Asanas
Part I
Erich on Asana Practice Erich on Asana Sequences Yoga and Menstruation The Fastest Way To Go is... Slowly The Pause that Refreshes Long Holdings Music for Asana Tears & Backbends Asana Topic Excerpts - Part II
Yoga Symposium.15.0
Asana Practice (crotalus, 6/4/98 11:40:56 AM)
Remember the three fundamental themes of asana practice:1) ujjayi breathing,
2) lines of energy, and
3) playing the edge.Recall Erich's advice on getting started:
"Always start your yoga practice sitting quietly. These first few minutes provide an interval in which to let go of your usual daily concerns, gather your energy, become centered, and affirm your motivation to practice with one-pointed enthusiasm. During this quiet time be aware of any specific poses you feel like doing. These will come to mind spontaneously, much like the way specific foods come to mind when you think about what to eat. Pay attention to these subtle requests for they will clarify the content of your practice."
This is the topic to ask questions, make comments or respond to questions about the asanas. Think of this topic as a left brain component of your yoga (asana) practice.
Writing about yoga will make yoga that much more clear and meaningful to you. Recall Erich's observations on his own effort to "get it written down:""I thoroughly enjoyed writing Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness. It took a long time, over ten years, but I loved every single difficult, simple, frustrating, flowing moment of it. It was a tremendous learning experience for me. I thought I knew what I was going to write about when I began. But the more I wrote, the more I learned. And the more I learned, the more I changed my mind, until, finally clarity emerged. Foremost of these learnings was the realization that Knowing happens, that spontaneous intuitive revelation flows into your mind, when you pay attention inwardly, are receptive, and listen. The theme or technique of yoga, therefore, and indeed the theme of the book, is to move into stillness in order to be guided from within, and then to be brave enough, and willing, to do as the within is prompting you to do - even when you cannot explain your behavior to yourself or others. In this way you will be an inspired, inspiring, and meaningful presence."
Tell us of your trials and triumphs with the asanas and the routines you use. Do you use music? Does the concept of "playing your edges" help you make the most of your practice and help you to progress?
Have you been able to seamlessly integrate your breathing into your performance of the poses? Does the "lines of energy" concept bring you a deeper understanding of the poses?When do you practice? Do you set aside time for yoga when you travel? What is your favorite routine? Does this set of asanas usually come to mind as you sit quietly to begin your practice?
How do you feel when you miss a practice or when you take a weekly rest day?Yoga Symposium.15.23
Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 6/27/98 10:44:20 AM)
Erich here. For beginners, I usually recommend they follow a prescribed sequence of poses from their teacher, otherwise they don't know what to do. Following a prescribed plan like this helps establish a practice. It helped me for a number of years. But, more and more, the whole thing is about listening inwardly and doing exactly what feels right in the moment, something you cannot plan for or anticipate in advance, at which time the flow does rise from within and your practice goes deeper. That's what I do. I just start and go by the inner feeling. The creative sequencing that happens is then the living expression of inner guidance. Being able to do this makes yoga more fun, meaningful, creative and pertinent. It took me five or six years of trying before I could do it, though. Revert to the prescribed plan if you find you're not really listening. Dump the plan when you can.Namaste to you,
ErichYoga Symposium.15.262 (following 3 posts are not from this thread - Ed.)
Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 5/4/99 6:27:51 PM)
Sequencing. This is a big subject—or at least I tend to think of it as such!—and I notice myself stalling, hesitating, waiting for the inner feeling to say “Go.” Let’s get into it slowly. This will probably come in installments. Here it goes...
This is how I structure most of my classes. I do not structure my personal practice like this. I’m totally free-form when I practice. I just do whatever and exactly what I feel like doing when I feel like doing it... ! ... and I just keep riding the flow... It’s sorta like surfing. But we can get into that another time.
I always start my classes with seated meditation, somewhere between 5-10 minutes in length. On Wednesday nights I teach a meditation and asana class wherein we sit for longer periods of time. But mostly I’ve found that a short-ish 5-10 minute sit feels right for just about everyone. It’s an awfully long time for someone not used to sitting that long, but it’s do-able, it’s not too long; and the experienced people are able to get quite deep within that short amount of time, which in itself is a good learning. I usually talk for the first 2-3 minutes, describing how to sit in a grounded fashion, to gently elongate your core, your invisible spine, and to then sit quietly in gentle full bloom. And then I shut up and go into the space myself.This “shutting up and going into the space myself” is, I feel, an extremely important element in teaching. It’s where the inspiration comes from! And not only that, it’s from that centered being-in-the-now state that you radiate the meaning of yoga.... that is... that’s how you teach! You teach it by being it. During Savasana, Relaxation Pose, at the end of class, for example, I know a lot of teachers who get up and leave the room... and then come back when class is over. But hanging out in the space with everyone during that time is one of the high points of class. It’s not that you “hold” the energy, but you help keep everyone’s conscious attention in the Now by being there yourself.
