Pranasya Yoga

29/10/2023

Healing ❤️‍🩹

29/09/2022

Do not decide on an asana first and then try to fit the person into it. See the person first and then decide the asanas that are appropriate for them.

Even small changes to adapt to the person’s needs will greatly increase the effectiveness of the asana practice.

Remember that the practice for an individual should be determined based on the person and the purpose.

This is such an important message in Sri Krishnamacharya’s teachings.

- A. G. Mohan

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04/06/2022

One day early in the development of my asana practice, I was practicing headstand in class. Krishnamacharya insisted on long, slow breathing while I held the headstand for, say, twenty-four breaths. As I was concentrating on my breathing, he said, “Your right leg is moving to one side. Be aware.”

He continued, “You are running about, doing various activities and riding a scooter. It seems you need to do more ardha-salabhasana [a modification of the prone backward bend known as the locust — lying face down on the ground and raising the trunk, one leg, and one arm off the floor on inhalation].”

He mentioned my scooter because he had observed that my scooter’s brake pedal was on the right and he knew that I was riding it for more than an hour a day. The gearshift and clutch were on the left handle, so my left leg was free. But I had to keep my right leg unmoving, with the ankle raised and resting slightly on the pedal. Krishnamacharya’s point was that correcting the imbalance was important for a better headstand, but to address the underlying imbalance that caused my right leg to deviate, I needed to do other asanas to balance the two sides of my body. So Krishnamacharya recommended ardha-salabhasana, which uses one arm and one leg at a time and thus also works more on one side of the back than the other.

He used to state, “Asana should not be an anga bhanga sadhana.” Anga means “limbs,” bhanga means “to disrupt,” and sadhana means “practice.” That is, asana should not be a practice that disrupts or creates imbalance in the parts of the body. Consequently, using asymmetric asanas to work on both sides of the body independently was important in his approach. - From Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings

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21/12/2021

Am I practising Yogasana or Exercise?
My immediate response will be, of course asana,
- these asana have names
- there is method I follow to get into and get out of the posture
- I am also breathing as I am moving and staying in the postures

So far so good! But where is my mind?
Well..., maybe not all the time attentive. I have to keep bringing it back, it keeps running away. But will I not get the physical, physiological benefits at least, since I am doing the asana with breathing?

The benefit of yoga practice is in the moment of practice, based on the state of the body - Sthiram (alert, stable, vibrant) and Sukham (in absolute ease, comfort) and the quality of the breath (Dirgham (long) and Suksma (subtle). But the most important factor is our state of mind. Is it attentive, deeply engaged with the experience of the body and breath? It seems like we let the mind and the senses wander most of the time in practice but assume we are "doing" yoga!

So what happens? I may experience reduction in back pain, better energy levels etc, some peripheral benefits accrue and I start imagining I am on the right track! I fail to train my mind to stay, to become more and more steady and attentive. With no changes in the quality or state of mind, I can still experience enough benefits at other levels that make me mindless, even complacent. "I am a yoga practitioner" therefore I assume I am a better person than many others around me! I am "calm", "strong", "good", even a "dharmic" person because I am supposed to be so! Worse still, when this persona of a practitioner is strong, people assume you are all that, you HAVE to be that all the time, and demand that of you, the persona only gets stronger!

So I start watching my mind, where is it? Can I bring the mind more and more into a steady state of attention on my body, breath in my practice? Am I practising listening to myself and others with more attention? Am I being more and more present in everything I am doing? I say "more and more" because it is about consistent practice that will help me recognise where the mind is and make the choice to bring it back to where I want to direct it, again and again. So it becomes more inclined to stay steady and attentive, less pulled by external distractions and inner preoccupations.

Perhaps, then I can say I am "on the path", I can say, "Atha Yoga Anusasanam", I begin again, all over again, with total conviction. Every day, every breath, every movement gives me an opportunity for a fresh start: just bring the mind back to the present. Most importantly, practise dropping this idea of "doing", the struggle, the control that comes with it! Let the mind simply come in and rest, rest deeply, in the body, in this breath, in this moment fully and completely... Any attempt to control, reach up to something, hankering for a result, even at very subtle levels, impedes the mind from restful attention. When we let go of even the mildest of expectations, the mind has nothing to grasp, it will learn to truly rest in the depth of your being. There is sthiram and sukham and the breath just flows...

Am I saying what is most apparent? Yes, what is simple is often overlooked, so we have to say it again and again, in many many ways. I also want to listen to it, so my practice can get better...
- Saraswathi Vasudevan

12/12/2021

These are tough questions!!!

24/11/2021

22/10/2021

āsana gives us an opportunity to be here, now, with our body, our breath, and our attention, and to truly make an effort at presence.