Moon Day Tomorrow

Friday, December 28 is a moon day.

Ravi Shankar (1920 – 2012)

The Ravi Shankar Foundation - Nada Brahma - Sound is God

Last weekend in Buffalo, NY...

This photo is from the led class that I taught last weekend at East Meets West Yoga Studio.  EMW offers a daily Mysore program in a lovely space with a vibrant community.  If you are in the area, be sure to stop by.  More photos here.

{Local} Led Primary Series

Led primary series of Ashtanga yoga

Sunday, December 9, 2012

8:15am, arrive early

@Albuquerque Ashtanga Yoga Shala

206 Dartmouth Dr NE (Nob Hill)

More info & registration:
www.AshtangaYogaAlbuquerque.com

{Video} Guruji talks about the opening mantra

Happiness and true knowledge. Shri K. Pattabhi Jois discussing the opening mantra via Tom Sewell.

{Video} Hypertension and yoga from Urban Yogis

ABOUT:  Can yoga lower blood pressure? Researchers at Long Island University are at work on this question, which could significantly affect the ways we approach cardiovascular disease and treatment.* Yoga instructors Eddie Stern and Blake Seidenshaw have teamed up with physical therapy professor Marshall Hagins to conduct a study on the effects of yoga on patients with hypertension. The participants note their own perceived results and the benefits of the practice, but will the science back them up?  

URBAN YOGIS is a unique documentary series featuring stories on the transformative power of yoga and meditation. Beautifully shot, inspiring, and heartfelt - the series delves into the lives of cancer survivors, inner-city youth dealing with violence in their communities, recovering addicts, artists, youth in detention facilities, and more. Comedian Russell Brand, Grammy-nominated musician Moby, "yogi" businessman Russell Simmons, and author/doctor Deepak Chopra also share their stories and insights. Renowned yoga teacher Eddie Stern serves as our host and guide to the stories of these urban yogis.

Click here to watch more Urban Yogis videos from the Chopra Well at youtube.

{Local} Beginner Month

Monday, November 26 - Friday, December 21
TIME: 8:00 - 9:00 am
DAYS: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
(Can add Friday or Sunday for missed classes)

More information and registration

2013 Sharath & Saraswathi US Tour

US Tour 2013
Greenwich, CT April 1-5, 7-12 
Led primary, intermediate, pranayama
More information & registration

Charlottesville, Virginia April 5
Led Primary
More information & registration

New York, NY April 13
Led primary
More information & registration (scroll down)

Encinitas, CA April 19-24, 26-30
Led primary, intermediate, pranayama
More information & registration




Watch more videos from last year's tour

{Listen} NPR: Struggle for Smarts?

Americans tend to see struggle as a sign of low ability. Asian cultures see it as an opportunity...

Listen to the full segment here:



Or click here to listen/read at NPR:

{Archive} The Yoga Portfolio

The May 2007 Vanity Fair photo essay featuring Shri K. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji).

High quality image at Govinda Kai's flickr page here
Article at Vanity Fair here

{Local} ABQ Shala Fall Schedule 2012

CLASS SCHEDULE

Sunday
6:30am door opens
8:15 - 9:45am Mysore with Elise
(8:15am Led Primary Series with Elise replaces Mysore on 11/25, 12/9, 12/23, 1/6, 1/13, 1/20)
10am door closes

Monday - Thursday
6am door opens
6:30 - 9:45am Mysore with Elise
10am door closes

Friday
6am door opens
6:30 - 8:45am Mysore with Elise
9:00 am door closes 

Closed Saturdays and full/new moon days.

