiastic reaction to these diet posts. I have seen amazing progress in students practices once they alter their diet. Even the slightest changes can result in less injury, faster recovery and FULL STRENGTH! I have also added some great diet books on my reading list page of this blog.
Joy and I have bought our tickets for Mysore in January and my one month Mysore intensive in Kovalam! We are looking forward to meeting some new faces and having lunch with some old friends.

Hari Om and enjoy!!

Ashtanga Discussion Room: David, what do you eat?

2011-09-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

For years I have been asked what do I eat? Two weeks ago I posted a Ghetto Kitchen on how to make brown rice and gomasio and it occurred to me after the posting that there wasn't enough context for where the rice fits in a Yogic diet and specifically how it can help your daily asana practice. So I created a 3 part video series on Yogic diet and how food can positively and negative effect the Ashtanga practice.

So here is part one. Part one is a discussion room between Joy and I on the Yogic diet. Part 2 and Part 3 take you into a local Philly farmer's market and into a huge corporate supermarket.

I have also included in this post a rudimentary listing and circle diagram attempting to set forth the Yogic Principles and the specific foods that the practitioner should both adhere to and avoid.

Whole Grains

Staples
up to 50% of the diet
(if desired take with gomasio sesame seed condiment)
brown rice
millet
quinoa
buckwheat
fresh ground wheat for chapati's
Whole grain noodles
whole grain, hearty real bread
hot cereals, cream of wheat, sweet brown rice cream, steel cut oats, and occasionally oat bran, instant natural oat meal

Vegetables
(based on what's in season)

1st Tier
Burdock root
carrot
daikon radish
turnip
rutabega
Greens (swiss chard, spinach, kale etc)
cabbage (all variety)
broccoli
cauliflower
winter squash (kabocha, delicata, butternut, pumpkin, red kiri etc)

2nd Tier for use more sparingly for variety, freshness, flavor, texture, color etc
onion
mushrooms
peppers (bell, chili, etc)
summer squash
tomatoes
potatoes
salad

Vegetarian Protein Sources
tofu
seitan
tempeh
beans (adzuki, pinto, chick peas, black etc)
legumes (red lentils, small french lentils, toor dal, split peas etc)
occasional use vegan chorizo, vegan sausage, vegan hot dogs, ready made tofu or tempeh

Oils
high quality sesame oil
extra virgin olive oil organic, first cold pressed
canola oil
ghee

Snacks
whole grain crackers
apples or other select in season fruits
rice or corn cakes

Beverages
spring water
eden soy milk, or rice etc
teas (bancha,herbal, green, black etc)

Sweeteners
organic cane sugar
agave
barley malt
rice syrup
fresh apple cider
fresh seasonal juice

Sweets
dark low sugar chocolate 60% or more of caoco
heathy whole grain, less sweet cookies,
soy pudding, yogurt
juice

Occasional use foods
Cheese
goat
romano or parmesan
soy

Off limit or rare use foods
Animal Protein Sources
if you must then choicely wisely
organic, cage free eggs
fresh fish
organic free range chicken
game

Intoxicating substances
alcohol
marijuana
pain relievers

Dairy products
milk
cheese
yogurt
ice cream
butter

Dairy Substitutes
soy and other grain milks
cheeses
yogurts
margarine

Processed Foods
frozen
canned
packaged
processed
white flour pastries
fried foods
restaurant food
bad oil chips

Sweet drinks
soda
ice tea
vitamin water
juice
coffee
smoothies
Tropical fruits or out of season fruits.

Ghetto Kitchen: Brown Rice and Gomasio

2011-09-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

Greetings,
The Ghetto Kitchen with Chef DG is back! In this installment I will be teaching you how to cook brown rice with a pressure cooker (one of two keys to tasty brown rice) and how to make the condiment gomasio (the second key to eating brown rice). The video is self explanatory but if you would like to learn more about the Macrobiotic diet you can email me and I will send you some resources. I truly believe that the practitioners diet is often the final frontier to a strong and fruitful practice.

I hope you enjoy and get to cooking!!!

The Diaphragm is Key!! Don't Forget It. Observe It.

2011-08-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

The diaphragm is the main muscle involved in breathing; when you get an experiential feeling of its actions, that knowledge helps you breathe better and thus helps you develop your yoga practice.
You can learn to sense the diaphragms anatomical location within the torso and to follow its contraction (inhalation) and relaxation (exhalation) phases. The diaphragm is a large sheet or dome shaped muscle that resembles a mushroom or a parachute and divides the upper and lower abdomen. It has an unattached gathering of fibers called the central tendon at its top that helps give its dome shape.

It attaches to several sets of ribs and has 'stems' that are called crura that attach to vertebrae along the front of the lower spine. The diaphragm is both a particularly large muscle and a core muscle. This is significant because, being large, its rhythm, actions and movements are quite easy to observe. And considering its deep and central location , the basic observation of its actions can take you far within your self, into the root and center of you.

Here's an image for you to work with: Imagine that your torso is a vast inner ocean. And the diaphragm is a giant jelly fish that is entirely at home floating up and down on the ocean currents within your torso. As you inhale experience its fibers contract, move down, flatten and spread and as you exhale experience its fibers relax, move up, bunch together and reform their dome like shape. Work with this image until you feel that the diaphragm's coming and going rhythm is THE fundamental rhythm within you; feel how central this rhythm is and how when you really tune into it, this rhythm pervades your entire body, and imagine that this rhythm could be the source of all of your movements. Following your diaphragms actions can lead you to discover and activate bandha's. For example, the elusive and challenging practice of mula bandha can be accessed with more ease and more logic when you approach it through observing the movement of the diaphragm. As you watch the rising and falling and expansion and contraction of the diaphragm see how the pelvic floor mimics the diaphragm by lowering and widening as you inhale and then rising and 'bunching' together as you exhale. When you tune into the diaphramatic and pelvic floor actions particularly during exhalation, you can better understand how to effectively 'seal' the pelvic floor in order to 'pull up' and redirect apana vayu. Both the pelvic floor and the diaphragm are horizontal, sheet like surfaces within the torso, one large (diaphragm) and one small (the pelvic floor). These two areas share a synergy, they act symphonically, and tuning into the larger, grosser one helps you tune in to the smaller, more subtle one.

Mula bandha is often defined as 'forcibly pulling up apana vayu' and causing the otherwise downward apanic energy to flow upwards. The upward movement of the diaphragm during exhalation provides you with the means of finding this redirection, the 'against the grain' energetic upward direction that characterizes mula bandha. You can achieve mula bandha by causing your perineum to ride on the coattails of the diaphragm as it ascends the torso when you exhale thoroughly, and there by seal your prana at the root. Following the grosser rhythm of the diaphragm and then the more subtle rhythm of the pelvic floor is what trains you to 'master' your senses, by moving mentally inwards towards center and gaining the ability to discern more and more subtle plays of opposing energetic, skeletal and muscular patterns.

Due to it's ability to help you tune in to Muladhara, the root support at your base, following the diaphragm also helps you to sustain your attention along the central axis from it's earth origins upwards. Observing the vertical action of the diaphragm and its influence on the pelvic floor is the key to aligning your self along the axis known as the pillar of light or most glorious (Shushumna). To be able to sustain your focus along the center line of the body from the base through the crown is one of the rewards of practicing pranayama partly due to observing the diaphragm within your torso and understanding how to optimize its muscular actions. Start by befriending the giant jelly within, see how to shape and guide the movements of this large muscle, and see how that skill leads to awareness of the more subtle physical actions following the breathing patterns all the way to their ends and awakening the the subtle actions of the bandha's.

And here's one more note: because the diaphragm drives the ever repeating cycle of the breath, it has a major role in helping you understand vinyasa. When you study the diaphragm you study vinyasa from a a central vantage point; through breathing you follow the opposing movement patterns that make up the ashtanga sequences. In Ashtanga yoga practice, through combining vinyasa and breathing, you endeavor to generate and to harness the dynamic bio rhythms at the heart of you. That is why Sri K. Pattabhi Jois called Ashtanga a 'breathing and movement system'. The most accessible way to get to the heart of the rhythm of this breathing and movement system is to doggedly follow the actions of the diaphragm and see how those actions translate into vinyasa, into sequences of rhythmic opposing movement patterns.

See if you can follow the diaphragm's vertical, up and down actions within the torso, focus on the connection between rhythm in breathing and rhythm in creating actions in your asana's and in your movement transitions. Each time you effectively tune into the deeper rhythms of your breath, you are in a position to have some small epiphany about your movement or your posture at its source. Go into your earth support and along your glorious axis, find the immovable state of the asana, get the spectacular view all through the simple act of tuning into the diaphragm and heartily enjoying your breath!

From David's Ashtanga Journals: Patterns of Change

2011-08-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
If you are in the Philadelphia area, Sunday, August 28th, the Ashtanga Yoga School of Philadelphia will be having its opening party. I will be teaching a special class in the late morning and then a potluck will follow.

Today's post deals with the idea of Samskara and how our daily practice is a pressure cooker and an avenue to change these past patterns.

Yoga Sutra 1:18
Another form of thorough knowledge is preceded by resolute practice to completely cease identification with the contents of the mind. As a result, only subliminal impressions remain and their residue has no impact on the mind.

Excerpt One
Make the connection, the crystal clear connection between Samskara, a latent impression or conditioned groove that perpetuates ignorance (Avidya) or illusion (Maya)...and how these translate into the body, into your movement and postural patterns. To become aware of alignment and to adjust your movement and postures according to alignment principles helps you neutralize Samskaras. It helps you replace ignorance and blindness with knowledge and insight.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that only one in thousands reaches him. It is too easy to remain steeped in Maya, to fail to wake up, to remain unconscious playing habituated roles, dead ending. Never seeing through the veil. What a diligence, a fierce, committed, sustained effort is necessary to see through your patterns. It is a major step to even want to see through, to face your automatic reactions, the nature of which is automatically deficient, unoriginal, painful and ignorant.

The ignorance EXTENDS to the body-that's the point-you can move ignorantly. Ignorance is not confined to behavioral or emotional thinking, failure in relationships, or in love. Maya and Avidya extend to physical movement. Your asana practice can provide a perfect microcosm that shows the impossibility of your predicament. Asana practice can show you how entrenched your conditional patterns are, how difficult it is to change even a little bit, and in the end how unwilling we are to be deeply hurled in the nitty gritty process of real change.

We often practice as though we are not interested in being bothered with the details of our ignorance. We have better things to do--like catch our heels in Kapo or land our set of drop backs for the day. We don't want to be bothered with how we achieve our posture, we are more interested in simply achieving it in any manner that gets results. Deep asana practice requires a high degree of what I call Hanuman like energy-- or animal intelligence that is coupled with human self awareness and reflection. Hanuman is famous for being a nearly unconquerable warrior, for his magnificent strength and agility but also for his learning, diplomacy and erudition. Working for true alignment during your unfolding practice requires you to inhabit the body in an intuitive, animal like way, with reflection and awareness.

Excerpt Two
To some extent developing your asana practice means developing your ability to handle power and force. The depth of asana is partially determined by how energy is set in motion and how much energy is within you in the posture. Distraction, pain, extra weight, unawareness, sudden bouts of lethargy, depression, all serve to dampen the energy that goes into play in an asana. All manners of diversions share the characteristic of dampening life force--Do you see that? To be truly engaged in life, living your dreams, putting your self, your creativity, your love on the line takes tremendous energy.

You have to be able to manage those levels of energy--going into a depression, or eating, or day dreaming about a different life, or thousands of other diversions give you an escape value. If you go and have a beer or smoke a joint or dip into the pint of B and J's, you are temporarily relieved but that relief is not really relief. Because a large source of our panic, desperation, anxiety, loneliness, and unhappiness comes from not attaining the full capacity of our life force.

You can learn to enlarge your capacity to enjoy, process, and transform large amounts of energy within yourself. Do you really need to divert and dampen your energy with old often repeated patterns? Isn't time to really observe, really feel, go through fear, and allow more love to enter into your world? That is what practice is ultimately for so why not let it do its work? Stop interfering, stop standing in the way, let the fire in, the challenge, the risk, let your love in and let it come out.

The practice is there in front of you each day, now do what is necessary to really do it. Do all the advance preparation, arrange your life so that you show up at your best, ready to dive into that special world. That world of posture, breath, sequence of intense concentration and exertion. You've had at least glimpses of what is there for you, now is the time.

David Garrigues: From Guru Nanak

2011-07-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Indepth Study Day Four: Alan Watts Creative Meditation

2011-07-23T19:27:00.001-07:00

Here is an excerpt from the book Om Creative Meditations by Alan Watts. This passage explains one of the major themes I am playing with during the Indepth Study.

"What is actually going on in the world is far, far different. Every view that we take of the world and every selection we make of what is important to notice is simply one way of looking at things, and there are infinite ways of looking. Considering such things makes us aware of how much our knowledge of the world is conventional knowledge. We tend to a selection of particular things which we have been brainwashed to notice, and we disregard the rest. It is as if the world were a Rorschach blot and there is one offical interpretation of the blot. Everybody agrees that is the way it is. Along will come some great genius who points out that we can look at the world an entirely different way, and at first everyone will say it is crazy. But if the genius persists long enough, we come to accept the new vision. Now we can look back at Cezanne's paintings and see that it does look like that. We can look at Van Gogh and see that he really did understand how it feels. They have taught us to see.

The moral is that each one of us has a certain veiw of the world which both horrifies and delights us. We have a program for cradle to grave of which we believe society approves, and we get very put out if we do not get to follow it exactly. This social interpretation of the cosmic Rorschach blot is expressed in words and conventions and we think it is what life is all about. Well, it is nothing of the kind. In trying to escape convention and the barriers that words create between you and reality, you may choose to renounce your identity, in effect saying "Now the game is over. Let's find out what lay behind it. What is really going on?" Be very careful that the next passing swami does not sell you on still another institutionalized version of the real world. For instance, the notion that when you are awakened all differentiations will vanish is a conventiaonal view of the universe.

Now obviously there is a way in which you can see the world for yourself; it may very well agree with what other people see and you will be able to communicate that way of seeing to others. It may be by no more than a glint in the eye that you will know someone else sees it just as you do.

All our meditation practices are simply to open our consciousness to what is going on, as distinct from what is said to be going on. To do that, we must suspend our words, suspend our descriptions, and be alert to the actual happening.

It is as simple as that.

-Allan Watts (Om Creative Meditations)

Indepth Study Day Three: How to work with a resistant student

2011-07-23T07:41:00.001-07:00

Here is an excerpt from day three of my Indepth Study!! This was filmed during the Apprenticeship session when I discussed how to work with a student who is resistant to instruction.

Indepth Study Day Two

2011-07-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have started a new track in this year's indepth study, an apprenticeship program. I have 6 apprentices and each day we meet for an hour and discuss a wide range of topics from specific adjustments, to the students own individual practices and much, much, more.

Here is a clip from today's apprenticeship session.

Indepth Study Day One

2011-07-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Its about 8pm and I'm in Spokane, WA (almost directly across the country from Philadelphia!) and I'm reviewing and prepping for day two of my annual In-depth Study program. Today was the first of the ten day program. I'm very pleased with the students, their intelligence, kinesthetic awareness, and overall enthusiasm. I have decided to post an excerpt each evening from the day's events. This is from the afternoon session where I discussed and walked the students through the vinyasa.

I hope you enjoy and come back tomorrow where I will have some more goodies for you and your practice.

David

Guru Purnima 2011

2011-07-14T10:43:00.001-07:00

Happy Moon Day and Happy Guru Purnima!!

In honor of Sri K Pattabhi Jois, my teacher.

Hari Om,
David

Ashtanga Discussion Room: Ashtanga is Bhakti (Pt 1-3)

2011-07-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to my discussion on Ashtanga is Bhakti. I have posted part three below and have also included part one and two if you missed the first two parts. I would also like to mention that I will be teaching a Mysore intensive in Kovalam, India this Feb 2012 for the entire month. Please spread the word. Its going to be a small group of students and an excellent way to go deep into your practice. If you would like more info or to apply you can visit my website or the Yoga in India page on this blog.

Hari Om!
David

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Ashtanga Discussion Room: Ashtanga is Bhakti Parts 1 and 2

2011-07-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Joy and I have been running around like crazy this week trying to get Ashtanga Yoga School of Philadelphia opened by July 3rd and on top of it all Joy had a screening of her short film The Medicine Wheel in the big Apple this past Wednesday so we made a mad dash to the city!! In between all of the craziness we managed to film a three part Ashtanga Discussion Room title Ashtanga is Bhakti. I have posted the first two parts below and will post the final part on Wednesday.

One extra note: please watch, ponder, and absorb the themes in these video’s! Personally I feel that the content of these discussions is of vital importance for us continuing to mature and really enjoy the fruits of practice. The play of the universe that we are all part of has reached such critical proportions that there is an urgency to bring forth what is sacred within of each us. Even our tiny contribution is vital and essential. What we choose to focus our energies on makes a huge difference in giving ourselves and the coming generations a fair chance to play the beautiful game at a higher, highere levels. I’m calling out to all of us to bring more intentional Bhakti into our practices, more devotion that goes to to the root of us, to the heart of us, where we know what is really important and sacred. Enjoy! Om Namah Shivaya! David

Yoga is Youthfulness Interview

2011-06-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

Over June 24th-26th I will be teaching a workshop in Mountainview, California and the Yoga center, Yoga is Youthfulness, interviewed me for their newsletter. I think it came out really well and I would like to share it with all of you.

I have also decided to teach a month long Mysore style intensive in Kovalam, India this February. The intensive will entail a six day a week Mysore class with extra classes of pranayama, chanting, and other yoga studies. You can apply or find more info on davidgarrigues.com. I hope you can join me in India~~ its going to be a great way to go deeper into your practice!

Hari Om,

David

Yoga is Youthfulness Interviews Certified Ashtanga teacher David Garrigues

When did you first go to india and what took you there?

I first went in 94′. In 93′ I saw a video tape of Guruji teaching Richard Freeman, Tim Miller, and Chuck Miller. A couple weeks later I saw an ad in the Yoga Journal saying Guruji was going to be teaching in LA so I went there and studied with him for the month. After that month he went and taught in Maui so I followed him there and studied with him more. On Maui he and Chuck Miller encouraged me to travel to Mysore and to take practice in India. I didn’t hesitate. I knew Ashtanga was for me so I bought a plane ticket, waited tables to save money, and went to India.

What happened and how long were you there that time and over the years?

When I first arrived I was completely blown away and overwhelmed. I can distinctly remember being woken up by prayers blasting out of mosques and temples, the smells, riding my bike to Guruji’s house early in the morning and how small the room we practiced in was (Old Shala). There were so few of us in the space. If there were 20 of us there that was a lot of people.

Often in the evenings Guruji and Amma would sit outside their porch. We would all walk by and talk with them and hope Amma would offer us coffee. Going to India was something I never imagined or even day dreamed about so I had no preparation or expectations. In my life I never thought I would be doing this or thought I would be searching for someone, a guru, to study with.

Sometimes India was so intense I would walk outside and then go back inside. At that time India was not used to foreigners so the Indians were extremely curious. As a westerner I was paid attention to all the time. It was hard for me to be so conspicuous. Sometimes too hard. I also meet a dear dear Indian friend of mine, Ravi. He was playing a flute on the street and he took me in to his house. We would hang out and listen to Indian music. I became hooked on Indian culture from my first visit. Ravi introduced me to my future singing teacher, Virabhadraya. At this time I wanted to learn how to play tablas so I started taking lessons from Virabhadraya’s friend.

