The stillness ringing in my ears

Inhaling
Exhaling
Rising
Falling
Lavender specks
Appearing
Fading
Gentle
So peaceful
The roar of an engine
Itchy

The stillness was ringing in my ears, a moment later a car passes and my shoulder begins to itch. These were my observations during my first seated meditation alone, which lasted exactly 10 minutes. Homework that E gave us at our last practice. Very effective. Now I have a reference whenever my mind and drishti drifts during practice. Thanks E. Om.

Lead with the heart, follow with the head

Lead with your heart, follow with your head. My new mantra and the intention set in my mind as I practice yoga. Being surrounded by such beautiful beings—both teachers and classmates alike--with sage-like wisdom is like an elixir.

I’m trying to soften the edges around my “self” which has been hardened by a combination of intellect and painful experiences. I was young, ambitious, assertive, staunchly independent, hard-working, critical (though not judgmental), proactive, always reading between the lines and looking for loopholes…these were the traits that defined me and gave me an “invincible spirit” and as a result made me less connected with God.

I want to repair that relationship with the Supreme, higher being. After all, how can one watch the sun rise and set without acknowledging that it surpasses all things man-made? Surely the sun is something to be grateful to God for.

I’m starting by embracing and learning to love what I used to avoid: making small talk with my mom even if we are complete opposites; trying to be more compassionate towards less educated drivers and pedestrians; and—surprise, surprise!—dropping back to my heart’s delight during practice (with help of course from my teachers Edith and Becky whom I simply L-O-V-E).

Just a note on backbends. From Gregor Maehle’s book:

“In our experience, individuals with an open backbend find it easy to accept others without judgment, and there is at least anecdotal evidence that progress in backbending is related to acquiring a more open and sympathetic character. Since it improves our feminine qualities, backbending seems to help us to see value in the opinions of others even if these are contrary to our own. As backbending softens what can be called the “armor” or “cage of the heart—that is, the rib cage—it makes us compassionate and helps us to open our hearts to those disadvantaged or in need.

However not everyone who has an open backbend is a genuine, loving human being, and not every stiff back bender is a selfish, hung-up miser. One’s backbending seems to improve if one imagines the qualities and attributes associated with backbends while performing them.”

Lead with the heart, follow with the head. Om.

image from http://www.tevenei.com/

Beauty-full light welcOMes all

There will be no correct clothes
There will be no proper payment
There will be no right answers
No glorified teachers
No ego no script no pedestals
No You're not good enough or rich enough


Yoga is for everyone
This sweating and breathing and becoming
This knowing glowing feeling
Is for the big small weak and strong
Able and crazy
Brothers sisters granmothers
The mighty and meek
Bones that creak
Those who seek


This power is for everyone
Yoga to the People
All bodies rise

-The Yoga Manifesto-
ubuntu (i am, because we are)

The African word, ubuntu, means 'Humanity to others’, or ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. This mantra is on the Facebook wall of Becky, who very recently opened Stillpoint Manila, a hOMe for all because yoga is for everyone. Congratulations Becky! Om.

Becky and E. Plus Karen = Three beauty-full lights! Photo taken by Jing Tobias.

Yo-GAGA

We were doing Surys A and B while listening to Lady Gaga. E imported her teenage grand daughter's playlist and blasted it away at hOMe. You gotta love practise at hOMe! Expect the unexpected, really. She wanted us to know that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously and let our inner free spirit loose at times. So she gave us each wildly-coloured bandanas to wear and encouraged us to shake our booties when we felt like it, even if you are in Uthita Hasta Padangusthasana--which was when I got the sillies out as I heard, "Like A Virgin", the Glee version. If you want to be over-analytical about the whole exercise, it can also be viewed as a challenge to stay focused on your breathing and remain in equanimity even with crazy music playing.

It was great FUN, I have to admit. And I enjoyed semi-sychronised yoga with Saar who was beside me and who I lost somewhere in the seated poses. Hope we do this again, Art wants to play music from Feist next time, while Chinky brilliantly suggested some Black-Eyed Peas. Yeaaahhh!

A hOMe practise

Notice how slowly and quietly they walk? That’s because these monks worship the ground beneath their feet. They tread carefully with respect and reverence for the earth, ever mindful not to disturb, disrupt or dishevel even the finest grain of sand.

And that is what engaging your bandhas 24/7 should be like. Embrace this and maybe bandha control will come more naturally. Also call to mind YS 1.33 whereby every living creature is treated with love and respect or with restraint and equanimity.

Thanks Guru E for clearing that up. Teacher had us walking the length of our mats with both uddhiyana and mula bandhas activated, toes curling up, and just the 4 corners of the soles of our feet touching the floor. There is a big difference, I tell you. Our gait was lighter, for one. Try it and feel the difference.

Practise is changing somewhat in that I’ve begun to let go of my asana hang-ups already and really look forward to these pre and post practice discussions with E and my classmates. This is the hOMe practice I’ve come to love. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to rush back home but the children await.

Our mantra that night during Mysore practice was simple: “Inhale, exhale”. Guru E said that this was the solution to the “issues” we were struggling with. Mine is to remember when to do full-standing vinyasas. I forget when to go back to Samasthiti after E drops me back. For Lai, it’s remembering the asanas at the latter part of the primary series and when to do chakrasana. For some, it’s how to tame mind fluctuations. According to E, following that mantra would help keep us focused on  properly getting out of the asanas (which we often neglect).

Photo is taken by Hugh Sitton available at Getty Images.

hOMey

I want this. Supposedly made from old yoga mats, the Sanuk Yoga Mat sandal is as comfortable and grippy as a...yoga mat. Truth in advertising or plain marketing? I have a pair of Sanuk slippers that Angelina Jolie supposedly wears too. Below is Halle Berry in the Sanuk yoga mat sandals.

Snuck in some “me” time one Thursday evening as my son had no classes the following day. Got to hand it to Guru E for always making practice so enjoyable, so memorable at hOMe. As we settled on to our mats to come to Samasthiti she announced that night that we would be practicing to music softly playing in the background. Also this time she would be enforcing the “no talking during practice” rule (on cue, our gaze point shifts to Art).