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Thu, Nov 22 Thanksgiving
6:30am door opens
7 - 8:45am Mysore with Elise
9am door closes

Fri, Nov 23
6:30am door opens
8am day after Thanksgiving Led Primary Series with Elise

Sun, Nov 25
6:30am door opens
8:15am Led Primary Series with Elise

More information:  www.AshtangaYogaAlbuquerque.com
Frequently asked questions:  http://aylibrary.blogspot.com/2012/04/ashtanga-yoga-mysore-faqs.html

Guy Donahaye ABQ - Bibliography

Source: Guy in ABQ, AAYS

Resources and references mentioned during Guy Donahaye's weekend workshop at the Albuquerque Ashtanga Yoga Shala October 19-21, 2012

 

 

GENERAL

Guy's Shala in NY:  Ashtanga Yoga Shala NYC
A good place to practice and a website full of valuable information.

http://aysnyc.org/

Guy's blog "Mind Medicine:  Ashtanga Yoga Darshana"
http://yogamindmedicine.blogspot.com/ 

Guy's book "GURUJI: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students"
http://bit.ly/RhagPj

Book extracts:
http://bit.ly/QCpfmU

Interviews:
http://bit.ly/OXgeGN 

DAY 1:  Fundamentals of Practice

Reading list at Guy's website:
http://ow.ly/eGhEQ

What is Yoga?

http://bit.ly/WEqaZ6

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

http://bit.ly/RRM7O0

Pranayama and mulabandha

http://bit.ly/TtDdvI  

Breathing

http://bit.ly/VwropM

Practice guidelines
http://bit.ly/RlVPLC

DAY 2:   Mind Medicine I

Ashtanga Yoga Mantram and translation
http://bit.ly/RlVIj3

Yoga Sutras & Hatha Yoga Pradipika

http://aylibrary.blogspot.com/p/resources.html

Why right leg first in padmasana

http://bit.ly/PGSi6L

Diet and lifestyle

http://bit.ly/UtMljY

What is the Self?

http://bit.ly/WEsUWk

Daily practice

http://bit.ly/MYrf3H

Ego, vrttis, householders

http://bit.ly/RQIJTS

Ayurveda, doshas, recipes, and many more resources
http://www.ayurveda.com/online_resource/index.html  

Ashtanga yoga history and lineage
http://bit.ly/Rapfc0

DAY 3: Mind Medicine II

3 gunas, Yoga Sutras, and more

http://bit.ly/UtOlsh

When to and not to practice

http://bit.ly/RL6UkY

Pain
http://bit.ly/MrZN4R

First you do asanas

http://bit.ly/TbI4j7

Mind control

http://bit.ly/PmoilT 

Guruji teaching

http://bit.ly/X3WQcU

Mad attention

http://bit.ly/PN4gkt

Nadis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_%28yoga%29

Check back soon for more updates...

A letter from Sri.K. Pattabhi Jois to Yoga Journal, Nov. 1995

"I was disappointed to find that so many novice students have taken Ashtanga yoga and have turned it into a circus for their own fame and profit (Power Yoga, Jan/Feb 1995). The title 'Power Yoga' itself degrades the depth, purpose and method of the yoga system that I received from my guru, Sri. T. Krishnamacharya. Power is the property of God. It is not something to be collected for one's ego. Partial yoga methods out of line with their internal purpose can build up the 'six enemies' (desire, anger, greed, illusion, infatuation and envy) around the heart. The full ashtanga system practiced with devotion leads to freedom within one's heart. The Yoga Sutra II.28 confirms this 'Yogaanganusthanat asuddiksaye jnanadiptih avivekakhyateh', which means 'practicing all the aspects of yoga destroys the impurities so that the light of knowledge and discrimination shines'. It is unfortunate that students who have not yet matured in their own practice have changed the method and have cut out the essence of an ancient lineage to accommodate their own limitations.

The Ashtanga yoga system should never be confused with 'power yoga' or any whimsical creation which goes against the tradition of the many types of yoga shastras (scriptures). It would be a shame to lose the precious jewel of liberation in the mud of ignorant body building."


-K. Pattabhi Jois, Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, Mysore, South India

Shala Chanting Audio Resources

YOUTUBE

Videos above uploaded by Astanga Yoga Copenhagen
More chanting with Lakshmish Bhat here.

MP3

Dr. M. A. Jayashree

David Miliotis

Teaching Ashtanga Yoga, Parampara, Authorization & Certification

From the K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) Mysore, India:

Parampara is knowledge that is passed in succession from teacher to student. It is a Sanskrit word that denotes the principle of transmitting knowledge in its most valuable form; knowledge based on direct and practical experience. It is the basis of any lineage: the teacher and student form the links in the chain of instruction that has been passed down for thousands of years. In order for yoga instruction to be effective, true and complete, it should come from within parampara. 