But mostly, I remember loving the practice.

My first visit I was there for four months. Since then I have been there over 15 times. My longest stay being a year.

What was meeting Guruji like and when did you first know he was your teacher?

I first meet Guruji in LA and I was very scared. I was so scared that I fasted on fruit the entire month. I thought if I ate fruit I would get less stiff. I was in a big cleanse. I practiced in the morning and then I would practice again during the afternoon. I was completely unaware this was too much tapas for my body. I was unaware of the whole scene. I never touched Guruji’s feet. I just had no idea what to do. I was in awe of the whole thing. I didn’t know what the counting was or what it meant. I had no idea that the Sanskirt was in numbers. I attached esoteric significance to it. When he would bellow out “cetwari” I thought it was something sacred, “Woah, what does that mean?”

What was scary to you?

I had only seen Tim, Richard and Chuck practice from the videos and I saw how Guruji adjusted them and this was scary for me. In the class there was this guy who every day got the adjustment in Baddhakonasana and every day he would cry and everyday Guruji would put him through it. And Guruji would say, ‘Why crying?” and the whole class would laugh, It was good natured but intense. I was terrified it would happen to me and of course he finally adjusted me in it. At that time my knees did not come to the floor in Baddhakonasana so he put one hand on one knee and one foot on the other and one hand on my head. He pushed down on my knees and then he started to push my head outwards. It felt like I was looking down from above on to the ground and it all felt big, like a wide expanse for me. My orientation was shifted and there was this opening! I got terrified. Guruji pulled me back up and he said, “no fearing you go.” It’s one of two adjustments I can vividly remember.

Guruji was always a strategist. If he wasn’t helping you it was part of his plan for working with you, it was not because he wasn’t noticing. For example, on my first trip he didn’t help me much, but he was nice. I figure he knew I needed to take practice so he left me mostly alone. On my second trip he didn’t help me and was not really very nice either. I was expecting and wanting more help but still he just left me to practice and work things out on my own. Occasionally when I would break out of my old patterns he would be there all of sudden to help me, which meant to me that he was highly observant of my practice and waiting for some things to shift inside me. But it was a source of pain that he wouldn’t help me and I got really frustrated. I thought about quitting. You had to earn help from him. By my third trip when I started working on third series, he began helping me a lot.

Though there was no specific moment when I knew Guruji was my teacher, it was an almost unnoticed evolution; one day sort of all of sudden it dawned on me how much I had learned from him and how significant he was/is to me. It was a profound and happy realization but also a little bit sad because I felt that I hadn’t properly appreciated him before that time.

How does music relate to your yoga practice?

In some ways music conflicts with my yoga practice and what I’ve discovered is that music has to take a small role in things and proportionately it has to be small compared to my asana and pranayama practice and my teaching. If music takes too big of a role in my life it doesn’t serve my Yoga practice. But if music is in the right proportion it helps me to be more devotional, prayerful, and it opens me up to a part of my soul that is very deep and sacred. Music also soothing for me. At times the asana practice has a crushing kind of quality, it can really challenging and feel full of failure. It can even be hard to feel good about my self when practice is so hard; playing music, just enjoying a little song or melody can be a healing salve for me. It helps remind me of the soul and sacredness of my efforts.

To me yoga can and ought to be used for personal expression and personal transformation but also since we are all in it together yoga can to be about collective and social transformation too. As a yoga teacher I feel that music and chanting helps me share something different with my students, sharing a little song brings a more universal dimension, something campfire like that brings you to a primal place of sacredness that we can all find a kinship with.

How has yoga changed your music and how has the Indian musical/yogic experience you have had affected your music?

I would like to talk about how I switched from the tablas to singing. My singing teacher Virabhadraya had me start singing because I have a damaged finger and couldn’t strike the tabla properly. It’s funny to me, he literally made me sing. At first I resisted it, but it was the best thing that ever happened to my music. I love singing and I needed that vocal work to really become less introverted and to open up to the power of my voice as speaker and as a singer. Its been a very important part of my psychological and emotional growth.

Do you still study music in India now?

Yes, though as I balance it with my Yoga practice, I don’t have as much time as I would like. I have less time to study Indian music. To study indian music requires total commitment and dedication and I’m not on that path. I do my best to keep up a practice Indian scales and I work with the slow, ‘alap’ phase of raga development. I try to practice the things that are relevant to what I share with people in my yoga classes.

Do you see your musical practice and your yoga practice as related? How?

Yoga and music share rhythm, they come from the same great source and use them both go back to that source. Since music, breathing, and asana are all based on the elemental, primal life rhythms, I feel they all support each other. To be musical helps your asana practice to become more melodic and to have rhythmic vibrancy and intelligence.

Has your practice changed as you have aged?

For one, I’ve slowed down some and the physical practice is harder. As I’ve aged its been challenging to consistently keep the asana practice at its top level. Partly thats due to aging but it’s also due to losing focus mentally. There are so many responsibilities and things that seem to call for one’s attention. Its all cyclical, but consistency of focus is really challenging. It’s a marvel to see how challenging it is to put the asana practice first with a consistency that spans over decades. This commitment effects all of your choices. Also as I’ve gotten older the focus and intention behind the work is much more genuine and smarter. I’m able to utilize the asana and pranayama to open up within myself in much more powerful ways even though I can’t necessarily bend as swiftly or even though I don’t consistently have quite as much ready energy. Now I have to listen to my self and my body more attentively and be willing to go into what is there today. Sometimes that means being satisfied with less and being more subtle in my awareness.

Also, I used to need a lot of asana practice, a lot of sweat and rhythm as a catharsis, as a way to wrestle with demons and overcome things within myself. I needed to exhaust myself through that kind of battle. Now that isn’t as necessary or relevant and so I don’t need that same kind of intense rhythm every day that I needed in the past. Through my practice I’ve worked through a lot and understand what constitutes a deep asana for me. Its such a curious paradox because I understand what a deep asana is and I can go there much faster now even though there’s a sometimes more physical unwillingness. Sometimes I feel a tinge of regret, I wish I had figured out some of what I know now sooner.

As I age I have more appreciation for Guruji and his method and the sequences of asana’s. For example I see this incredible depth in the second series. Consider Krounchasana, it is more of a forward bend then all of the forward bends in the primary series. When you strike Krounchasana you are expected to be ready immediately, you are expected to bend forward deeply without the preparation and repetition that exists in the primary series. There’s an immediate depth that is asked of you in the second series. All the series have these deepening layers that continue to be revealed as you practice year after year.

Or take Dristi, as I’ve gotten older I orient myself differently with regard to basic gazing. Now I’m more centered, steady and clear. I also have more clarity about different sets of variables that go into each posture and have more skill to work with those variables in a more immediate and balanced way.

What made Guruji special to you? Did he permanently change your life and how?

He was large enough and grounded enough to see and understand some important things about me and about many people. In this significant way he let me know that what I was doing was alright. This ‘alright’ feeling gave me permission to let my energy flow freely and in directions that were right for me. It took somebody really grounded to do that because I had so much raw energy and so much inner conflict and fear. To have somebody be so grounded and to see my fear and understand it somehow gave me permission to see it too and thus move through it and let it go. Guruji had this knowledge of Yoga and that’s what gave him this largeness and this ability to embrace so many people. He showed me the how big Yoga is; he showed me yoga’s breadth and what it can encompass and how I can find belonging and expression in it. Yes he changed me permanently. He helped wipe out my self hatred, inner turmoil, anger, lack of confidence, in a fundamental way forever. Now I have those things but they can never go as deep as they were because he helped me find that deeper place of love. Practice keeps renewing it but Guruji gave it to me in such a way that even if I never practiced again, I will still have it.

6 Days a week since 93'

2011-05-28T14:23:00.001-07:00

The category "From David's Ashtanga Journals" describes excerpts from David's ongoing book journal. The excerpts are minimally edited.

April 4th, 2011

Recently, I told this story about myself in a workshop.

In September my partner and I went to India, it was my first trip there after the death of Guruji. I had emailed Sharath to tell him we were coming and all was set but I had this resistance to Mysore. I'd made more than a dozen pilgrimages to India and never once 'traveled' or seen the other parts of the country. Guruji was in Mysore, why would I want or need to go anywhere else? I was sad to have to directly face that Guruji wasn't there anymore and surfing had been on the back of my mind for more than a decade. As a skateboarder, I would pretend to surf the concrete like a wave. I'd always wanted to set aside some time to have a surf vacation, preferably in or near India so that I could still do some Yoga. But my practice and studying with Guruji always took precedence. But this time I decided to go with the surf yearning...sort of.

Somehow my partner and I ended up on these remote islands off the east coast of India called the Andamman islands. I had a twin objective: to spend some much needed time focusing on my asana practice and surf. We found an idyllic setting on a pristine island. The color of the ocean was dreamy and inspiring. We found a resort with a largely unused Yoga room located up above the lodging area with a panoramic view spanning towards the ocean above the jungle foliage and tree tops.

So the surfing and Yoga combo started well enough. But it didn't take long for the battering of the waves to take its toll on my body. Practice became more like trying to stretch out and 'recover' from surfing. But I was still determined to do both. So I kept pushing for intensity in my practice. Then IT happened. I was in Parivrtta Parsvakonasana-twisting side angle. I felt this little, but distinct lightning bolt streak of strong sensations run directly across my sacrum. I immediately stood up and lost my Yogic powers of detachment and content. I limped around uttering plenty of expletives. I knew almost instantly that my month of intense practice and surfing was finished. I was very disappointed and also angry with myself for pushing just beyond my edge and allowing myself to play so close to it. I regretted the energy I had put into surfing. As the afternoon and next few days unfolded I realized my nightmare was true I could not really bend in any direction forward or backwards in any capacity. I made a decision to work with my Yoga practice in whatever capacity that was available to me no matter how limited. For the next month I did several hours a day of Pranayama alternating between supine positions and dandasana with my feet at the wall.

I thought I had reflected on what happened there and perhaps even extracted lessons out of it but it wasn't until I told this story to the people in the workshop that I realized I hadn't fully processed the event. When I told the story there wasn't really a point, whereas usually when I tell such a story there is some inspiration or message behind it. For me something was still dangling. And then an 'aha' moment came soon after. I'd always had two nagging dreams in my life; The Surfing Dream and The Yoga Dream. I'd had the surfing dream since I was a boy. It was also a fall back idea for me if the Yoga relationship didn't work out. I'd just become a surfer, spend my time in the ocean, riding waves. Then I had the Yoga dream. The Yoga dream was to continue to maintain and develop the art, grace and beauty of my Ashtanga practice. Since that time on the islands I realize there has been a shift in me.

As we all age we see how challenging it is to continue to practice in such a way that our bodies and minds stay truly strong, fit and supple. Other priorites come along to replace the fire, zeal, and devotion we have for practice. It is tempting to let ourselves off the hook thinking that asana is for youth. That somehow being intensely physical has a cut off point-perhaps it does for some of us. But for many of us, the discoveries we make as we flow though our sequences continue to feed our body's, minds, and souls. And we continue to be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to really go into our asana practices. We also realize more and more the extent to which we have to give up other things. This is the key if you want to have a fruitful serious asana practice, you must know it and fashion your life and choices to ensure it. There really is limited time and thus limited things you have available to put your energy into. The reality is that Ashtanga Yoga asks much of you; it gives you much but also asks much. The surfing dream has lost its power over me. Stuck on the Andamman Islands unable to really practice well, unable to surf--but able to sit there with lots of time for incubation and musing--it felt like the universe was saying: ' IF YOU WANT BOTH YOU'LL HAVE NEITHER' ... whoah!

Do you see it? What is holding you back, from going further, I'm talking about things that truly don't belong there. Not things in your life that do belong, like a great job, relationship, children, art and such, ultimately, those things feed you and your soul in just as necessary ways as your practice does. I'm talking about the things only you'll know what they are. The expendable parts of your life that you are choosing to divert your energy into. The reality is that Ashtanga might help a person be better at nearly any physical activity, but nearly any other physical activity will compromise your Ashtanga practice in some way. For me, even how much I admire the soul of true surfing, I still choose my Yoga practice. There's a subtlety to it that is not found elsewhere. Even dreaming about being a surfer diverts my attention, even the possibility that I might drop my serious practice and go surf takes away from my practice.

I now feel more grounded, lighter, and more excited about Yoga practice. I wish I could just touch your feet and you'd feel what I feel and then you would drop those lesser dreams you are harboring that aren't worth it. Funnel your energy towards the real heart of what you want to share, create, and become-- unswerving, able to keep the target in your sights. You'll see a major shift in your experience, new found energy for what you want will arrive to help you. I'm no longer dreaming of surf vacations, I'm dreaming of dropping into my body, into my center, finding that flow, finding the depths, the athleticism, presence, power, finding that ability to illuminate the entire inner field. I prefer sensing, feeling, intuiting and thinking my way into the pure enjoyment, pure consciousness, and the profound experience of now, that Ashtanga Yoga offers.

May 2011 Research for my new Pranayama dvd began on the Andamman Islands.

Asana Kitchen: Working Towards Viparita Chakrasana (PT 3)

2011-05-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

To View on my new blog!

Greetings! Here's the final installment of this Viparita Chakrasana series; I could easily have made this an 8 part Asana Kitchen or more! There is so much to explore about this complex, dynamic, and amazing posture. However, by reviewing pts 1-3 you should be able to make a decent start. Or if you are practicing tics tacs, I hope you can get new ideas for how to develop it and refine it and eventually nail it! Enjoy!

I would also like to mention that the application for my 2011 and 2012 Indepth Studies are now posted on my website. I will also be teaching a Mysore Intensive in India (Kovalam, Kerala) for the month of February, 2012. You can apply for that on my website as well.

Hari Om,

David

P.S I will be back with a new post in two weeks!

Asana Kitchen: Working Towards Viparita Chakrasana

2011-05-08T04:11:00.000-07:00

You can read this on my new blog!

Greetings!

Part two of this series deals with rhythm in the tic tacs. It is the shortest video of the three because I want you to work with the 1, 2, 3, rhythm for a week before you move on to Part three. It is crucial that your body understands how much momentum and rhythmic motion is needed to successfully come back over. So this week your job is to integrate the 1, 2, 3 into your backbend!

Check back next week for part three!

David

Asana Kitchen: Working Towards Viparita Chakrasana or Tic Tac's Part One

2011-05-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

You can view this post on my new blog!

I am pleased to announce a new installment of the Asana Kitchen. For the next three weeks I will be posting parts 1-3 of the challenging and beautiful Viparita Chakarasana, otherwise known as Tic Tac’s. I would like to thank all of my students who participated in the filming, Joy for editing the epic post, and Claudia who not only asked the question but also filmed herself doing the posture. Sending in a video was a great way for me to directly see what she needed to work on.

I hope you find the instruction helpful!

Hari Om,
David

Ashtanga Yoga and the Secret of Mula Bandha

2011-04-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

I have been working on this piece in my head for months and finally I have completed the article!! I am happy to share it with you and I feel like it is an important and crucial aspect to the practice.

I would also like mention that I have opened up the Ashtanga Yoga School in Philadelphia. If you are ever in the area I invite you to practice with me and the amazing Philadelphia students. You can also read this post on my new blog!!

Hari Om,

David

Part I

Ashtanga Yoga (as in the 8 limbs) begins with Ahimsa, non-harming. Yama is the first limb of the eight limbs and ahimsa is the first Yama. Thus ahimsa can be considered the base, the very foundation and support of the 8 eight limbs. Consider the use of the word ahimsa, the main root himsa, means violence, harm, aggression. When you add the “A” in front of it it becomes ahimsa, the opposite of himsa. The use of the word Ahimsa in this ‘negative’ manner is intentional. For example the first yama could have been ‘peace’ or ‘care’ but instead it is stated as the opposite of non peace. That is because himsa is simply inherent, part of you and me, an automatic, survival response to fear and/or perceived threat.

Often emotionally we start from himsa, we are born with a bent, a tendency to express aggression and violence under certain circumstances. In order to get to peace or empathy, we need to find our way through our aggression by cultivating its opposite. You must adopt a conscious stance or intention that helps you turn your energy around and go ‘against the grain’; to find a different choice, as was practiced by both Gandhi and MLK.

Stated positively Ahimsa means care, extraordinarily high level, genuine, deep, sustained care; the kind of care that begins within your body when you take up a serious, soulful asana practice. Curiously both mula bandha and ahimsa are found together there. They are both foundational, core practices that involve harnessing the powerful energy that exists in the form of deep drives within us. Mula bandha and ahimsa involve redirection of this energy, a causing of this energy to move out of mundane channels, to flow along spiritual channels to draw forth what is real and what has truth within us.

Ahimsa and mula bandha meet as two complimentary allies in your daily practice, in fact with practice you discover they are one and the same practice. In yoga when you enter into the body, you enter into your center, the realm of mula bandha, the root support at the base of the spine. Breathing, moving, and creating your stance, or posture from center gives you a kind of empathy and willingness to be open to your self, leads you to relate to and work to understand anything and everything that occurs within you. This is the basis of ahimsa and the foundation of yoga practice. You find that in order to get a grip on the practice of ahimsa, you must also work on mula bandha and vice versa.

Guruji insisted on the importance of practicing and performing Mula Bandha. He said that mula bandha is a contraction of the anus, gives mind control and must be practiced 24/7. In a recent conference with Sharath Jois (Guruji’s grandson), Sharath related a story about how he asked Guruji about the difficulties he was having with a challenging section of an advanced series postures. This set of postures requires you to alternate between opposing postural patterns (ie extreme extension to flexion etc) without a warm up, without the hand holding type of continuity of first or second or even third series offers. Guruji told Sharath it was only possible to master this sequence by achieving a strong Mula Bandha. This story lit up the point that you practice Mula Bandha to strengthen your base, your center so as to be able to choose more freely both physically and psychologically, and thus not get caught in one kind of pattern or groove. You become oriented and strong in the middle, in your core, and become capable of switching between patterns, even extreme opposites with relative ease. Mula bandha could be defined as ‘the ability to stay rooted and centered with ease and thus to stop and redirect your self as is desired and necessary. Ahimsa requires this same ability, you must learn how to respond creatively to the strong drives within you, neither blindly following their dictates, nor rejecting their power and the directions they may be indicating that you need to explore.

Part II

The need to be able to redirect your energy is true in an asana sense, but more important, it’s true in a psychological sense. When Guruji spoke of Mula Bandha giving ‘mind control’ he meant precisely this, that to apply mula bandha, you have to have enough mental strength to ‘stop’ the patterns of mind that take you away from where you want to go. You have be able to do this as immediately as you are able; with sharp, razor like control that is coupled with receptive, insightful care. Without mula bandha, without inhabiting your center, you won’t have the immovable stance, nor the mental maturity that you need, and so you will frequently and even helplessly watch your self think and behave in ways that are against your innards.

Anger often bursts upon you with a swiftness when it comes, as do other strong emotions. Before you know it you’ve said or done something harmful to your self and/or others. Working with your base, mula bandha allows you to match the energy of those emotions and thus to diffuse or re channel that energy and transform it into something else, something more right, more appropriate to the situation, more creative and personally empowering to you. In part the trick is in the timing; can you catch your self, reflect, let go of the grudge, make a different choice. Can you do it now, or in 10 minutes, or an hour, or a day, (or years later in your head)?