Guru E knows astutely and is so attuned to the practice of each and every individual at hOMe. For me, the music was so calming and helped de-stress me as well. E’s playlist also set the pace for synchronised yoga with me, Art and Lai. And with Art muzzled from making any snide, I mean, side comments, we seemed to be fully concentrated on the asanas. “Practice with integrity,” E encouraged.

On Tuesday, during the onset of a recent typhoon (yes, we practiced even with alert levels raised), we practiced with our eyes closed which yielded the best yoga practice for me to date. Of course, I moved very tentatively at first but fear quickly dissipated as movement and breathing became one just like the time we did the “one breath per vinyasa” practice.

Since I only get to practice an average once every week I try to maximise, optimise my time at hOMe. So I felt very connected to the breath and in the end so convinced about keeping my eyes shut throughout except perhaps when jumping through for Bhujapidasana or going to Bakasana. With eyes closed, it was also wonderful to simply feel those micro-adjustments from E.

What else is new? I met newcomers, Arthur another Ashtanguy who I used to see at Yoga Manila, and Sabrina, a model, so tall she seemed much longer than her yoga mat. I am now also more at peace. As it turns out, spending more time with my son everyday and working together on his homework has produced very positive results in such a short time. I once thought that he would not take to reading books the way I did when I was a little girl. Or the way his 4-year old sister has already begun to read (note: she is learning ballet terminology which is French). But the other night he read the book, “You Can’t Catch Me” all by himself. *Sigh* Bliss!

Om.

Lauren Peterson: still practising at 52

Another amazing fifty-something Ashtangi (just like my teacher E). Lauren Peterson turned 52 last month and made this video of some fourth series poses to celebrate her yoga practise which she began at the ripe "old" age of 30. Lauren practises Ashtanga Vinyasa and Iyengar yoga, just like E. So beautiful, so inspriring. Om.

Extinguished

As a young girl, meeting my dad as he came home from work and trips out of town.

In my twenties, travelling through Europe with a broken heart but with all my expenses paid.

Having the fruits of my creativity and hard work rewarded with job offers.

Seeing other people, after having ended a long-term relationship and then being in love again.

Purchasing my first car with my own blood, sweat and tears.

The birth of Pippa, the birth of my son and the birth of my youngest.

Watching my daughter twirl around like a little ballerina. Watching my son get dusty, dirty and drenched in sweat while playing football.

Discovering yoga, then practising and learning Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga with some of the most beauty-full people on this earth.

Exchanging a few words with John Scott and listening to his wonderful messages.

I am thankful for these, my happiest memories, which I will cling to and conjure up every time I feel trapped in my current situation. To be asked, even ordered, to stop practising yoga and instead devote more time to my children is not unreasonable. It is but only my responsibility as a mother to raise my kids. So all in good time, as Art says. It's not like the sad, dark and painful period of my life when my first born died or when I got into a highway accident. It is tantamount to taking away a child's favourite toy or telling a teenager to stop listening to rock or whatever music is mainstream or popular. But I am not a child nor teenager and I have to accept life's lessons.

What I do regret is having discovered yoga so late in life. It would have been different for sure had I gone on this journey earlier. But as I have said, my life has been blessed and I am ever grateful for that.

Yoga on and off the mat. Can there ever be one without the other?  Long, long, long exhale.

Rain dance

Had a rejuvenating practice at hOMe. It wasn't clammy hot for a change and by the time we reached closing a cold wind had blown in and the smell of rain cooled our bodies in Savasana much faster than would normally take.

Unlike practice at other shalas where the atmosphere can get way too serious and the energy heavy, here at hOMe there's still so much to learn in spite of many, many, many, many  light moments. hOMe is truly the only place where practitioners can have a silly discussion while binding in Marichyasana A, B, C or D (take your pick). Conversation is free-flowing but respectful. And there is much acceptance and patience for character differences. So you could say we're mature at being immature. Sometimes it's also like having a satsang while practising yoga--with E always making sure to bring us back to zero after.

Last night I soaked up plenty of theory from E, even if Pattabhi has said that yoga should be 1% theory. She stopped practice after 3 Sury As and before Sury B to emphasise the importance of a strong back leg in Virabhadrasana, Trikonasana and Parsvokanasana. The back leg must be strong, straight and pressing down on the heel. The foot pigeon-toed to achieve an inward rotation on the thigh which also aids in squaring the hips in Warrior II. Get this right and you should be stable, steadfast and ideally in equilibrium with the front leg and with the arms being pulled in opposing but equal force. Take this to heart during practice and perhaps, just maybe you will experience Sthira Sukha Asanam.

Another memorable point for me--one that is anti-theory--is how E has been training my body to remember how to move when dropping back. "Like we're dancing," as she always put it. After three backbends I do the preparation for dropping back that Becky taught me way back in 2008 when she subbed for a Yoga Manila Led class. We've been working on this for some time already that E pointed out that my legs have been internally rotating, my quads are kept engaged and I am standing up from the backbend with her help and in wave-like fashion without her telling me how to do it. "Feel, don't think." That's all E will ever say when dropping me back, "Because the body is smart and learns quickly."

Thirdly, E taught me how to engage mula bandha in poses like Sirsasana and how it helps to try keep it locked 24/7 not just during yoga but off the mat as well. To illustrate, she had Art tread quietly around the shala during practice some time ago, with mula bandha activated and mindful of the other practitioners.

For a theoretical framework on the mula bandha read this article by Dr. Ruth Jones of Stanford University who calls mula bandha the pelvic floor muscle. According to Dr. Jones mula bandha is activated this way:

•Imagine your PFM as a sling that attaches from your tail bone at the back (sacrum and coccyx) to your pubic bone at the front.

•Now take a breath in, and as you breathe out, gently squeeze the muscles around your back passage, as if you were trying to prevent wind (gas/flatulence) escaping.

•Bring this feeling forward (remembering the muscular sling) towards your pubic bone as if you were trying to stop yourself from urinating (having a pee).