So, I begin classes with seated meditation, then proceed with an Opening of one sort or another — I’ll get into this later — and onward with the rest of the class. I end with Savasana and (if there’s time) have everyone sit up again for another 2-3 minutes of silent sitting. I often omit this final sitting because of time constraints and because I teach in a busy studio where there is always another class waiting to get in, so I’m trying to end on time. But finishing with seated meditation is preferable to finishing in Savasana because it is more grounding. Then everyone walks out of there blissful and high, and grounded. And the difference between the first meditation at the beginning of class and the final one is often quite dramatic, demonstrating the power of yoga to transform one’s experience.Paz, Amor, Shanti
Erichand from Yoga Symposium.15.264
Relative to the beginning and end of class, one thing I forgot to say is that I use little ting-sha cymbals, I think that's what they are called, something like that... little cymbals that a friend gave me from Nepal. I ding them at the "official" start of class and then I ding them again at the end after the final meditation. This helped me get over the awkwardness I was feeling during the last few moments of class and clearly/gently/(non-verbally) delineated the start and finish of class. It's worked well and everyone understands, and there's an element of ritual about it, though minimal, that has a nice feeling-tone to it. Having a well-defined beginning and well-defined end is a good thing. My early years of teaching were quite lacking in this respect. I remember teaching a workshop once and at the end it just sort of dissipated... and in my mind we were done...but we were just still hanging out, which was my style.. until one of the participants asked if were done. What I didn't realize is that people have lives, they have kids, they have places to go, and they have allotted themselves enough time to be in yoga class, but then they've gotta go. I learned that it helps keep the energy tight if you begin and finish on time. That way everyone can pace themselves accordingly, knowing that we'll be done at the stipulated time.and from Essential Core of Goodness
Yoga Symposium.5.46
Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 9/28/98 6:54:08 PM)I was taught the standing poses by Mr. Iyengar and his senior students in Europe and India. I practiced them the way I was taught for years. They are the basics, so to speak- fundamental, important, strengthening. And for this reason it's a good idea to have several different ways of doing them so that they remain interesting to you... so you'll do them.
Typically, I practice and teach them in three different ways: 1) singly, one at a time, 2) vinyasa style, where you slip one in with each repetition of Sun Salute, and 3) stringing them together into a standing pose flow (that's what was on the video). I know other people do this also, I didn't make it up, though I do take the liberty of creating new sequences that seem even better, either more pertinent to me or more effective in a class situation. Try it. Make up your own sequences. String a few standing poses together in a way that flows nicely for you. You save a lot of time in class by doing them this way. But, just to clarify, I don't do them any one way all the time. I might teach them singly for a week or two or three, then vinyasa style for awhile, then standing pose flows. Another reason why this is good as a teaching device is because you're doing the same thing over and over, which is how you get the training effect, yet you're mixing it up and keeping it creative so it's always fun, not a chore.
But what I really wanted to say is this: After awhile of doing it the way your teacher suggests... once you get in touch with the inner feeling of yoga... what happens is that the inner feeling starts telling you what to do. That's why going to classes gets less and less interesting. It's more interesting to do "your" yoga at your pace, rather than doing what someone else (the teacher) is suggesting. So, if the teaching is working, being effective, then it's helping the student get to the place where they don't need the teacher... because they're being taught from within. So, for me, most of the time, I'd rather stay home and do my own thing. But I still occasionally go to someone else's class or workshop. It's fun to see what they're up to, what they are teaching, what they are emphasizing, and to experience someone else's take on yoga. And when I go, I surrender and do what they say. I just figure that if I'm going to do my own thing I might as well stay home.
But as a teacher, this is the flip side, I try to encourage both. On the one hand I want people to listen and be attentive, and so some of the time I emphasize doing things in a very particular way, and some of the time I encourage people to go within, listen and practice being guided from within. The last ten minutes of class might be devoted to that, for example: "For the next ten minutes, sense inwardly for the poses you feel you'd like to end the class with..." and let them do it. Then end with Savasana.
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Yogamama (Yogamama, 10/6/98 5:53:02 PM)Hello all. Can anyone advise me on doing asanas during menstruation? Shandor advised us today to do nothing with a capital N for the first three days of a woman's cycle. He said there were other ways to learn i.e. watching. Looks like I'll sit on the sidelines for the next three days. It will be tough for me. A test of patience and the ability to trust my teacher and the old writings.
