Beyond Union

The definition of the word yoga is one that has many layers.  When you ask most people involved in yoga the definition of the word they often say “union”.  And yes, one of the meanings of the word yoga (which is a Sanskrit word derived from the root word yuj) is “to bring two things together, to meet, to unite” (Desikachar, 1980).  Another meaning has similarities to the definition of samādhi which is “to converge the movement of the mind” (Desikachar, 1980), that is to bring the mind to a single point of focus.  A further definition offered by Desikachar in his book Religiousness in Yoga is “to reach a point we have not reached before”.  In line with this, another definition is offered – “to act in a particular way with all of our attention focused upon that action” (Desikachar, 1980).  And finally, one that is often not discussed is “to be one with ‘God’” or the movement towards understanding something higher than ourselves (Desikachar, 1980).

"Another important aspect of yoga has to do with action.  Yoga also means "to act in a particular way with all of our attention focused upon that action." " ~ Desikachar, Religiousness in Yoga.

Let’s go back to the definition “to reach a point we have not reached before”.  This movement from point A to point B is something we can relate to in all aspects of life and what we can reflect, experience and explore in our yoga practice through āsana, prānāyāma and meditation.  From week one we have been slowly developing our abdominal strength and gradually intensifying our two goal postures: urdhva prasrta padāsana and navāsana.  Now at week five, we can feel how our strength has improved because the postures have developed to demand more from the body and yet we can perform them with ease. 

We have also been working on gradually exploring the subtlety of the breath.  We have done this by first noticing the breath, then introducing the inhale and exhale technique and extending upon this with the addition of breath retention.  Through this steady approach to exploring the body and the breath we have had opportunity along the way to reflect upon the changes. 

We have been bringing this altogether at the end of each class with a meditation to sharpen the mind’s attention.  Over the five weeks, the meditation has become more refined to build the mind’s ability to focus intently on a single point.  If we allow ourselves time to reflect on how this five-week practice has impacted our body, breath and mind we will notice that there has been a movement from one point to another.

Each practice I have designed with the intention to encourage us to participate “…with all of our attention focused upon that action”.  This has been done with each movement being anchored to the breath and by allowing the breath to initiate the movement.  As discussed in my previous post by “consciously following the breath…we become one with the movement” and to do this it requires our undivided attention (Desikachar, 1995).  It also offers us a good point of feedback because we will notice if the movement becomes mechanical when the breath changes.

And finally, we may have had a glimpse in this time of feeling in tune with something higher or beyond us.  This often is experienced in our meditation practice but can happen at any time.  It takes a certain awareness which is what is developed in our practice and intensifies the more we practice or indeed perform our daily actions in a yoga way.  This is something that motherhood has certainly helped me with – each moment is an opportunity to be fully present with my son and to feel and be witness to something that seems beyond this human experience.

This Tuesday will be our last class at Bikram Yoga Kawana and we will be re-starting our Tuesday classes at Kawana Island Meeting Place next school term.  Stay tuned via the blog and FaceBook (The Yoga Pod Sunshine Coast) for more details.

Desikachar, T. K. V. (1980). Religiousness in Yoga: Lectures on Theory and Practice. United States of America: University Press of America.

Desikachar, T. K. V. (1995). The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice. Vermont, United States: Inner Traditions International.

The Space Between

This week I thought it might be time to discover the space between the inhale and exhale.  In Yoga this aspect of the breath - retention either after the inhalation or exhalation or both - is called kumbhaka prānāyāma.  The beauty of this practice lies in its simplicity - at the end of the inhale or exhale we suspend the breath and the movement, and this must be done with care and attention.  The concept of breath retention is used during āsana, prānāyāma or both to explore the idea of habit formation; to deepen our understanding and connection to our body, breath and mind; and to create that moment where the body and breath are still.  It is therefore in this moment of stillness that we create space for the mind to be still.  This is why it is important that breath retention is practiced mindfully so as not to disturb the breath, body, or mind.  This concept is brought together in Patañjali-s Yoga Sūtra 1.31 which is a great summary tool to use throughout class to keep you on the right track.