•Keep holding this contraction as you imagine that you are on the ground floor of an elevator, you want to lift your PFM as if you were going to the 1st, then 2nd 3rd etc floor.

•Keep breathing as normally as you can, whilst holding onto your PFM. Aim to hold for 10 seconds, before releasing your PFM.

•Repeat up to 10 times, breathing normally.

•Remember to release all the way back to the ground floor, as holding on too much may be as much of a problem as not being able to hold onto them at all.

Also, you may have noticed that your abdominal muscles were also engaged as you pulled in your PFM. This is perfectly normal as long as you do not tilt your pelvis or hold your breath as you do so. In yoga the abdominal muscles activating is part of the Uddiyana Bandha (the abdominal lock), and the Mula Bandha is almost always activated at the same time as that lock.

This can be a little too much to digest. I guess that's why Pattabhi and E insist on doing and feeling rather than thinking. Om.

Summer project

Hubby and I have been inspired to build a meditation hut in the middle of the fields at the family property (located along a cove and fronting a beach north of the capital) after I showed him the picture below of India Scott's meditation hut which she constructed herself on a beach in Nelson, New Zealand. Photo is from the Stillpoint Yoga New Zealand blog.

Below is a shot from the side of the rest house taken from the driveway.

The plan is to put it here amongst the mango and jackfruit trees.

Other family members want to build a football field instead but that would require clearing out the fruit-bearing trees. A meditation hut is much simpler to build and invites positive energies.

E and Becky flew to Boracay over the weekend to check out the venue for John's Mysore and Led classes in September. Look what they found! A meditation hut overlooking the beach at Station Three. Sigh. I can just live here...away from the politics, pollution and toxins of city life. The two pictures below are taken by Edith Tobias.

Inhale...Exhale...Om.

hOMe at last!

I have been counting the days before coming back on the mat. It's been a whole month already! Ladies holiday and a nasty stomach bug have prevented me from practising. But by Tuesday evening I was warmly welcomed at hOMe. My classmates were quick to offer health remedies to me. From Art, cantaloupe and watermelon shake to cool down and Berocca to perk up. Saar also swears by the efficacy of OMX tablets against bacterial attacks.

So much has transpired during my absence: Lai has advanced past Marich B, Art survived 108 sun salutes in memory and celebration of Guruji, Ana looks like she's flying in her jump throughs (although I think she doesn't realise it), we have also been joined by Lisa a newbie, and the road fronting hOMe is finally, practically paved!

It was also eventful for me because I was really craving for the positive energies from my teacher, fellow practitioners, and the room after feeling so cloistered, bedridden, sluggish and all those negative words associated with being ill. Their good vibrations made my practise so enjoyable, even painless. I'm also happy to report my progress with Supta Kurmasana (my new nemesis, foe and this year's Marichy D). Can't cross and bind my feet just yet. But I was able to get smoothly, with no stops from Supta Kurmasana to Tithibasana, Bakasana then to Chaturanga with E simply calling out the poses. Such a sweet surprise, almost like I was given a present. I also expected some resistance doing the backbend but I was able to lift myself off the floor quite easily. Dropbacks with E came more naturally this time and with less stiffness. Makes me wonder where all my strength was coming from given that I had just recovered from intestinal flu.

Melanie + yoga = Meant to be.

I have been in and out of hOMe since March. I should start calling this blog On and off the mat. Om.

For all my Gurus

guru brahma guru vishnu

guru devo maheswara,

guru sakshat param brahma

tasmai sri guruve namaha

To that teacher that is creation,

To that teacher that is this very life,

To that teacher that is all challenge and transformation,

To that teacher within each of us,

To that teacher beyond all things - formless and divine,

I bow down and offer my life and efforts

Practice Makes Perfect: An interview with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

article from Yoga + Joyful Living January/February 1994 issue

photo from http://www.headcount.org/

Happiness on the face, light in the eyes, a healthy body-these are the signs of a yogi, according to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the classic Sanskrit text on hatha yoga. Such a description fits K. Pattabhi Jois, who at the age of 78 has the straight spine and smooth face of a much younger man. He laughs easily, beaming when we are introduced in a steamy New York studio, and asks if I would take yoga with him. According to the Pradipika, hatha yoga is taught for the attainment of raja yoga, also known as ashtanga yoga, the complete, eight-limbed path to self-realization, but few emphasize the importance of attaining perfection in posture and breathing as a means of achieving the other limbs as clearly as Jois does.

Born in 1915 in southern India, K. Pattabhi Jois met his guru, Krishnamacharya, who was also B. K. S. Iyengar’s teacher, while still a young boy. He has been teaching yoga since 1937, and students from all over the world come to study with him in his home in Mysore, India. He has visited the United States several times, and although this is his first visit to New York, most of the students in this morning’s class seem to know the sequence he teaches.

It’s hot. The windows are closed, and the already humid air is thick with the labored breathing of 35 sweating bodies. The students groan and sigh. For some, the sequence appears to unfold effortlessly, but still their bodies glisten with sweat. Jois is everywhere encouraging – a hand here, a foot there, a joke wherever it is most needed. He calls out the sequence of postures in a strong deep voice, using their Sanskrit names.

There’s no laziness here: only determined hard work and a grace born of strength and flexibility, as the class moves from one posture to the next, pausing only to hold the pose, and linking the postures with a spine-flexing sequence reminiscent of the sun salutation and similarly coordinated with the breath. “Exhale, chatwari (chaturanga dandasana), inhale, pancha (urdhva mukha svanasana).” Jois establishes discipline but tempers it with gentle humor and affection, as he teases students, verbally and physically, into places they didn’t realize they could reach.

And if the coaxing, the energy in the room, and the peer pressure aren’t enough, there’s the heat. In spite of the mats, there’s hardly a dry spot left on the crowded hardwood floor at the end of this rigorous two-hour session. The sequence of postures continuously flowing with the breath is designed to stoke the fire of purification – to cleanse the nervous and circulatory systems with discipline and good old-fashioned sweat. “Practice, practice, practice,” Jois says later, addressing a small group of students gathered in a loft in Soho. He spoke at length about the method he uses, emphasizing that he has added nothing new to the original teachings of his teacher and the Yoga Sutra.