Namaste,
Alix
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Call Me Suspicious, but..... (SuZie Coyote, 10/6/98 8:38:41 PM)I have read some of the injunctions against doing certain poses while menstruating. I've never read that one should do Nothing (capital N). I've read that women should avoid inversions. For years, I practiced any and all the asanas I cared to do both on and off "the rag" with absolutely no adverse effects. I didn't know there were rules against it, you see. If anything, my yoga perked me up and energized me during these times. I have read some really silly stuff behind these injunctions; how the blood will back up and your "pipes" will get congested and a lot of other nonsensical ideas. But I've seen no research or technical data to back up a woman's supposed "risk" in performing asanas during menstruation.
Lightning didn't strike me for practicing "on the rag." I did not get any "female disorders." I didn't shrivel up, cause bad luck to my tribe, get pimples, become weak or otherwise have problems attempting practice during my "unclean" times.
I asked Erich about this and (not to put words in his mouth - but I think I've got this right) he said, quietly, "I think you should listen to your own body and experiment. Read the material; make your own decision." That's all he said.
I saw a tee-shirt at a biker's convention that said "Never trust anything that bleeds for days and doesn't die." This is the common cultural response here (and throughout the world) to menstruation. So back to my title....call me suspicious, but, I don't buy doing Nothing by way of asanas during my menstruation.
Now, every religious and spiritual tradition I know of has problems with female menstruation and all sorts of taboos surrounding this very normal female function. The asana restrictions are taught by teachers who learned them from their teachers, etc. The original masters (and only practitioners for thousands of years) were men. I'd ask my teacher where the injunction to do "Capital N, Nothing" came from and try to track it down yourself. Was it Patanjali's Yoga Sutras? The Vedas? Where did it come from and how the heck did that person (probably male) know?
So, maybe the sages had a divine revelation that said women can't do asanas during menstruation. That would be an article of faith (that I don't share.)
Or maybe its just more of the same kind of authoritarian stuff that often accompanies just about every spiritual practice - directed at a scary thing (menstruation) that the founders of the practice did not understand.
Here's an example for you. I used to teach Massage Therapy. One thing I learned (and that probably many of you believe - I used to) is that "massage flushes toxins out of the body." Sounds good.wisdom passed down from teacher to teacher. But studies have shown this to be patently untrue. Researchers have measured toxins in blood, feces, and urine before during, immediately after, ten-minutes after, a half-hour after and a couple of hours after massage, and found no appreciable differences. If toxins are being flushed, researches finally asked, where are they going? Yet, when I showed the research to the director of the massage school, he refused to change the curriculum, because "everybody knows massage flushes toxins." Now massage does a lot of great things for the body..but there is no evidence that it flushes toxins.
I'm sure I'm going to have all sorts of teachers jump me on this one, predicting dire consequences for ignoring the "wisdom of the past" and what the hell do I know anyway, I'm a fledgling, etc. But I will continue to do whatever asanas that infinite mind tells me to do, whenever I get the inspiration to do them.
SuZett
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As an example: (SuZie Coyote, 10/6/98 9:00:47 PM)Mary Shatz, a yoga "researcher" has written about the "dangers" of performing certain asanas during menstruation. She talks of "postulations" and "ancient wisdom" but I find not a shred of research backing up her assertions.
She goes so far as to instill the fear (nowhere backed up with facts or references) that doing inversions during menstruation can lead to "vascular congestion," collapsed uterine veins, and increased menstrual bleeding. Again, none of these dire warnings are backed up with any real data.
However, anyone who would feel more comfortable having someone provide them with a prescription (and I don't mean this in a bad light), I'd recommend reading Dr. Shatz and making your own decision.
I believe her one valid claim may be in insisting that one should avoid certain asanas because of "ancient wisdom." Again, that's a "faith thing," not a "science thing" (as intimated) but valid to some people (not me. I trust my own experience and bodily responses.)
SuZ
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Gena Berglund (earthworm, 10/7/98 10:15:34 AM)SuZ, Yogamama, Wow! This dialogue is great.
I am so glad this conversation has opened up. I too have had the very same questions as SuZ and Yogamama. As I continue to shed my Iyengar skin (I took Iyengar classes weekly from an Iyengar fundamentalist for two and a half years) these menstruation taboos will fall away as well.
Anything coming out of the Iyengar system, as is the case with Mary Shatz "ancient wisdom" (see "dangers" reference in above post) should put into context. B.K.S. Iyengar has chosen to continue teaching yoga from a domination paradigm, a patriarchal system, a male point of view, and with a fear of womankind and the intuition that is often attributed to woman. IMHO, Iyengar's contribution to yoga is about osteo, muscular and neural alignment of the body and he discourages intuitive listening to Infinite Mind. It seems that at one level Erich's approach to yoga and the Iyengar system are at odds. Since Erich honors the inner wisdom rather than the faith, fundamentalist approach, I choose that path. Which is why I love the aphorism, "Question Authority." But lets change it to read "Question Authority, Breathe, and Listen to Infinite Mind!"
