Ashtanga's Dynamic Dimension

Greetings from Kovalam,
The Mysore Intensive is coming to an end and its been an amazing month of learning and teaching. Joy and I are headed back to Philadelphia in 5 days. We will be there for only a couple of weeks and then we will be off to my annual Mysore Intensive retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon. So within only two weeks we will be seeing the sun over the Indian Ocean and the moon in the Oregon forest!

I haven't posted in a few weeks because I have been crafting this very important blog post on Ashtanga and Dynamism. Joy has been working her magic on the Dynamic Transition music video that accompanies the written piece. A lot of love has gone into this post and I encourage you to make an intense art out of studying dynamism because it will forever change your practice.

Hari Om,
David




Dynamic is a word that aptly describes the personality and teaching of my late teacher Sri K Pattabhi Jois (Guruji). And what I learned about the connection between vinyasa and dynamism from him has been a major source of my love for the Ashtanga yoga method. In 94' when I began studying with Guruji at his old shala in Mysore, I used to stay after class just to watch him teach. He would work in many different ways to help each person better tap into the inherent dynamism that is found in every aspect of the practice. Here's a little story about Guruji on this subject.

One day it happened that there were several of us students hanging around in the front room of Guruji's old house hoping for some of Amma's delicious coffee. The atmosphere was rather loose at that time, there was no official conference, no distinct timing or plan, no official teaching from him. We'd just mosey over there towards sunset and see what was up. Sometimes questions about the practice would be introduced and if Guruji were in the right frame of mind, he'd answer. So the topic whether some people were teaching the method correctly or not came up, something that had to do with the speed of the practice.

During the discussion there was an interval of cross talk and commotion, and during this time Guruji looked at me, and for a moment it was as if it was only he and I in the room. He let me know that the method was to be done swiftly, that tempo, rhythm, and dynamism were essential to learning the practice properly. He said 'quickly you do, that is the method'. Without too many words he let me know that he was was trusting me to understand what he was telling me and that I was somehow responsible for remembering and sharing this aspect of the practice.

To me he was not saying that the practice is to be done in haste, unthinkingly fast, or in any sort of hurried fashion. Instead he was saying that the proper method is done by practicing dynamically, by moving into and out of the asanas in complete gestures born of free breathing, animal surety, confidence and energetic enthusiasm.

Learning from Guruji, observing his teaching, and hearing the repetition in his instructions was a true gift and his broken english, staccato commands still guide me in my practice daily. His limited use of english was perhaps extra eloquent in conveying the distinct nuances that he wanted to impart to you at any given time. Again and again he repeated: "yes you do!', 'No problem you go.', 'no fearing you go', 'why stopping?', 'Why waiting?', 'Hey bad man quickly you do!' 'yes you take it!', 'Why fearing?' 'Free breathing you do' or simply a gruff, guttural 'Breathe!'.

Through his instructions he often made sure you felt a sense of time pressure and urgency as you practiced. His tone could be stern, intimidating, and even dominating to the point of leaving you feeling that there was almost no escape from at least trying to do what he wanted you to do. He purposely created this tension so you would find new postural and movement patterns. By following his commands you bypassed habits born of inhibited breath, hesitation, lethargy and doubt so that you could start really breathing, you could do new things in new ways. He commanded you to become more brave, vigorous and focused; his words would send electricity, and a thrill of fear through you that would wake up your entire body with readiness and anticipation.

At times in a distinct reversal he would speak the same commands but with a different tone, with encouragement, humor, play and support. And thus he would continually play the line between pushing you and accepting you. He taught you to relax, accept your self, to champion your own style, to be patient and to let things come to you. In fact perhaps the most frequent commands I heard him give were: 'very good!',, 'Today is better!', 'Better!', 'Why crying?', 'Don't worry, after it's coming', 'no problem, it's coming', and the very special 'Very correct!'

The closing ritual of touching his feet and saying goodbye to him each day often included him giving you an extra lift, a boost of encouragement so that you finished on a high note. It made all the difference to feel his generous, weighty support when you felt exhausted, like a failure or incompetent. He would say something to disarm you, something poking fun at you, humorous, or distracting, to help you drop your inner battle for the time being and thus be more ready to take it up again in the morning.

The vinyasa knowledge that is developed in carefully studying the transitions is essential in understanding how to refine your awareness, how to see the practice as chiefly dhyana, as meditation. To this end experienced students and teachers within the lineage learn to list, from memory, the number of vinyasa positions in each asana. This memorization becomes more interesting and useful when you combine it with an ongoing investigation into the role of dynamism in the movements.

I'm saying that knowing what constitutes proper vinyasa extends beyond memorizing the number of positions of the asana; you are also meant to know the vinyasa positions dynamically within your body. There is a great art to understanding the subtle progressions of movement that bring you into and out of each asana, exploring this refinement is what brings you into readiness, poise, beauty and alignment in your postures.

Through the dynamic study of vinyasa you experience important energetic awakenings along the vertical axis known as shushumna, the most glorious channel. Using dynamism to find your vertical core helps you direct your mind inwardly showing the universal forms of the asanas, the underlying patterning that each asana shares no matter how different its external appearance may look. In this way dynamism leads you further into immovability and stillness, helps you accurately observe your fluctuating mental states. You learn to better see the context of your perceptions, and to enjoy a wider, expanded view that encompasses the greater wellspring of consciousness.

Following vinyasa positioning in its increasingly more subtle and dynamic aspects will also lead you back to the intimate connection between movement and breath. Practice becomes focused on moving through the sequences by tracing these two allies back to their common root source and this knowledge helps you to shape your postures with the presence and sense of adventure of an animal and at the same time with buddhi, (intelligence) and ananda, (bliss). By his buoyant and tangible enthusiasm Guruji showed you that yoga is found when you make it a long term daily endeavor to truly inhabit your body. This enthusiasm is the true source of dynamic awareness and alignment, and is what enables you to continue to renew the thrill and the fun of practice each day.

And it all starts with "...Samastihiti!"

Asana Kitchen: Dropping Back (PT 3)

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.

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

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

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'.

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."

"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: Ujjayi Breathing part one

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

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.