Where did you learn yoga? From my guru, Krishnamacharya. I started studying with him in 1927, when I was 12 years old. First he taught me asana and pranayama. Later I studied Sanskrit and advaita philosophy at the Sanskrit College in Mysore and began teaching yoga there in 1937. I became a professor and taught Sanskrit and philosophy at the College for 36 years.

Do you also teach your Western students Sanskrit? No, only asana and pranayama. You need Sanskrit to understand the yoga method, but many people, even though they would like to learn Sanskrit, say they have no time. It is very important to understand yoga philosophy: without philosophy, practice is not good, and yoga practice is the starting place for yoga philosophy. Mixing both is actually the best.

What method do you use to teach asana and pranayama? I teach only ashtanga yoga, the original method given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Ashtanga means “eight-step” yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. The Yoga Sutra says “Tasmin sati svasa prasvasayor gati vicchedah pranayamah (2.49).” First you perfect asana, and then you practice pranayama: you control the inhalation and the exhalation, you regulate the breath, you retain and restrain the breath. After asana is perfected, then pranayama can be perfected. That is the yoga method.

What is perfect asana, and how do you perfect asana? “Sthira sukham asanam (YS 2.46).” Perfect asana means you can sit for three hours with steadiness and happiness, with no trouble. After you take the legs out of the asana, the body is still happy. In the method I teach, there are many asanas, and they work with blood circulation, the breathing system, and the focus of the eyes (to develop concentration). In this method you must be completely flexible and keep the three parts of the body – head, neck, and trunk – in a straight line. If the spinal cord bends, the breathing system is affected. If you want to practice the correct breathing system, you must have a straight spine.

From the muladhara [the chakra at the base of the spine] 72,000 nadis [channels through which prana travels in the subtle body] originate. The nervous system grows from here. All these nadis are dirty and need cleaning. With the yoga method, you use asana and the breathing system to clean the nadis every day. You purify the nadis by sitting in the right posture and practicing every day, inhaling and exhaling, until finally, after a long time, your whole body is strong and your nervous system is perfectly cured. When the nervous system is perfect, the body is strong.

Once all the nadis are clean, prana enters the central nadi, called sushumna. For this to happen, you must completely control the anus. You must carefully practice the bandhas • mulabandha, uddiyana bandha, and the others • during asana and pranayama practice. If you practice the method I teach, automatically the bandhas will come. This is the original teaching, the ashtanga yoga method. I’ve not added anything else. These modern teachings, I don’t know… I’m an old man!

This method is physically quite demanding. How do you teach someone who is in bad shape physically? Bad shape is not impossible to work with. The yoga text says that yoga practice makes you lean but strong like an elephant. You have a yogic face. A yogic face is always a smiling face. It means you hear nada, the internal sound, and your eyes are clear. Then you see clearly, and you control bindu [the vital energy sometimes interpreted as sexual energy]. The inner fire unfolds, and the body is free of disease.
 
There are three types of disease: body disease, mind disease, and nervous system disease. When the mind is diseased, the whole body is diseased. The yoga scriptures say “Manayeva manushanam karanam bandha mokshayoh,” the mind is the cause of both bondage and liberation. If the mind is sick and sad, the whole body gets sick, and all is finished. So first you must give medicine to the mind. Mind medicine: that is yoga.

What exactly would mind medicine be? Yoga practice and the correct breathing system. Practice, practice, practice. That’s it. Practice so the nervous system is perfect and the blood circulation is good, which is very important. With good blood circulation, you don’t get heart trouble. Controlling the bindu, not wasting your bindu, is also very important. A person is alive by containing the bindu; when the bindu is completely gone, you are a dead man. That’s what the scriptures say. By practicing every day, the blood becomes purified, and the mind gradually comes under your control. This is the yogic method. “Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah (YS: I.2).” This means that yoga is control over the modifications of the mind.

We’ve been talking mostly about yoga practice as asana and pranayama. How important are the first two limbs of ashtanga yoga, the yamas and niyamas? They are very difficult. If you have a weak mind and a weak body, you have weak principles. The yamas have five limbs: ahimsa [nonviolence], satya [truthfulness], asteya [non-stealing], brahmacharya [continence], and aparigraha [non-possessiveness]. Ahimsa is impossible; also telling the truth is very difficult. The scriptures say speak that truth which is sweet; don’t speak truth which hurts. But don’t lie, no matter how sweet it sounds. Very difficult. You tell only the sweet truth because he who speaks the unpleasant truth is a dead man.

So, a weak mind means a weak body. That’s why you build a good foundation with asana and pranayama, so your body and mind and nervous system are all working; then you work on ahimsa, satya, and the other yamas and niyamas.

What about the other limbs of ashtanga yoga? Do you teach a method of meditation? Meditation is dhyana, the seventh step in the ashtanga system. After one step is perfect, then you take the next step. For dhyana, you must sit with a straight back with your eyes closed and focus on the bridge of the nostrils. If you don’t do this, you’re not centered. If the eyes open and close, so does the mind.

Yoga is 95 percent practical. Only 5 percent is theory. Without practice, it doesn’t work; there is no benefit. So you have to practice, following the right method, following the steps one by one. Then it’s possible.

The term vinyasa is used to describe what you teach. What does it mean? Vinyasa means “breathing system.” Without vinyasa, don’t do asana. When vinyasa is perfect, the mind is under control. That’s the main thing-controlling the mind. That’s the method Patanjali described. The scriptures say that prana and apana are made equal by keeping the ratio of inhalation and exhalation equal and by following the breath in the nostrils with the mind. If you practice this way, gradually mind comes under control.

Do you teach pranayama in the sitting postures also? Yes. When padmasana [the lotus sitting posture] is perfect, then you control your anus with mulabandha, and also use the chin lock, jalandrabandha. There are many types of pranayama, but the most important one is kevala kumbhaka, when the fluctuations of the breath – the inhalation and exhalation – are controlled and automatically stop. For this you must practice. Practice, practice, practice. When you practice, new ways of thinking, new thoughts, come in your mind. Lectures sound good; you give a good lecture and everyone says you’re so great, but lectures are 99-1/2 percent not practical. For many years you must practice asana and pranayama. The scriptures say “Practicing a long time with respect and without interruption brings perfection.” One year, two years, ten years… your entire life long, you practice.
 