In his book, Regliousness in Yoga, Desikachar discusses how we use the space between each movement and breath to help avoid habit-forming tendencies.  The way he explains this is by using the example of raising the arms on the inhalation and pausing for 1-2 seconds before we lower the arms on the exhalation and pause for 1-2 seconds.  If you do this movement so that the inhalation initiates and continues the movement of raising the arms, and likewise, the exhalation initiaties and continues the movement of lowering the arms then you are deeply connected and in control of the breath.  Extending this connection and discipline to outside of the yoga practice your actions are done thoughtfully rather than out of habit.

The length of time we hold the breath is critical as it can determine the affect of the practice and whether it is reducing tension or building tension.  If the breath retention is too long it will be evident in the breath itself.  For example, over the past few weeks in class we have been inhaling and exhaling to a length of four seconds.  If I was to ask you to hold either the inhale or exhale (or both) for four seconds you may find that you need to do a quick breath i.e. that you cannot sustain the four second inhale and exhale.  Without this quick breath you may feel that your body will tremble or not be able to complete the āsana properly.  This is the feedback that tells you you're not ready for this technique.  Instead, allow yourself more time to develop the qualities of the breath in āsana we discussed last week (creating a smooth, long, subtle breath) before introducing the retention.  So if you are practicing breath retention and either your inhalation or exhalation becomes disturbed then return your focus to maintaining the steady flow of inhale and exhale.

All of this information brings us to Patañjali sūtra 1.31 which says:

duhkha-daurmanasya-angamejayatva-śvāsa-praśvāsāh-viksepa-saha-bhuvah |

Frans Moor and Desikachar summarise this sūtra as: the symptoms of mental sufferings are mental discomfort, negative thinking, the inability to be at ease in different body postures, and difficulty in controlling ones breath.  When we reflect on this sūtra in light of breath retention then duhkha (suffering) can be seen as an uneasiness in the body, the body no longer moves cohesively with the breath; daurmanasya (negative thinking) may arise in the form of frustration from not being able to maintain the desired qualities of the breath after retention; angamejayatva (physical agitation) is the response from the body such as trembling; and finally śvāsa-praśvāsāh (short, irregular, erratic breathing) is the disruption to the breath that the retention causes.  Be aware when you are practicing that if you experience any of these symptoms they will contribute to agitating the mind which ultimately is moving away from the purpose of Yoga.

On Tuesday we will begin to explore breath retention in our prānāyāma and at the end of class the meditation will explore the concept of space.  I hope you and your bubs can join me at Bikram Yoga Kawana, 11am.  If you can't make it along to class, check out the practice below and try it at home.

Part (d) in the prānāyāma should read "Even length inhale + exhale x 6 (no hold)"

The Reflection of Our Mind

Over the past two weeks I have been introducing the importance of moving with the breath during our āsana practice.  The importance of the breath focus becomes apparent the more you practice yoga āsana in this way, and for me, it became more apparent when I developed a personal home practice.  The experience of practicing āsana layered with the knowledge I learnt during my teacher training is part of the reason I am so passionate about Yoga.  Let’s investigate why we focus on the breath in class.

Xavier helping me write Week Three's practice...perhaps he's in a deep meditation??

T.K.V. Desikachar is the son of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya who was an Acarya that passed on this understanding of Yoga to many students including his son.  Desikachar has written a beautiful book called The Heart of Yoga and in this he writes “Although it theoretically appears possible for the body, breath and mind to work independent of one another, the purpose of yoga is to unify their actions” (Desikachar, 1995).  Okay, but why?  Quite simply “The quality of our breath is extremely important because it expresses our inner feelings…The breath is the link between the inner and outer body.”  And as we will begin to discover, yoga is much more than āsana, yoga is a system which helps us to understand life.

This is why the starting point of our yoga practice begins with linking the breath and the body.  To do this effectively we anchor the mind to the breath and ask the mind to follow the breath during the movement – this is the whole basis of āsana practice (Desikachar, 1995).  We find the rhythm of our breath at the beginning of class and continuously watch the breath throughout the practice.  Coordinating body & breath requires a lot of attention from the mind and begins to teach the mind to focus on a single point without distraction.  Enter meditation – by “consciously following the breath…we become one with the movement” (Desikachar, 1995). 

The breath is therefore your reference point throughout your āsana practice.  If the quality of the breath changes from a gentle, quiet, smooth, subtle flow we have disconnected from the body and are no longer practicing yoga.  Keeping the mind connected to the breath and observing without judgment is the art of practicing yoga.