Knowledge can be transferred only after the student has spent many years with an experienced guru, a teacher to whom he has completely surrendered in body, mind, speech and inner being. Only then is he fit to receive knowledge. This transfer from teacher to student is parampara.

The dharma, or duty, of the student is to practice diligently and to strive to understand the teachings of the guru. The perfection of knowledge – and of yoga — lies beyond simply mastering the practice; knowledge grows from the mutual love and respect between student and teacher, a relationship that can only be cultivated over time.

The teacher’s dharma is to teach yoga exactly as he learned it from his guru. The teaching should be presented with a good heart, with good purpose and with noble intentions. There should be an absence of harmful motivations. The teacher should not mislead the student in any way or veer from what he has been taught.

The bonding of teacher and student is a tradition reaching back many thousands of years in India, and is the foundation of a rich, spiritual heritage. The teacher can make his students steady – he can make them firm where they waver. He is like a father or mother who corrects each step in his student’s spiritual practice.

The yoga tradition exists in many ancient lineages, but today some are trying to create new ones, renouncing or altering their guru’s teachings in favor of new ways. Surrendering to parampara, however, is like entering a river of teachings that has been flowing for thousands of years, a river that age-old masters have followed into an ocean of knowledge. Even so, not all rivers reach the ocean, so one should be mindful that the tradition he or she follows is true and selfless.

Many attempt to scale the peaks in the Himalayas, but not all succeed. Through courage and surrender, however, one can scale the peaks of knowledge by the grace of the guru, who is the holder of knowledge, and who works tirelessly for his students.

Concerning authorization and certification:

The Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute is dedicated to the education of yoga practitioners. Practitioners should come with the sole purpose of studying the tradition from its source. Students traveling to Mysore should not come with the expectation of obtaining Authorized or Certified status.

The list on this website constitutes the official record of teachers approved by the KPJAYI, which is the only authority able to authorize or certify individuals to teach the ashtanga yoga method as taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath. There are no teacher training programs approved by this Institute under any name (e.g., Ashtanga Teacher Intensive); teachers that are listed on this website are experienced practitioners and dedicated students who have shown a considerable degree of proficiency and appreciation of ashtanga yoga in its traditional form and who continue to study regularly at the KPJAYI.

Teachers are required to teach the method as it is taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath at the KPJAYI in Mysore, India. They should maintain a yoga room or shala to allow for daily, preferably morning, Mysore-style practice and should honor Saturdays and the full/new moon days as rest days.

The Mexico Scrapbook

From the 1st Annual Ashtanga Yoga Adventure Retreat with Krista Shirley and Elise Espat...

Our arrival by panga

Our Palapas at Xinalani

Delicious food

Epic jungle hike...

to waterfalls

Morning Mysore

Snorkeling

 Refreshments in Yelapa

Beach day

Exploring the area

Baby turtles hatched on our beach

Afternoon lecture

Jungle Fever

Mysore practice in the Jungle

A magical week!

Video: Guruji from Enlighten Up!

In this clip from the film Enlighten Up! Guruji discusses the importance of practice.  It is through continuous application of theory that we gain practical experience of yoga.

How to get up for yoga, again. by Angela Jamison

How to get up for yoga, again.
by Angela Jamison of Ashtanga Yoga Ann Arbor
Originally published 9/22/12 AY:A2 Blog
Republished with permission

I’m unconsciously competent. The longer I practice, the less I can articulate how to begin. So I must keep learning from those who are new to ashtanga. Thank you for being open about what’s hard, brave in dropping old habits, and enthusiastic in your own practice. I love this phase of the learning.

At the start, getting up for practice requires strength and guts: I admire you, and we will all support you. Later, you’ll be able to do what you want to do with ease, and will embody that grace to yet new beginners.