After asana and pranayama are perfect, pratyahara, sense control [the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga], follows. The first four limbs are external exercises: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama. The last four are internal, and they automatically follow when the first four are mastered. Pratyahara means that anywhere you look, you see God. Good mind control gives that capacity, so that when you look, everything you see is Atman (the God within). Then for you the world is colored by God. Whatever you see, you identify it with your Atman. The scriptures say that a true yogi’s mind is so absorbed in the lotus feet of the Lord that nothing distracts him, no matter what happens in the external world.

What is your parting advice for those who have a desire to pursue yoga? Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal. Yoga is not mine. But don’t approach yoga with a business mind-looking for worldly gain. If you want to be near God, turn your mind toward God, and practice yoga. As the scriptures say “without yoga practice, how can knowledge give you moksha [liberation]?”

Remembering Pattabhi

The Australian film director and yoga practitioner Robert Wilkins made the documentary Guru in 2005. He wrote this obituary for the UK's The Guardian shortly after the death of Sri K Pattabhi Jois last year.

Sri K Pattabhi Jois, who has died aged 93, was the founder of Ashtanga yoga, the physically demanding, dynamic style of yoga embraced by millions of westerners. If ever proof were needed of the health benefits of yoga, Jois was it. Up every morning to start classes at 5am, he rarely missed a day's teaching in 70 years, instructing hundreds of students daily at his shala (school) in Mysore, southern India, until the last year of his life.

What sets Jois's method apart from other forms of hatha (physical) yoga is a technique called vinyasa. Ashtanga students jump back and forward (the vinyasa) between postures (asanas), synchronising movements with their breathing in one long flow. Expertly done, it can look more like a dance or a martial art than a relaxation class. "Ashtanga yoga is 99% practice; 1% theory", Jois would say. "Practise, practise and all is coming" was his mantra.

Over the last 15 years, Ashtanga has grown into one of the most popular forms of yoga in the world, with a large celebrity following. Ashtanga has also spawned many new styles of yoga, including vinyasa flow, power yoga, shadow yoga, dynamic yoga and Jivamukti yoga. The UK boasts two teachers who are certified to teach Ashtanga at Jois's highest level.

For most Ashtanga students, the spiritual side creeps up slowly. In fact, Jois would teach meditation and the pranayama breathing technique only to advanced students, after they had completed years of dedicated practice. There are six series of poses in Ashtanga; it is said that, of all Jois's students, only his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy has completed all six.

Jois, known as "Guruji", was the son of a Brahmin priest and astrologer. He was born on a full moon in the small southern Indian town of Kowshika and became interested in yoga as a boy after attending a demonstration by Sri T Krishnamacharya, the man largely credited with resurrecting the millennia-old practice of yoga. At 14 he ran away from home with two rupees and a bicycle, and travelled to Mysore to study with his guru, throwing himself heart and soul into becoming a yogi. The maharaja of Mysore became a fan, and in 1937 invited Jois to set up the yoga department at the city's Sanskrit college. He eventually retired as professor of philosophy in 1973, though he continued to teach at his own school, the Ashtanga Yoga Institute, until 2008, retaining an encyclopedic memory for Sanskrit texts.

The first of Jois's western students arrived in Mysore in the 1960s. The popularity of Ashtanga began to spread, particularly in America, and over the next 40 years the school became inundated with foreigners. Jois would teach them from his modest home in Laxmipuram, eventually moving, in 2001, to the more affluent suburb of Gokulum. In 1975 he travelled with his son Manju to the US, invited to teach at schools set up in his name. He published a book about his discipline, Yoga Mala, in 1962; it was translated into English from his native Kannada in 1999.

Like many people I fell into Jois's style of yoga by chance. Returning jetlagged to London from a visit to Australia, I dropped into an early-morning Mysore-style yoga class near my house. I found it challenging both physically and mentally, and quickly became hooked. I went to India twice to study with Jois - on the first occasion meeting my American wife there - and, in 2005, made a documentary film, Guru, recording the interaction between Jois and his students and the celebrations for his 90th birthday.

What must it have been like for Jois, surrounded in the latter part of his life by so many foreigners, dressed up in Indian clothes, queueing up to bow down at his feet? He might have felt pity; instead he chose to see beyond any awkwardness or cultural difference. He opened his heart to thousands of students every year and tried to hold a space for anyone who dared to ask for his help. I look back on times when he held the door open a crack for me, and think what an amazing man he was to offer up so much in his lifetime.

Jois's wife Amma died in 1997. He is survived by Manju, daughter Saraswati (another son, Ramesh, predeceased him) and three grandchildren, including Sharath, who is now director of the Mysore school.

• Krishna Pattabhi Jois, yoga teacher, born 26 July 1915; died 18 May 2009

I'm also anticipating the publication of Guruji on July 25, 2010. The book is a portrait of Sri K Pattabhi Jois through the eyes of his students. Read some excerpts from yoga luminaries here including a tribute below from John Scott, who learned the parctice in 1989 when Guruji would teach only 10 students at a time.

John Scott was introduced to ashtanga by Derek Ireland and first visited Pattabhi Jois in Mysore in 1989. Scott is one of the world's leading authorities in ashtanga vinyasa, and the author of Astanga Yoga.

Before I met Shri K Pattabhi Jois I had many questions about life; what to do and were to go? My design profession gave me many skills, to think laterally, to see things from more than one perspective.

But as a designer, I was fixed in form and aesthetics, getting it right for the world ‘out there', I was awake but only partially awake.

Guruji greeted me with a big smile and an open heart. 'Come! Where are you from? Who is your teacher? How long are you staying?' were the first words Guruji said to me. He was immediately in the 'now', checking in with my past and my future (my Karma).

Derek Island, my first AVY teacher in 1987, had instructed me to tell Guruji that I was a complete beginner, which I was. 'Good', was Guruji's reply.