The reasons we waste our energy in harmful and small ways is at least in part based on a fundamental unwillingness to face our pain and fears in timely, sustained ways and with enough commitment and emotional engagement to change ourselves. And we also waste our energy simply because we’ve forgotten how to just be happy, how to celebrate life with ease, and how to be truly joyous as happens when we are involved creatively in our lives or when we just simply stop and breathe and tune in what is here exactly now.

But frequently, rather than really see ourselves moment to moment with our contradiction, weakness, vulnerability, insecurity, and emotional nakedness, we’ll pass up the thrills and joys of now, and instead, we’ll dissipate energy, let our power go down and out of the body somehow. We’ll indulge in something in one way or another whether it’s anger, envy or something that promises immediate happiness. And we’ll convince ourselves that it’s alright this time, and fail to remember how many times and for how many years we’ve let it be ok ‘this time’.

Maya (ignorance, or the veil) lulls us into drowsiness and steals our sense of the passage of time. We can become bafflingly unreflective, meanwhile the life we want floats by, mirage like, our dreams shimmering up ahead hazily out of reach but tantalizing close, close enough and distinct enough to feel real. And yet the years pass and we’re still eating when not hungry, drinking or smoking or shopping or watching tv or computering to forget our pain or how hard it all seems. We’re still pushing away the intimacy we so long for, and finding ourselves caught in our personal round of ‘life drama’s’ ‘that seem to come up one after the other and effectively sap our energies and prevent growth.

Mula bandha’s relationship to ahimsa provides a vital link between the physical practice and the emotional, mental aspects of practice. I don’t only do mula bandha so that I can perfect my ’float’ in jump backs. Those jump backs need to be connected to a greater awakening within myself. Can I bring that same grace and power to my emotional life, to my hidden attitudes about myself, to my behavior in relationships and even to such basic things as my eating patterns. Practicing mula bandha as ahimsa gives you the ability to close the gap between the little you and the you as your unique expression of the Divine Self, the Cosmic Magician, The Trickster, The Beloved, the Secret one, the one with a Thunderous Voice, the one you really wish and yearn to be.

Some examples of redirection of Prana to be able to switch back and forth between these as the need dictates, without ‘stickiness’ and immediately as possible:

anger to forgiveness

envy to appreciation

fear to faith

shouting to listening

craving to contentment

aversion to indifference

superficial to deep

gross to subtle

judgement to empaathy

blue to red, red to blue

scarcity to abundance

taking to giving

peripheral to central

inherent sadness, depression to inherent joy,

will and effort to receptivity, being

The Doubt in Faith

2011-03-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hello,
I am back in the US touring and teaching. You can find my updated teaching schedule on my website. You can also read this post on my new blog! www.davidgarrigues.com/blog

Filling and Refilling Yoga’s 5 Jars
(Or Qualities to Cultivate for Progress in Practice)
Sraddha—-FAITH
Virya———ENERGY/STRENGTH
Smrti———MEMORY
Samadhi—-MEDITATION
Prajna——-AWAKENING OF WISDOM OR INSIGHT

Found in Yoga Sutra 1-20, this unique combination of qualities are meant to be cultivated and are the gifts of your practice. They can be thought of as 5 jars that you want to fill and keep filling. Note that these jars can be difficult to fill, can easily become depleted, the contents can get used up without your noticing, and you can also easily neglect to fill them back up.

Each person will have a different relationship to the qualities and jars. Sometimes one or two of the jars will seem very large compared to the others. These larger jars will be easier to fill up, easier to keep a ready supply of, and will take longer to deplete. Other jars will be very small, difficult to fill, hard to keep stocked and to replenish. It can be challenging to get an accurate sense of exactly what your relationship to each one is at a given time. For example do I have a big jar of faith that is easy to re-fill, how much faith (vs doubt) about Spirituality and/or my individual path do I really have? How easy is it for me to trust the inner work I’m doing and trust that this personal work is connected to something important, something larger then my ego, something that will lead to healing and wisdom within me and extend to the world around me? The difference between what I believe consciously and what I believe unconsciously might make accurate awareness elusive and therefore thwart my sincere attempts to acquire any given quality.

To make an accurate accessment about my ready supply of these five qualities I need to be able to observe myself carefully and without judgement. If I struggle wtih doubt often, then I need to know that about my self. I need to know that the faith jar will be challenging to fill up and might get depleted easily. But the tricky part is I may also not feel ready to fully face and accept my small doubts nor my large doubt. Here’s a little story that illustrates some of my struggles with faith vs doubt.

Recently I was really chewing on the idea of faith in practice. I felt sorry for a student of mine who is very rational and very skeptical of anything he can’t see. He asked me if he can keep practicing if he doesn’t buy into any of the Hindu underpinnings that are present in Yoga. He dismisses reincarnation, God, prayer, and approaches his study from a perspective of philosophical inquiry with it’s high regard for skepticism and reliance on rational thought. But its not as simple as that because he also doesn’t at all feel like practice is merely physical and finds the idea of practice as a glorified gym workout singularly distasteful. He states plainly that he doesn’t do Yoga for merely physical reasons. Listening to his struggle, I felt so blessed for my seeming ease wtih FAITH. I thought that somehow there’s part of me that simply ‘knows’ that there is a purpose each of us has to fulfill–that our consciousness is meant to be used for realizing the ‘ truth’ or ‘goodness’ of everything, of the Source.

I thought I was done considering the possibility of, ‘What if I believe there is nothing inherently spiritual about people or things? What if I deeply question whether there is any purpose, any grand truth? What if this is all random, meaningless, and there is no ultimate realization or meaning or something that existence is leading to?’

I was mulling all this over when I saw a low budget sign in front of a fire station. This sign had removable letters so that the firemen could post different messages frequently to keep passersby interested. The message on this day read:

SMALL DOUBT SMALL FAITH
GREAT DOUBT GREAT FAITH

Wow!! Revelation—-Faith does not mean blind faith, easy faith. This caused me to really look within, to see the small ways that I lack faith, to see how frequently and largely I doubt both Spirituality in a collective sense and my own personal relationship to my faith. When I really dig down inside I see that faith is something I have wrestled out of my doubt–one practice at a time–something I’ve agonized over and continue to agonize over especially when it’s time to apply my faith. When you look within I imagine you’ll find your supply of faith is contained in a jar you lovingly fill as you pour energy, unstintingly into your practice. Its a freeing and powerful realization that having doubt, large or small, is not necessarily a sign of a lack of faith. It could be quite the reverse–and that could explain why my student so clearly knows that practice is so much more than physical and yet he is not going to pray to Ganesh or take a set of beliefs such as those of reincarnation that don’t fit for him.

Furthermore when you really consider your practice and your relationship to any of these five qualities, you will likely see that, in the long term, none of these jars are easy to fill, nor to keep filled. If you think one of them comes easily, it may behoove you to look again, and see if there is more depth to explore.

Each quality has to be artfully chiseled as a stone mason does when she patiently, one hammer stroke at a time, fashions a figure out of stone. Your ability to meditate (samadhi) to become entirely mentally absorbed in what is unfolding within you will be hewn painstakingly out of your practice. Prajna-wisdom born from deep within your body will also come, hard won, from your practice. Indeed you fashion your energy, insight, faith, concentration, and your memory out of the long string of daily practices performed lovingly with great patience and care.

In closing here’s a little poem that speaks to the challenge of filling and refilling the jars:

How soon do you forget what you just learned in practice? Almost immediately

How soon does doubt replace faith? Almost immediately

How soon is meditation replaced by distraction and scatteredness? Almost immediately

How soon is the bright fire you kindled during practice diminished to a faint glow in the hearth? Almost immediately

How soon is the wisdom you gain, even the deep wisdom covered by ignorance? Almost immediately

There it is, But

I and you begin again

Almost Immediately

Ashtanga Yoga Discussion Room: Reactions and Responses

2011-02-16T05:53:00.000-08:00

To view on my new blog!

Greetings!
I'm pleased to offer a new short video discussion on reactions during practice. I speak about how to cultivate the mental power, to sift through various mental states, and how to identify the types of thoughts, emotions or reactions that are worthy of care and attention.
Also, Joy and I have created a new Facebook fan page for David Garrigues Yoga and will be using it as a platform to post daily blog like ideas and thoughts. We invite you to join us and help create a daily community on the Ashtanga Practice.

from David's Ashtanga Journals: Physical and Mental Edge

2011-02-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

To read this post on my new updated BLOG!!

I am constantly writing (in notebooks) about the practice. The writings are usually ideas or drafts for blogs, scripts for videos, or random personal thoughts. Joy loves to flip through them and says she finds a lot of helpful notes. A couple of weeks ago she threw out the idea that I should start posting some of them. Here's one, enjoy! David

"Here's what I say--go for it with all your might and gusto-put everything you have into achieving your asana's but...for christ sake---please play safe, be smart, stay alert to how you are treating your body--Think long term--aligning your edges.

The physical edge is how you push yourself physically--the intensity with which (you) meet your challenges, how much time and energy you put into developing your asana practice. The edge is the risk zone, the zone of discomfort. The physical place where you are not comfortable, where you find yourself wanting to escape somehow--you want to shift positions, move, adjust--where you feel strong sensations within your body--whether forward or backward bending, each person has a place where fear arises, where there are feelings of insecurity or doubt, success or failure is not certain--where things become physically challenging, more strength then you have may be required, or more flexibility-----A significant part of asana practice is to encounter physical hardship, it is by challenging yourself physically that the body becomes firm, strong, and healthy--the strong body enables you to work with your mind. As you develop the capacity to extend your physical edge you become ready to work with more mental aspects of practice--

You begin to work with your mental edge. The mental edge refers to working with expanding your awareness and focusing on your mental challenges. The types of emotional responses that habitually come up for you given circumstances. Just as you develop your physical practice through Yoga, there is a process of developing mental and emotional maturity---The mental edge arises where you have resistance in your emotional response or to how you behave. Pattabhis Jois used to talk about mind control and about strengthening your mind. The mental edge occurs when you feel your self responding to a situation involuntarily, seemingly without your consent--a mood over takes you, all of a sudden you are angry or envious--and you respond in a way that doesn't feel right, but you persist in that response because you don't have the mental strength or emotional maturity to express a more fitting response.

You have the opportunity during Yoga practice to encounter your mental edges. They can be less obvious and thus more difficult to pin point. Your mental response to what you experience in your asana work can help you remove the coverings that obscure your wisdom. To intentionally pay attention to what comes up for you mentally during practice adds an essential dimension to your work and reveals deeper layers of practice."

Sharath's Conference January 23, 2011

2011-01-24T02:51:00.001-08:00

Hello Students,
Joy and I made a video of Sharath’s conference on Sunday. It takes a second to load up but it does work. I have recently updated my workshop schedule for the spring and summer. Please take a look at it and hopefully we will be able to connect!
I also want to remind you that if you follow my blog I have switched over to a new one! So please subscribe it. In a couple of weeks I won't be posting to this blog anymore.

Hari Om,
David

Sharath's Conference January 16th, 2011

2011-01-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

Joy: Do we list this under the category of advanced practices?
David: No this is actually very basic classical yoga 101 stuff. Sharath presented this on purpose to the whole group who range from raw beginners to serious veterans. These concepts are fundamental and point to how to purify your body and better inwardly view the practice. I guarantee that most veteran Ashtanga heads have practiced at least some of these kriyas (Neti, Nauli, Trataka, Kapalabhati) as a way of furthering internal cleansing and better understanding their ashtanga practice.

Reflections on Sharath's conference

Sharath spoke about each of the **6 classic yogic cleansing practices (Kriya's-Neti, Nauli, Dhauti, Vasti, Trataka, Kapalabhati see below) and concluded that Ashtanga practice achieves the same benefits and thus largely replaces these practices. However because Sharath took the time to discuss these practices, I conclude that knowledge of these can give you new and valuable ideas for how to think and approach your ashtanga practice.

For example take Neti, Nauli, Dhauti, and Vasti; all of these relate to cleansing the entire digestive tract from mouth to anus. The quality, quantity, breadth, depth and intensity of the asana work we do in ashtanga is equally potent for thorough internal cleansing that includes purifying the digestive tract. This simple fact alone can inspire you to practice and help carry you across challenging times such as when you pass through a phase where you lack motivation to get up and get on the mat. Sharath spoke about how continuing to do this practice can help you look 10 to 15 years younger than your age-- largely due to the digestive fire that results from practice. He even quipped that the answer to the perennial question 'Why do you do Yoga?' is 'to look younger'--what more reason do you need?--ha!

Also, the proper use of Jalandhara, Uddhyana, and Mula bandha's helps your body emulate and thus receive the same benefits as the 4 above mentioned cleansing practices. When you use ujjayi breathing to draw the breath in from the root of the palate, the flow of prana through the nasal passages and sinuses clears these passages, similar to the use of a neti pot. And frequently working with the 'take it up' action of mula bandha during vinyasa transitions can simulate the same sort of drawing up action from your base that vasti asks for. Also as you practice, the continual moderate lift of Uddhyana Bandha coupled with awareness of redirecting apana vayu upwards when inhaling and exhaling can create an equally effective nauli like 'churning' of the abdominal region.

The similiarities between dristi and trataka are obvious; essentially dristi is a form of trataka and the fact that both systems emphasize the value of gazing in practice serves as a reminder that meditation and all inner work are greatly enhanced by cultivating awareness of where and how you orient your self visually. The movements of the spine are intimately connected with how you orient your posture through your eyes and what you see moment to moment. Both meditation and graceful movement have origins in awareness of the integrity of the body's central axis from the base, seat of Mula Bandha, along the length of the spine to the neck and head and finally through eyes in the form of the gaze, the Dristi.

Sharath briefly demonstrated the technique of kalapabhati, suggesting that people try it, and thus somewhat singled it out as a practice that could perhaps add dimension to your breath work and provide something energetically new that straightforward ujjayi might not provide.

Lastly Sharath spoke about what Yoga ultimately is about: 'uncovering the God within'. Each person is Brahman (the 'real, conscious, blissful' Self) but there are enemies within, anger, greed, jealousy, delusion, etc that cover this truth. I find it helpful to sit with the image of covering versus uncovering--yoga practice dissolves the coverings that obscure us and thus helps us uncover our Spirit. We can too easily make the mistake of thinking that the 'positive' coverings, the more superficial, outer pursuits are all there is and not even bother to dig down, go inwards, cross our joyous and challenging waters and sort through our inner enemies, our blindness to our strengths as well to our greed and our anger. And also we can feel like there is something wrong with us for our hunger, our need to search for depth and meaning, something wrong for being 'unhappy' or dissatisfied or having to struggle so much to make progress on our paths. To me Ashtanga or any serious spiritual practice is not necessarily for the 'happy', the well adapted, the contented, the ones who find what they are looking for in getting, spending, or who continue to place more value in pursuits outside of themselves. Ashtanga is for the hungry, the ones who have something gnawing inside, the ones who honestly aren't happy accepting complacent norms. Ashtanga is for those who are alive with intense feelings that there are worlds to discover, worlds that are found by reaching passionately inwards for expression that will contribute to personal and collective healing.

**The Six Cleansing Techniques (Shat Kriya's)

Neti: Using a water pot for nasal passage and sinus clearing.

Nauli: Abdominal churning

Dhauti: Cleansing by swallowing cloth

Vasti: Cleansing through natural colonics

Trataka: Fixed gazing or gazing at a single point.

Kapalabhati: Pranayama through technique. Exhalation active, inhalation passive

I found a swami demonstrating Kapalabhati. The video certainly has its own style. Enjoy!

Great Courage, Mighty Enthusiasm, and Full Strength

2010-12-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! I have a new blog If you would like to continue to follow my blog you can subscribe to it on the new site. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you in 2011!!

During my 20 plus years of Yoga study, I have had the joy and challenge of practicing under a great variety of circumstances. I used to practice religiously outside in Chautauqua Park, Boulder Colorado in the icy winter, pre dawn darkness wearing full winter clothes including hat and mittens. On the other hand in Mysore, I had my 'spot' in the back right corner of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois's original shala, the spot where I showed up every day for an entire year to learn the 3rd series. And more recently I had magical, centering experiences practicing in temples in Southern India while shooting my primary series DVD. In this week's post I want to tell you about the unlikely, ghetto style spot where I currently do my daily Yoga practice and how I've come to so highly value that unsavory spot.
I live in a slumlord managed, falling apart Philadelphia brownstone row home. I have three house mates, two cats and our two main living rooms are crammed full of recording and musical gear. My living situation lacks space. In fact there isn't a consistent spot in any of the rooms to lay down my mat for practice. However if I time it right, there is one spot in the entry to the house just inside the front door, the thin carpeted floor is far from clean, there is precisely enough space for my mat between the door, two crumbling walls immediately on either side and a vent on the floor in front. I have to practice in the very early morning hours before dawn-- enforced Brahma Muhurta practice time!- ( between 3 and 6am --the most auspicious time of day to take practice)!! At that time everyone else is asleep and the chances of traffic needing to tramp across my yoga mat is reduced.
When I do seated postures in this cosmically designated, exclusive spot, my gaze naturally falls along the back wall of a vintage piece of recording gear that sits there. Down near the base of this large wooden box is an old bumper sticker that reads: When All We Ever Wanted Was To Learn, Love, and Grow. My attention has been rather forced on this little sticker, and my mind has begun to ponder it, to puzzle through it, and chew on it with zen 'koan' like curiosity. I see it as I would a dream, a coded message from my inner depths to my ego, the small self who frequently likes to go 'negative' in response to all manner of experience.
Scores of unknown brilliant people with talent and creativity have succumbed to some form of negativity within themselves only to turn away from or misdirect their inner gifts, to give up or quit. Jack Kerouac had this to say in his legendary novel The Dharma Bums: "I was very devout in those days and was practicing my religious devotions almost to perfection. Since then I've become a little hypocritical about my lip service and a little tired and cynical. Because now I am grown so old and neutral…..But then I really believed in the reality of charity and kindness and humility and zeal and neutral tranquility and wisdom and ecstasy, and I believed that I was an old time bhikku in modern clothes wandering the world…".
This is a sad and tragic statement, a statement that could be coming from any of us. We can become tired, 'grown so old and neutral' and lethally cynical. There is so much about our lives that can bring us down, give us reason to become bitter, to give up and stop trying to create and grow and transform, to say a fundamental NO to cosmic Goodness, to Wisdom, to ecstasy, to the symbolic life within us where the Sacred is created and brought to the light of consciousness.
Like Kerouac I remember a younger more innocent time in my life. A time when being positive came more naturally, I had more youthful exuberance, more joie de vivre, and more unquestioning optimism about my spiritual quest. It was before a jaded, at times surly voice entered the stage of my mind, a negative voice that can zap my resolve to respond with care and love to my experience. This tired attitude can cause me to complain and whine about people or things and give way to anger, apathy, judgement, envy, self doubt, pessimism or isolation.
This turning away from spirit, affirmation, and meaning can lead to perpetual negativity, to suicide, drug abuse, obesity, consumerism, apathy or paralyzing cynicism. Many of us are spiritually hiding either too jaded or afraid to seek depth and meaning within ourselves with enough passion to 'break through' and learn to share our visions with others. How many of us are working at things with our whole heart, working on creating and being part of something greater that we could all share and benefit from?

There are many people with their eyes open whose hearts are shut.
And what do they see?
Matter.

