Keeping a practice journal (or even a blog) may reveal all your secrets that are hidden in the yoga practice. Once I let the ink take over, they pour out onto the paper. This type of exposure allows you to accept what has happened and where you are now - and this is a great taste of what the yamas and niyamas are all about.
Writing and sharing your practice: reading your own voice of the practice is like watching yourself do a self practice. There is a sense of ownership and wonderment about what you are practicing. What is often revealed is how the medicine of yoga is actually working. Sometimes information comes out in letters to friends and teachers, too.
Janu Sirsasana A-C, for example. When I first started to write about my practice, I had a sweet crush on these asanas. Some days we would fight as my toes were crunching...other days I would feel a truce as the A-C exposure led my hips towards greater sensibility.
Once you start writing about what you are actually feeling on the mat, you can notice how you are handling your emotions when you are practicing yoga. Are they always in check? Are you a bomb waiting to go off because you are repressing something that wants to come out? Or are you one who melts down during your practice? Are you totally flat, moving methodically through the yoga asanas with nothing, nothing happening on the inside?
We all know that each Series has a dragon that lives in each one, maybe more than one, even. We have plenty of meditative tools to face these 'dragons'. Breath, bandha, dristhi, vinyasa, dharana...but more than the practice tools we have devotion and passion to practice.
You are forced to do something with these emotions. This anger, meltdown, obsession (whatever it may be) then becomes a guide which leads you towards compassion. These terrible asanas then become more like loved rivals as you dig deeper and deeper towards understanding them - and understanding yourself. This passion for understanding (Union!) is what cracks us open, and exposes us.
These demons also challenge our egos, our sense of "I"-ness and our entire beings of whom we think we are. It is no wonder that some days while practicing karandavasana I often wink after all my hard three tries, "Till next time, sweet wee duck, thank you for kicking my !$*(#!"
Sometimes in baddha konasana I enter this posture as if I were going into a cave, into a place of worship. During this posture one dives into the hips and into the pelvis, and if we are sensing each and every breath, we become softer and kinder to those around us - sharing the forgiveness and tenderness we found within ourselves with others.
Then in the advanced series (A), there are all sorts of recluse demons hanging out around every bend in the road: Virancha, Durva...Kukku...Bhaka...so many monsters in this one to make you fearless, to soften and harden you, to burn out any kleshas. For good. And I often meet them at the door with my best team.
If we aren't experiencing an emotional exposure from our practices (I mean any practice - no matter whether they be a daily practice of Sun Salutations only, or a long vigorous advanced practice), then I believe we are missing the point of yoga. Work out the problems you have with those enemies and iron them out. For the asanas that you are having problems with, some serious therapy (research and study) may be the medicine.
If you are a flatliner, or are experiencing a lull in your practice, try giving your practice a wee break from asana (tone it down, do less) and add in some study and philosophy to your daily asana?
Sutra 2.1 offers svadhyaya - self and spiritual study - as a full yogic practice in itself. Patanjali also includes svadhyaya in the niyamas - the second limb of ashtanga yoga. Since svadhyaya is a part of the niyamas, this suggests it is worth our effort to include them into our study of yoga. And on a daily basis. So if we are cleaning our bodies and minds on the mat through asana, then why not clear out what is left upstairs through writing and self reflection then, too?
Philosophy of Yoga and chanting the YS of Patanjali - Fridays and Sundays at AYE - join me!
From Rumi:
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, depression, a meanness
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor!
Welcome them and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Showing posts with label yoga chikitsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga chikitsa. Show all posts
31 May 2013
15 May 2012
The Fire of Daily Practice
Admist the rigor of daily ashtanga yoga practice, I am reminded of my favorite yoga metaphor: fire.
Fire has been one of my greatest allies over the years. If the fire of practice is too big, it will burn out fast; but if it is small and controlled, it will last a very long time.
Deep down I love watching fire. There is nothing more calming and soothing than sitting next to a campfire with friends. Fire is electric, soothing, and warming.
I didn't know that I would be so terrified and also awe-struck by fire when I became a wildland hotshot over ten years ago. This was about the same time when I first started practicing ashtanga.
My practice looked something like this for six months at a time: I would do Janusirsana A, Marichyasana A, and Ustrasana. I would do these three asanas each night before I lay down in the dirt, filthier than a coal miner, right there in the woods. Then every fourteen days or so, I would be allowed two days off and I would practice the primary and later, the intermediate series.