I reflect back now and see how on that day, way back in March 1989, I met a true Satguru, a guide who has shone the light for the last 20 years of my life. Guruji, through his simple but direct transmission, has awakened me to a Universe of infinite possibilities inside, right at the core of my being.

On a more personal level Guruji has been many things for me, The obvious, the guru mirror and teacher, but more importantly, my eastern father. Guruji not only welcomed me into his yoga shala, but also welcomed me into his family, his personal life - for example making me an Honoree Brahmin for the day to attend his granddaughter's wedding.

Guruji taught by example and always referred to himself as a student of yoga and a householder. He asked me was I married, and then told me that after the Advanced Series I would marry. True enough, in 1993 Lucy Crawford blossomed into my life.

Guruji has embraced our marriage and children and always included India and Fynn, inviting them to attend his great grand children's birthday parties.

Lucy and I have hosted Guruji and family twice in London, where we have come together, one Brahmin family with one western family living together in harmony, in one house together, eating together, talking together, all culture and labels dropping away - just people together in relationship.

Guruji has taught me that yes, we have a cultural identity but if you focus deeper than the physical, journeying into the subtle, we are just one, one light.

In a theory class, Guruji looked Directly at me, and asked ,'John Scott, who is God / Brahman? What is God / Brahman? Where is God / Brahman?', and then looking directly into me, answered for me, the guru mirror, 'This is God / Brahman touching the wall, touching the floor, pointing to the class. I am God / Brahman, you are God / Brahman, you are ALL BRAHMAN!'

I feel blessed to have met Guruji, Sri K Pattabhi Jois; such a teacher, who has, in a very quiet and humble way, accepted me as me, giving me simple and clear directions, answering every question I asked, and showing me that to have questions is to wake up and to live.

Aum Shanti, Shanti, Shantih

108 Sun Salutations for Guruji

Got a text message from Becky who invited me to join her in offering 108 Sun Salutations in celebration of the life of Guruji who passed away last year May 18th.

Why so many? Jem asked grimacing in fake pain.

Why not? I countered, challenging my Ashtanguy who has very recently been hooked on Ashtanga. Making me promise that we’ll do Suryas A & B every evening when he comes home from work.

108 is a sacred number in yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body. Mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence which also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth because the average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters.

Surya Namaskar contains the whole practice within it. Break down the sun salutation postures, and you get a complete range of movements such as the forward bend, back bend, being still, lengthening the spine, grounding the feet, strengthening the upper body, stretching the hamstrings, opening the heart and more. Surya Namaskar generates the heat for the body at the beginning of the practice. It also works on the mind by tuning us into the breath, holding the gaze point, these movements allow us to center ourselves and to tame our wandering mind. "The notion of a salutation to the sun is to pay your respects and surrender to the universe. This can be taken as a metaphor to let go physically - the mind follows as you move 'inside' the practice."

And remember, on that day we pay tribute to Shri Krishna Pattabhi Jois--Guruji--who dedicated his life to sharing the beautiful practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Image from the film Guru by Robert Wilkins

Om.

Ashtanguys

ASHTANGUY n.

Ashtanguys plural

Pronunciation: \ash-tang-guy\

Function: noun

Date and first usage: 06 May 2010 this blog

Definition:
1. One of Edith Tobias’ male yoga students of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
2. A practitioner of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga who is male.

Photo courtesy of Stuart B. Watkins

In E’s shala there is Art, my breathing buddy, who has made an honest living earning tons of money “writing fiction” (his words, not mine) as a consultant for many foreign and domestic organizations.

Then Saar, from Israel who is CEO of a global ecological content and research company headquartered in Hong Kong. He also practices some second series poses and Tai Chi.

Benjie, whose many years as a seaman have given him bodily aches and pains which have been recently relieved by practicing Ashtanga. He is married to Lai.

Together with Jing, E’s husband, and Jem my husband these fabulous five form our core group of Ashtanguys at the shala who share their strength and energies during practice.

In this country the women practitioners of Ashtanga normally outnumber the males. Why is that? Baffling really, when historically yoga was created in India originally and exclusively for men. After trying it out all the way through the seated poses, Jem can’t figure out why Ashtanga hasn’t caught on among Filipino men yet. It IS such a strenuous work out for him.

But in E’s shala there is almost an equal ratio of--or should I say a good balance between girls and guys. One night there were 4 guys out of the 9 practitioners in total. Of course Jing skips practice and goes downstairs for some sub-zero beer at the resto on the ground floor when space gets too tight.

Because I can’t make it to the shala this week, I’ve convinced my husband to do yoga at home as cross-training for his running. The result: so far he hasn’t put on his running shoes because we have been practicing every morning since Monday.

On the advice of one of my teachers, Jon Cagas, doing Suryas A & B and closing everyday can constitute a “daily practice”. As long as it’s done with integrity I suppose. Never one to be shortchanged, hubby and I did not only that but also some seated poses (no backbends though, I can only do UDs with E.) Woo-hoo!

A round of sub-zero for our Ashtanguys and an article on Filipino businessmen who practice Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and another  article on yoga for men by Rodney Yee. Om.

Yoga begins with listening

* It is independent of judgment and criticism, whether positive or negative.
* It is neither superior nor inferior.
* It is fearless in the face of all challenges.
* Yoga is a place where we go to abandon the ego.

(My notes from theory workshop last year with John Scott which I decided to save here before my notebook gets lost.)

72,000 asanas

I want to practice. This summer my plate has been full, mostly being busy keeping the kids busy during the school break. I have little time to do what I love most, yoga that is.

But as one teacher has said there are more than 72,000 asanas in all--yes, not just the seated/ standing poses, the inversions or all the other hatha poses we know--but every possible position of our life. So that's yoga off the mat for you, baby. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could move through life with such equanimity!

I have selective memory and retain the information I hear or read  that I feel strongly about, is logical or that I oppose. During a lecture with John Scott, I distinctly remember that there are 3 dimesions to practice.

1) A physical practice has a shelf-life of benefits (SKPJ: "Asanas done incorrectly, disease coming!"). And that's why a 2) mental practice is needed, which will elevate into a 3) spiritual practice where we understand "being human".

