Full disclosure: I skipped out on Day 22, instead using the daytime to finish a project for work, and using the evening for a mini-reunion of the cousins in the area. Let me tell you – after a steady diet of sattvic food, a spicy biryani will do a number on your stomach!
So I copied some notes from a friend, and here they are (PS, my notes will be provided in parenthesis):
(She wrote) We only had a lecture for like half an hour in the afternoon. we were left to ourselves for much of the day 😐
Pranayama definition
Pranayama is a traditional science which teaches us how to maintain our rate of breath as per the necessity of the activity, be it physical or mental. It is also the control and regulation of bio-energy. (I love how they call it bio-energy here)
Rules:
- Pregnant ladies, seniors, children below 12, BP patients should not hold breath
- Not more than 30 rounds and if single pranayama then 10 rounds; in between 2 pranayamas practice normal breathing.
- Learn from a knowledgeable person.
- No pranayama after asana, just relaxation.
- We should not feel tired after pranayama.
Benefits:
- disease free life (rog mukt jivan)
- concentration levels improve
- blood circulation to overall body
- increases capacity of lungs
- intake more oxygen
- mind will be calm and quiet
- develop respiratory muscles
- control BP
- effective means of awakening prana
- spreads through the body through neural network (love this part)
- capacity of all organs and brain is activated.
The regular rhythm for pranayama includes four stages: Pustak (inhalation), kumbakha (retention), rechak (exhalation), and shunyak (suspension of breath). As mentioned before, the ideal time to perform these is at 4AM, a time called Brahma Mhuratha in Sanskrit.
Also, our variation of OMs can also be considered pranayama.
Classification of Asanas
There are 84 original asanas
Of these:
28 are meditative postures (we have done about 10 this month).
56 are cultural or traditional
Of these 56:
I. For Spine: a) upward stretch (talasana, yashikasana, parvatasana); b) sideways; c) torsion; d) backward; e) inversion
II. For Extremeties or Joints (fish pose, gomukhasana, hastamatsyasana)
III. Abdominal compression asanas (forward bending)
IV. Relaxation asanas
Also, Pratyahara is the bridge between the external (yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama) and the internal (dharana, dhyana, samadhi).
The course is coming to an end! We spent most of the morning reviewing the basic asanas taught at the yoga institute. Here is a list of all asanas, and other practices we’ve learned here (all links go to images):
- Standing Poses:
- Stith Prarthanasana
- Gomukasana
- Garudasana
- Ekpadasana
- Vrikshasana
- Vakrasana (seated or standing)
- Talasana
- Konasana
- Utkatasana
- Trikonasana
- Hastpadasana
- Chakrasana (includes forward bend)
- Seated Poses
- Pronate Poses (lying on stomach)
- Supine Poses (lying on back)
- Pranayama
- Equal breathing
- Intercostal breathing
- Clavicular breathing
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Alternate nostril breathing
- Kriyas
- Jal Neti
- Tratak
- Kapal randra dhouti
- Kapalbhati
Of course, we only covered about 1/10 of these today, since the review was performed by the students, for the students! In other words, the instructor typically calls on students one by one to demonstrate and “instruct” an asana. I used to get annoyed at the mistakes some of my fellow-students made, but quickly realized that I can’t treat them all like experienced teachers, and everyone’s on their own journey. A lot of them aren’t planning on being teachers anyway, and are only here to develop their personal practices.
We also had a lecture on Confidence, and how trust/faith can boost self-esteem. Also, recognizing the divine nature in others can make you more confident! I think this may be because we realize that Hey! I get to talk to a divine being all the time, and they actually appreciate what I have to say, so I must have something valuable to offer! Or something like that…
Short Saturday! We started with an elaboration on the four pillars of yoga: ahar (diet), vihar (recreation), aachar (routine), and vichar (thoughts). There are specific rules associated with each practice; for instance, vihar must be performed every day and with a joyful attitude, must be self-involved (i.e. not entirely external, like watching TV), non-competitive, and time-constrained. Our lecturer also confirmed something I’ve been practicing for a while: do not eat fruits after meals! Since fruits digest faster than other foods, they will rot/decompose while waiting their turn behind the rest of the meal. Fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach or between meals.
Then, we ate lunch, relaxed, and went home!
Sattvic lunch at The Yoga Institute
Chalkboard message for the day
Today started with an aura viewing exercise! Well, I got to class late, and just in time for the aura exercise. I’ve done this and several other exercises many times before, but it was fun to watch everyone try, and to listen to the several oohs and aahs, as well as the frustration of those that couldn’t. The best part was, although I regularly practice aura viewing, something about everyone consciously performing the same activity really took it to the next level for me. I was seeing energy everywhere and for hours after the exercise! The lesson was that while I’ve typically considered aura viewing an advanced or esoteric practice, our teacher made it seem entirely accessible to everyone, which is part of my yoga goal (to make it accessible to everyone), which in turn helps me develop my own skills further.
