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

Video: ThinkingAllowed interview with Prof. Dean Brown

"Prof. Dean Brown points out that most European languages can be traced back to a root language that is also related to Sanskrit - the sacred language of the ancient Vedic Hindu religions of India. Many English words actually have Sanskrit origins. Similarly, many Vedic religious concepts can also be found in Western culture. He discusses the fundamental idea of the Upanishads - that the essence of each individual, the atman, is identical to the whole universe, the principle of brahman. In this sense, the polytheistic traditions of India can be said to be monistic at their very core."

Yoga Sutras: Samadhi Pada with Dr. M. A. Jayashree

"Chanting the Yoga Sutras has a two-fold benefit. Once you have begun studying the Yoga Sutras, memorization helps in recalling the appropriate sutra in times of doubt—whether you have a doubt about your own experience or you are down because your Ashtanga practice is not progressing well. The repeated browsing mentally of the sutras’ ambiance (manana), in a certain state of mental quietude, will help in getting a flash of the real meaning and also produce the “Aha” experience—perhaps we can call it a three-dimensional understanding. Chanting and memorizing is vital for our knowledge to become wisdom. Whatever texts you study, chanting reveals itself to you in time. It is a kind of tapas, where we bring the physical mind, the rational mind and the emotional mind to a single point. There, not just understanding, but revelation, happens!" 

-Dr. M. A. Jayashree
From "An interview with M.A. Jayashree", PhD. Integral Yoga Magazine. Spring 2010, pp. 33-4. (Transcribed by A. Jamison, 17 April 2011.)

To learn more and to practice: purchase and support!

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Chant the Yoga Sutras

• Samadhi Pada (Written)

Yoga Sutras - Samadhi Pada

1.1   atha yogānuśāsanam

1.2   yogaścittavṛtti nirodhaḥ

1.3   tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe'vasthānam

1.4   vṛttisārūpyamitaratra

1.5   vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭākliṣṭāḥ

1.6   pramāṇaviparyayavikalpanidrāsmṛtayaḥ

1.7   pratyakśānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni

1.8   viparyayo mithyājñānamatadrūpapratiṣṭham

1.9   śabdajñānānupātī vastuśūnyo vikalpaḥ

1.10 abhāvapratyayālambanā vṛttirnidrā

1.11 anubhūtaviṣayāsaṁpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ

1.12 abhyāsavairāgyābhyāṁ tannirodhaḥ

1.13 tatra sthitau yatno'bhyāsaḥ

1.14 sa tu dīrghakālanairantaryasatkārāsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ

1.15 dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣayavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasaṁjṇā vairāgyam

1.16 tatparaṁ puruṣakhyāterguṇavaitṛṣṇyam

1.17 vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugamāt saṁprajñātaḥ

1.18 virāmapratyayābhyāsapūrvaḥ saṁskāraśeṣo 'nyaḥ

1.19 bhavapratyayo videhaprakṛtilayānām

1.20 śraddhāvīryasmṛtisamādhiprajñāpūrvaka itareṣām

1.21 tīvrasaṁvegānāmāsannaḥ

1.22 mṛdumadhyādhimātratvāt tato'pi viśeṣaḥ

1.23 īśvarapraṇidhānādvā

1.24 kleśakarmavipākāśayairaparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa īśvaraḥ

1.25 tatra niratiśayaṁ sarvajñabījam

1.26 sa eṣa pūrveṣāmapi guruḥ kālenānavacchedāt

1.27 tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ

1.28 tajjapastadarthabhāvanam

1.29 tataḥ pratyakcetanādhigamo'pyantarāyābhāvaśca

1.30 vyādhistyānasaṁśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣepāste 'ntarāyāḥ

1.31 duḥkhadaurmanasyaṅgamejayatvaśvāsapraśvāsā vikṣepasahabhuvaḥ  

1.32 tatpratiṣedhārthamekatattvābhyāsaḥ  

1.33 maitrīkaruṇāmuditopekṣāṇāṁ sukhaduḥkhapuṇyāpuṇya viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaścittaprasādanam
1.34 pracchardanavidhāraṇābhyāṁ vā prāṇasya  

1.35 viṣayavatī vā pravṛttirutpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhinī  

1.36 viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī  

1.37 vītarāgaviṣayam vā cittam

1.38 svapnanidrājñānālambanam vā

1.39 yathābhimatadhyānādvā

1.40 paramāṇuparamamahattvānto asya vaśīkāraḥ

1.41 kṣīṇavṛtterabhijātasyeva maṇergrahītṛgrahaṇagrāhyeṣu tatsthatadañjanatā samāpattiḥ