Just more stuff from my "reporter's notebook". Om.

Return to innocence: just like a quadruped

One of my favourite films, above. Why? You might ask. Because it portrays what I love most on this earth: children, the relationship between a parent and child, yoga and most of all, it's a silent movie. I'm a supporter of the truism less talk, more action or less is more. You get the picture.

Move the timeline of this 1938 clip of Krishnamacharya teaching yoga to his two children to the following time stamps: 00:26, 00:57, 01:26, 2:30 and marvel at the ease the young boys fly through their vinyasas. I know, I know. I keep talking about jumping back/through ad nauseum. I really should practice more non-attachment.

How does one really practice Aparigraha in a yoga class? Often teachers remind students to let go of something in their practice that they feel attached to: their ego (doing poses well or better than others), for instance. I've also seen some prod students to practice with patience.

Where I practice, it's been really effective how E asks us to meet challenging poses with a soft attitude, to approach difficult asanas with curiosity rather than ambition. Another yama, Ahimsa, is evident in how I am re-learning Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. According to John Scott, a direct student of Sri K Pattabhi Jois, knees are bent gently when reaching down to grasp the toes in the standing poses before straightening the leg. We are also taught to be like quadrupeds during asanas like the downward dog. Janu Sirsasana A-D and Marichyasanas A to D wherein we lean to our sides before extending our arms in front and wrapping them behind us to bind.

On the subject of children, I'd like to go back to that and the concept of being a quadruped when practising yoga. David Merchant, from Washington University in St Louis, writes in his Quadruped Fundamentals:

“Quadruped” is the name I give to a contemplative movement practice that re-investigates our floor-level, four-footed origins to build integrative strength and improve our fundamental coordination. Developed from principles of movement coordination investigated by F.M. Alexander, Raymond Dart, Irmgard Bartenief and others, Quadruped Applications are movement activities that can be practiced for a variety of purposes. They can be used as an exercise, and as a meditative or “somatic” practice (in a manner analogous to yoga or tai chi) to improve personal movement skill.

Quadruped re-investigates early-childhood developmental movement processes, and then extends them with adult conscious awareness and skill. We all started by rolling, crawling and cruising, before walking and running in progressive stages. Coordination develops accumulatively, building more advanced skills on the foundation of previous basic ones.

Our study of crawling did not need to stop once we could walk on two feet; it can continue, and advance into adulthood, using our increased strength, control, and conscious attention toward efficient form. By dynamically interacting with gravity and the floor, the Quadruped method recognizes our constant relationship with the ground and uses its force/support as feedback, teaching us to move as a unified Self. Thus the floor teaches us how to balance so that we are most free to move.

Makes sense, doesn't it? I'm going to re-connect with and explore my inner child at next practice, that's for sure. Back to my original train of thought. Too much citta vrtti and not enough nirodhah, haha. Here's a mantra I found online that I find helpful in calling aparigraha to mind:

"As I inhale, I open to possibility.
 I welcome change.
 I invite the present moment."

And upon exhaling, say: "As I exhale, I let go."

Om.

1% theory, the rest is practice

Practice, practice, practice. This resonates in the personal practice of Maria Villella. This Ashtanga Yoga teacher aced the jump back and jump through after four years of practice. Now that's patience, patience, patience!

Watch her float smoothly through Bhujapidasana, Bakasana, Kurmasana and Supta Kurmasana with excellent bandha control, below:

Full, counted vinyasa

Surya Namaskar A
Surya Namaskar B
Padangusthasana
Padahasthasana
Utthita Trikonasana A & B
Utthita Parsvakonasana A & B
Prasarita Padottanasana A, B, C & D
Parsvottanasana
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
Utkatasana
Virabhadrasana A & B
Dandasana
Paschimottanasana A, B, C & D
Purvottanasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

 Ardha Baddha Paschimottanasana
Triang Mukhaekapada Paschimottanasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Janu Sirsasana A
Janu Sirsasana B
Janu Sirsasana C

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Marichyasana A
Marichyasana B

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Marichyasana C
Marichyasana D

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Navasana 5X

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Bhujapidasana
Kurmasana
Supta Kurmasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Garbha Pindasana
Kukkutasana
Baddha Konasana A & B
Upavishta Konasana A & B
Supta Konasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Supta Padangusthasana
Ubhaya Padangusthasana
Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Setu Bandhasana
Chakrasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Chakrasana

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Salamba Sarvangasana
Halasana Karnapidasana
Urdhva Padmasana
Pindasana
Matsyasana
Uttana Padasana
Chakrasana
Sirsasana A & B

FULL STANDING VINYASA

Yoga Mudra
Padmasana
Utpluthih
Savasana

This is how one would traditionally practice the primary series, with full standing vinyasas after a particular set of poses. All those full standing vinyasas seem formidable? In the words of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, "You take practice, you think God."

Om.

The Play Doh practice

I have been puzzled by the plastic container of Play Doh at the corner of the room. It just stayed there, untouched, without changing position for the past few sessions until one night E announced before our led class that we would be practicing using ear plugs.

A little discomfited, I stood on my mat and watched curiously as my classmates went for the Play Doh container, nonchalantly began moulding small portions of clay and then carefully sealing their outer ears with the Play Doh. Oh, the many applications of Play Doh! It was plain to see that this was alien to me as E came over to explain that this was how they learned to tune in and focus on breathing while practicing yoga.

I was eager and willing and aspire to be a “connoisseur” of breath. As soon as my ears were covered it seemed like I had plunged into a pool: things sounded distant and muffled but my breath was crisp and clear. I was amused and fascinated at how audible my breathing was in my head and the calming effect it instantly had on me. Since we were also instructed to move as one, the whole exercise was also effective in teaching us to be patient and considerate of others.

Love, love, love how multi-faceted Mysore practices at the shala have been. The next meeting we practiced facing each other, some with their eyes closed. For me this was another exercise in cultivating patience, consideration, concentration and even humility.