The other six months of the year I practiced daily. I would dive in and let the juices of daily practice simmer. I would relish their taste and their feeling the entire following summer.
This simple metaphor of fire brings me closer towards understanding how a serious, dedicated and daily ashtanga practice must be checked and balanced often so that we do not burn out, get injured, or lose our mojo in the complacency of daily practice.
I recently shared with David when I shortened my third series practice:
"Yesterday...very big fire. Today, very small fire."
We both started laughing when I said this - he knew exactly what I was talking about!
When students ask me about how hard or soft they should be practicing...my reply is almost always the same: less is more.
Especially during stressful times - make your practice smaller so you have energy to handle whatever else is going on outside of yoga. Sure you may have a day here in there where you have a very big practice, but remember there must be a sustaining element in your efforts: if you go big one day, you will probably be taking the same practice the next day so it is important to be wise with your energy that you use.
One trick that has worked for me to see if I am using too much unrequired energy is that I have videoed myself practicing. Watching yourself practice gives you insight into what you look like and how you approach your practice. This may not be something you want to do all of the time, just once in a while.
If you have found that you are becoming resentful and angry, or downright stumped by your practice - seek wisdom from the other limbs! Look towards the Surya Namaskars for guidance. Nama A and B are beautiful ashtanga practices in themselves: if you're cooked, just do those and finish up.
Never underestimate the wisdom of the primary series: yoga chikitsa will restart your yogic battery, and recharge you with the flexibility, strength and stamina that are REQUIRED in order for the other series to take shape.
The rich, nourishing and developed palate of practice comes with a mature approach: when the obstacles to practice come flooding your way, instead of burning through them, think twice about the type of fire you want to burn.
What will your practice look like in ten years? Twenty?
Fire has been one of my greatest allies over the years. If the fire of practice is too big, it will burn out fast; but if it is small and controlled, it will last a very long time.
Deep down I love watching fire. There is nothing more calming and soothing than sitting next to a campfire with friends. Fire is electric, soothing, and warming.
I didn't know that I would be so terrified and also awe-struck by fire when I became a wildland hotshot over ten years ago. This was about the same time when I first started practicing ashtanga.
My practice looked something like this for six months at a time: I would do Janusirsana A, Marichyasana A, and Ustrasana. I would do these three asanas each night before I lay down in the dirt, filthier than a coal miner, right there in the woods. Then every fourteen days or so, I would be allowed two days off and I would practice the primary and later, the intermediate series.
The other six months of the year I practiced daily. I would dive in and let the juices of daily practice simmer. I would relish their taste and their feeling the entire following summer.
This simple metaphor of fire brings me closer towards understanding how a serious, dedicated and daily ashtanga practice must be checked and balanced often so that we do not burn out, get injured, or lose our mojo in the complacency of daily practice.
I recently shared with David when I shortened my third series practice:
"Yesterday...very big fire. Today, very small fire."
We both started laughing when I said this - he knew exactly what I was talking about!
 |
| Here's a very big fire: a million acres that burned near the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Here is an example of a practice that will easily burn out. This fire was heading right towards a town, so we "backburned" fuel in the fire's path to steer it away from burning the town down. 2003. |
When students ask me about how hard or soft they should be practicing...my reply is almost always the same: less is more.
Especially during stressful times - make your practice smaller so you have energy to handle whatever else is going on outside of yoga. Sure you may have a day here in there where you have a very big practice, but remember there must be a sustaining element in your efforts: if you go big one day, you will probably be taking the same practice the next day so it is important to be wise with your energy that you use.
One trick that has worked for me to see if I am using too much unrequired energy is that I have videoed myself practicing. Watching yourself practice gives you insight into what you look like and how you approach your practice. This may not be something you want to do all of the time, just once in a while.
If you have found that you are becoming resentful and angry, or downright stumped by your practice - seek wisdom from the other limbs! Look towards the Surya Namaskars for guidance. Nama A and B are beautiful ashtanga practices in themselves: if you're cooked, just do those and finish up.
Never underestimate the wisdom of the primary series: yoga chikitsa will restart your yogic battery, and recharge you with the flexibility, strength and stamina that are REQUIRED in order for the other series to take shape.
The rich, nourishing and developed palate of practice comes with a mature approach: when the obstacles to practice come flooding your way, instead of burning through them, think twice about the type of fire you want to burn.
