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.
Showing posts with label Guest Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guest Blog. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Root of Mulha Bandha: Catch It!
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
"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
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