So join me this coming Tuesday for Week Three of the Mums and Bubs class at Bikram Yoga Kawana 11am.  We will be further exploring the connection of the breath to our movement and finishing class with a relaxation reflecting on the quality and aspects of the breath.  Continue practicing at home with the practice below.

I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes from Desikachar:

“However beautifully we carry out an āsana, however flexible our body may be, if we do not achieve the integration of body, breath, and mind we can hardly claim that what we are doing is yoga.  What is yoga after all?  It is something that we experience inside, deep within our being.  Yoga is not an external experience.  In yoga we try in every action to be as attentive as possible to everything we do.  Yoga is different from dance or theatre.  In yoga we are not creating something for others to look at.  As we perform the various āsana-s we observe what we are doing and how we are doing it.  We do it only for ourselves.  We are both observer and what is being observed at the same time.  If we do not pay attention to ourselves in our practice, then we cannot call it yoga” (Desikachar, 1995).

Desikachar, T. K. V. (1995). The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice. Vermont, United States: Inner Traditions International.

Overused and Misunderstood?

This week I have decided to brave the waters of the cakra-s, well one cakra (mūlādhāra), but I hesitate to discuss or mention cakra-s in my teaching because my impression is that the word is overused, misunderstood and mispronouced (phonetically: it's not sharkra it's chuckra).  And then there is the apprehension as to whether my understanding is adequate.  When I embarked on the "yoga journey" I gobbled up anything and everything I read or heard and it wasn't until I started studying yoga with my teacher that I realised there is plenty of B.S. written and discussed in the yoga world by people with limited knowledge and understanding.  Of course, the cakra-s are no exception and potentially one of the topics with the most B.S. surrounding them.  Anyway, this my attempt at explaining mūlādhāra cakra and it's significance in our post-partum yoga practice.

Briefly, the cakra-s are energetic points in the body (not the physical body, the subtle body) where energy (prāna) is concentrated.  These points in the body control how prāna flows throughout the whole body.  A very short, two sentence explanation on what is prāna: prāna is our life energy, it is the life in every living thing.  We cannot see or control prāna directly, instead we use techniques like prānāyāma to affect how well prāna flows in the body.  In yogic physiology, at the junction points (cakra-s), if prāna is flowing well, then the body functions optimally.

The root cakra (known in sanskrit as mūlādhāra) assists in supporting conception, growth and nourishment of the baby.  It is also the cakra which is related to our sense of self, our sense of belonging and considered the starting point of our spiritual development.  It is located at the perineum for men and the cervix for women hence its connection to reproduction.  Its associated element is Earth which means when it is functionally optimally we feel grounded and calm.  The table at the end of this post summarises the different aspects of the cakra according to the yoga system.  A great article on the cakra-s has been written by Dr David Frawley if you would like to read more.

Part of the post-partum āsana practice is to strengthen and support the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor.  With this area of the body being supported by mūlādhāra, we encourage prāna to concentrate here through āsana and prānāyāma techniques.  Our final reflection in class this week will consolidate the āsana and prānāyāma and help stimulate this area of the body in a more subtle and powerful way.  Below is the practice for you to continue at home.  I hope you can join us tomorrow (Tuesday June 5th) 11am at Bikram Yoga Kawana. 

Cakra	Mūlādhārā
Meaning	Mūla = root or base. Adhārā = support.  Dha = to hold.
Element	Earth element, prthvi.
Bija Mantra	Lam (pronounced “lum”).
Lotus Flower	Four petals, red.
Yantra/symbol	The yantra = yellow square. In the middle of symbol there is a red triangle pointing downwards.
Location	Perineum (male) or cervix (female).
Jnana Indriya	Large intestine.
Developmental Stages	Sense of belonging, your tribe. Psychological interpretation – security, grounding, food, comfort.  This is important in 0-3y/o ~ important in development: sense of self, belonging, security, attachment, fed, looked after, tribe, friends, belonging & feeling safe.
Animal/Vehicle	Seven trunked elephant. The seven trunks are the seven cakra-s and the 7 minerals vital to the human body.  E.g. calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium.
Tan Mantra & Karma Indriya	Tan mantra (sense) = smell & nose & secretion/excretory organs (large intestines).  Governs movement of the legs.
Deity	Brahman, the creator (male deity).  Dakini (female) the goddess who controls the elements of the skin & the body.
Miscellaneous	Ida, pingala & sushumna originate from mūlādhārā cakra. Kundalini resides in this cakra.