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!"

Turn out or lift the heels in drop backs? Feeling sore, should I take a day off? My doctor says I should stop practicing Ashtanga?--Ask a question

Students often write me with specific questions concerning their practice. Here are a few of the answers I have given the past couple of months. Enjoy!


1) Hi David,

I have been attempting to come up from drop back by pushing into my arms and using momentum to rock up to standing. I am able to rock up about 50% of the time. My heals tend to come up most of the time. I noticed in the PT3 video your student's heel also comes up but in the other video's the students heels don't come up but sometimes the toes go out like in 2nd position in ballet. What is the correct position?

Hi ____,
The correct position for coming up is variable, it can be different for different people. Generally I prefer lifting the heels to turning the feet out. Or another good option is to use a little combination of heel lift and turn out. I do caution people not to turn out too much, because it can compromise the joints, especially knees. Also lifting the heels can be felt more like transferring the weight forward into the mounds of the toes. It is best to minimumize both lifting the heels and turning the feet out. Rather try to track the hips, knees, feet as straight as possible, but this can be very challenging! Hope this helps. Thanks for writing!! David



2)Hello David,

Thank you so much for your videos. I think they are great. Now I'm new to yoga (a month or so) and I want to practice every day but i feel so sore sometime i cant even do the asanas right. Any advice? I appreciate any help and thank you in advance.

Hi _____, thanks for your message. That's great you've taken to yoga. It's natural you're feeling so sore because it's all so new. Practice as often as you can, but don't be too hard on your body or your self. You can do a smaller practice on those days when you feel you can't do the asana's right. But it is good to try to do a little bit each day, it's only if you get really, really sore and tired that you should take an extra day off when you need it. Best Wishes, David



3)Hi David,

I've been practicing Ashtanga yoga since October last year during a vacation in Bali from Prem & Radha. And I've been following your blog since then.

Since learning the primary series, I practiced every day at home.
Unfortunately I live in a place where there is no authorized/certified teacher. After a medical check up, I was diagnosed with mild scoliosis to the right. Another doctor also found I have a carpal tunnel syndrome (right wrist).

I told the doctor my sole fitness regime: Ashtanga 6 days a week.
She told me to quit Ashtanga as it seems it gives lots of pressure to my wrist. And the inversions, will only make my scoliosis worse.

I stopped practicing this week and substituted it with swimming every day just like the doctor told me. And I feel terrible. I miss my practice. Is there any way to keep doing my practice with carpal tunnel syndrome & scoliosis?

Hi _____, thank you for sharing your challenges with me.
First I will say yes most definitely you can continue to practice with scoliosis and carpal tunnel syndrome, but there are some extra challenges involved. You most likely will need to modify things and having a teacher can be a big help with this. Concerning your wrist (or wrists), the pain can tend to be episodic or more cyclical. Sometimes the pain may flair up more than others. In that case you have to be sensitive and aware and have a good plan for when you have pain. For instance you can take the pressure off your wrists when you do surya namaskara by: 1) not bending your elbows in catauranga dandasana, and instead go from plank to your next position. Or 2) you can make a fist out of each hand and do the catauranga on your knuckles. Or 3) you can buy a set of those wrist protecting props made by hugger mugger that accomplish the same fist idea but in a little fancier way. And 4) you can simply minimize or not do the postures that involve weight bearing on your wrists. For example you can go through both surya namaskara a and b using the wall without putting weight on your wrists. 5) you can do less surya namaskara and spend more time on the standing postures and other postures that don't involve weight bearing on the hands/wrists. When you get to the seated postures you can modify, reduce or eliminate the jump back/jump through vinyasa. These are just some of the possibilities, please know that there is always a way to modify the practice to suit specific problems or other extra requirements.

The essential ingredient is a love of ashtanga and in maintaining a steady devotion and trying to do the practice as accurately as your given circumstances allow. Inversions don't necessarily have to contribute to your scoliosis, but I would advise you to eliminate them until you are able to receive instruction from a highly qualified teacher. There are many aspects of the practice besides inversions to develop and enjoy at this time. Hopefully sometime sooner than later you'll be in position to get some hands on help with the challenges you are facing. But in the meantime you can try experimenting with the suggestions I've made and let me know how it's going.

One last small note is that there will always be someone to tell you that you can't do ........... the list of possible things or activities or dreams is endless and so is the list of people who will tell you can't do that something. Sometimes they may be right but equally sometimes they are wrong. And ultimately you have to decide how important something is to you. And when you've decided on that something that is important enough to you, you may need to guard and protect the heck of it in order to for it to remain a strong, positive force in your life. As people we can tend to be suspicious of what we don't know about, and if on the surface something looks strange or exotic or very different from what we know or are used to, we can tend to form negative impressions of that thing. But our own fear and unwillingness to be open to new or different things can us cause to make wrong assessments of things and to unfairly judge what we don't have enough information to be judging. I believe it would be a true waste for you to stop developing the ashtanga yoga practice that you have begun and love. If you practice properly there is a strong chance that ashtanga can help correct or at least minimize the negative effects of both of your problems better than any thing else that you will try. I have found that ashtanga applied properly, has huge potential for transformation and healing. Om! David

Indepth Study Day One

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

Ashtanga Yoga and the Secret of Mula Bandha

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

Sharath's Conference January 16th, 2011

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

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

Action!

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: Shoulderstand Series (Pts: 1-6)

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

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?

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

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

Real Progress: Ageing and Ego

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.

Ashtanga Foundations Diet Part Five: Whole Grains

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

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

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

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.