Om.

hOMe is where the heart is

hOMe is where I practise now. Edith's shala as Art fondly calls it. On the 4th floor of a ladies dormitory a few minutes away from my house.

This is where I have been re-learning Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga after a long hiatus. It's not anymore just knowing which asanas come next or when to engage the bandhas, nor how to get into the full pose but really remembering that it is the breath that moves the body and circularly breathing with no stops to reach that infinite, unlimited potential.

Also keeping in mind to come back to zero, to neutral to Samasthiti after each pose. Samasthiti is Sthira Sukha Asanam when you ask yourself if you have the equanimity to go to the next pose.

Remembering also to lead with the heart on the inhalation and on the exhalation lead with the head.

My Mysore practice last weekend was a completely new experience for me. For one, I got to practice the full primary series (full, counted vinyasa) with Becky. She and Edith were kind enough to assist and adjust me in my problem poses. I felt like a dork beside her--my timing was off, my breathing was off, still I enjoyed the practice so much because it opened my eyes to a more gentle and natural style of practicing Ashtanga Yoga, the way these two teachers learned it from John Scott who, in turn, learned it traditionally from Guruji himself.

hOMe is also a place which encourages meaningful discussion. I simply love how Edith always urges practitioners to quietly state their intentions after the opening mantra and before practice. For her, with each inhalation she comes closer to God-whether he/she is Yahweh, Allah or Buddha—and God comes to her with the exhalation.

So good to be hOMe!

Meet my chakra

I saw my chakra and it was blue.  I later discovered that this is known as the Vishuddha or the throat chakra. It happened during Savasana after practice. I lay there positively satiated by my practice when my teacher, who is also a Reiki healer, ever so subtlely positioned her warm hands over my joints and finally upon my closed eyes. The light shade of blue I saw was at once calming and enhanced the "superior" Savasana I was already enjoying.

Intrigued I read up on the chakras. Mine I found out relates to communication and growth through expression. No surprise that this is my dominant chakra as I've had many, many years working in media! Visuddha is located in the throat area where the thyroid hormone, responsible for growth and maturation, is produced. Symbolised by a lotus with sixteen petals, Vishudda governs self-expression and communication, emotionally it governs independence, mentally it governs fluent thought, and spiritually, it governs a sense of security.

There are seven other chakras, or energy centres located within the subtle body and are aligned and ascending in a column that spans from the base of the spine to the middle of the forehead. And the seventh which is beyond the physical region found at the crown of the head.

Our chakras whirl around in a vortex and when they are open, bright and clean, then our chakra system is balanced. When a chakra becomes blocked, damaged, or muddied with residual energy, then our physical and emotional health can be affected. Often this occurs habitually as the result of negative or incomplete belief systems. The effects of our habits, feelings, beliefs, thoughts, fears and desires can be found in our chakras. Practicing yoga promotes the balance between chakras.

According to spiritual websites I've browsed if you "close off" your emotions because they're painful or overwhelming, your heart chakra is likely to become tight and closed and block emotional energy. If you, on the other hand, are extremely centered in your intellect, you may have a bulging and bright third eye chakra but a disproportionately small heart chakra or root chakra or womb chakra. Or perhaps you're cerebrally focused on finding answers to deep questions about "reality."

These are the seven primary chakras:

Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) Base or Root Chakra (last bone in spinal cord *coccyx*)
Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) Sacral Chakra (ovaries/prostate)
Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) Solar Plexus Chakra (navel area)
Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) Heart Chakra (heart area)
Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, Viśuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and neck area)
Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or third eye)
Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, Sahasrāra) Crown Chakra (Top of the head; 'Soft spot' of a newborn)

Ancient texts documenting the chakras date back as far as the later Upanishads, such as the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad with the following translation below:
 

Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad

Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar

Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

Om.

Yoga Sutra 1.33: See Yourself in Others

Just like the ancient yogis, I have been practicing in a cave it seems. Alone, with no energy to share and none to receive. I have not been able to go to the shala because my yaya left suddenly so my yoga has been home-based. But thanks to the internet, I haven't completely become a hermit and have been able to communicate with others. I learned something valuable from someone sympathetic to my troubles and problems.


She said, when practicing inhale all the earth's goodness and exhale all its' impurities. My breath has been longer, deeper and well more pleasurable as opposed to strained. Also to calm down my inner "turbulence" she reminds me about Yoga Sutra 1.33: Maitri karuna mudita upeksanam sukha duhkha punya apunya visayanam bhavanatah cittaprasadanam.


In English:

“In daily life we see people around who are happier than we are, people who are less happy. Some may be doing praiseworthy things and others causing problems. Whatever may be our usual attitude toward such people and their actions, if we can be pleased with others who are happier than ourselves, compassionate toward those who are unhappy, joyful with those doing praiseworthy things, and remain undisturbed by the errors of others, our minds will be very tranquil.” - Translation by TKV Desikachar


Or:

“To preserve the innate serenity of the mind, a yogin should be happy for those who are happy, be compassionate toward those who are unhappy, be delighted for those who are virtuous and be indifferent toward the wicked.” -  Translation by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati

Grateful

This is where I have been practising recently. On the corner of Sgt. Esguerra and Sct. Borromeo. So grateful for finding a shala nearby, learning from a very generous teacher and sharing energies with such a fun-loving yet serious group of practitioners. Om.

On the mat

Coming back on the mat recently has truly been a blessing, and blissful. I re-connected with one teacher whose class I have joined only once before yet was so memorable. Tesa's power class at Pulse seemed serendipitous: she derived much of the poses from the Ashtanga yoga primary and second series and for me, this class was a perfect-fit for a yogini like me who is returning to the practice. "You see where it's coming from," she said nodding as I explained my "comeback". I love Tesa's class--with candles flickering, Jai Uttal softly playing in the background, and her gentle voice which changes tone and turns unrelenting if she feels you're not doing your best.

I also discovered a new teacher whom I feel I can work with long-term not only because the shala is located close to home but also because she is trained under John Scott and follows the led, full counted vinyasa series of the late, great Pattabhi Jois. True to John Scott-style, she had me doing a handstand after Utkatasana to prove to me and to everyone else that we have the potential within.

Om.