This line from a Rumi poem points out that in order to open my heart I have to see beyond 'matter', beyond the rational, beyond the seeable and be able to translate my experience of matter into something personally meaningful to me. My outer experience must become symbolic to me, giving me signs and messages that point me to inner direction, spiritual direction. I practice Yoga to be able to continue to believe in those qualities Kerouac felt he had lost, qualities of 'charity and kindness and humility and zeal and neutral tranquility and wisdom and ecstasy'.
Each day's practice holds the key, gives me the renewed possibility for my full expression of 'living, loving and growing'. Practice is essential because often when challenging circumstances arise, even though I'm not directly conscious of it, all I see is 'matter', my heart closes and I'm not able to access it. That is why I need to be involved in 'sadhana' (spiritual practice) to open my other eyes and really see the heart and Spirit of things beyond matter. From the same poem a few lines later Rumi says:

If you are not one of those light filled lovers
(ie if you see only matter)
restrain your desire-body's intensity.
Put limits on how much you eat
and how long you lie down.
(ie do Yoga)

Presently my practice space sucks, it's cold, unkempt, cramped and it's available for only a limited time each day. But I love that spot; I cherish it when I'm alone and silent at 4am and able to practice. My effort, sweat, concentration, and surrender are the qualities that prevent me from giving in to negativity, to cynicism, doubt, lethargy and worse. I am reminded that it doesn't matter where I lay down my mat, it can be anywhere. Almost all variables are nullified when I make my start in Surya A. It doesn't matter that the floor is dirty or the walls are peeling or that I'll be interrupted by inner gremlins that have an aversion to concentration and breath.
Practicing Yoga causes me to continue to say YES to my real life, the life within, its inner meaning and how that meaning finds expression in outer forms, even when my habit patterns continue to tell me to say NO to my inner life. Yoga gives me the power to respond with more openness and love when I'm feeling like closing my heart.
When we've practiced Yoga for a significant period of time, time enough to be transformed from the inside out, there is a force that develops in us, a strength that causes us to want to keep making the effort to heal and transform ourselves, our relationships, and our world-- no matter what inner or outer circumstances we find ourselves in.
"The following qualities are found in the bodies of every Yogi: great courage, mighty enthusiasm, and full strength."---The Siva Samhita

Asana Kitchen: Dropping Back (PT 3)

2010-12-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Namaste! I'm pleased to offer Part 3 of The Asana Kitchen's drop back series. I encourage you to get out your mat, warm up your back and practice along with the video and instructions. This time I've also included written notes to supplement the video!
After this I'll have one more post before the New Year. Thank you for following my blog by watching my videos and reading my writings. I'm excited for another year of sharing Yoga with you all. If you have benefited from my blogs I'd appreciate you sharing them with your Yoga friends through any of the social media channels. I'm available as a resource to you and your Yoga community. I would love the opportunity to work with you in person. To invite me to teach at your studio, please send me your contact information and we'll make it happen! Be sure to check back for my last post of the year because I'm going out with bang...! Hari Om!! Jai Ma! Enjoy! David

Review of Alignment Principles for dropping back and coming up:

The arms vertically, actively reach up palms facing each other
Lift the upper spine upwards and curve it far forward into the body.
Move the sacrum forward into the body causing the hips to move forward. Resist the forward movement of the hips by grounding the thighbones, make the thighs powerfully firm and stabilize the legs.
As you start to go back reach up, out and over.
Continue to lift the chest and curve the upper spine up and forward into the body. Keep the legs straight and firm as long as you are able. The stronger and more flexible you are the less you'll ever have to bend your knees when you drop back.
As you drop back, touch down, stabilize the arms, land with as much control as possible, and then let the body sway slightly further in the direction it was already going. Use momentum to rock forward as you prepare the legs to support the weight of the spine. Keep the head back, keep your eyes fixed on a spot between the hands.
Lead with your chest, try to lift and curve the spine creating the exact same action that helped you drop back. Project your spine and hips forward until you feel your legs underneath you supporting your curving spine and head. Keep your head back until the very end finally bringing the head up when you are standing upright.

*Use the wall or other props as is necessary to create a healthy, sustainable step by step progression for learning to utilize the alignment principles.
*Don't go for 'too much too soon'. The true enjoyment and benefit comes from flowing with the dynamic, rhythmic play safely within the limits of your body. Not in reaching an end goal. Use your alignment knowledge to know where your particular edge is.
*Be patient allow several months or however long it takes for the proper knowledge and body intelligence to come to you in order to master this life affirming, dynamic move.

***Note about the pelvis as you set up to drop back: rotate the pelvis in a slight backward tilt (like a gentle tuck, but not a tuck that flexes the lumbar spine)
achieve the feeling of this backward rotation by imagining the pelvis as the paddle wheel of a mississippi steamboat. (the axle passes through the hip joints). Imagine the paddle wheel turns in a counter clockwise direction, moves up and over from front to back.
*****Also note lengthening the coccyx means cultivating a sense that your vestigial tail is actually a real tail with length and weight. Imagine that you have a tail like a monkey or a great cat, a tail that has weight and dangles down behind or between your legs. Let this feeling of having a tail ' drag' the back of the pelvis downwards towards the earth. This action helps awaken uddhyana and mula bandha's.

Additional Notes

Focus on the drop back first as a way of getting started. Dropping back is generally easier than coming up.

First get ready action, for the significant play of forces you are about to set in motion. Center your self as though you are about to surf, to catch and ride an ocean wave, it's THAT kind of readiness--poised ready to respond, to execute, and balance.

Go through your set up progression (see above) to ensure maximum opening of the chest and thus maximum participation of the upper spine and in order to optimize the use of your legs.

Clearly center yourself over your foundation even as your center of gravity shifts forward as you go back.

As you reach up and over make sure you take the head back and look for a spot on the wall, pad or ground, a spot between the hands that will help visually orient you to prepare you for landing.

There should be a tiny bit of give in your landing for softness but keep the arms straight.
If you let the elbows bend and give way to easily you'll increase the chances of bonking your head upon landing.

Once you have the feeling for dropping back, think about coming back up. Initially a fair amount of rhythm and momentum can provide you with the extra surge you need to come up.

In order to use momentum effectively you have to attempt to come back up utilizing the motion that was generated when you dropped back. When you drop back your body's weight will be going down and back towards the wall (even though you have lifted your spine up and forward in opposition to this) In order to come back up, you want to let the body continue in the direction it was already going for a little longer. Keep the arms straight and let the body move in the opposite direction than you want to go to come back up. This step is key to creating momentum to push off and come up. You drop back, touch down, let the body sway slightly further in the direction it was already going then prepare the legs to support the weight of the spine. Keep the head back, keep your eyes fixed on your spot between the hands.

Lead with your chest, try to lift and curve the spine creating the exact same action that helped you drop back. Project your spine and hips forward until you feel your legs underneath you supporting your curving spine and head. Keep your head back until the very end finally bringing the head up when you are standing upright.

1) use the wall:
A) as an effective, safe way to begin.
B) as a way to progress step by step while staying in control of some of the important alignment principles.
C) to help you work with your fear of dropping back.
D) to feel of the essential role of rhythm in learning to drop back and come up.
2) Use firm foam pads
(as shown in part's 2 and 3 of the series. the pad dimensions: 2" high 12" wide 24" long)
A) when you can drop back with wall and are able to get most of the way to the floor.
B) when you've become comfortable enough using the wall to skillfully and rhythmically drop back and come up with clear breathing
C) when you want to focus more on learning to come up.
D) when you can drop back and come up from the floor but want to refine specific points and work with aligning the legs or get the feeling of keeping the heels more grounded.
E) when you want to use less momentum to come up.
F) when you want to soften your drop back landing.

=====Earth=====

*Contemplate the role of the earth and the importance of feeling grounded when working on drop backs
*Find the earth through the legs and then trust the earth! Trust the legs!
*consciously lower your center of gravity so that you feel physically closer to the earth.
*work with imagery to enhance the stability of the legs in your posture. Imagine that the feet and legs have thrust up through the earth similiar an outcropping, an island that has thrust up from the ocean bottom.
*learn to lift and curve the spine forward into the torso in order to use the support of the legs to center your self and control your speed dropping back and coming up.
=====Rhythm=====
*use momentum and rhythm to invite the entire body to participate dynamically in dropping back and coming up.
*co-ordinate the rhythm of the breath with sweeping rhythm of the skeleton
* feel an ascending, uninterrupted curve through the length of the spine.

*gaze over and down at a spot on the ground between your hands leading with the eyes on the way down and allowing the eyes to follow on the way up.
*proceed confidently, knowing that you will be able to execute the move. Hesitation causes you to interrupt the rhythm and gives you the message to close the chest and not to rely on the foundation of the posture.

To purchase pads go to the Friendly Foam shop
You need 24"L x 24"W x 2"H If you mention you need a yoga prop, with those dimensions, and say you want the firmest kind of foam they will understand.

Asana Kitchen: Dropping Back Parts 1-2

2010-11-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I'm excited to offer parts 1 and 2 of a 3 part Asana Kitchen video series answering our most popular question to date: how to successfully drop back into a back bend and then stand up! Part One looks at the principles of dropping back and standing. Part Two addresses the problem of the heels lifting going down and the feet splaying out when coming back up.
Get out your mat, warm up your back and try to do what I have presented in the video's. You will benefit more by doing rather than simply watching and then trying to remember what to do the next time you practice.
Regardless of your level of experience, I recommend you watch and work with both video's because each part contains important basic information for more beginning students and subtler, nuanced information for more experienced students.

Interview on Prescribing Yoga

2010-11-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

I recently did an interview on the blog Prescribing Yoga and I would like to share it with all of you. It has some relevant information on the practice that I feel would be beneficial for each of you. I would also like to thank Christina Palmer for having such an amazing and informational blog as well as asking me insightful questions regading Yoga and the practice.

How did you first learn about yoga?

I was sixteen and working as a bus boy. The dishwasher was really into metaphysics, supernatural phenomenons, UFO's, conspiracy theories, etc, and one day he told me about Yoga. That afternoon he took me to the local park and showed me Surya Namaskara. From that point on I was practicing Sun Salutations.

Tell us about the path your yoga practice has taken.

In 1991 I placed 4th in the Seattle Marathon after training rigorously for a few months and my body became completely tight and so I went to an Iyengar Yoga class. I got hooked and started going everyday. Eventually, I found two important teachers who lit the fire of Yoga in me and helped me to choose to make Yoga my life path. Then in 1993 I saw a video of Pattabhi Jois teaching his students (Freeman, Chuck and Tim) and saw in the Yoga Journal that he was coming to LA. I went and studied with him for one month. Then in '94 I went to India and was there almost continuously for two years. At the end of that time Guruji certified me. I went back to Seattle and for ten years ran the Ashtanga Yoga School always returning to India nearly one or twice a year to work with Guruji.

On one of my first visits to India I discovered singing and started practicing Bhakti Yoga by way of music. I now consider myself a practitioner of both Bhakti and Hatha Yoga.

For the past few years, I have started to make a more organized and conscious choice to share what I'm learning through social media: dvd's, cd's, and blogging. All of these media outlets are pushing me to go deeper into teaching as a service and to share what I have been given. And that's where I continually see my future leading, continuing to practice, study and share what I'm learning.

Who have been your greatest yoga teachers and why?

Marie Svoboda, who taught me about the process of going into an asana and that what is most important is the process not the end. She also taught me about rhythm.

Aadil Palkhivala, who still teaches in Seattle. He is a senior Iyengar teacher and taught me to think creatively and therapeutically about the body. And how to endlessly refine an asana. He also taught me how to appreciate when a magical atmosphere arises in a class.

Ramanad Patel, who teaches workshops worldwide and taught me about combining Bhakti Yoga and asana work in a class.

Pattabhi Jois, who taught me everything... how to stand on my own and how to be a complete anchor. And how to be yourself. And how much power we each have. Guruji wasn't playing around or putting on an act.

What motivates you to practice every day?

How much better I feel when I practice. And how alive I feel. And how I can finally feel my life force really flow. And the mental places that I go when I practice. The concentration that I can achieve. And also the physical benefits.

Why do you practice Ashtanga yoga?

Because Ashtanga Yoga is the only type that can adequately allow me to work with my energy the way that feels right to me. I like how physical it is. I also like the concept of Vinyasa and how working with patterns of the breath is the center of the practice.

What is your daily routine like?

I am always busy and doing things. I don't like to feel that I'm wasting my life. I don't consciously keep a schedule but my day is always consistent. If I have to teach Mysore class I wake up at 4AM and practice. Sometimes I can squeeze in some classic Indian scales. I teach at 7AM and when I'm through I go home and eat a whole grain breakfast (sweet brown rice cream, oatmeal, cream of wheat.) Then I either sing again or I begin my writing for the day. At this time I am also double tasking by cooking a macro meal (pressure cooking brown rice, slow cooking vegetables, burdock, Kimpira). But either way I will be singing or writing until I eat at 3PM. This is when I usually take a two hour break. A break usually involves some reading, a cat nap or helping my partner Joy on her film projects. But at around 5PM I start revving up again, answering emails, sometimes Joy and I will film, but most days I'm writing until its time to sleep at around 10pm. I don't need a lot of sleep, never have.

Tell us about your diet.

I practice a wide macrobiotics. Because I'm not sick so for me the macro diet does not need to be narrow. But I also have a Yin disposition and therefore, am inclined towards Yin foods (sugar, alcohol, caffeine) so I have to be very conscious to eat the Yang foods my body needs in order to be balanced. The most hearty Yang foods are short grain brown rice, burdock, turnip, daikon, carrots, and then cooked for hours. One of the things I love about the macro diet is that you do put a lot of energy into making the food but in the end you have an amazingly tasty and healthy dish. Its not like you spend hours in the kitchen making Fettucine Alfredo, where the result is tasty food, but also super high in fat.

What are 3 pieces of advice you would give serious yoga practitioners about their diet?

I've said it before: The diet is the final frontier for a Yogi. Its a lot easier for people to acclimate to waking up and going to bed earlier, or being more physically tired throughout the day, but eating a proper diet is really challenging. My advice is more on how to transition into a healthier diet.

#1 Be kind to yourself when your transitioning into a healthier diet. This is where most people have trouble. If you start off too extreme… cutting out everything you enjoy and just eating brown rice and turnips, you will probably not hold the diet. It takes a long time to change your diet so transition slowly. In the beginning eat the occasional slice of cheese and slice of cake.

#2: Get onto whole grains. Buy a pressure cooker and a grain meal and learn to use them. The food tastes a whole lot better.

#3: Most importantly, make a very careful study of how the food you eat affects your practice. You really have to study this because you want to have an optimum practice each day. This means you have to feel when your body system and digestion is ready to practice. So when your practicing take note of how you feel and what it was that you ate yesterday. And then if you observe carefully and long enough your practice will teach you what you need to eat.

What advice do you have for people interested in starting a yoga practice?

I'm biased but I think that Ashtanga is the best practice. And the way to learn Ashtanga is to find a teacher who teaches Mysore. Sign up for the month and follow their instruction. If you can't get access to a teacher then a dvd can do it. Also, make an intention within yourself to honor your body. If you want to start a Yoga practice you need to realize that Yoga is a large path. There's a lot to it. Its a discipline that takes several years to understand and get established in, and in the beginning, you don't have to understand very much of it. You only have to make a start. Start small and simple and see how you feel and see where that takes you. And continue to feel what's happening and value what you feel. Don't do too much too soon. And be careful not to get swept away by your ego trying asanas that your body is not ready for because you can get hurt.

What advice do you have for people with busy schedules who must maintain a home practice?

1: Have a consistent time that you practice.

2: If you only have the energy to do ten minutes, five minutes, one Sun Salutation, then just do that. Again, you have to be kind to yourself. Because that one sun Salutation will carry you onto the next morning when you may feel like doing the entire Primary.

How has your practice changed over the past 10 years?

My body has aged. I've slowed down some. I value breathing and simplicity much more. My focus is way deeper, way more subtle, as well as my breath. I still love practicing but for very different reasons. Now, I love the very moment that it's happening rather then what I'm going to get out of it when I'm done.

How do you see your practice changing over the next 10 years?

I don't know what's in store and I'm happy about that. I only know that I will be doing it and it's bound to get deeper and take me to new places that I've never gone. And I'm excited about that.

What is your biggest fear?

I tried to just think of one but this is what came out: That for whatever reason people can't relate to my experience. That I haven't gone deep enough. That I haven't applied myself enough. I'll run out of time before I've gotten the chance to really find my wisdom. That I can't face and accept my ugliness and join in healing around that.

Who have been the most influential people influencing your health habits?
Pattabhi Jois
Marie Sbavoda
Macrobiotic teachers (AnneMarie Colbin, Herman Aihara, Michel Abehsera)
My mom
Jung
Patanjali

If you could tell a room of thousands of people one piece of life advice, what would it be?

You have an incredible reserve of life force within you that is meant to be positively channelled to heal yourself and the world. So face whatever demons that block you and use your power to heal and move life forward.

What do you wish you could go back in time and tell your 25-year old self?

Don't be afraid. You have so much power and so much talent just go for it.

Action!

2010-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

In this new post I speak about the concept action in asana, action as a catalyst to the revolution within you. There is a wide range from (superficial to deep) of what constitutes action in asana. At times cultivating action may mean that you activate specific muscle groups to move your bones and achieve dynamic alignment of the skeleton. When you lengthen your hamstring muscles in a forward bend, you must contract the quadriceps muscles in the front thighs. The action here is to engage the opposing muscle group to achieve a dynamism between agonist and antagonist muscle groups.

This action works the hamstring safely but also shapes the leg intelligently and leads to the deeper, more subtle action of pressing the thigh bone further into the leg. (called grounding the femur). Grounding the femur ensures that the femur sits comfortably in the hip socket and helps optimize the transfer of weight from the pelvis through the legs, feet into the earth. Grounding the femur puts you in touch with the musculature of the pelvic floor and helps awaken mula bandha.

At first cultivating action in asana may seem like something small, tedious or doing a lot of work for little or no results. But the effort you put forth to activate certain opposing muscle groups or to properly align your skeleton in each posture serves as a foundational pillar of your health, progress and growth. That effort helps you to better cleanse and work your body safely and sustainably, it sharpens the mind, gives extraordinary powers of concentration, and opens you to the interior limbs of ashtanga yoga.

The internal basis of action in asana practice is to train your senses to remain awake to the inner feelings of the body. You develop highly tuned sensory receptors that reach throughout the inner field of the body. These receptors bring back energetic information that helps you become aware, helps you penetrate to even the most remote regions of the body. You develop special eyes that see inward, special ears that listen within and most importantly a special 'skin' that helps you feel within. As the senses become 'purified' and internalized you become more conscious better able to harness life force and direct it where you find flow and harmony.

When you begin to work with actions in the body you go to a deeper level to perceive the pattern behind the movements of seemingly unrelated parts. Your skeletal, respiratory, psychological, nervous, digestive, circulatory---all of the major systems of your being both conscious and unconscious begin to act together. This leads you to comprehend a universality that connects and aligns the entire field within you.

Then instead of each breath, posture or transition feeling singular or disconnected or otherwise separate from the whole, the practice becomes one continuous expansion into greater awareness where the folding and unfolding movement patterns draw forth your deep, intuitive body intelligence.

This may sound abstract or complex but actually it's very intuitive and simple like when you have an instantaneous dawning insight, an 'aha'. It's also like learning to get the knack of how to do a difficult posture. The biggest trick of all is to learn how to stay oriented inside your body through your changing mental states, for long enough to really observe and to transform your unconsidered, gross motion into powerful movement that is born from intelligent awareness.

When your practice is centered in the foundational patterns of postures, your ideas of what constitutes an advanced posture will get upended. It is how you go about even the most basic posture that determines its depth. The limitless extent to which you can optimize your breathing and align your postures reveals the wisdom and layered depth contained in each asana.
You find the advanced asana has less to do with how bendable or strong you are, and more with the way you perceive action and the play of opposites. You learn how to align your self and work with (not against) the physical limits of your body.