What will your practice look like in ten years? Twenty?
 |
| Here's another fire somewhere in Montana - 2002. I probably did my Ustrasana the night before... |
12 October 2011
Marichyasana C - "Do your practice (research!) and all is coming!"
[This blog post comes from the weekend workshop held last weekend in Boise, Idaho at Sage Yoga Boise. During Mysore, there were a few individual questions about Marichyasana C, and this posture has been on my mind for a while now. This asana-related blog post is for those out there who are just learning Marichyasana C, and who are doing their research. Hopefully the seasonal practitioner will get something from this as well.]
The first few times that I tried to do Marichyasana C, I remember being quite stumped at how to twist around the obstacle of my own outer leg to successfully bind my hands. Practicing Marichy C and teaching Marichy C have offered some insights into the asana that I would love to share with you all. Practicing this posture is always interesting, the posture itself is always morphing. Spending time here strengthens the abdominals, opens the hip flexors, and once happily bound, the asana also brings insight into shushumna nadi - the greatest channel that rises from the pelvis to the top of the head!
Pattabhi Jois in "The Yoga Mala" writes:
"flatulence, indigestion, and constipation are eliminated. Some women suffer from abdominal pain during menstruation. This is removed by the practice of the Marichys. The womb becomes powerful and enables a woman to carry a child strongly, and miscarriage due to weakness is cured. The vata pitta kosha (large intestine and gall bladder) are purified, as is the manipura chakra (third chakra at navel center), and the body gains strength and power."
Kino McGregor recently wrote an article about Marichyasana C (you can read it here: http://www.miamilifecenter.com/index.php?page=articles) where she
calls this posture a way to “help build a deeper awareness of the essential breath-bandha connection and encourages the life energy rise along the central column of the subtle body.”
This posture is to some people, a deal breaker. Binding is difficult, easy breathing is difficult, and to get a long spine once you have bound your hands to extend upward and away from the earth is also a challenge. Here are just a few of your obstacles:
-It is the first deeply rooted seated twist in the primary series: in the previous seated postures before this one, there is a slight twisting of the body to forward fold over the extended leg(s) and the bent leg (Paschimottonasana, Tirianga Mukha, Janu Sirsasana), but these twists are small in comparison.
-Marichyasana C is your first asana (besides Purvottonasana) in the primary series, where we are not folding forward, we are lengthening away from the earth upward.
With these challenges facing you, you are in for deep study to understand this posture. There are tools to obtaining peace here! One tool in your arsenal is the sensation and memory of two foundational twists you experience earlier in the standing series - Parvritta Trikonasana, and Parvritta Parschvokonasana. These sergeants of wisdom are your guides to learning more and more about Marichyasana C. If revolved triangle or revolved side angle are difficult for you - try researching these two postures, and working on the foundations of these: spend fifteen to twenty-five breaths here instead of five.
The How-To:
Marichyasana C - from Dandasana (sit with your legs straight out in front of you), begin by bending your right leg and planting your foot so that your outer foot is in line with your outer hip. Both hips are on the ground - if you have a backward tilted pelvis when you sit in Dandasana or when you do this action, sit on top of a blanket or a wedge to tilt your pelvis forward - get both hips firmly planted on your mat.
On an exhale, move the belly area completely away from your center while maintaining a connection to your lower belly and mula banda or what Kino calls, "your breath bandha connection". Then begin to twist around this hollow space of the navel while it is empty of breath (uddiyana bandha). Continue to breathe into this space of complexity (it will never get old researching this). Use your out-breath to keep moving your lower abdomen around the outer leg as you twist, still drawing inward to keep a support system viable! Without the exhaled breath and the awareness of the body feeling empty - this posture will continue to be challenging.
Then, move the right knee towards the left shoulder and hollow your chest and your entire belly and abdomen, slightly leaning back away from the bent right thigh bone, keeping your left hip from moving backwards (try to keep your hips square here). And using your breath, wrap your left arm downwards and close to the outer right knee as possible. Keep your left shoulder strapped tight to the right knee and spin the arm in an internal rotation ontop of the left thigh bone - seeking to grab the right hand behind the back.