Thanks for the insights, SuZ. Looking forward to meeting you too.
Gena
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Reprise - Asana and Menstruation (SuZie Coyote, 1/27/99 5:02:51 PM)From Joe Weider’s Muscle & Fitness, Feb 99:
“Some researchers like Edward Wojtys;, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, point to hormonal variances as a possible culprit” [in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The ACL is in the knee.] At the University of Michigan and the University of California, Los Angeles, researchers have found higher-than expected rates of ACL injury shortly before menstruation, when estrogen levels spike.
At ACLU, the tissue of the ACL has been found to have receptors that react to estrogen. “High levels of estrogen basically weaken the tissue and that probably is when the injury occurs…additional hormonal pieces of the ACL puzzle will be revealed when as-of-yet unpublished research papers show that hormones indeed contribute to this type of injury. “
The article goes on to caution restraint before leaping to conclusions based on “slim research.” “I would hate to see a coach cut back on a female athlete’s training volume each month based on the proposition that estrogen is putting the athlete at risk” says one researcher. So, it is perhaps the estrogen spike BEFORE menstruation that makes certain poses potentially riskier from an injury point of view.
SuZ
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Frank (Frank40, 12/6/98 5:31:56 AM)Hi all,
Back from Florida and AAR and so happy to find these new messages, and, a new classy looking format here!
I have a general asana question: I have been doing yoga now for about 5 months, and have made what I think has been progress with a fine teacher. I am to the point of feeling the desire to try some of the more difficult postures-- it seems as if I want to naturally move into them during a practice, but, I feel a bit hesitant too, not wanting an injury and all. For example, I'd love to move into Chakrasana and Sirshasana, but I'm feeling a bit tentative. I'd love to go further in some asanas I do regularly and into or comfortably beyond "the edge" but sometimes I am not sure how far to go? I have noticed a dramatic change in my body's flexibility since beginning yoga-- so my "limits" have shifted and changed. I guess my question is: any thoughts and words of wisdom on navigating through the stages of beginning regular asana practice as one naturally moves into the more advanced poses? Thanks all.
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 12/6/98 7:34:02 PM)The fastest way to go is... slowly. Take your time. Don't be in a rush. Be gently persistent. That's what I would say. Monitor yourself, if your body is resistant today you may have pushed it too hard yesterday. Be gentle, but persistent; that is, practice, but gently, not excessively. Too much is too much, and the more you practice the more sensitive you'll be to the subtleties. Also, make sure you get enough rest so the benefits can soak in deeply.
As far as your wanting to go deeper into the poses, do! Try things out. Also speak privately with your teacher and ask their advice on which poses you should be doing, and how you can take them deeper. The main idea is to erase the tight spots in whatever pose you happen to be doing, so move the emphasis point around in order to erase as many as possible. The doing of this will take you deeper.
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kevin wood (sahaj, 9/19/99 12:54:42 AM)
I wanted to mention the latest transformation of my yoga practice. It seems to have a life of its own and I am continually amazed at the knowing that comes from within to guide me on the particulars of the practice from day to day. But it wasn't always like that. When I was dogmatically adhering to a particular method [in this case astanga of Pattabhi Jois] I wasn't listening to my own internal rhythms and needs which change from day to day. Lately the importance of letting go seems to take precidence over doing. I will do a sequence of intense asanas and then just stop....usually in child's pose. and just let go.....I never realized how difficuilt this really was. Before my practice was designed around the achievement of asanas. Gradually over the years this has changed. Now I am learning how to let go. I am sure that this is a much more advanced form of yoga, much more subtle and difficuilt But isn't letting go the essence of spiritual practice? One interesting way to practice asanas is to use the bandhas during the asana. Like uddiyana during the exhale retention in prasarita padatanasana. Or jalandhara during tadasana or vajrasana while the breath is held inside after inhale. Or mulabandha during the intensity of urdva dhanurasana to stabilize the pelvis and increase the energy of the pose.Some thoughts
Kevin
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Kit Spahr (Kit Spahr, 9/19/99 12:36:42 PM)I've noticed how much lighter my body feels when using mulabandha in arm balances...specifically crow pose. And re: letting go during practice. I've noticed that when I'm doing urdva dhanurasana I'm often inclined to just lay there for a few minutes...sometimes longer...and not because I'm resting my back but because this kind of meditative state takes over after practicing that pose...and then I kind of come back to the body and go up again. Its odd...no other pose does that too me as consistently.
kit
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(tympanachus cupido, 9/19/99 12:44:45 PM)>>I will do a sequence of intense asanas and then just stop....usually in child's pose.<<
Yeah. My style exactly. I figured maybe I was lazy but after a lifetime of hard driving recreations (bicycling, skiing, mountaineering, backpacking, motorcycling, driving-to-fast, reading) and work (programming, marketing, selling, technical management, web work) it's a delight to let it flow in a relaxed, "just let it happen" way with yoga.