Creating action within a posture leads you away from placing too much importance on an end goal for your asana. This helps you work safely as you go further. You tune in plainly to your present circumstance and direct your consciousness along positive, active channels in order to invite opening and transformation. Through action you gain the knowledge and skill to go beyond either unfocused, mindlessness or endlessly engaging with and getting caught in your continual stream of moods. You get better at transcending the range of your mental turnings, your enthusiasms, zeal, hardships, skepticisms, fears and such states that obscure your wisdom and appreciation.

The value of action in asana practice is found precisely in that it gives you ways to positively channel your fire, the passionate energy within you that needs expression. By investigating the action required to align a posture you are investigating both how to expand more into your joyous consciousness and how to respond positively to the obstacles that you encounter within yourself.

Asana Kitchen Discussion Room: Giving Up In Kapotasana

2010-10-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Asana Kitchen: Shoulderstand Series (Pts: 1-6)

2010-10-05T03:50:00.001-07:00

The subject of this asana kitchen post comes from Patty in LA:

David, please help me with shoulderstand and explain why it's important.

This post on shoulderstand is a six part video series. I believe that shoulderstand is such an important posture that six videos are needed to give justice to the incredible asana. I invite you to dive into the series and take time with the videos really giving the pose the time that its benefits demand.

The first 3 video's include discussions on the following aspects of the posture: 1) A talk on the importance of the posture 2) The value of supporting the shoulders with a pad 3) How to use a pad

The last 3 videos are meant for you to study but will be more useful if you get out your mat and do the exercises. They include
4) How to create a sound a foundation 5) Ways of working in the posture 6) An intro to the posture using the wall (for beginners, review, and/or teachers). I've also included some written notes to supplement the video's.

Please let me know what you think of this post and I welcome you to email your asana questions to asanakitchen@gmail.com. Enjoy! David

When you are standing upright the feet and legs are your base and connection to the earth. In shoulderstand your foundation, your source of grounded skeletal support is in the shoulder girdle, arm bones and muscles of the fingers, hands, forearms, upper arms, and shoulders. The arms and upper body (not including the neck and head) form a basket like support structure that can powerfully and effectively bear the weight of the body. The ability to utilize this foundation effectively depends upon the proper positioning of the spine in relation to the arm bones and shoulder girdle. The elbows need to be approximately parallel to each other and you must lift up the spine so that ideally neither the upper spine nor the neck touch the ground.
If the foundation is not set up skillfully and thus doesn't bear the weight of the body adequately, then neck problems could result. The elbows splaying out and the spine falling toward the ground are two signs of a faulty foundation. Using a firm pad under the shoulders can make it easier to establish a sound foundation that will ensure that the proper parts of the skeleton will receive the weight of the body. I've found that nearly every student can learn to work more safely, enjoy the posture more and expand the possibilities for exploration by supporting the shoulders in Shoulder Stand.

3 Keys To a Sound Foundation

1) Set up your posture with care and skill. Position the upper arms as close to parallel as possible. Do this by going into plow, straightening the arms behind you and interlocking the fingers. Tip to one side and roll the opposite shoulder under, then tip to the other side and repeat. Do this a few times on each side. See if you can feel the shoulders move under and the elbows move closer to each other.

2) Bend the elbows, push the "J" of the hand into your back. (The "J" is the "J" shape formed by the web space between the thumb and index fingers). Walk the hands down, push the "J" of the hand into your back, flatten out the hands and make the fingers face straight up. Spread the fingers to make the hand 'basket like' to catch and receive the weight of the body.

3) Come up into the posture. Orient your self according to the feeling of hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders. The cervical spine and head are not meant to bear weight. Make sure you are aligned so that the proper parts of the body are bearing the weight.

6 Keys for How to Work in the Posture

1) Open the chest by lifting the spine. Make the spine disappear into the front of the body. Its a feeling like the torso gets blown forward and wants to leave the hands behind.

2) Periodically walk the hands down and push the "J" of the hand into your back, flatten out the hands and make the fingers face straight up. Spread the fingers to make the hand 'basket like' to catch and receive the weight of the body.

3)Align the body clearly along the vertical axis. At a gross level, bring the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders into vertical alignment. At a more subtle level achieve this vertical line by working with breath and activating opposing forces within the entire body: lift the arches of the feet as you suck the knee caps and quadriceps up. Anchor the thigh bones deep within the upper leg and move the sacrum into the body more. tune into the lift of the perineum as you exhale thoroughly.

**Keys 4 and 5: Activate a play of opposing forces by observing breath

4)Create Jalandhara bandha as you inhale by lowering your gaze and resting the brain so that you seal your mental prana within the torso. Feel the passive brain and downward cast eyes work together to energetically contain the expansion of the chest and thus keep your mind and senses absorbed within the torso above you. Also feel the flow of the in breath cause the spine to move upwards and deeper into the body. Use breath to blow the legs and feet upwards. Release the throat.

5) As you exhale feel the transfer of weight from above down into your foundation. As though the weight of the body falls vertically down along the central axis to be caught and firmly supported by the awaiting foundation. As you finish breathing out, activate the pelvic floor and Uddhyana Bandha to energetically 'catch' and re direct the flow of the out breath so prana remains within the torso. Contrast this downward feeling by lifting and curving the spine into the body more.

6) Watch the play of these opposing actions within the entire body and their relationship to the opposing patterns of inhaling and exhaling.

Intensity: Finding the Balance

2010-09-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Students,
I am on a remote island on the Andamman Islands and when the internet connection is available it is only dial up! I have had this post ready for the past week but variables have made it impossible to get it posted. Needless to say, I'm having an amazing time swimming and practicing in a yoga room up in the jungle. Its truly incredible to have this time to study and practice. I feel very fortunate. This time has made me think a lot about the intensity of practice and the struggles we daily go through for our Yoga calling. Please enjoy and I hope to have another post for you in the next week.
David

Yoga seems to be asking for an ever increasing commitment from me in order to progress. Whether due to Kali Yuga, aging, unclarity, or reasons unknown, frequently what I gave yesterday to get results, doesn't feel like enough today.

I personally want to practice with fresh intensity everyday, yet I also know the challenges of maintaining a steady, serious practice. Yoga gives me everything--!-- from the food I eat and clothes I wear to the deepest sense of purpose and connectedness. I feel the benefits from my skin to my depths; I know how good I feel when I practice thoroughly. I even day dream about practice when I'm not practicing: about how good the challenge of Yoga is, the connection, the discipline, the focus, the physicality and how steeped with intensity I'm going to be when I step on my mat the next time.

But strangely often when its time to practice, I feel like there's still an outward pull, something that causes my monkey mind to take the stage or my body to lack the necessary power. Whether its an injury or a heavy physical state or mood, a thought I can't get out of my head, or some fantasy that arises and fools me into thinking it's more interesting than the actions in the asanas, the flow of the breath or the inner silence. This juxtaposition of intending to really go deep in practice and then not feeling able to tap or sustain the intensity gives practice a mirage like quality. It can feel like true, in depth practice is ever receding, staying just out of reach.

However, I also feel that I can be extremely self critical, to the point of not necessarily having proper perspective on the depths of my efforts during practice. There is a built in dissatisfaction in yoga practice. As if my effort will never be enough. So how can I be realistic about the effort I do put forth? How do I accurately assess whether I practice too intensely or too mildly and in either case effectively? And what level of mildness or intensity is right for me at this time? How do I know the difference between being too hard on myself and fooling my self? If I'm too intense, I'll injure my self or I'll be overly critical of myself, and I'll be striving for the wrong reasons and having no fun doing it. If I'm too mild and let too many other things get in my way, then I'll squander my best opportunities for diving in to self knowledge.

How many hours a day is really enough? Is it one, two, three or more hours? How many series are enough? How much focus is enough to truly take me inwards? To purify my mind and body? To know Spirit? How can I continue to progress, to go further inward to discover further truths about who I am, what connects me to this world without thinking I need to give up everything and retire to a cave, without getting overwhelmed and giving up, or striving on in some distorted way that perpetuates harmful self criticism or self hatred?

To answer these questions I will need to create a practice that is able to alternate between serious, sustained, willful effort that includes intense struggle, pain and hardship. And on the other hand I'll need to simply open and enjoy and let go. I'll trust that the Lord, The Awakener, The Power of Goodness, or my perfect Self brings to me the exact set of circumstances and experiences that will enable me to grow even if I feel stuck or don't understand its outer workings moment to moment. Ultimately I will create a balance between actively and willfully making progress happen and allowing progress to happen in its own way, on its own time.

To achieve this balance between serious effort and trusting the Source requires a rigorous sorting through of my constantly fluctuating mental states. This working with my mind involves inquiring into my questions, joys, flights of brilliance, doubts, rage, sadness, judgements, assessments of reality, etc. To work with these fluctuating states is the foundation of the focus that leads to understanding the mind's limited role in helping me to progress. As I focus during practice my mind can shine with intelligence, can lead me to express the most creative and profound art and show me the way to kindness and spiritual wisdom, the pinnacles of consciousness. Or my mind can also become grandiose and can lead me to think I'm better, smarter, more powerful than I really am. Or my mind can also be extremely negative or savage and unruly, can attack me, lead me to undervalue myself and my dreams. Either an inflated or deflated mind can sabotage my efforts to grow and transform. With a wrong bent of mind, I can lose even basic perspective about the quality and balance of my practice. These inconsistent mental states require me to cultivate a vigilance, an inner trust, a long term commitment to listen and feel within.

Listening and feeling within involves a certain 'heart donkey' work in doing long periods of zen koan like, inward turning puzzle solving that takes the form of active thought and struggling for answers on how to progress. This effortful work alternates with suspending willful striving, receptivity, trust, and letting go enough for answers to arrive on their own. Largely Yoga is about the relationship I develop with my own mind, its entire range from brilliant to brutish. And as I struggle, sort through, let go, and clear my mind, then my connection to the Source can take the lead. Practice that is defined as 'time spent on the mat trying' can provide the perfect opportunity for such reflection. Eventually I will win a solid base of psychological stability, I'll gain enough mental power to see through the ignorance of the mind, be able to ride the variety of mental and emotional twists and turns, see beyond the forms created by the mind, enjoy the emptiness and silence within, experience my continuousness with everyone, and the flowing, singing, rhythmic dance that everything is inextricably swept along by.

Should a 'pitta' (fiery) type do Ashtanga Yoga?

2010-08-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings! for this weeks post I answer a question that someone sent me about the compatibility of a fiery temperament and ashtanga yoga. Enjoy!

Hi David, My name is Emily, I am newly recommitted ashtanga practitioner and pharmacy school student in Salt Lake City. I have been lightly studying Ayurveda and yoga for 6 and 12 years respectively. I am always reading suggestions that pittas should do a cooling practice rather than such a heat inducing
practice such as ashtanga. What are your thoughts on this? I have tried many styles of yoga with several teachers, but I am always drawn back to this self-practice.

Thank you for your message Emily.

I think that idea about pitta's needing to avoid heat inducing practices such as Ashtanga is largely bunk. You'll have to pardon me but I get a bit worked up on this subject. I really do hope my answer helps you. I don't think enough people realize what kind of fire, grit and intensity it takes to crack the small self open and access the hidden treasure of fearless freedom within. There is always someone that will try to contain or cool things, to 'mellow' things or 'balance' them or bring them to the center where the middle ground is. I personally don't want the middle ground. I don't want reason or reasonable. Reasonable arrives and eventually looks and feels like Walmart, Capt Crunch, continuous streams of ads for things that don't offer us an honest place of really looking at ourselves. I say bring on the fire, let's burn this stale, safe, known, fearful place to the ground. Give me spiritual danger, give me the edge, give me something that makes me sweat, makes me breathe, makes me open inside, and feel truly alive. Give me enough fire to face my apathy every day. Give me enough fire to burn my petty mind that continuously spins out just the right type of nonsense to hook me into fear, judgement, and insecurity. Give me enough fire to care more about what's inside me than any other thing. The following is an excerpt from a Rumi poem where God tells Moses: 'I want burning, burning. Be friends with your burning. Burn up your thinking and your forms of expression! Moses, those who pay attention to ways of behaving and speaking are one sort. Lovers who burn are another.'

In order to open spiritually, I believe each of must discover our gifts and strengths and then really use them to the full extent that we are capable of. To me being a pitta type and thus having an endowment of fire means you must use your fire, celebrate and develop your fire and see how far your fire can take you. Of course you can over do fire and imbalance your self. For example you could drive your self in practice, work etc, become hot headed, walk around continually angry or stressed or frustrated, and thus thwart your higher purpose. But also fire might be the very key, the essential element that leads you into creativity. As Rumi said fire is your friend. Can you explore the extent of your fire and simultaneously learn how to balance it? I am a lover of Ashtanga precisely because that practice takes me beyond my reasonableness, further than my neat, tidy boxed up world into a fiery, fluid, earthy world of possibility and insight.

I use a saying that goes: 'every system of knowledge is also a system of ignorance'. This statement applies to any system one might adopt for health or soul work; it says that each system, no matter how wise or seemingly complete will be erroneous and will not, if followed blindly, lead you to the end of the path. Both Ayurveda and Ashtanga are amazing systems of knowledge, but both have their 'blind spot's or weaknesses. And anyone who uses these systems will also have their own system for using them and thus will bring their own set of strength's and weaknesses. However I'm not saying not to adopt a system just because it is also inherently ignorant. I'm saying think and act for your self in accordance with what you experience, discover, and what you're drawn towards. Though experts and 'common' wisdom are important sources of guidance, listen to your own feelings, intuition, and inner promptings concerning the unfolding of your sacred, inner world. If you keep feeling that there is something significant for you within the Ashtanga system, then I'd listen to that feeling. The trick is to get to know the system and your own tendencies and then work at it passionately with soul and creativity.

Since you are a pitta type and you like Ashtanga, you may choose to practice it in a more yin or receptive way when you feel like it-- for instance don't practice in too hot of a room or in the sun or in the middle of the day. Do less vinyasa between seated postures or hold postures longer. Finishing postures are known as 'cooling' so you could spend more time with them. Also it could be helpful to keep your brain passive and relaxed while practicing. In short, there are many things you can do to decrease fire in practice, learn what works for you day by day. Hari Om! David

Asana Kitchen: Floating in Surya Namaskara

2010-08-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

For this weeks post I'm introducing a new section called: 'The Asana Kitchen'. In it I'll explore the intricacies and problems related to asana and the physical practice. In order to make it more useful to you, I'd like to hear from you, write me or send me a video of a posture or a related aspect of practice that you would like some insight into. Recently I received this question: "I would like to be able to do that straight-leg jump to standing in Namaskara A and B, as shown but not really taught by John Scott in his video. You know how you and John Scott can finish the last part of the Namaskara by jumping to standing -with straight legs? I want to learn that. Do you have any advice or vid clip training?

Mahalo plenty as ever for everything,
Scott M
Redmond USA
Tokyo JAPAN

See the video and look at the review notes below for my answer. Enjoy! David

Written notes for 'floating and getting the classic ashtanga yoga flow look and feel in your practice.

1) Intensive regular practice is essential to building the type of strength necessary to 'float'. Really use the video exercises presented in this post. You may have to practice the rocking exercise over a period of months to gain the necessary strength to see results. Keep contemplating the concepts that the exercises are based on; concepts such as lifting up the belly to create a distinct uddhyana bandha action, and the role of rhythm and breath in creating flow.

2) While setting up your jump from down dog orient on stretching back (away from the direction you are going to jump) and orient on the out Breath. As you lengthen back and crouch, study the movement of the diaphragm and the connectedness between diaphragm and the accessory muscles involved in exhaling. These accessory muscles reach down into the legs, pass through your center deep within the pelvis, travel along the front of the spine, and up into the upper torso. When you crouch can you feel this network of muscles as web like, integrated, guiding your exhalation and preparing your body for dynamic action? Each breath can potentially bring tone to and activate your core muscles. Once activated these foundational muscles enable you create slow motion flow during practice.
Additionally, during the set up activate the upper body in opposition to the direction and action of the belly and hips. The hands press down into the earth and forward away from you. The arms lengthen and tone in order to make ready to bear your weight.

3) When you work with ujjayi during inhalation by narrowing the glottis, you create resistance to the in flow of breath. This resistance causes the breath to lengthen, become smooth, and to flow evenly. These are exactly the qualities you want to cultivate in your leap from down dog to standing. as you spring forward inhale and 'float' your legs and feet under you by creating just enough muscular resistance through the arms.

4) When you approach the landing, The ability to 'float' is enhanced by sensing the arrangement of your bones. Use your mental power to kinesthetically orient your self within and feel the support of your skeleton. From the set up in down dog through the feather light landing with straight legs, sense that the skeleton has it's own unique rhythm. Cultivate movement that flows from your skeletal rhythm, movement that enables your bones to better support your posture.

5) Don't underestimate the power of imagery for helping you to achieve physical results; experiment with the idea: 'if you can picture it clearly you can do it'.

Guru Purnima: Take Practice!

2010-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

For the past week, Joy and I have been discussing Guru Purnima and what it means to the daily Ashtanga Practice. We decided to film some of our discussions and share it with all of you. Happy Guru Purnima and Happy Moon Day!

David

Developing Practice with Yoga Images

2010-07-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

As a way of developing my understanding and going deeper into my Yoga practice, I collect and study myths, stories, and pictures of Indian deities. This week I've provided a few images and written some reflections on their possible meanings. These images are full of devotion and often connected to sacred stories that contain Yogic teachings. I've found that studying Yoga imagery and stories clarifies and shows the depths of the basic techniques of ashtanga practice: asana, pranayama, bandha, vinyasa rhythm, dristi, japa mantra, and meditation. Using Imagery allows you to withdraw inwards with more ease during practice. The myths and images of Yoga are meant to help create internal maps that show how to orient within the body to optimize awakening consciousness.

The scenes convey Yogic symbols that are powerful visual cues that are meant be absorbed within the body and within the deeper mind. They are purposely not meant to be absorbed in a merely intellectual manner, that is why they are presented as stories and images, and why they make so much sense as they occur to you when practicing. Using the stories and imagery helps you absorb the deepest aspects of practice but also there is a fun aspect to it, contemplating a story or an image is playful, sleuth like--absorbing, and fascinating; It's vexing and enlightening to muse over possible meanings and applications to practice. My hope for this post is to spark a curiosity in you, that you'll become steeped in the imagery of Yoga to the point that when you're practicing these images will arise from within your posture, from within your flow, from within your receptivity and concentration and guide you into how to orient your self with more wisdom, ease and soul.

MAN IN LOTUS RIDING FISH
I love this image because it gives you a playful, powerful, accurate image of an Asana's flow. Yoga postures are about striking firm, clear, rooted positions and becoming fiercely immovable. But also when you find 'the immovable spot', there is such a fluidity to it; it's much more like a ride than becoming immovable like a statue. But perhaps most important is I want you to take this picture literally, what if you were in the sea working on your seated asana's riding on an amiable fish. What would you feel? You would have to connect to the ground in an entirely different way. You would have to connect to the ground as not static--but in motion-- alive and with a fluidity not unlike the course of fish swimming in the sea. Depth in asana work requires you to tune into this kind of subtle motion of the ground under you. The image of riding a fish is a perfect analogy for how to tune into the 'fluidity of rootedness'. The earth is constantly in motion under your feet or seat and this will effect how you do your asana work. If you can become aware of this vibratory movement it will effect your entire practice. I also appreciate that this work was carved centuries ago, and thus shows that the animal energy and flow aspect of asana practice is ancient yet continues to thrive, is still developing, and will be passed along to the future generations of passionate Yoga artists.