We followed it up with a final lecture by the queen bee, where she asked us if we had any remaining questions based on what we had learned. After a couple of students asked for clarification on some philosophical and emotional practices, I had a teaching related question: how can I fuse some of these basic concepts into my class for western students that typically seek a more physical practice? I got some excellent tips, including injecting bhavas for specific asanas, such as vayragya with savasana. She also emphasized my favorite principle, that your body is your best teacher! Brownie points for this one…
After lunch and relaxation, we had a lecture on more sutras including starting with chapter 2 – the sutras for the average student. As opposed to the sutras for advanced students in chapter 1. Patanjali apparently wanted to address the easiest paths to enlightenment first, and follow them with practices for those that need more help. We covered sutras 2-1 and 2-3, and I’ll simply post the text here as translated by Satchidananda, and let you figure out (and comment!) on your own interpretations:
2-1: Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books, and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in practice.
2-2 (just FYI): They help us minimize obstacles and attain samadhi.
2-3: Ignorance, egoism, attachment, hatred, and clinging to bodily life are the five obstacles.
Exam fever appears to be in the air. Our teachers are providing very specific definitions for key terms, and instructing us to write them down. Today’s definitions started with yoga itself, and were dictated by the impeccable Mr. Prabhakar. According to the householder-targeted yoga institute, an easily-understood definition of yoga is a traditional science that teaches us to live in the best way possible. In other words, yoga is excellence in action. We use yoga to improve our skill level (in any act), which leads to perfection in the act, which leads to excellence in life, which is yoga! I’m a fan of the more philosophical definitions, but I’ve also been known to coin a few definitions of my own.
We also finally talked about how important it is to be comfortable in an asana. I’ve always believed that asana is a combination of stira and sukha, and today’s definition of asana was any steady and comfortable pose. Since many asana are not easy, even this definition can be adjusted to apply to the student seeking perfection: an asana is a pose which leads to comfort. In other words, practicing asana will bring us to a state of comfort wherever we find ourselves.
Speaking of asana, we were warned of specific poses that should not be taught (according to the yoga institute, of course). These include mayurasana (for potentially injuring one’s intestines), ugrasana (which is called “difficult pose” and can damage ligaments), and sirsana (which can cause a series of problems such as nosebleeds, earaches, and even brain hemorrhages . Of course it can be argued (and it was) that these asana can also have the opposite effect, i.e.to benefit these organs. Prabhakar clarified that these were merely suggestions, that anyone could continue practicing these if they were already doing so with awareness, and proceeded to provide some examples of students who practiced these asana for years with no ill effects, and issues arose suddenly and later in life. Bottom line: find a balance.
We then elaborated on vihar, or yogic recreation. Basically, it should be properly scheduled (daily if possible), non-competitive, and should benefit others if possible. It was emphasized that this is not something you do in your spare time – it should have space in your schedule just like any other necessary activity like work or sleep. This is something I’ve always said: every day should have a balance of work and play. I guess it goes with my career choice of being an independent agent (of counsel) at a law firm, where working from home or any other country implies that weekends mean nothing, and I get to space out my days/weeks however I like.
And right now, I’m loving it!
We started the day with the classic memory game. We were then provided with a definition of memory: brain storage where all activities performed are stored and can be recollected when desired. There are 3 parts to memory: registration, storage, and recall. We then discussed impediments to good memory, the foremost of which is the ego. The ego can prevent us from ever truly receiving information, as it makes us believe that we already know all we need. Contrast this with humility, which enables us to value all the presented information and therefore soak it all in. Stress and fear (physical and mental) also keep us from remembering and recalling. Basically, anything keeping us from fully being in the present moment affects our memory. Finally, and most interestingly, there are three types of memory: long term, short term, and deep impressions, with deep impressions being stored in the subconscious mind. For more on this subject, I strongly recommend this book.
There was some discussion on positive vs. negative emotions, with tips on how to create more positive memories, and on how to let go of negative ones. This sparked some controversy, and I raised my hand to address this positivity bias that I’ve been seeing in the yoga community in general (term coined by my friend and meditation buddy). Briefly, it is fundamentally understood that both positive and negative emotions are opposite sides of the same coin, and acknowledging both is necessary to maintain equanimity. Yet, modern yogis continue to emphasize the positive, while downplaying the negative. This can be as dangerous as leaving a wound untreated, it will continue to outwardly manifest in our lifestyle.