Again this year, I’ve surveyed our group to remix the autumn antidote to SAD. The Earth is changing, our student body is changing, the zeitgeist is changing: so, a practice so fine-tuned as ashtanga also has to adapt. (This is true, too, of subtle changes to the method emerging from the main school in Mysore: our old practice is ever new. Because we are ever new.) Anyway, after a month in the lab with your findings, here’s this year’s get-up-early elixir. No kidding: stick to a regular practice rhythm, and ashtanga’s the only prophylactic you’ll need.

1. Alchemize your word. 

What’s the value of your word? If you say you’re going to do something, is that an ironclad statement? Is it as good as a 50/50 bet? Is your word more like hot air? If you decide strongly that you are going to be a woman or man of your word, then you can use the golden quality of that word to hold yourself to your own intentions.

Recently, three different practitioners who were struggling to get on the mat consistently got out of their own way with this single, uncompromising practice. They decided to be the kind of people who have zero daylight between what they say they will do, and what they do. In those painful mornings when the bed was especially seductive, they asked themselves if sleeping through the alarm was worth the pain of going back on their own word. It wasn’t. Because they had turned their word in to gold, it was able to cut through tamas, doubt, and even the softest bed.

Thanks for the inspiration. You know who you are.

2. Use the moral values that help you practice; lose the ones that don’t. It turns out that getting your words and actions lined up is efficient. Similar is the Bhagavad Gita’s teaching that a yogi remains detached from the fruits of her actions and simply absorbs her attention into doing her best in the present moment. Ashtanga is not about getting an awesome body or a perfect mind or “nailing” some posture; it’s about maintaining some concentration and equanimity for every breath, regardless of what it looks like.

Grasping for results isn’t morally wrong; it’s just not smart. What we can control is our attitude, not the outcome of actions. So why waste energy fretting about what we cannot control?

By the same token, why waste energy fretting about the past? Most of us—myself included—have absorbed a Puritan meta-morality from western culture. This includes a lot of emphasis on moral purity, with a countervailing internal assault team of guilt, shame, self-loathing and regret. 

Total waste of energy. Enough already, Hester Prynne. Regrets for the past kill excitement for the present. You are worthy and you are welcome: if the (internal) puritan mobs come for you, laugh at their feeble 17^th century weapons and get your lightning speed mulabandha in gear.

3. The drugs. 1 mg of herbal melatonin 30 minutes before bed for the first 2 weeks. Don’t try to wake up at vastly different times on different days. People seem to suffer too much doing that. A key insight of Ayurveda is that the body loves a stable rhythm. Reset the whole system, so your serotonin-melatonin dynamic is stable.

4. The rock’n’roll. Big sound, bright light and a hot shower in the morning are still key. See here.

5. Practice in the body you have today. The corporeal body… and the student body. The new people having the most fun this year are those rolling out your mats near the veterans. People who have practiced for a while embody a tacit (hormonal, energetic, phermonic?) knowledge that does rub off. Get in!

The veterans’ prime time used to be 7-8 am, but like in most Mysore rooms, it’s crept earlier because they just can’t wait to get on the mat. Most newcomers say it helps to know that getting up early for practice is effortless for so many. (For that matter, my alarm now goes off at 3:30 instead of 4; and in Mysore I usually get on the mat at 4:15. And, to be brutally honest, it’s awesome.) For now, our group’s energy is strongest from 6:30 – 7:30. You can come later if you want! But if you need a boost, you’ll get it by jumping in the 6:30 updraft. By contrast, if you arrive when the majority of people are finishing, what you’ll experience is their most calm, grounded, quiet energy. That’s also very nice, but one cannot really draft off it.

6. Start in with a sunshine lamp routine now. Get one and follow the instructions. If you don’t want to invest the money, ask your friends. Everyone who has one will tell you it changed their life. Michigan newcomers usually suffer their first winter or two before figuring this out. Why waste a year? I use a Phillips goLITE BLU light therapy device.

7. Get closely in contact with your love of the practice. It’s there, even amid suffering, obstacles and madness. Why else are you doing this, anyway? Ayurveda teaches that our deep desires are wise, and that on some level the nervous system knows things. I see different ways that each of you loves, and respects, and gives thanks for this practice. It is personal. I see that some of you love the way your mind and body operate on the days you practice; some of you love the quiet of the mornings; many of you love the sheer honesty of staying with this when it is physically, emotionally or psychically hard.