Tim Miller would say with the Marichy's..."Bind low and wrap high". It is difficult to bind "low" if the shoulder is not even touching the knee or the leg to begin with. So, to mend this task - try hugging your leg and bringing your opposite shoulder to the opposite knee while you hollow your insides - simply put, get a connection with the bandhas here. If you can get your shoulder to touch, you may be able to bind. If there is a huge gap between shoulder and knee - watch out, this may be a sign that you may not be ready to bind. If this is the case, stay here twisting your thoracic spine from your chest area instead of twarting your arm around your leg when the foundations may not be ready.
Female students, I tell them to "move your female business out of the way" in humor and in light. (On a side note, if you are pregnant, lay off this asana until you are done carrying - the Yoga Mala says, "pregnant women should not practice this asana after the second month"). Yes, you have got to move your dinner, move your what-ever-you-ate-recently out of the way, and your bust line out of the way to get around your leg! Keeping a very straight spine is the goal once you are in the asana - but to get into it, draw the navel back into the spine and at the same time, keep the spine way back away from the leg as your move your upper torso (your female business) around.
Ah, you bound! Then, extend magically away from the earth - grounding BOTH hips - which is different than Marichyasana A. Here you are really finding that root lock connection - seek to bring both hips towards each other and in line; try not to let one be behind the other - squeeze those legs towards each other and draw down through the dynamicism of the extended flexed foot leg. Root that bind you have with your hands and work that wrapped arm behind you: the wrapper is the grabber - so if you are wrapping your right leg - the left arm grabs the right wrist and then you can work your right hand to the top of the left thigh.
Stamp that right leg (the bent legged foot into the earth) then go upwards and twist - seek a spot behind you for guidance and find that drishti you can lock your focus on. Breathe here - if you are new to binding, once you are bound, stay for 25 breaths! With time, you will only need to stay for 5 breaths. And later, much later, you will enter the asana in the inhalation - just as the masterful count asks you to, "Marichyasana C - Supta Jump : Inhale!" Only do this when you are comfortably able to bind.
Eventually, this posture is a joyful deep twist, where you link the elements of alignment and bandha together to make this postures successful. The subtle body has got to get on board: uddiyana and mula bandha, the breath must be free and without straining as you begin to twist, and you must be informed of how the lower body does not want to twist. Be a scientist - take your time informing yourself of what needs to happen, dissect this delicious asana - and all other twists later will be much, much easier.
As Guruji is quoted as saying, "Do your practice and all is coming"...I want to add to this - "Do your research in your practice...and all is coming!"
Happy twisting!
 |
| Didn't take any pictures from the workshop in Boise, but here is one worth admiring. Sawtooth Botanical Garden's treasure: the Tibetal Prayer wheel - one of two in North America; blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Ketchum, Idaho. |
The first few times that I tried to do Marichyasana C, I remember being quite stumped at how to twist around the obstacle of my own outer leg to successfully bind my hands. Practicing Marichy C and teaching Marichy C have offered some insights into the asana that I would love to share with you all. Practicing this posture is always interesting, the posture itself is always morphing. Spending time here strengthens the abdominals, opens the hip flexors, and once happily bound, the asana also brings insight into shushumna nadi - the greatest channel that rises from the pelvis to the top of the head!
Pattabhi Jois in "The Yoga Mala" writes:
"flatulence, indigestion, and constipation are eliminated. Some women suffer from abdominal pain during menstruation. This is removed by the practice of the Marichys. The womb becomes powerful and enables a woman to carry a child strongly, and miscarriage due to weakness is cured. The vata pitta kosha (large intestine and gall bladder) are purified, as is the manipura chakra (third chakra at navel center), and the body gains strength and power."
Kino McGregor recently wrote an article about Marichyasana C (you can read it here: http://www.miamilifecenter.com/index.php?page=articles) where she
calls this posture a way to “help build a deeper awareness of the essential breath-bandha connection and encourages the life energy rise along the central column of the subtle body.”
This posture is to some people, a deal breaker. Binding is difficult, easy breathing is difficult, and to get a long spine once you have bound your hands to extend upward and away from the earth is also a challenge. Here are just a few of your obstacles:
-It is the first deeply rooted seated twist in the primary series: in the previous seated postures before this one, there is a slight twisting of the body to forward fold over the extended leg(s) and the bent leg (Paschimottonasana, Tirianga Mukha, Janu Sirsasana), but these twists are small in comparison.
-Marichyasana C is your first asana (besides Purvottonasana) in the primary series, where we are not folding forward, we are lengthening away from the earth upward.