This image must be unique in connecting seated asana's with swimming fish!--until now I never quite made the connection that fishes swimming in the sea are serious Yogi's!

DURGA RIDING TIGER
According to the yoga sutra's when thoughts or feelings cause attraction or aversion within me, forces go into play that obscure my ability to discern and really be present. When I learn to concentrate and settle my mind then I see reality. During the times the mind is not settled, I don't see reality, but instead I identify with the various thought patterns. My mind continually spins out reality obscuring patterns. Even though their qualities are phantom like and illusory, somehow I'm repeatedly fooled into thinking that these patterns are substantial and real. Identifying with thought patterns translates into me reacting to sensations and experiences in automatic and habitual ways rather than with receptivity, flow, and with what is appropriate at this very moment.

It seems so simple to wake up, to see, to be alive and to respond creatively in each new moment. And yet the image of Durga riding a tiger shows how difficult it really is to live in a state where my mind is settled and I see things as they really are. Consider the tiger she's riding. The tiger represents illusion, desire, aversion, the powerful, root forces that cause the reality obscuring patterns of consciousness. The forces that cause me to misperceive reality are as powerful and dangerous as a wild tiger.

And the triumph of seeing through my illusions is on a par with taming and riding a tiger. As a goddess Durga has conquered illusion within herself, she has made peace with the forces within that cause thought waves to spin forth. This image reminds me of the mastery that can come to me so naturally when I orient as I'm meant to. Energetically Durga represents the source, wisdom, the hidden knowledge lodged in my heart. Her image shows me that my animal powers are meant to serve my heart wisdom. She shows me the proper relationship between the energetic forces within me where my Self (Durga) commands and (the tiger) my mind and senses serve my heart.

Symbology of the weapons:
Trident: symbol of the 3 guna's the primary strands or qualities (sattva, rajas, tamas) that make up all material phenomenon. Durga has achieved the ultimate Viaragya (detachment) in that the guna's do not push or pull her any direction. she has gone beyond the guna's and thus she can conquer even the most fierce demon.

The sword: the sword is a symbol for discrimination. Progress in Yoga means being able to think clearly and to see things with accuracy. Often in my lack of clarity, I misread my experience and so my mind causes me unnecessary pain. I place value on things that are not worthy and I undervalue the treasures that are right in front of and within me. My deep Self as Durga wields the sword of discrimination and thus is able to cut through this fog of ignorance.

The severed head: The real Self in my depths is fierce and symbolically severs my head from my body. This means my ego, my wrong ideas's about who I am and the petty self absorbed feelings and thoughts that normally rule my inner world must be killed. The locust of power within has to dramatically shift from a small ego centered place to a deep, large, powerful center that creates and embraces my self and others and realizes everyone's integral part in the cycles of existence that lead to Consciousness.

The Root of Mulha Bandha: Catch It!

2010-06-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

This week I asked my friend David Keil to explore Mulha Bandha. Many of my students find Mulha Bandha challenging and confusing to understand. David's article will clarify some of the questions that keep puzzling you and hopefully will help you apply the all powerful bandha towards your practice. If you still have some questions after you read it please don't hesitate to ask a question and I will answer it for you.

"Take it up.... your anus" - Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Guest blog by David Keil

The bandhas are perhaps the most difficult aspect to grasp in the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. For me personally, I think I know what they are. But then I look back at my little life as an Ashtangi, amazingly at 11 years now, and realize, I thought I knew what they were 10 years ago. Then just 5 years ago I understand them even more differently than I do today. My experience of them has changed over the years and will continue to as I'm guessing your experience of them will.

As an anatomy teacher I do try to bridge the gap between the subtle esoteric aspects of the energetic system and the practice of yoga and put it into western terms of anatomy. In the area of bandhas, I am careful to not too strongly make it into a physical anatomical thing. Instead, I acknowledge that bandhas are both, energetic and physical as is our entire body. We are not just energy, not just emotions, not just spiritual, not just thoughts, not just physical, but all of these at once.

To discuss mulha bandha we talk about the pelvic floor, some people say Perineum and others use the term PC muscles which stands for Pubo-Coccygeal muscles. This web of tissue at the base of our torso container is actually a diaphragm - defined as a ring of tissue. The opening at the base of our bowl shaped pelvis is more or less circular and filled with thin layers of muscles and fascia, creating a trampoline of tissues. Like many other places in the body, the pelvic floor is layered. Technically the perineum lies under the pubo-coccygeal muscles with a layer of fascia between.

Contraction of these muscles is often associated with the mulha bandha. Great debate comes from whether you should be contracting the middle or the back portion of these tissues and far be it from me to jump into this one too deeply, other than to say, Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) always talked about controlling your anus. The translations that I've seen of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which has an entire chapter on Bandhas and Mudras, often say the same thing. That is, mulha bandha is a contraction of the anus.

As it turns out the PC muscles are actually part of the levator ani... which means elevator of the anus. Technically this would be more closely related to what we're after. Therefore to this anatomist, it makes more technical sense to use PC. But that's just me, in the end, what matters is that you have the experience of what is created, not the technical details.

If the bandha is an energetic component of who we are, what part does the actual muscle have to do with the bandha anyway? Personally I describe the pelvic floor and contraction of it as the pathway toward mulha bandha. In other words, it's the physical contraction that does two things. First, it creates a conscious mental relationship with mulha bandha and it seems that prana follows thoughts, so if you're thinking of a part of your body, you are in essence sending energy there. Second, is the contraction of the PC muscles which stimulates the energetic center. Hence, creating the mulha bandha.

There are of course physical changes that occur when performing a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. They often fit into the descriptions given of the core muscles. There are debates about what the core muscles are, which ones should be included etc... but the pelvic floor is almost always part of that conversation. Remember that the pelvic floor muscles are at the base of the spine filling the circular like hole at the bottom of our pelvic bowl. The back portion of the bowl is created by the sacrum which links to either side of the pelvis at what we call the SI (sacroiliac) joint. Just off to either side of the sacrum, in essence filling in the sides toward the back or the bowl are the piriformis muscles.

Think of the spine rising up out of the back of the pelvic bowl, towering above its foundation at the pelvis. Almost like balancing a broom upside down in the palm of your hand. Certainly there are other muscles that help stabilize this column as it rises, but at its base, its foundation, are the PC muscles. To see the effect of these muscles in helping balance the spine, imagine for a moment that you tightened your PC muscles so much that it started to make your coccyx touch your pubic bone (not possible by the way). If the coccyx, and therefore sacrum are moving toward the pubic bone it means that there is movement at the SI joint and the spine is falling backwards above the SI joint.

If the muscles let go completely then the opposite would happen. No tension to hold the sacrum in place and the towering column of the spine would start to fall forward and the coccyx would be moving away from the pubis. The point is that the PC muscles help to create stability of the pelvic bowl and the spine that rises from it. Of course, no muscle, or in this case group of muscles, lives in a vacuum. There are other muscles (and ligaments) that help maintain the integrity of the pelvic bowl and the stability of the spine, it's just that these muscles are at the foundation of it. Therefore physically these muscles are about stability and support of pelvis and spine, and perhaps, root the spine, or are at the root of the spine. Mulha = Root.

There is another effect that happens when contracting these muscles. You should be able to feel this yourself quite easily especially on a strong contraction of the PC muscles. This effect is that you should also find that lowest part of your abdomen also changes in tension. You may want to close your eyes for a moment and do a few contraction of these muscles to see what other parts around the area contract. People may experience it slightly differently. Some may even feel a contraction in their lower back as well between the top of the pelvis and ribs which would most likely be a result of the transverse abdominus (the deepest of the oblique muscles) as it connects to the vertebrae in the lumbar.

There is still one more direction to go with this interlinking of subtle and gross aspects of mulha bandha and the pelvic floor. What better force to interlink them with than breath. You might say that breath is the ultimate link between subtle and gross. It's most subtle aspect as Prana or life force animates our physical bodies. This feeds us both energetically and then if we take just the smallest of steps toward gross, prana presents itself in the form of oxygen molecules which nourish and sustain all of our more gross tissues, be they nervous, muscular, or skeletal. Everything in the body relies upon it.

When the diaphragm contracts it compresses the abdominal contents and puts a downward pressure on the pelvic floor and if unrestricted, also pushes the abdomen out. You can give it a go yourself by closing your eyes and take a big breath or two. You should feel the further you go to the edges of your inhalation that there is more and more abdomen moving and pressure into the pelvic floor.

The diaphragm above is putting pressure on the diaphragm below (PC). The energetic purpose of mulha bandha is to prevent the escape of energy, specifically prana vayu or downward flowing energy. By contracting the pelvic floor muscles you prevent the downward movement of these muscles when breathing. You are literally stopping a downward physical force. The gross side of the subtle purpose of mulha bandha.

I'd love to follow this thread and tell you all about the muscle that is most likely associated with uddhiyana bandha and the effects on breathing there but it would be off topic. You'll just have to demand another guest post from this yogi bent on anatomy.

Namaste,
David

Dynamically Transition in Standing Postures

2010-06-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many times I see practitioners lackadaisically transition from one standing posture to the next. The transition of the standing posture is the gateway to a dynamic Trikonasana or Parsvottanasana. Transitioning between the postures needs to be panther like and full of expression. When done correctly you can soar through the air, be poised to land lightly, and have your body fully prepared for your standing posture. The child like spring that happens adds an additional amount of enjoyment to your practice. So the next time you are jumping into Uttitha Parsvakonasana really spring like a tiger and fully express yourself. Enjoy!

Explore the Jump Through

2010-05-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Real Progress: Ageing and Ego

2010-05-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I'm teaching this week in Olympia! I'm happy to be able to share Yoga with so many dedicated, serious, and beautiful people even if I miss the philly crew but I'll be back soon! Below I have posted three videos from various discussions and talks I have given the past year. The first one discusses ageing, the second one discusses our egos and daily practice, and the last one is a response I gave to a woman who was struggling with progress in her practice.
May each of us go within with devotion and prayer to find and share our Yoga...enjoy! David

David Garrigues on Ageing and Ashtanga from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

David Garrigues on Ashtanga Yoga: The Ego and Practice from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

David Garrigues on Get Ready for Practice from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

2010-05-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

David Garrigues on Jump Back from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Greetings! This weeks post features a video on how to jump back between seated postures. The options that I demonstrate follow a progression from easiest to mastering the jump back. I suggest you play around with the variety of versions, find one that works the best for you at this time, and then work from there into the progressively more difficult steps. Here's a few additional tips to keep in mind as you practice it:

#1) memorize the set up position:
lift up the feet and knees
extend the arms forward just in front of the hips
empty the lungs and coil the body in anticipation

#2) This is the biggest key:
all of a sudden with a burst of power push the hands down in front of the hips inhale
decisively suck the feet and thighs up towards you
Immediately lean forward

#3) Bend the elbows:
pivot on an axis exhale
keep the thighs and feet sucked up as high away from the mat as possible

#4) Project the chest forward:
thrust the legs back
arrive and stop in a clean cetvari (Caturanga Dandasana) and smile
draw the shoulders back away from the mat 6 to 7 inches position the hips very low to the ground
cultivate a strong uddhyana lift of the belly
hug the thigh muscles to the bones
keep the head up gaze slightly forward

Pay particular attention to the flow of the breath (presented in bold and italic). Due to my upcoming schedule constraints I'm now going to begin posting every other Sunday. As always I encourage you to share your comments and questions with me either via the blog comment section or an email. I really appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for your sincere dedication to the practice, to holding the mirror up up to your self each day anew, and thank you for including me in your beautiful journey of Yoga. Enjoy!!

Sri K Pattabhi Jois says, "All can take practice."

2010-04-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

"Ashtanga Yoga is a practice for young Indian boys." Unknown

"Old man, stiff man, weak man, sick man, they can all take practice but only a lazy man can't take practice." Sri K Pattabhi Jois

This week's video post is part of conversation I had about the potential for Ashtanga to reach a wider audience and the necessity to cultivate an adaptable, inclusive model for the sharing of Ashtanga. Many people have been misinformed about who can do this practice. Nearly anyone, regardless of their circumstances, can learn Ashtanga safely with care and intelligence. And if you are already practicing you can develop a practice that will nourish and support you for life.
Sri K Pattabhi Jois believed the Ashtanga practice could serve anyone and everyone. He exuded a love and passion for the method. Through his teachings he ignited the spiritual growth of all kinds of people from all different stages of life. These people did not fit into a single category. If you came to him the only circumstance that mattered was your willingness to learn. He would individualize and adapt his teaching to suit your particular circumstances. Ashtanga Yoga is a treasure, a potent path that leads to Self knowledge. As interest in Yoga increases and more people take up practice, it is essential to interpret and adapt the method to include a wider audience so that more people can join in and be part of this beautiful practice.

Ashtanga for Everyone from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

In the Ramayana when Ravana abducts Sita, he speeds her away in the aerial chariot known as Pushpaka 'flowery'. Ravana had stolen this sweet ride from his cousin Kubera the God of wealth. The pushpaka is made of flowers, contains a palace and can carry unlimited passengers. After Ram, Laksman, Hanuman and the entire host of monkeys and bears destroy Ravana, Ram reclaims Puspaka and they all ride home together in style.
Metaphorically Ram defeating Ravana represents victory of Self over ego driven worldly life. The pushpaka symbolizes the truth that there is a seat for everyone on the chariot that leads home to the Self. Ashtanga Yoga, like Pushpaka, can carry as many as want to ride (not like a motorcycle where maximum capacity is a family of five!)

Ashtanga Foundations Diet Part Five: Whole Grains

2010-04-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings! This week I return to the importance of the connection between diet and practice with a fun video where I take you into my kitchen and show you how I make chapati's! The video has humor but don't let that obscure the importance of this post whose message is that whole grains are meant to be in the center of your diet. As always I appreciate your questions, comments, and feedback. (Click on photo to enlarge captions) Enjoy!

Ashtanga Foundations Diet Part Five: Whole Grains from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

GK: From Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries to Chapatis from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Simple Food is Tasty from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Chapati Recipe (yields 6-12 chapatis)

ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups flour
extra flour for dusting
small portion butter/ghee/vegan spread

Combine
water with
sea salt

add 1 1/2 cup WW flour
mix into a dough

Knead dough for 3-7 minutes
adding flour as
necessary to prevent ball of
dough from sticking to
cutting board

preheat skillet on medium high
flame
slice off small section of
dough and roll out into
a thin round. place carefully
into skillet. cook until little
'bubbles' form in the dough
flip when ready and either
finish over open flame or
within the skillet.

enjoy piping hot as is or with your
favorite spread!

With this cooking I enter
the heart of the matter,
I enter the intimate activity
which makes dreams materialize.

Edward Espe Brown

The Puzzle of Pain

2010-04-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Students often complain about and share their pain with me. Universally people want to reject pain and wish it away. Every time I work with someone in pain I wish I could just take it away, and yet, over the years I've seen people be forced to rise up and work through their pain. I marvel at the courage, strength, transformation and healing that can take place due to pain. Pain often has complex origins that defy simple explanations, remedies, and its voices speak to all dimensions of your being, physical, mental, and spiritual. Pain slows you down, restricts your movement, forces you to change your routine, demands that you find different patterns to explore, compels you to focus on unexpected aspects of practice, aspects that otherwise, you wouldn't necessarily choose to go into.

Resisting pain can frustrate you and challenge your resolve to practice and thus it is essential to see that the obstructions that appear in your path, whether physical or mental, are meant to be there for your learning and growth. Somehow you have to trust the process, let go and see the potential openings, the advantages and new directions within the hardship. This is how you find your way deeper into your practice.

For example, when you are hurting, you learn how to practice more gently, you become more humble and less ambitious and goal oriented. Pain also forces you to deal with frustration and the arrogance of thinking that your little conscious mind knows exactly how to go further along your path. Also you are inclined to be more caring, tender hearted, more open, vulnerable, and happier with less. Also, when you are a little down and slightly blue, you become more serious about important matters. You increase your ability to withdraw inwards and cultivate a mental attitude that is more empty and purposeless.

Ganesh is the lord of obstacles, a mascot of Yoga, a rotund, elephant headed, winking, fun loving prankster who loves laddo's (yummy indian sweets) and rides a rat. Since he's in charge of obstacles, he's intimately involved in your Yoga practice! Whenever you encounter an obstacle in your practice, Ganesh the sly trickster is either the instigator and/or the remover of it. He deals in every phase of obstacles: creating, sustaining, and removing them. According to his assessment of your spiritual needs, he plays with obstacles to keep you on track to your secret heart.

He occupies a special place in your heart because he lightens the load of spiritual discipline. Looking within is often painful and unpleasant, in fact, facing your shadow and ugliness is much of what stands between you and Self knowledge. Ganesha portrays an image of playfulness and lightness, through his intervention, you confront and transform the pain, grief, anger, and other heavy blockages within you. His image, his habits, and even his vechicle all contribute to him disarming his devotees, catching you off guard with enough paradox and humor to set an optimal mood for you to tackle your darkness with empathy and grit.

One of Ganesha's main celestial weapons is the noose. The noose symbolizes a physical and mental lassoing of your person, a yoking that happens to you when you become dedicated to a daily practice. This yoking involves tapas (heat, friction, discipline in service of Spirit). Each technique in ashtanga adds tapas, generates energy, and functions in a specific way to bring awareness to your movement and your mental activity. Working physically with asana builds cleansing heat and makes you strong and flexible and able to stay in chosen positions for increasingly longer duration. Bandha's are 'locks' and are used for 'sealing' the torso in order to stoke the internal fire and gather Prana (life force). Vinyasa can be defined as sequential, sacred movement and posture performed with seamless concentration. Dristi is training your self to maintain your gaze where you choose.

You use these techniques like you use a pressure cooker, with attention and care. You utilize discipline, mental power, intention, intuition, and skill to go within and tap your resources. You apply pressure to your self, with the intention of generating creative energy to pierce through and perceive reality. It is important to use caution when working with life force in these ways. It is essential that you take the process seriously and care for and respect your self. It takes tremendous power to courageously look within at your anger, greed, at your various forms of ugliness. And then Instead of condemning your self, or hiding or perpetuating the negative thought patterns, you use your life force to generate simple consciousness, love and empathy. You forgive your self and go to the deep place where you see how unnecessary those patterns are.
And if you get the recipe right, you win the freedom to choose how to share the infinite gifts you've been given.
Here's a line from a poem by Rumi:

Stay in the joy of now
The way is usually downward,
through humility and grief into union.

That center is a flowing spring,
a love and clarity.

I've included a story of how Ganesha is in the right place at the right time to help Shiva and out wit Ravana, the 10 headed demon who represents negative ego. Note that when you practice yoga, you up your chances of being in the right place at the right time ~enjoy~

For her daily prayer ritual Ravana's mother had a small statue representing the mark of Shiva (called the atma linga). Even though the statue was virtually worthless, strangely someone stole it. Ravana preposterously promised her that he would replace the cheap statue with the actual atma linga that belonged to Shiva. To accomplish this nearly impossible task, Ravana traveled to the vicinity of Shiva's home on Mt Kailas and performed severe tapas. He eventually won a boon from Shiva. He asked for and was granted the atma linga. Shiva warned him that whereever he set the icon down it would remain there permanently. So Ravana traveled along towards home. Out in the middle of nowhere he found he had to answer the call of nature. Looking around for something to do with the atma linga, he spied a cow boy tending his herd. He shouted "hey you! come over here. Hold this for me and under no circumstances let it touch the ground. I'll be back shortly". The cow boy (who was Ganesh in disguise!) agreed with a sly smile saying "I will hold it for 30 minutes but not longer." Ravana disappeared and failed to make it back in exactly 30 minutes. Ganesh set the linga down and it began to sink into the ground. Ravana came dashing up and tried in vain to lift it back up. The linga turned into a cow and then completely sank and disappeared into the ground. Ganesh laughed and went on his way. The atma linga stayed in that spot and to this day is a sacred holy ground in India called Gokarna (Cow's ear).