1.42 tatra śabdārthajñānavikalpaiḥ saṅkīrṇā savitarkā samāpattiḥ  

1.43 smṛtipariśuddhau svarūpaśūnyevārthamātranirbhāsā nirvitarkā  

1.44 etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣma viṣaya vyākhyātā  

1.45 sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṁ cāliṅgaparyavasānam

1.46 tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ  

1.47 nirvicāravaiśāradye 'adhyātmaprasādaḥ

1.48 ṛtaṁbharā tatra prajñā  

1.49 śrutānumānaprajñābhyāmanyaviṣayā viśeṣārthatvāt  

1.50 tajjaḥ saṁskāro 'nyasaṁskārapratibandhī

1.51 tasyāpi nirodhe sarvanirodhānnirbījaḥ samādhiḥ

"Raja Yoga" Yoga Sutra commentary by Swami Vivekananda

Various commentaries

Interview with Guy Donahaye by Elise Espat Part 4

 

Reflections on "Guruji: A Portrait"
Interview of Guy Donahaye
by Elise Espat - Part IV
Originally published September 17, 2012 Mind Medicine Blog

Is there a point in the book that you feel is really crucial to understand Guruji, the system, or the practice?

I feel the book makes a few important points. Perhaps nothing new is said, although for many people there will be a lot of new material. The fact that we have 30 statements or interpretations, and that these statements are broadly in agreement, or together put pieces of the jigsaw in place, what we have as a result is a kind of "authoritative" text.

Interviewees were not always in agreement and at times completely contradict each other, however, I think you can trace at least 80% agreement on most of themes throughout the book.

In some respects you could say the interviews were research on my part. For instance, on the origin of the sequences: David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff believed that the sequences we practice (with some modifications) had been passed down directly from the Yoga Korunta, a text, 100s or 1000s of years old. This was the story I received when I first started practicing since my first teacher had learned from a student of David's. I asked Guruji about this several times and was never quite sure what he meant by his answers.

Apart from Nancy and David, everyone else who was interviewed believed that Guruji was involved in creating the system of asanas. Manju goes as far as to say that Krishnamacharya and Guruji sat down and went through various texts (Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, Yoga Korunta, Yoga Rahasya) and made up the sequences based on Chikitsa and Shodhona. Norman Allen alludes to Norman Sjoman's book and its suggestion that this type of practice is a new creation modeled on gym training.

I think, through the interviews and my own conversations with Guruji,  a picture emerges that the Yoga Korunta contained  asanas and vinyasas grouped according to their therapeutic benefits but that the actual sequences we practice were created by Guruji under Krishnamacharya's supervision based on Chikitsa, Shodhona and so on.

It seems that Guruji did much of the work in organizing the sequences as well as in modifying the vinyasas. If you look at Yoga Makaranda - Krishnamacharya's book of 1934 - you can see how he sequences the asanas and structures the vinyasas quite differently. Shammie said he invented, or discovered the surya namaskar - I believe this is true - at least in the form that he taught.

One of the reasons I made the interviews was to establish a coherent picture and to correct some misconceptions about the nature of yoga, as taught by Guruji.

Guruji felt very strongly that yoga is a spiritual practice. It is perhaps ironic that someone who believed this so deeply, is sometimes seen as propagating a purely physical practice. Too many of my fellow practitioners in the early '90s tended to think this way, and maybe this is something which motivated me to initiate this project. For Guruji, the purpose of yoga was to make one fit for realization - that was his main interest - I think this is emphasized in the book.

For many people who never met Guruji, or whose contact with him was minimal, the anecdotes and stories about studying with him and about his character have brought him to life in vivid color. For those who did know him, the interviews reveal other facets of his teaching and has brought back many memories. I have received many emails from readers expressing gratitude for having been able to experience an intimate meeting with Guruji through these interviews.

Here is an email from John Scott:

Dear Guy,

Brilliant! Fanatastic! Congratulations!

Thank you Guy, I do think you and Eddie have put together a lovely and very valuable book.

It reminds me how much we learned from each other back in those days (the early 90s).

Guruji passed on so much wisdom to every individual student, and this was because he was always on-to-one with each student, and therefore the questions asked of him were all uniquely different. 

What is so nice,  is that Guruji's students love to share and pass on their personal experiences with everyone else.

The photo on the back cover looks great* and it's just as Guruji was for us back in those days.

Those were the days - the Lakshmipuram days

Photo By John Scott

I have already read a few of the pieces and have learn't so much more already

So again Thank You Thank You for sharing

Love John

Lucy India and Fynn

* This is John's photo



Guy Interview

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3