Although I was unable to get my point across to the teacher, several brief discussions with fellow students confirmed that many of us felt the same way: that acknowledging all our emotions made us feel more connected to ourselves and the world around us. And connection is yoga, no?
(This is an elaboration of my guitar performance mentioned in my Day 16 post. Think of it as an interesting story rather than a teacher training post.)
There was a citywide “bandh” or strike today, as is common here. This may be the reason why our first lecturer was late by about 20 minutes. Everyone found ways to entertain themselves, from chatting with each other, to performing asanas, or writing in their journals. Our instructor finally showed up. After lunch (and subsequent relaxation) we waited for Mr. Prabhakar to arrive and moderate our scheduled public speaking assignments (a five minute presentation on our favorite hobby). I had brought my cousin’s guitar as an exhibit.
However, he didn’t show up. About 10 minutes into the hour, I decided to continue meditating (with open eyes), as I had already been relaxing, and wanted to sustain the energy I built in savasana. I was looking around and contemplating my mental processes as I observed the auras of my fellow students chatting amongst themselves. There was a dreamlike quality to this experience. And then, I saw these pictures on the wall.
I didn’t get close enough to see that it was Satchinanda. From a distance (and up close) it reminded me of the classic alien (little grey man). And I had a sudden urgent thought: what if this was a dream? You may have heard of the alien dream common to those who regularly experience altered states, lucid dreams, etc. I’ve also had lucid dreams while in deep relaxation. And, there were elements of this situation that were definitely dreamlike. One of my most memorable lucid dreams included sitting at a yoga class where the instructor failed to show up, an announcement was made that the instructor would not be coming, and I stood up and volunteered to lead the class.
This memory and its associated emotions (excitement, fear) instantly came rushing back to me. Sitting in a yoga class with no teacher and sensing the energy scatter, I had an urgent sense to rise up and act; to realize that this was the moment I had dreamed about, and to harness the energy and make something happen. My mind kicked in and started contemplating a plan of action: should I offer asana? Meditation? I decided to simply grab the stage and offer suggestions.
Immediately, before I stood up, Deepa (a fellow student) stood up and made an announcement about planning a group activity next week. For a moment, I felt deflated. Had I missed a golden opportunity to act? Or had she sensed the same need to harness our class the way I did, but simply acted sooner? Was her idea of planning a future outing more appropriate to the situation than my plan to guide a yoga session? I stayed seated, and contemplated the consequences of my inaction. No matter, after a couple of minutes of discussion, the energy was again dispersed, with random groups sitting around and idly conversing. This was my moment. As I got up and started walking towards the front of the room, I overheard someone ask: “Sachin, are you going to play the guitar for us?” I smiled and said “maybe.”
Upon reaching the front, I waved my hands, and said “attention everyone. This is the second time today our teacher is over 15 minutes late. While we continue waiting, would anyone like to try a short and sweet meditation?” My plan was to share a 5-point meditation I had learned from S.S. Ravi Shankar. However, the class seemed ambivalent on the idea, with at least one woman claiming that she didn’t feel like meditating at the time.
Again, I heard someone suggest a musical performance, so I asked “meditation or music?” An abundance of cries arose favoring music. So I grabbed my guitar, strapped it on, tuned it, and looked up to find everyone’s eyes gazing at me with rapt attention. I had another realization that this was it – I had harnessed the energy of the room, and could do with it as I pleased (musically, at least). A brief moment of panic at the realization of this power gave way to the reminder that I was up there to perform for others, i.e. to serve. So I asked for song ideas, and went ahead with the first suggestion.
An oldie but a goodie that I’ve been playing around campfires for years (and am admittedly a little sick of). Yet, it was worth it to experience the feeling of seizing the moment, being in my element, and sensing the sweet connection with other students singing along.
Ommmmmm…
We started the day with an in-depth discussion of Om. The sutras (1-27 to 1-29) state simply that it is the sound of the creation of the universe, and chanting it will help eliminate obstacles (of the mind) and tune us in with all creation. Simple, huh? That’s really all I need to understand it, but the lecture provided a few more details…
For instance, the sutras use the term “pranava” which Satchidananda says simply means “humming.” Or, the word “pranava” has been dissected by Sanskrit scholars as a combination of prakarsena (perfect) and nunuyate (praise), or the praise of perfection.
Om is also referred to as anahata naad (noiseless chant). In other words, one can meditate on the sound without vocalizing it, and get the same benefits. What benefits? Apparently, chanting or meditating on om enables us to achieve higher states of consciousness. You think Samadhi is the holy grail? Try Turiya!