Every now and then I go back and read Erich's asana descriptions and never fail to better understand, so I guess it's working. I never realized I was a frequent meditator (I thought it was day dreaming) until I connected with the stillness concept. The long grinds up mountain passes on the bicycle and alpine tundra/scree on foot were meditations of the finest kind. Similarly, the intense focus of slo-mo activities like rock climbing, selling (it's all about listening), writing and programming and of fast-mo activities like downhill skiing, motorcycling and fast driving are flow state meditations that demand the highest levels of awareness and "letting go" of outside distractions.
The new stuff is in learning to listen to the body and to Infinite Mind to create that special place of balance for which we all seem to hunger. Impatience is still a cross (just cracked the oil pan on my Alpina, AGAIN, in one more repetition of the often expensive concomitant lesson) and compassion is something I admire in others, mostly, but yoga is slowly reducing the impacts of these character traits.
The altered state associated with the awareness of the ever moving present moment is the key to grabbing a whole bunch of extra delight in life. I'm into delight; seems to extend beyond mere contentment and frequently offers a glimpse of ecstasy. On the whole, I'd rather be in the light than the dark.
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kevin wood (sahaj, 9/19/99 4:56:10 PM)Yes, the space between the asanas seems to be as important if not more than the asanas themselves. Another good let go pose is after shalabhasana or dhanurasana just lay on the ground and let the belly relax completely. Feel as if the diaphram is melting into the earth and the flesh of the body drips away from the bones.
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Letting Go... (sue6, 9/19/99 5:09:57 PM)Kevin & Bob... I do the same...stopping, calming...right in the middle of my asana practice. I try to teach that way also. Just yesterday I was explaining to my students that "resting" can actually be a practice. We have to practice the art of letting it all go. :)
Sue
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 9/20/99 9:59:34 AM)I do the same thing... I think that is how I realized that " pausing" is the most important thing. Pause, savor, listen...and wait for the inner feeling to say "Go" again. Tadasana is also good for stopping in, also Vajrasana, also on your back with legs bent, feet flat, arms bent, resting on elbows with palms facing the sky, mudra hands. I do that a lot after Urdhva Dhanurasana [Wheel Pose]. Let it all go, then let the All in. I'm enjoying everyone's contributions. Thanks!
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karen king (karenki, 9/20/99 11:28:24 AM)I have a question. Has anyone ever experienced tears after doing backbends? Erich says it is from the opening of the heart chakra. My grandfather and uncle both cried a lot after they had heart surgery. I wonder if there is a connection here? I am beginning to love this pose.
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backbends and rest (YogaSuz, 9/21/99 7:01:54 AM)Karen, In Kripalu yoga, you rest after nearly every pose, and it is a very inward style of yoga, which is why I am taking it now. In Iyengar yoga, it seems we hardly ever rest between poses. Recently I had the experience of teaching my Kripalu class (my teacher has a lot of personal things going on right now and asked me to lead the class during a particularly tough week). It was funny because I kept on going forward to a new pose and the class kept wanting to rest, as was their habit. That experience made me think about habit, both on my part and the participants. It also made me think about how I am teaching my class...probably need to add more pauses. My Kripalu teacher says that you rest between poses to feel the energy in your body. In my own practice, I have days when I go slowly and days when I go quickly.
I am also experimenting with bandhas and breathing. Mainly I am just standing in Tadasana and doing (uh, mulabandha?) the one where you bring the navel in toward the spine with every exhalation. Karen, I too find backbends to raise emotion. They are said to not only open the heart chakra, but all the chakras. In fact, one of the names for backbends, the one I prefer, is Chakrasana...chakra opening pose. I find that poses that open the heart chakra will make me cry or experience emotion deeply. Those experiences are what led me to seek out yoga.
A really neat way to practice backbends, particular cobra and some of the more gentle backbends where it is easier to stay in the pose for a while without so much effort, is to try to bring the curve out of the low back and up to the mid back. Talk about opening up the heart chakra! Physically, you end up with a nice curve, too. A note on head movements in all poses, my teacher now often talks about how the neck begins between the shoulder blades. This is a very neat awareness to bring to asana. It is the best insight I've had for getting my head into alignment.