Whatever it is, that awe and love are high quality fuel (whereas guilt, shame, pride, superiority and achievement are not as great). Love and a little reverence tend to give us all more energy as the rhythms—hormones, appetites, emotions, inner vision, et cetera—find their way into agreement with each other.

This is how it works. Most of us have to effort it strongly at first, and then practice starts to do itself. I see for those of you in your second year that you are not pushing yourselves to practice so much as being practiced. Yes. Once this thing has a strong spin of its own, you move from (1) depending on external practice resources (like high concentration environments, others’ strong energy, and social norms that promote precise mental discipline) to (2) producing them for yourself and others. In this way, too, in the long run the yoga gives more energy than it takes.

About Angela:

My name is Angela Jamison. I was introduced to ashtanga yoga in 2001 in Los Angeles, and have practiced six days a week continuously since 2003.

In 2006, I completed intermediate series with Rolf Naujokat before learning from him the ashtanga pranayama sequence. I maintain a relatively modest pranayama practice.

Later in 2006, I met Dominic Corigliano, who taught me the subtler layers of ashtanga practice, and eventually, slowly, taught me to teach yoga. During 2009, I assisted Jörgen Christiansson.

After retreats in the Zen, Vajrayana and Vipassana traditions, I began working with the meditation teacher Shinzen Young in 2009. I meditate daily, confer with Shinzen about my practice every few months, and take annual silent retreats.

I have made four long trips to Mysore to practice ashtanga with R. Sharath Jois, and to study the history and philosophy of yoga with M.A. Narasimhan and M.A. Jayashree. I will return to Mysore regularly.

In 2011, Sharath authorized me at Level 2, asking me to teach the full intermediate series.



Related: How to wake up for yoga

Ashtanga Yoga Dictionary: Tristhana

त्रिस्थान tristhāna

Definition via KPJAYI.org:

This means the three places of attention or action: posture, breathing system and looking place. These three are very important for yoga practice, and cover three levels of purification: the body, nervous system and mind. They are always performed in conjunction with each other.

Asanas [āsana] purify, strengthen and give flexibility to the body. Breathing is rechaka and puraka, that means inhale and exhale. Both the inhale and exhale should be steady and even, the length of the inhale should be the same length as the exhale. Breathing in this manner purifies the nervous system. Dristhi [dṛṣṭi] is the place where you look while in the asana. There are nine dristhis: the nose, between the eyebrows, navel, thumb, hands, feet, up, right side and left side. Dristhi purifies and stabilizes the functioning of the mind.

For cleaning the body internally two factors are necessary, air and fire. The place of fire in our bodies is four inches below the navel. This is the standing place of our life force. In order for fire to burn, air is necessary, hence the necessity of the breath. If you stoke a fire with a blower, evenness is required so that the flame is not smothered out, or blown out of control.

The same method stands for the breath. Long even breaths will strengthen our internal fire, increasing heat in the body which in turn heats the blood for physical purification, and burns away impurities in the nervous system as well. Long even breathing increases the internal fire and strengthens the nervous system in a controlled manner and at an even pace. When this fire is strengthened, our digestion, health and life span all increase.

Uneven inhalation and exhalation, or breathing too rapidly, will imbalance the beating of the heart, throwing off both the physical body and autonomic nervous system.

An important component of the breathing system is mula and uddiyana bandha. These are the anal and lower abdominal locks which seal in energy, give lightness, strength and health to the body, and help to build a strong internal fire. Without bandhas, breathing will not be correct, and the asanas will give no benefit. When mula bandha is perfect, mind control is automatic.

Healing Injuries with Ashtanga Yoga by Paul Mitchell Gold

Authorized Ashtanga yoga teacher Paul Mitchell Gold of the Ashtanga Yoga Shala, Toronto writes on the healing power of a daily Mysore practice and how to work with injuries.  (See also "Should I Practice If...?")

Healing Injuries with Ashtanga Yoga
Originally published September 22, 2012, Ashtanga Yoga and other things
Republished with permission 

Yoga practice is not an exercise class and it’s not a workout. Sure, it’s vigorous and physically challenging, but that’s just the means rather than the end. However, as with any physical endeavour, aches and pains are unavoidable and injuries can happen.