Again, I ask for the sources of these definitions, and this time I’m directed to Astha Vashika Upanishad, Manduka Upanishad, and Beej Mantra (a.k.a. seed mantra). Check back again when I may have actually attempted to read these. No promises!
Another interesting experience today was being led through several basic asanas by our fellow 1-month TTC students. Maybe I’m a cut above since I’ve been teaching for a couple of years, but it was painful to sit through some of these sessions! The lesson was, of course, to manage my own expectations, and accept the situation I’m in and make the best of it (i.e. take bathroom / water breaks, and encourage those who weren’t too confident in their abilities to lead the classroom).
Oh, and I got to play the guitar in front of the classroom! And this wasn’t even a part of my scheduled public speaking assignment! This was a pretty momentous occasion, and I’m going to have to write a separate blog about it, so stay tuned! (yes, pun intended)
Ended the day with another anatomy lecture, this time covering the circulatory system. I learned that the heart is formed at about 6 weeks after conception, which still leaves open the question: what is the first organ to be formed? Anyone? (I used to think it was the heart, but now I’m not so sure)
Started off with the one and only Mrs. Mahenkar (I first wrote about her here), who lectured us on the importance of appreciating everything, and performing our duty, no matter what. We soon realized that the topic of the day was going to be Karma Yoga.
Karma Yoga is an important practice for a happier life. Simply, while performing an activity to achieve an outcome, we must diligently focus on the activity rather than the outcome. It is only by focusing our concentration on the activity that we can do an excellent job. When the job is excellent, the fruits of our labor will come automatically. So why worry about the outcome?
This practice reaches the next level when we actually dedicate the outcomes (profits, benefits, whatever) for a higher purpose. In the scriptural context, we dedicate the fruits of all our labors to Krishna, since he is the all-pervading consciousness. In a more secular context, I feel that dedicating the fruits of my labors to whatever I value as greater than myself will actually enhance the quality of my labor. It will also curb my selfish tendencies, and make me a better and happier human being by enabling me to be detached.
Most practically, karma yoga keeps us from complicating our lives, by simplifying our thought processes and directing our focus to whatever activities have lined up for us. In other words, it helps us in getting things done. See here for an excellent summary of this fusion.
We were then introduced to the concept of the chakra for the first time. Without going into too much detail (as I think this idea has been worked to death), it’s nice of them to emphasize that the chakras are involved with the nervous system, and relate to the flow of biomagnetic fields within and outside the body. I’ve been working on my own version of a theory called “The Nervous System as an Antenna” – stay tuned! (no pun intended)
Then came some chaos in the form of student presentations and lesson plans – a lot of fun, cheering, clapping, and Q&A. Which was perfectly followed by a pranayama session by one of my favorite teachers who emphasizes casual normal breathing, and seeking within for the effect of each asana/pranayama exercise. The best part was her correlation of breathing pattern and lifespan – something I’ve heard many times before:
“One who breathes half, lives half.”
It’s hard living two lives at the same time, in two different time zones, no less! In other words, I’ve been coming home from the Yoga Institute at 5PM Indian Standard Time (which is 7:30AM Eastern US Standard Time) and getting to work churning out assignments for the law firm I work at.
OK, no more excuses. Day 14 started with a very interesting discussion on what they called the four pillars of yoga: Ahar, Vihar, Achar, and Vichar. Basically, we can better our health by cultivating positive and healthy patterns of food consumption (ahar), recreational activities (vihar), routines/rituals (achar), and thought patterns (vichar) (more here). Naturally, my legally-trained mind questioned the source of such a bold assertion (4 pillars of yoga!), and in response to my question, the teacher talked about a series of books, and finally revealed that these were the brainchild of the founder of the institute, Sri Yogendraji.
Which is great, because it confirms that the institute strongly believes in approaching anything with the right attitude, or bhava (i.e. positive and constructive), as a fundamental practice in yoga. For instance, approaching certain meditative asanas (seated postures) can minimize thought patterns, leading to a clearer vision of one’s duty and purpose here on earth.
“The mind, in its own place, can make heaven of hell, or hell of heaven.” -John Milton
We also learned about two ways to cultivate patterns (bhavana): Anitya Bhavana encourages being aware that change is the only constant, thereby helping us control our attachments (and minimizing suffering), and Pratipaksh Bhavana teaches recognizing and replacing any harmful thoughts with their opposite to train our mind to be constructive rather than destructive. For example, feeling ill and thinking the worst case scenario can be replaced with thinking about the best case scenario (is the only example that comes to mind right now – I’m a pretty positive guy).
Followed this up by some Asanas, and finally learned Yoni Mudra – a fun way to eliminate distractions and go within.
Yoni Mudra
Yogier Than Thou 