With these challenges facing you, you are in for deep study to understand this posture. There are tools to obtaining peace here! One tool in your arsenal is the sensation and memory of two foundational twists you experience earlier in the standing series - Parvritta Trikonasana, and Parvritta Parschvokonasana. These sergeants of wisdom are your guides to learning more and more about Marichyasana C. If revolved triangle or revolved side angle are difficult for you - try researching these two postures, and working on the foundations of these: spend fifteen to twenty-five breaths here instead of five.
The How-To:
Marichyasana C - from Dandasana (sit with your legs straight out in front of you), begin by bending your right leg and planting your foot so that your outer foot is in line with your outer hip. Both hips are on the ground - if you have a backward tilted pelvis when you sit in Dandasana or when you do this action, sit on top of a blanket or a wedge to tilt your pelvis forward - get both hips firmly planted on your mat.
On an exhale, move the belly area completely away from your center while maintaining a connection to your lower belly and mula banda or what Kino calls, "your breath bandha connection". Then begin to twist around this hollow space of the navel while it is empty of breath (uddiyana bandha). Continue to breathe into this space of complexity (it will never get old researching this). Use your out-breath to keep moving your lower abdomen around the outer leg as you twist, still drawing inward to keep a support system viable! Without the exhaled breath and the awareness of the body feeling empty - this posture will continue to be challenging.
Then, move the right knee towards the left shoulder and hollow your chest and your entire belly and abdomen, slightly leaning back away from the bent right thigh bone, keeping your left hip from moving backwards (try to keep your hips square here). And using your breath, wrap your left arm downwards and close to the outer right knee as possible. Keep your left shoulder strapped tight to the right knee and spin the arm in an internal rotation ontop of the left thigh bone - seeking to grab the right hand behind the back.
Tim Miller would say with the Marichy's..."Bind low and wrap high". It is difficult to bind "low" if the shoulder is not even touching the knee or the leg to begin with. So, to mend this task - try hugging your leg and bringing your opposite shoulder to the opposite knee while you hollow your insides - simply put, get a connection with the bandhas here. If you can get your shoulder to touch, you may be able to bind. If there is a huge gap between shoulder and knee - watch out, this may be a sign that you may not be ready to bind. If this is the case, stay here twisting your thoracic spine from your chest area instead of twarting your arm around your leg when the foundations may not be ready.
Female students, I tell them to "move your female business out of the way" in humor and in light. (On a side note, if you are pregnant, lay off this asana until you are done carrying - the Yoga Mala says, "pregnant women should not practice this asana after the second month"). Yes, you have got to move your dinner, move your what-ever-you-ate-recently out of the way, and your bust line out of the way to get around your leg! Keeping a very straight spine is the goal once you are in the asana - but to get into it, draw the navel back into the spine and at the same time, keep the spine way back away from the leg as your move your upper torso (your female business) around.
Ah, you bound! Then, extend magically away from the earth - grounding BOTH hips - which is different than Marichyasana A. Here you are really finding that root lock connection - seek to bring both hips towards each other and in line; try not to let one be behind the other - squeeze those legs towards each other and draw down through the dynamicism of the extended flexed foot leg. Root that bind you have with your hands and work that wrapped arm behind you: the wrapper is the grabber - so if you are wrapping your right leg - the left arm grabs the right wrist and then you can work your right hand to the top of the left thigh.
Stamp that right leg (the bent legged foot into the earth) then go upwards and twist - seek a spot behind you for guidance and find that drishti you can lock your focus on. Breathe here - if you are new to binding, once you are bound, stay for 25 breaths! With time, you will only need to stay for 5 breaths. And later, much later, you will enter the asana in the inhalation - just as the masterful count asks you to, "Marichyasana C - Supta Jump : Inhale!" Only do this when you are comfortably able to bind.
Eventually, this posture is a joyful deep twist, where you link the elements of alignment and bandha together to make this postures successful. The subtle body has got to get on board: uddiyana and mula bandha, the breath must be free and without straining as you begin to twist, and you must be informed of how the lower body does not want to twist. Be a scientist - take your time informing yourself of what needs to happen, dissect this delicious asana - and all other twists later will be much, much easier.
As Guruji is quoted as saying, "Do your practice and all is coming"...I want to add to this - "Do your research in your practice...and all is coming!"
Happy twisting!
 |
| Here I am at the Sawtooth Botanical garden. Thinking of Marichyasana C...and smiling! |
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