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Sharon Shultz (Sharry, 9/21/99 2:22:27 PM)Hi Suzanne: I liked your post very much. I have been experimenting with pauses in my practice also. I have never attended a class where you go from pose to pose until I went to Erich's workshop in Cincinnati. It was a great experience for me The energy just seemed to be moving at a constant flow. I liken it to a switch that is always on. Not a stop start, but just a continual steady stream. I believe part of the reason this happened was because he kept moving throughout the room with deep ujjayi (sp) breathing and as I heard him I just naturally tuned into it and it really transformed my practice.
I do find also that at different times I need to stop and rest. This is usually when I've pushed a little to hard and the energy is moving a bit erratically and that signals a need to, as Erich says in his book, YIELD. I think in backbends it's easy to feel the energy we are made of!! I enjoy the flow from pose to pose as I seem to be "in there", more focused as my mind doesn't seem to wonder, but my physical body sometimes doesn't have the strength. Guess we'll just have to keep experimenting with finding balance.
Namaste, Sharon
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kevin wood (sahaj, 9/21/99 6:03:54 PM)Karen, It seems that the backbending asanas are stimulating in nature and tend to move energy that is stuck. My experience is that the heart chakra opens by feeling open and vulnerable. I suppose you could do a backbend with a will a agression that wouldn't allow the flowering of the heart. But if I am open and yielding, the power of the pose seems to bring up stuck stuff in all the chakras, releasing the holding and letting in the light and breath. I told my class the other day to bring the breath into areas that haven't seen the light of day. It seems to be like that prana gets stuck and stagnant, and the asanas help to get the flow happening again. then once the flow is happening, pause to feel and enjoy the effect of a freeing up of prana. Thanks for that suggestion on the position of the hands during pause on the back, Erich. Ill try that out.
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long holdings (YogaSuz, 2/25/00 2:47:24 PM)
Has anyone out there had experience with long holdings in poses? Is anyone doing this in their regular practice? I would like to know your experience with this.
Last night in yoga class we held bridge pose for at least 5 minutes to increase prana. It was wonderful, very VERY neat. I want to start holding poses for a long time in my own practice. This to me seems like a great way to practice the lines of energy stuff.
Anyway, I'd love to hear experiences...suggested poses (I guess any would be great).
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Debbie Wilcox (DYOGA97, 2/25/00 8:16:55 PM)
I was once told to learn a posture work on holding it for 1 hour to start. I no,I could do that! I don't have the time unless that's all I worked on when I practice myself. I've never held any posture longer than 1 min. Although I've never timed any, I count breaths.
Camel might be a nice posture to hold for 5 min. I know it releases emotions. Maybe I'll try holding a posture on Sunday when I do my practice.
Jai Bhawan
Debbie
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 2/25/00 9:31:47 PM)
I do long holdings much of the time. Slow and deep is my favorite way to practice. Part of the trick is to be really gentle. Go into a pose until you just begin to feel something, then slow down and stay there for awhile. When something changes, when the intensity eases up a little, go a little deeper. You can get very deep this way, safely. Just keep waiting for the pose to let you in.Paschimottanasana [Seated Forward Fold] is good for this. Upavista Konasana [Seated Spread Leg Forward Fold]. Pigeon,
especially stage one, lying forward. Urdhva Dhanurasana! Work up to five minutes in that. Even Cobra is good. Tadasana is one of the best. Tree! I've been doing a lot of Tadasana and Tree holdings. And, of course, Headstand and Shoulderstand. I know I'm leaving some good ones out... but, yes, holdings are cool. I recommend them.
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Hold that Pose (sue6, 2/25/00 11:19:41 PM)
Lately during my practice I've been staying/pausing/holding Trikonasana for a long time. I'm not sure how long...it just feels so good for me right now. Baddha Konasana and Pigeon are others I stay in for long periods of time. Oh, yeah, and my very favorite...Corpse Pose! Up to an hour in that one! :)
Namaste,
Sue
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 2/26/00 3:09:03 PM)
I knew I left the best one out!
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 2/13/00 6:11:21 PM)
I've got lots of favorites. Krishna Das, Pink Floyd, Kitaro, Kirby Shelstad's Dewachen, David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir, Blind Faith [!], The Eternal Om. I often listen to music when I am practicing, but have not used it during class for the last ten years.
Jai Bhagwan! Great day in Los Angeles, rainy and quiet.