Ashtanga Foundations: Ujjayi Breathing Part Two Hamsa Mantra

2010-04-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Yesterday I attended a very inspiring conference for independent film makers and other artists called diy (do it yourself) days. I came away feeling that in Yoga our vision and goals are exactly the same as other independent artists. (In fact an Indian friend once introduced me to his friends in India as 'David, a Yoga Artist'). Story telling was the subject of the conference and how there's been a major shift in creative endeavors where now nearly everyone has the opportunity and feels compelled to create, to bring forth something important from within, to tell their story in some way that will bring healing and new consciousness to them selves and to an out of control world.

Yoga is about creativity and transformation, about finding your way through your unique, complex set of obstacles to realize your beauty, your power, your gifts, your Spirit. Practicing Yoga helps you to become strong and clear enough to get in touch with your story, with who you are and with what really matters to you. In order to take up and stay with a Yoga practice, I think it is essential to see the connection between your Yoga practice and your creativity, your self as an active participant in the evolution and healing of our world. As Yoga artists, we need to use our budding powers of inner attunement to join in and be part of this slow, steady, creative spiritual revolution.

This week I'm going to continue my discussion on breathing in Yoga practice. When you apply Ujjayi, you tune into, hamsa , the sound of breathing. The sound Hamsa (so'ham) is a mantra. Mantra (man=mind, tra=instrument) means sound formula or instrument of the mind. The hamsa mantra translates as "I am That". "That" means Spirit. Thus when you repeat so'ham, you orient yourself in your sacred center, you train yourself to tune into to the highest conception of what/who you are. An undisciplined or unobserved mind is perhaps the greatest obstacle to accessing creativity, life force and wisdom. You have to be able to combat your mind's negativity in order fulfill your dharma, your spiritual life. Gently tuning into the sound of the breath, you learn to recognize fear, you learn to cut through excessive mental activity, especially the erronous, cynical, critical, and irrelevant thoughts that spin through your head. Using a mantra gives you tools to discipline your mind, you win the courage to create and to share what you create.

When you work with a mantra steadily over long period of time, its significance reveals itself to you and becomes a guiding star. a central reference point for your inner life of thoughts, emotions, reactions, and sensations. You notice how near or far away you feel from the notion of 'So'ham' and rely on it to re- center your self. With enough observation you can begin to re-direct thought and emotion, you can channel your self towards the essence of consciousness which is So'ham I am That, the source of healing and creativity that leads to transformation.

Hamsa is a swan and thus the breath is represented as a bird. The image of a bird in flight is a fitting description of what Guruji meant by "free breathing". Birds take flight, they ride the wind soaring and gliding, enjoying the space and freedom of the heavens. These are the exact qualities you want to cultivate when you breath and flow in practice. You ride the breath. You enjoy space and freedom within the torso. You soar and glide and feel the free flow of Prana as you open your lungs, chest, and heart. Your body, your mind, and your movements synchronize, You become the hamsa mantra, you become inhaling and exhaling, and then every movement becomes a gesture of the whole body expressing so'ham. When you can thoroughly integrate breath with movement, then you stop fighting your self, you become unified, independent, and appreciative.

Hamsa is also another word for the Soul. According to Yoga, we all come into the world weighted down with ignorance even though, within us, the Soul ever remains free like a bird flying high up in the sky, away from the confines and hang ups of the earth. Birds migrate annually at just the right time. From an inner prompting, they journey long and far to reach a destination they know well. Metaphorically the soul travels from here to its true home . From an inner prompting, we migrate from this world to the realms of Divinity where Consciousness resides, to the land Poet/Saint Kabir wrote about in this poem:

I know a land where spiritual flatness does not rule.
Where those alive are not afraid to die
Where the bee of the heart stays inside the flower
and cares for no other thing.

I've included an audio track of the Hamsa Gayatri, a prayer that translates as: Om. Let us meditate on the breath as Hamsa, the pure, white swan of discrimination. May that great hamsa inspire and illumine our mind and bring wisdom. Enjoy!

Ashtanga Foundations: Ujjayi Breathing part one

2010-03-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and thank you all for checking out my blogs! I really appreciate your positive feedback and hope that you continue to learn and get inspired from them. I encourage you to respond to these posts with comments and/or questions; let me know things that have helped you in your practice or vexed you or turned you on. This week I'm returning to fundamentals and discussing the breath in practice. Enjoy! Hari Om, David. (click on picture to enlarge).

There is a layering of complexity that happens in the development of Yoga practice. In order to progress without getting overwhelmed or stagnant, it is important to consistently identify and work at the level of layering that harmonizes with where you are. It can take several years to develop a strong Yoga practice and also takes a long, patient, highly observant study to understand and work with the depths of the breathing system that forms Ashtanga Yoga. Not because the breath work is difficult; breathing in sync with each asana position comes easily enough if you apply your self. In fact each technique used in the practice starts very simple. For example when you begin practicing, you get out your mat and start with sun salutation A. You learn each of the nine positions and whether to inhale or exhale when moving through them. If you practice Ashtanga, daily you work with this same beginning whether you are just starting or you've just completed your 40th consecutive year. When Guruji said: "Vinyasa means breathing and movement system," he summed up what to focus on in practice no matter what level you are at. To establish the link between movement and breathing is to comprehend practice. And yet consider how formidable an endeavor it is to learn to travel with the breath, consider what it takes to bring your self into a consistent flowing awareness of the vastness of mind, the dynamic range of mental turnings thru movement and posture. It's a humorous paradox that the person who starts on day one works at the exactly same thing as the person who has been working for decades. Yet due to the complex nature of the subject, more and more layers are revealed as you return each day and renew your focus. Thus basic practice and comprehending breath are both utterly simple and virtually impossible at the same time!

Quotes from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) about breathing:

..."the breath (can be) brought under control, little by little, by the strength of one's practice, difficult though this is, it is possible''

"Focusing the mind in a single direction is extremely important. To enable it to stay fixed and in place, Pranayama is essential."

"Through the practice of Pranayama the mind becomes trained in a single direction and follows the movements of the breath."

"Vinyasa means "breathing and movement system."

Guruji divided the breath into two categories: 'free breathing' and 'stiff breathing'. At times when he would begin an adjustment on me, I would start to freak out and tighten up. My face would become distorted and I would start to use the 'bull in a china shop' version of ujjayi. He would say: 'Free breathing you do, No stiff breathing.' As he moved forward with the adjustment there was no choice but to let go, free the breath and relax into the depths of the position. A huge part of working with breath is to soften and become receptive to the ebb and flow rhythm as if you are being extended an invitation move with the flow of the breath's tidal rhythm. The torso also needs to soften and become receptive to the free flow of breath. As you focus on breath, the lungs, ribs, diaphragm, organs, muscles within the abdomen and pelvis all need to expand and contract easily like sea plants on the ocean floor that are rooted and yet sway back and forth with the wave patterns.

Ujjayi means upward, expansive and victorious. Guruji called Ujjayi 'breathing with sound'. The sound is produced by partially closing the space between the vocal folds (the glottis). The constriction in the throat happens in the notch between the collarbones. One way to experience it is, you can imagine that the breath comes in through a hole in the throat, not the nose or mouth, like a far gone smoker who has to take in smoke through a hole in this area. Alternately you can imagine that Prana is a thick nectar milkshake and that you have to pull on the straw to get the nectar. (To try this open the lips slightly and draw in breath in a thin steady stream). As you practice, cultivate a lazy, wandering yet steady sound that carries and resonates like the long lasting tone when you strike a bell. When you create a soulful tonal quality, the inner ears become receptive and you feel invited in to listen to and follow the sound. Be present, enjoy and allow your self to explore the breath's sound and rhythm. Free flowing breath can heal ailments throughout the mind and body. The sound of the breath can be further classified. The out breath is aspirant and associated with the syllable ha or ham. The in breath is sibilant and associated with the syllable sa or so. When you breath the exhalation produces the sound 'ham' and the inhalation produces the sound sa. Hamsa, Hamsa, (or also so'ham so'ham) repeats as you breath. Tuning into these sounds enables you to better find your own unique, soulful patterns of movement that lead to centered and receptive asana. Also using the syllables ham and sa while breathing in practice amplifies your ujjayi, the breath emerges from the background into the foreground, enabling you to tether the mind to the breath and meditation commences.

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said 'Pranayama means taking in the subtle power of the vital wind'. Pranayama (Prana=life force, ayama=not restrained) means to work with breath in such a way that you free your life force and access your subtle power. The vital wind refers to the five divisions of Prana inside the body called Vayu (see picture). Prana Vayu and Apana Vayu are the two prominent Vayu's whose patterns are directly involved in the cycle of the breath. Apana Vayu governs the region of the torso from navel to the pelvic floor which includes the lower abdomen and the entire pelvic basin. Linked with the outbreath, the Apanic pattern is a downward, cohesive, centripetal force that has rooting and grounding propensities. Apana is the source of a woman pushing a baby down and out of her womb. Apana is the force in the free fall of water in a tall waterfall. By tuning into the pattern of Apana Vayu, you are more connected to the earth, better able to create grounded, robust, energetically alive movement. You are more apt to be mentally agile and stubbornly ride the often bucking, wily, mischievous and potentially harmful mind.

Prana Vayu governs the region of the torso from the diaphragm to the collarbones and includes the lungs, ribcage, and the entire upper torso. Linked with the in breath, the Pranic pattern is an upward, expansive, centrifugal, opening pattern. You can see Pranic force in play in the funnel of a whirling cyclone, or in the blossoming and flowering of plants as they reach expansively upwards towards sunlight. Working with the Pranic pattern during inhalation elongates the spine and encourages spaciousness and receptivity within the torso. Developing awareness of Prana Vayu allows you to open to receiving the gift of shakti, life force that is carried on the breath. If these concepts are new to you, initially I suggest you take time to get to know each of these patterns separately. Tune into either the in or out breath and see if you can tap the potent forces of the patterns of Prana and Apana Vayu's. You can work with the imagery when you are practicing and at other times. Additionally, I've included two short informal video exercises that work with the principles presented above.

Ashtanga Foundations: Ujayii Part One from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Ashtanga Foundations: Ujayii Part One Exercise from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Guruji, my teacher

2010-03-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Students,
This week I'm out of town on a workshop in Breitenbush, Oregon! My post this week is on a talk I gave about Guruji a few months after he had passed away. I wanted to share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy it.

Om Shanti,
David

Sri K Pattabhi Jois from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Ashtanga Foundations: Diet and Progress in Yoga Part One-Part Four

2010-03-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

Food is Matter from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Diet and the Three Gunas from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Digestion from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Diet and Progress from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Agni: God of Creative Fire

2010-03-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

(Pavan is another name for Vayu)

In two previous blogs I discussed the ancient Vedic practice of personifying the elements. One reason to give the elements features and personalities is to get more experientially in touch with the qualities they each possess. Through stories and pictorial representations you identify with and relate to fire, earth, wind etc as living beings, as allies that show you the pitfalls to avoid in practice and how to gain wisdom and go further into Yoga. I'll continue that theme by looking at Agni, the God of fire. Agni is an important Vedic deity who is the 'vital spark', the element of life in everything animate and inanimate. 'He is the fire of the sun, of lightning, and of the hearth of worship, and is the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice'. In art Agni is portrayed as a red man with 2 flaming heads (one benevolent, one malevolent) , 3 legs and 7 arms. He rides a Ram and wears a garland of fruit. Agni has 7 tongues (each with a special name) to better lick up the offerings of ghee added to the sacrificial fire. The offerings are poured into Agni's mouth and he then passes them on to the Gods. He also conducts the Gods to the sacrificial locations on earth. Thus Agni is known as a messenger between earth and heaven, between men and Gods. I've included 3 stories about Agni at the bottom of the page. I've used themes contained in those stories as references in my article, so you may find it helpful and inspiring to read them.

The fire sacrifice is the heart of Vedic worship and is a religious ceremony conducted by one or more priests who build a fire in a specially constructed pit that serves as the altar. The priest then chants sacred verses in sanskrit from the Vedas while throwing various offerings of ghee (clarified butter), flowers, and herbs into the fire. The purpose of the ritual is to bring the participants in direct contact with God by connecting them with the elements, the underlying forces that cause life. Agni is the God of fire and is known as the hotr: the head 'priest' who presides over the sacrifice. In India, during the peak of Vedic times, the ritual sacrifices became lengthy and elaborate requiring hundreds of priests, large amounts of money and months or even years to perform. At some point these rituals ceased to provide spiritual nourishment to growing numbers of people. Perhaps, in reaction to the increasingly complex Vedic rituals, people began experimenting with completely opposite alternatives. Some of them withdrew into solitude and created Yoga and Meditation practices; began to map the world within the body in order to connect with Divinity. They found that using imagery to create the entire fire ritual within the body brought transformation and wisdom.

Modern Yoga has roots in this lineage. Daily, in your Ashtanga practice, you have the opportunity to beautifully enact a fire sacrifice. Using bandha's, dristi, and ujjayii your torso becomes the fire pit altar. Awareness is the fire and your sacred movement of asana's are the oblations that you continually offer to the fire. You are Agni with seven tongues licking up the offerings and carrying them to your core where the wisdom of your heart is nourished.

Because fire is THE most important element in practice, you must work consciously with your fieriness or lack of. It can require tremendous energy to get to a place where fire presides over your practice, where tapas leads you-- where action, will, effort, concentration, perseverance, care, love, and enthusiasm all lead you. These are the qualities that spark and ignite your creative fire. You utilize the basic techniques in practice to bring forth your benevolent fire, to generate the right kind of heat in the right proportions. The techniques are meant to give you the ability to skillfully manage fire, to generate or dissipate heat at will. That is why it is so vital to study these fundamentals and to continue to refine them and become more skilled in applying them. When you are unskilled, either through lack of experience or negligence, you have less access to your fire, to your passion, and less access to caring about what's most important to you. Hence you may have to work harder to generate heat and to access your mental power. And you may not be accurate in your perception of what and where your center is in relation to your fire. As you become skilled, you see how proper breathing generates fire, applying bandha's generates fire, dristi creates fire, meditation and focus generate fire, and work with the flow of vinyasa sequencing generates fire. You learn to work with fire adeptly and with care as a craftsman or artisan; as does a chef or a blacksmith or a steeler at steel forge. According to Rumi: ''The cook says: I was once like you fresh from the ground. Then I boiled in time and boiled in the body. Two fierce boilings. My animal soul grew powerful. I controlled it with practices and boiled some more and boiled once beyond that..."

Agni has two heads, one benevolent, one malevolent. Benevolent fire nourishes, gives warmth, light, and thus Agni is welcome in every home. He sustains life. He gives comfort, has charisma, joins people together and brings a magical, joyous glow to any gathering. In practice you cultivate the benevolent fire within to ride the flowing vinyasa lines that combine effort and receptivity. You hone in on just the right rhythm, depth and tone of breath in conjunction with subtle action of bandha's. You continue to work with your mind tuning in to thoughts, emotions, memories, longings and all the variety of turnings. Since he is known as 'the fire of the sun', Agni is associated with Surya the sun God. Agni sometimes accompanies Surya on his daily ride across the sky in his chariot led by seven horses. Surya's realm in the heavens is a symbol for the head and so his light represents consciousness and spiritual intelligence. Visnu's (God as sustainer) celestial weapon of choice is called the sudardarshan cakra, known as the discus of light and is fashioned from fragments of the sun's rays. Visnu takes unerring aim, hurls this discus, and chops off the heads of offending demons. Visnu's discus is the ultimate symbol for consciousness, the mental qualities of fiery brilliance, laser like intensity and ability to cut through ignorance. In practice you become an observer, a shaper, and a friend of the powerful, fiery quality of mental energy and you learn to direct this energy where you choose. When you work intimately with fire in practice you cultivate Tapas, the heat caused by the friction of reining in the mind and redirecting the energy of the senses. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said that when you're established in tapas: "impurities are destroyed, the antah karana (inner instrument, made up of mind, intellect, ego, and the faculity of discrimination) becomes purified and the body and sense organs are perfected".

Fire's qualities also include burning, destruction, and episodes of disappearance and hiding. Agni has a malevolent head; he burns and destroys, can ravage virtually everything in his path. Through his destruction, Agni brings death, sorrow, loss, and pain. To be in relationship with fire is to accept risk and hence the necessity to respect its power in your practice because uncontrolled fire will burn leading to pain and injury. Agni has red skin, the same color as anger, tension, lust, and inflammation. Too much fire can make you frustrated, irritable, intolerant, narrow minded, and prone to extreme emotions and bursts of temper. Excessive fire can lead to pushing, bullying your self and others, and possibly even lead to disease. Agni is known to be unpredictable, wild, and reluctant to be yoked to the domestic hearth. But also not generating enough fire can be equally detrimental. If you can't really access your fire you may not be in touch with your center, with your creative purpose. The body may remain cold and get stuck, and be difficult to open. Injury can result from attempting postures when the body is not sufficiently heated and malleable. More importantly lack of internal fire can prevent purification and transformation. The fiery qualities of passion and enthusiasm help you overcome lethargy and resistance and give you the energy to persevere through challenges and enjoy the beauty that you create on the mat each day.

Because he represents purification and renewal, Agni's benevolent role in the inner imagery of practice takes on further dimensions. Due to the softening of Brgu's curse (see story #3), Agni purifies everything he consumes. Agni is known to be a friend of Vayu (the life breath of the Gods) whom he strengthens and helps. When you use ujjayii to cultivate the free flow of Prana throughout the torso you awaken the body's innate ability to purify and cleanse itself by way of breath. With Ujjayi you also stimulate the Vishuddhi cakra in the throat area. Vishuddhi means purity. Working intimately with the throat and palate releases the jaw, relaxes the brain, enhances the cycle of the breath and enables Prana to pervade the body. Vayu and Agni work in tandem to purify the body from the surface layers of skin to the core, going specially into the heart and the depths of consciousness. Purification comes from the sacrifices you make when you choose to practice Yoga seriously.