If one gets injured practicing yoga, the yoga practice is the best way to heal and rehabilitate. Also, if one gets injured doing some other activity, yoga practice is the best way to heal and rehabilitate. Finally, if one begins yoga practice with a preexisting injury, the yoga practice is the best way to heal and rehabilitate. From my experience, yoga practice is an amazing healer.

Healing an injury with Ashtanga Yoga is possible and requires daily practice. Taking days off regardless of how one’s feeling is ultimately detrimental to the healing process. Unlike working out, the effects of yoga practice are cumulative. The body’s natural reaction to injury is to contract and armour. Yoga encourages the afflicted area to move when it wants to petrify. Taking days off between practices just makes the body stiffer under normal circumstances, but even more so with an injury or chronic condition.

Students often wait until their aches and pains are gone before returning to class. They’ll disappear and return saying they needed to rest their injury. The truth, however, is that the pain is not gone and the injury hasn’t healed. The problem simply went underground while they were resting and was patiently waiting to return. Whatever imbalance or bad habit caused the pain or injury hasn’t been addressed or corrected. The pains and injury return as soon as the student is back on the mat.

It is a shame that some students who aren’t willing to follow the prescription for daily practice end up quitting and saying that “ashtanga yoga doesn’t work” or “yoga made my pain worse.” This just isn’t true.

The first thing a student must do when using the practice to heal and rehabilitate is adapt. It is necessary when injured to scale back practice so that it’s appropriate as therapy. That very often means having a very basic and short practice for awhile where the level of sensation to the injured area is deliberately kept at zero.

Both Rachelle and I have had pain and injuries over the years and we both used ashtanga yoga as a means of healing ourselves. Some days, I would do only a few slow and difficult sun salutations before needing to stop. It had it’s moments of frustration and I often felt impatient and frankly pissed off. It wasn’t much fun, but I slowly healed and was back to 100% over time.

So, first off, a student needs to adjust practice to reflect the injury or pains being experienced. There’s no reason to power through or ignore the problem. In the case of an injury caused by bad habits or poor breathing, taking things slowly and scaling back helps to pinpoint where there’s a problem and re-learn how to practice correctly without causing chronic pain. One of the added bonuses of using practice to heal an injury is that we find practice is stronger once we’ve healed.

In the case of a student who starts ashtanga yoga to heal a pre-existing injury, the best advice I can give is to look at practice as medicine and follow the prescription.

If I were to develop a chest infection and went to a doctor, I would likely be prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection with instructions to take three pills every day for a week. If I follow the prescription, I will no longer have my chest infection However, if I do NOT follow the prescription and I take the medicine every few days or only once per day, I really shouldn’t be surprised if my problem hasn’t been cured.

Practice daily. Do what you can. Don’t push. Maintain zero sensation in the injured area. Be patient and have faith. Talk to your teacher when you’re frustrated. This is the prescription to heal injuries using ashtanga yoga. Students who follow this prescription heal their injuries and rehabilitate chronic problems. They transform their bodies and blow their minds in the process.

About Paul
I took my first yoga classes in 1995 and became a dedicated practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga after a short period of experimenting.

From 1998 to 2001, I studied with Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn and taught at their yoga school in Los Angeles. I also want to thank Jorgen Christiansson, an early teacher and good friend, who first taught me to trust this practice.

In 2001, Rachelle and I made our first trip to Mysore, India. Since, we have returned annually to continue our studies with Guruji and Sharath.

I received authorization to teach the Ashtanga method in 2004 and was a member of the first group to receive Level 2 Authorization in July 2009. I have the blessing of KPJAYI to teach students the full Primary and Intermediate Series of Ashtanga Yoga. 

Dedication to daily practice is the cornerstone of my teaching philosophy. I encourage my students to develop the virtues of patience, faith, diligence, compassion and non-attachment using the integrity and genius of the traditional Ashtanga system. As these virtues are cultivated over time, students are well on the way to living fuller, happier and more balanced lives.  More