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(ashtangaboy, 2/13/00 9:05:08 PM)
Hey everybody. Those are some neat selections. A good friend turned me on to Khrisna Das. That was so nice. What I have found that works best with a free form practice, is Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue". This is by far my most favorite album to do yoga.This is from the liner notes by Bill Evans;
...Therefore, you will hear something close to pure spontaneity in these performances. The group had never
played these pieces prior to the recordings and I think without exception the first complete performance of
each was a "take"'I may sound crazy, but you need to leave the computer NOW and go to the local CD store and buy yourself a copy of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.
Seriously, every American should be aware of this beautiful art that was cultivated in the states.
Namaste!
Brad
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Kit Spahr (Kit Spahr, 2/13/00 10:13:21 PM)My current personal favorites are Cirque de Soleil's " Dralion", Dead Can Dance, and Jiva Mukti by Nada Shakti and Bruce Becvar.
I don't use music in class either...it distracts me. But I like it at home...depends on my mood.
Kit
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Scott Mills (happetree, 2/16/00 12:25:07 PM)Brad
That is a great album! i've had it for a while, but i don't get tired of it. I like to listen to music when i practice sometimes..if the mood is right. It can't be anything too upbeat or rockin though. Ive been getting in to ambient music lately...like some of Robert Fripps soundscape albums. There isn't any rhythm...so its all in free time. Just beautiful sounds. Also..."music for 18" musicians by Steven Reich is a good one for me...because it has a repetitive drone that makes it very easy to listen to and not be distracted from my yoga.
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eloisa vargas (eloisa vargas, 2/16/00 10:16:28 PM)Karen, beautiful the one that you wrote on music! The one that you spoke demonstrates that you understand well on music and you also know the correct way of you use it in class.
The music and the soul live united, the breathing is harmonized with the music, the movement follows the music, that is to say, everything is music. In the class, the music helps to delineate the time in each posture, instead of looking at the clock, the music guides the student. The music helps to focus the attention because it frees us of the thoughts. The interior silence can happen when you are attentive hearing the music. Thus, that is a way for the silence.
I come from a family of musicians. My husband and my children are musicians (they have a band, country music). We have a recording studio and we worked with this. That is to say, the music is something that is part of my life and certainly, of my yoga also.
My yoga studio is beside our sound studio. A lot of times I use the music in class not just for background but a lot of times acting as a barrier to isolate some inconvenient noise that comes from outside.
I listen Kitaro, Enya, Vangelis, Pashbell and many other. Our chakras loves music. The low sounds (guitar bass, chellos) they affect the inferior chakras and the high tones, acute (violins) they affect the superiors. Kitaro, in the CD Silk Road, presents a music with sounds (frequencies) for the7 chakras. It is very interesting.You listen and you can feel the vibration in each chakra. Namaste
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Scott Mills (happetree, 2/16/00 11:43:06 PM)Music really has the ability to put people together in the same moment. I don't think it matters whether you are actually playing the music or not. Rather...its the listening aspect. How it hurts me so when i have played music with people who refuse to listen. The more experiences i've had with those who are willing to listen to each other has lead me to some great music happening...but if i do choose to play with someone who isn't all ears...well it hurts alot more than it used to.
Back to brining people together in the same moment...this past summer i got to see Phish (one of my favorite bands) play two nights in a row. I think it was the second night where the band was in the midst of a loooonngg improvisational jam...at some point i began to see a gigantic flower in my mind....and all the music was begining to be sucked into this flower.....as the music was 'sucked', the music grew softer and softer and softer...till finally there was silence and the petals closed. Very beuatiful experience. Ive had lots of experiences at phish shows like that.... sometimes it is being so in tune with what is happening i somehow know what song will come next...what note will be played next. Translating this to the rest of my life is a differnt story...im still working on that one :)
From all of these musical experiences I am considering going into the field of music thearapy...im convinced that sounds can heal and bring people together ....
Its interesting that the word universe means "one song" :)
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Karen (KFN, 2/18/00 5:39:26 PM)I'm going to have buy some new CDs! I'm not familiar with Krishna Das, only vaguely familiar with Kitaro, the only Pink Floyd I own is on vinyl, and Miles Davis???, what a concept! The acoustic jazz quartet Four Play does some nice yoga music.
Eloise said what I meant about defining the space with music better than I did: "acting as a barrier to isolate some inconvenient noise that comes from outside". The studio where I lead a couple of classes a week is located in between a car stereo store and a business that sells noisy things like jet skis. Playing soft music inside defines "our" sonic space from "out there".
All outside noise is not necessarily bad. Several weeks ago we had big bulldozers & backhoes working right outside the building. That low rumble is kind of nice! During savasana one afternoon we not only had the bulldozer rumble, it was working so close to the building that the floor was vibrating.