Sacrifice literally means 'to make holy', or the offering of anything to God, or to a divinity. This is the real heart of Yoga practice: to use your creative fiery life force to find your connection with Divinity and to share that connection somehow. You also use your fire to face what blocks you from connection. Sacrifice means simplifying, reining in, choosing to abstain or let go, to center, to respond to the necessity for growth, to an urge for depth and renewal. You choose to follow your deeper more soulful longings over shallower more external and immediate longings. You make the effort to bring what is unconscious to consciousness. You face things about your self that you'd rather hide from. You face your anger, your greed, your dependence, your lethargy, your doubt and cynicism. You face your past, how you were raised, what sorts of negative experiences, habits, and beliefs you've been carrying around with since childhood. You experience and move through your pain from the past, the hardships you've encountered that now cause conditioned negative habit responses. Agni loses his ability to successfully perform the sacrificial rites because he gets fat taking in too many offerings. He's too sluggish and lacking in fire to prevent small disturbances from stopping him. Practice gives you strength and stamina, gives you the ability to adopt a positive outlook even in the midst of apparently overwhelming contrary evidence, without blindness or naivete. The vigor and physical challenge of practice is like getting an opportunity to burn the Khandava Forest each day. You abstain from eating and drinking before and during practice, you empty out, breathe, and sweat. You blaze and flow and have another chance for renewal today. When Agni saw his 3 brothers preside over the sacrifice (as 3 fire sticks), he saw them burn and then die. Fearing death he hid and could only be coaxed back by being granted a long life and a share of the offering in the form of Soma, the elixir. Perhaps this means in order to benefit from practice you have to commit and become steady, you can't continue to hesitate or doubt, nor can you afford inconsistency, the pattern of stopping and starting or trying one thing then another. Unless you dedicate your self to your creative fire long term, it will continue to hide and elude you. Even when you show up to practice everyday fire is whimsical, some days it's plentiful and robust, other days it seems absent or a difficult kindle to stoke. When your creative fire hides look for it in the feet and thigh bones. Look for it within the pelvis and the rhythmic movements of the pelvic floor. Look for it at the end of the out breath and at the origin of the in breath. Look for it within the torso, along the spine, and in the space between the pelvis and head. Look for it within your vinyasa rhythm as you create flowing transitions. Look for it within your throat and voice and the sound of your breath. Look for it in the circulation of Prana throughout the body. Everyday you are compelled to feed this fire and steadily work with your inner evolution.

Story One

One common theme in Agni stories is that he's always being searched for because he either disappears or hides. In one such myth, Agni hides when he sees that his three brothers, symbolized as three fire sticks, die after performing their duties as presiders over the sacrifice. Agni is next in line for the job, but fears death, and also has a distaste for the domestic duties of hotr, leader of the fire sacrifice. So he goes into hiding in one of three places. He hides in the earth (wood and plants), in 'the waters', and in the sky. After a prolonged search by men and gods, Agni is found in the plants. To win his agreement the gods offer him immortality; he also demands and receives a share of the sacrifice in the form of soma (the elixir, or intoxicating beverage). Agni is thus bribed into coming back to perform his duties as hotr.

Story Two

The Sage Brgu has carried off a betrothed woman to his home. The Rakshasa (demon) who had intended to marry her went searching for her and the Sage. He came upon Agni and demanded to know where he and his betrothed resided. Agni was known for not being able to tell a lie as well as being able to go into the hearth fire of every home. Thus he knew where the woman and Sage lived. Since Agni told the Rakshasa where his woman was, Brgu cursed Agni and said he would be an 'omnivore', and would consume everything, pure and impure, indiscriminately. Agni protested this curse as unfair and disappeared from every hearth. The cosmos went dark and cold. Brahma coaxed him back. He was able to soften the curse by stipulating that Agni, no matter what he burned, would remain pure and that everything he burned, both pure and impure, would be purified. Mollified, Agni returned to action bringing warmth, light, and fierce leader of the fire sacrifice.

Story Three

A story from the Mahabharata features Krishna and Arjuna as well as Indra (the most important Vedic God), and Agni (the second most important Vedic God). Agni has grown fat by consuming too much of the ghee that was offered to him by his worshippers and has become too heavy and sluggish to properly maintain the sacrificial fire. Indra known for his jealousy of Agni, saw an opportunity to take advantage of Agni's weakened state; he sent a small rain shower or a gust of wind down upon each of Agni's sacrifices, easily put out the fires, and thus prevented the success of the rites. Agni went to Brahma, the creator, to complain and to try to save his job. Brahma chastised Agni for his gluttony and greed. Agni showed heart felt repentence and so Brahma gave him a chance to slim down and regain his strength. The hero's of the Mahabharata (The Pandava's) had been unjustly awarded a wild, unkempt tract of land in place of the inheritance of their rightful kingdom. Rather than protest or fight the injustice, Krsna and Arjuna, on behalf of the Pandava's, decided to clear the land and build The Pandava kingdom there. First they required the entire overgrown tract of forested land (called the Khandava Forest) to be cleared. They enlisted the services of Agni with the special instruction that he was not to be offered any Ghee to assist him in burning the forest down. Agni went to work, burned everything to the ground, regained his strength, and was able to oversee the sacrificial rites of humanity again.

Flowing on the Crooked Path: A Primary Series Guide Interviews

2010-02-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

This week I'm out of town working on a project and so I'm posting two of the six interviews that are included on my upcoming Primary Series dvd. They are titled Agastya and Ashtanga and Yoga is Creativity. I hope you enjoy them!

I'll post another written piece next week.

Hari Om,

David

Trusting Earth

2010-02-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

According to the Vedas the ancient goddess Prithivi is the personification of the earth. That means that the earth is not just the earth; she's a Goddess. She is described as 'great, wise, and energetic, She 'lavishes gifts upon her worshippers', she is 'that which holds everything'. She's 'beneficent and kind to all'. Also she's 'the inexhaustible source of abundance'.

You'll know the truth of each one of these descriptions if you tune to the earth during practice. You'll feel how kind and unstinting she is in her support of you. You'll feel her gift of tremendous power and energy through your feet and legs and how the dynamic expression of each posture is rooted in her abundance. You'll feel how she allows you to tether your self to her so you can soar skyward and thus set your spine free to spin and elongate and coil. You'll find your self plugged into the earth standing in triangle posture praising her gifts of spaciousness in your body and loving the spontaneous affinity between her and your consciousness. Also you'll find that a magnetic bond develops between you and the earth especially when you practice the primary series With each forward bend and vinyasa you get low to the ground, you prostrate, you pray with your body again and again to Prithivi, the nourishing, caring source of abundance.

Gravity is the downward force that pulls anything that has weight towards the center of the earth. One way to deepen your connection to the earth is to become conscious of its gravitational pull on your body. You can actually sense your weight being drawn irresistibly downwards. Go with it, enjoy it and let your self be drawn closer to the earth. And feel how she reaches for you, how she actively supports you. This way of tuning in involves letting go, becoming receptive, and feeling an almost lazy heaviness within the body. You relax and suspend effort. When you allow this combination of qualities to inform your posture, you're movements become more circular and cohesive . You are present in a deep rooted, whole, yielding way.

During practice, allow the parts of the body in contact with earth to widen, sink, and increase their connection to the ground. And see how in return, the ground increases her connection to you by supporting you more. By this awareness you create a powerful magnetic affinity between you and the earth. Your posture becomes immovable, super grounded, and energetically alive much more than when when you try with your will or when you try to apply intense physical effort to achieve a posture. Paradoxically, the softer, more spacious, and receptive effortless qualities that accompany trusting the earth give you the strength and power that you won't be able to find by willing or excessive effort. It can be thought of as a more feminine or yin way of being in a posture. You're receptive. You give way, let go and become expansive. You just are. And yet your posture will also express powerful strength and energetic vitality.

Two more of Prithivi's gifts to her devotees are feelings of spaciousness and timelessness within. Take time to contemplate these qualities and how the connecting with the earth gives them to you when you invite her into your practice. Connecting with earth in a posture brings a dynamic sense of spaciousness inside the torso that allows the tidal ebb and flow rhythm of the breath to reach its full expression. During practice the lungs and ribcage need to be able to expand and contract to their full capacity with ease. Also the spaciousness that results from tethering your self to the earth through the legs frees the spine to elongate, coil, spin, and stretch; Prithivi gives you the ability to enjoy the spine's full range of motion.

Overall, the strength of your posture comes from the earth and enables you to loosen up, become spacious and find satisfying, large, circular patterned movements that integrate the entire body into your posture. The body is cleansed and healed by these wholesome, earthy, deep patterned movements and life force pervades your inner world. Perhaps you arrive in a place where you really belong in your body and your inner world, from the boundary of skin to the core of the bones, becomes your sanctuary.

Timelessness implies that time ceases, that the passing flow of moments seems to slow down. Or maybe your concern diminishes for what time it is or what happened or is going to happen. You become timeless because you go to a deeper level of consciousness where you cease to give importance to the mesmerizing temporal sequence that ordinarily seems so concrete, so rational and so real and thus dominates. One of the most beautiful images associated with the awakening of Kundalini (the coiled one), is that when she enters Shushumna Nadi (the most glorious channel) and travels up the core of the body from base to crown, she swallows time. Perhaps swallowing time indicates that the moment NOW suddenly moves into the foreground. The past and future fade into the background. NOW opens up an entirely new world. Now is complete, precious and needs nothing added to it or subtracted from it and thus stretches out and lasts. When you strike a pose that is truly rooted in the earth, time ceases just like when Kundalini travels up the core of the body. Indeed connecting with earth awakens Kundalini, helps you to slow down, to be weighty, to tune into center, and become a vast, spacious, container that holds large stores of life force.

When you awaken your life force by bringing the earth clearly into your body in your practice, meditation results; your inner world becomes animated, vivid, and clear. You begin to understand and listen to your heart wisdom. You tune into your own unique style of unadorned bliss. You are happy to linger there.

But also turning your body into a vessel for life force, requires working with and accepting whatever comes. Thus it is equally necessary to learn to sit with and accept your pain. The reality is we are constantly causing pain to ourselves and others through our ignorance and inability to be fully awake and responsive to the present. Our mind attacks us with all manner of guilt, blame, and criticism; we're either too lazy and 'good-for-nothing' or we're exhausting ourselves striving for that never-to-be- reached perfection so we can finally be somebody or have some worth. The pain comes on all levels: physical, mental, and even the deep level of soul longing. Getting in touch with earth gives you the rock steady firmness and patience to feel, endure, and accept your pain and thereby transform it.

You tap the earth's support and use your power to contain and accept all the various aches, physical injuries, ailments, diseases, the toll of aging, and eventually even the terror and perceived pain of death. And through the earth, you create the space to contain and accept your bouts of mental anguish ranging from mild inner nagging and low level worry to highly agitated vicious, attacking mind that surges with aggression. You even have to accept familiarity of clinging to your habit patterns that are based in fear and result in unsatisfying, harmful repetition.

Daily you have to come back and face your same tight places, same blockages, same weaknesses. It is essential to remain receptive and firm rooted continuing to nurture your self in the midst of it. Yoga and Prithivi teach you to cultivate the patience to keep on giving and giving to your self, to keep forgiving your pain and ignorance. So as you step on the mat each day anew, you bring in the earth and keep on cultivating patience, rock steadiness and nourishing, caring support for your self. These gifts from the earth are the bedrock foundation of Yoga practice. Remember that to be in touch with the earth IS to be nourished, like a child who finds comfort in the close vicinity of her mother, feel how your body gravitates towards the comfort of Bhu Devi the Earth, the 'great, wise, and energetic' Goddess.

I have provided an exercise for you. You can either listen and practice to it on side bar player of the blog or you can read it and practice it on your own. The intent of the exercise is to help you tune into the qualities of support and generosity that the earth gives. Stand in Samasthiti or sit in lotus (or an equivalent seated posture). Let your posture be a prayer to Prithivi the great earth mother who feeds and bestows benevolence on her children. See her as a beautiful woman with rich green skin and four arms.

Imagine, not that you are on the earth but rather, you are part of the earth like an out cropping, an island that has thrust up from the ocean bottom. You ARE earth from your feet, legs and hips all the way up the spine and through out the entire body. Allow the parts of the body in contact with earth to widen and sink and increase their connection to the ground. In return, feel the ground increase her connection to you by supporting you more. Allow your weight to rest on your bones. And feel that the bones are buoyant and eager to receive your weight. Intentionally lower your center of gravity by letting your body be irresistibly drawn down wards towards the earth's center.

As you plug in, merge with earth more and more. Cultivate the feeling that you are earth, that you are the nourisher and supporter of all the life within you. Naturally you create space and care for everything within you, all your emotions, thoughts, moods, actions, reactions, pain, and dreams. You continuously bestow nurturing care and benevolence upon your self. Glimpse the power of the earth, of being infinitely generous and supportive of all life and enjoy your connection to that source.

Befriending Hanuman

2010-02-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

In order to provide some background to this weeks post, here's a super short synopsis of the great spiritual epic The Ramayana. God (Visnu) incarnates as a man (Ram) in order to destroy the demon Ravana. The story goes that Ravana, through performing rigorous austerities, became the undisputed king of the 3 worlds. Practically invincible, he became wildly corrupt and wreaked havoc on the balance of the universe. Earlier he had won a boon that ensured that almost nothing in existence could kill him. However, in his excessive pride, he neglected to include a human being or a monkey in the list of what could not kill him. So Visnu incarnated as Ram, in order to put an end to Ravana's tyranny. And Visnu's wife, Laksmi, incarnated as Sita. Thus Visnu and Laksmi were married on earth as Ram and Sita. After many twists in the story Ram and Sita were exiled to the forest for 13 years. Ravana heard of Sita, her renowned beauty, decided he must have her, abducted her through trickery, and carried her to his kingdom on the island of Lanka. Ram met Hanuman, the monkey God, during his search for Sita. Hanuman became Ram's devoted servant and ally; he led a search party for Sita and found her held captive within the Ravana's fortress on Lanka. Ram assembled an army made up of men, monkeys, bears and others who went to Lanka and defeated Ravana and his forces. And thus the Universe was restored to balance.

The Ramayana can be viewed from many perspectives; from one perspective, called the esoteric Ramayana, it is said that all of the characters and events take place within the body, within a person's psyche. Ram is the Self and Sita is buddhi; the great intuitive intelligence. Ravana is the ego with its attachment to all the organs of sense (thus he has 10 heads). Symbolically the ego steals away buddhi the intuitive inner wisdom causing a separation between intelligence and Spirit. This split brings darkness and pain and a feeling of lost emptiness void of Self. Yoga practice leads to rejoining intuitive intelligence (Sita) with the Spirit(Ram). Hanuman, leader of the search, is the main instrument in bringing Ram and Sita together again; he symbolizes breath, an unswerving devoted ally and servant who helps rejoin Intelligence with Spirit.

This weeks theme is on Hanuman and his connection to the breath in practice. Hanuman's connection to the breath can be traced to his father, Vayu, the wind god. Vayu is known as the 'life breath of the Gods'; as a wanderer, an explorer and a messenger of the gods. The word vayu means 'to blow' . When Prana (life force) enters the body it is known as Vayu and gets divided into 5 regions (Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana, and Udana). The vayu's are directly in play when you work with the cycle of the breath using ujjayii and bandha's during practice. Metaphorically speaking Vayu is breath within the body and Hanuman is the child of breath. Thus Hanuman represents the fruits of working with breath, your energy, your urge to serve the Self. Hanuman epitomizes devotion to the highest possible degree; he is in many ways more revered in India than Ram due to his loyalty and complete self surrender to Ram. One time Hanuman was hanging out around a campfire with his monkey buddies. They started chiding him about his 'appearance' of total devotion to Ram. Hanuman listened for a few minutes and then simply stood among the monkeys gathered in the circle and ripped open his chest exposing his heart where a miniature Ram and Sita were housed. When Hanuman exposed his true heart, it only revealed his beloved, Ram and Sita. Working with breath as the center of your practice eventually gives you the gift of a fierce, loyal and strong ally devoted to Spirit.

From studying, enjoying and trusting breath, little by little you win strength, clarity, and stamina to cultivate free breathing in asana practice. You intelligently employ Ujjayii Pranayama, uddhiyana and mula bandha's, awareness of the piston like movement of the diaphragm and tuning in to the rhythmic action of the pelvic floor. By observing the cycle of the breath, the expansion (inhaling, Prana) and contraction (exhaling Apana) of the two polar opposite Vayu's, Prana and Apana, you harness the potency of Prana, of Shakti, of powerful life force carried on the breath. You become a shaper, a sculptor, a connoisseur, a scientist, and a lover of breath and move from the surface to the depths of the heart where your real longings are lodged waiting for you to find the courage and receptivity to listen to and respond to them.

This shift of inward movement can be reflected in small ways. Your capacity to immediately experience and feel what is happening within and around you changes profoundly. You care more in present time (instead reflecting days, weeks, months or years later) about what is happening inside of you. You watch to how you respond and get clear where your responses lead you. You understand where your attention is engaged and for how long and on what sorts of objects, emotions and thoughts. You learn to gauge the value of where your energy goes and to direct it more at will to whatever you choose. An acceleration of feeling, thought and awareness takes place and your capacity for intimacy and love increases as well as the ability to tolerate loneliness and being alone. These small steps of inward turning can lead to a deep flowing towards center, to spiritual knowing, to the creative expression that you are meant to bring forth to share. You are literally more alive and more intimate with your self and everyone and everything.

But notice the risk involved in this----when you breathe you really FEEL; when you really FEEL, you feel more expansiveness and joy and connectedness, but you also feel more pain, more grief, more of the hurt and loss that the world continually spins out. Once you dive in, you are in---you engage fully with whatever comes. To free your breath is to risk everything---love and pain. Bliss and grief. However risking is the only real option along with learning to face the independent, solitary path you are on. Authentic practice requires risking and opening to where breath leads you. Such openness and gambling gives you an emotional and physical power reflected in your stance towards everyone and everything you encounter. You become loving, unshakeable, rooted, centered, receptive and fierce; you belong here in this body and finally can walk the razor's edge that is required to continually ride the breath.

The demon Ravana represents the ego and the world and all that pulls towards mundane power. There is an irresistible attraction to that power. Ravana himself though an arch demon is known for his charisma and beauty, his learning, his skill in battle, also a fine musician, and even an ardent devotee of Shiva. The benefits of power that go with money, fame, position, even of partner, family, friends cannot not be ignored or underestimated. Your health and evolution partially depend upon your successful attaining and wielding of these powers. However, these are still lesser powers that don't compare with the ultimate power of Spirit.

You are Spirit and are meant to realize and express the unique little piece of individual Spirit that you are. It's built in to the challenge of the game that we are bound to hanker after the lesser powers and spend too much of our time and energy caught up in them either trying to win them or hating and somehow rebelling against them. Maybe we resist turning inward because the path of Spirit appears to be so lonely, independent and solitary. The power of Spirit is found within as opposed to the polarized outside where people and things can appear to dazzle and captivate our senses and longings; or the opposite where we respond to power by rejecting or being apathetic towards it. But either way, our energy is dissipated. Additionally, the negative aspects of ego are tough to root out as evidenced by the fact that each time one of Ravana's heads gets chopped off in battle, another head immediately sprouts anew to replace the old one.

When you undertake Yoga practice to awaken the healing energies that can guide you forward the only direction to go is inward. To be alone with your self. Yet the path seems so impossible to tread without help. And that is the necessity and appeal of Hanuman, the egoless servant who exists to serve the bent of the Spirit within. To access such an ally within ourselves is vital to our progress. Intimacy with breath and reflection can play a significant role in that connection, in realizing you are compelled to find your unique and original heart and Spirit. When you learn to focus with stamina and access your breath, when you feel fully plugged in to your body by the flow of breath, where breath is the center, where you feel breathed by the breath, then you become Hanuman, born to serve Ram; you become the unswerving, loyal servant and ally whose sole mission is to reconnect your intelligence with your Spirit.

Welcome

2010-02-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Students,

I have decided to post a weekly blog every Sunday that will discuss significant topics about the practice. Through the blog I hope to connect with those of you that are in Philadelphia where we spend most of our time together in silence in the Mysore class, as well as those of you whom I have the opportunity to teach in my travels. Thank you all for the honor of teaching you and here's to going deeper into Yoga together. Om Shanti.