Scott, I think you are right about music therapy. I've known a couple of people in the field, and one of them had film of some of the patients in the hospital where she did her internship. There were children there who had spent their entire lives there because of profound physical & mental handicaps, and in some cases, music therapy seemed to be the only thing that reached them on any level. It helps people with Parkinson's move and Alzheimer's patients remember. Noble calling.
Namaste'
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eloisa vargas (eloisa vargas, 2/18/00 7:24:02 PM)Scott wrote: “ at some point i began to see a gigantic flower in my mind....and all the music was begining to be sucked into this flower..... “
This experience lived by you hearing Phish reminds the experiences with the “Fractal music” or with the raagas Indians where the objective is to provoke this effect in the listener. Actually, the musical language should maintain the connection among the composer, the musician and the listener.
When the musicians are "improvising " (here in Brazil we say: to do a "free"), the energy is very powerful because they need a strong connection to each other. They don't know which will be the next note that will appear through the natural flow or of the energy that will be uniting musicians and listeners.
“Music really has the ability to put people together in the same moment. I don't think it matters whether you are actually playing the music or not.” It is a moment of synergistic synchronicity where everybody is part of everything, where everybody, musicians and auditorium, are integrated in an only energy. The musician on this moment it is guided by the pure perception, and “that state” appears, where doesn't exist myself, ego, where doesn't exist the will and nor the fight and yes an eternal to flow among music, interpreters and listeners - all creative participants. This way, the music emerges as if it already came being played in another dimension any, besides our perception limits, it stays with us while the magic game of improvising is enough to maintain it, and it comes back to the " sanctuary of the gods " for interruption, could continue to sound in the mind of the listener for an indefinable time.
You can feel that in one moment as this, the time doesn't exist, that is as the meditation, - it is meditation. In India, where the music doesn't exist moved away of its spiritual character, the raagas is improvised according to the moment of the day or of the night, beginning as a meditation - of the which they are part - and being interrupted without a determined mark of time. There, as well as for Kant in the philosophy and Einstein in the physics, the time is not an absolute factor, but a perception of the world or a relative way of organizing the phenomenons.
The music is integral part of our psyche, interact with our energy, provoking change in the states of our conscience. Thus, its capacity to cure and to transform is powerful. Great masters of yoga of India work asanas together with the music.
The student learns how " to hear " listening the music. However, "to hear really" the music, is difficult. Most of the time we didn't hear, on the contrary, we "thought" the music, or, we translated accordingly our opinions and personal taste or beliefs.
To learn to hear a music, intensely, with all the attention focused there, with our senses, with our heart and soul, is the first lesson for the meditation. The student sits down quiet, relaxed, breathing, focusing the mind in the breathing and in the music, just this, for 5 minutes. This opening, promotes the correct attitude to begin the practice: reverence, teaching to honor some thing that is much more powerful than ourselves.
If we don't have the capacity to hear a music, we will never meditate because we don't know how to hear the wind, the rain, the sea, the birds and the children's noise playing. This capacity to hear everything in turn without anything to exclude, is meditation. To listen a music is an exercise for this.
The body in movement is a dance (as Suzanne spoke) and the music is the connection between the body , movement and the soul. I see the music as one of the ways for the interior Silence facilitating to listen inside, and like this, promoting self knowledge, self transformation. The music is the metaphor that unites our dream with the reality.
Namaste
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Hey Karen (ashtangaboy, 2/18/00 10:39:46 PM)Hey karen,
what I find that works best for me is stuff with no strong downbeats. example of downbeats- SGt Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band-. I have tried it.
What does not work well for me are songs that have a march feel. Soft floating beats rhythms and harmonies are what works for me.
I also like to do yoga to a tape of thunderstorms.
Namaste,
Brad
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Karen (KFN, 2/18/00 10:58:37 PM)"When thunder comes it relieves the tension and promotes positive action. Music can do the same by making people enthusiastic and united together. When used to promote good it brings them closer to heaven." --I Ching (B.C.E 1150?)
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 2/19/00 10:38:08 AM)Re: music. I forgot to mention el-Hadra, the Mystic Dance, I love that one, it just keeps hanging in there, drawing out these long notes. And re Kitaro, the one I especially like is called Tunhuang. I've often thought that if I were a musician I would like to produce something like that. It's a good one to really LISTEN to.
Namaste!
Erich
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Kitaro... (eloisa vargas, 2/19/00 9:07:19 PM)Erich, Tun-Huang is very beautiful. I like to do ekapadas hearing this music. In the CD of Tunhuang, in the following track, you find Free Flight. Wonderful! You can fly hearing... Another masterpiece of Kitaro is Heaven and Earth ( soundtrack of the film with the same name). Do you know? Light of the Spirit is also special. I collect the works of Kitaro and each one is better than the other. He is very good!
Jai!
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