So this Patanjali guy, what's he all about? I've noted him before and even said I've started to read his work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali but I don't fully understand who he is. I picked up a copy of the Yoga Sutras, and if you don't know, it's someone else's interpretation of his Sutras that you'll find. Over 22 classical interpretations exist which doesn't include contemporary interpretations. I have Mukunda Stiles version because it proposes to be interpreted with the practice of yoga in mind. Okay, good place to start if I want to be a yoga teacher one day. Here is what I've found out so far based on Stiles book... "Patanjali is to Yoga what Buddha is to Buddhism." His sutras are guidelines to self-realization. In other words, I see it as suggested recommendations to follow to achieve the most ideal yoga practice...and maybe life.
His Sanskrit name can be interpreted as "a lover of God" and thus, he isn't looked upon as the "one" or "creator of yoga" but a spiritual leader who shares his suggested way to practice. And his book is separated into four sections with a total of 196 "antidotes". I haven't got much further in understanding the four sections. It seems that each section has a theme that touches on the nature of yoga, the practice or disciplines of yoga (I.e., the eight limbs of yoga), the manifestation that occurs with yoga and liberation gained from yoga. Kinda heavy and ooverwhelming to me at this point!!! Stiles writes his interpretation in prose, kind of like a poem. My hope is that reading his version, it will be easy to understand and process what it's all about. Well, maybe. I can't say I'm an avid reader of poetry! I haven't made it too far so more to come with answering questions about Patanjali. Back to reading...and hopefully a peaceful pratice this week, LW
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This is the last week of revisiting a yoga journal I completed 12 years ago. At the time, I picked poses that I was finding a challenge during the practical classes. Interestingly, some poses are "easier" today and others are just as challenging. Here are the three I practiced this week: Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) Even back 12 years ago, I really liked this pose. I suppose it is the flexible hamstrings I've got. But I'd have to say that my understanding of how to do the pose has greatly improved over the years. I think the key piece was not collapsing into the pose as I lean over to the side. I had always wanted my hand to touch the floor not realizing that my side body and ribs were compressed. Practicing in Judy's classes, I have been able to increase the opening of my side (hard to believe!) and get greater range in the pose. This weeks practice just reinforced how I use to do the pose and how it has changed. Challenging still - yes - but done better. See here for what else I have learned about triangle pose lately. "Doing this pose first allowed me to warm up for the rest of the poses. I began to feel a warm sensation as I did the pose. I think that it was my body waking up and realizing that I was doing something vigorous and physical. I found that my body was tight and not free flowing. I did the pose more than once because I wanted to feel the position with a more limber body." This third week of practicing the past poses has been a journey in itself. It's forced me to remember what I've done in the past and theoretically should remember. Well, that is not necessarily the case. Once again, this week required some refreshing homework! I recently downloaded the Songza app for my phone and decided to try it out during my practice. Maybe having music is that special touch I need for a home practice. It just made it that much better! I had planned on a particular practice time but for some bazaar reason I had a stomach ache. I can't remember the last time I had a stomach ache! Maybe when I was pregnant back in 2011?!? Regardless, I sought out a stomach relieving pose first and found just what I was looking for. Knees to Chest Pose (Apasana) Not in my original practice from 12 years ago, but this pose has been in my life for many more years than that. I only recently knew that pose was helpful for stomach aches because it was primarily used, by me, for a low back stretch. It did what it was suppose to do and I got relief. Now on to the three poses of the day... Shooting Arrow (Akarna Dhanura Asana) My recollection of this pose was using the arms as a bow and arrow. What I wrote in my journal does speak to the arms doing some form of work in a standing "mountain" pose but I'd be darned if I could find any information online about this pose that represented what I remembered. Alas, I just went with this rendition and was happy for it. It too was active in the belly so I can't complain. And, I really noticed the imbalance of my hamstring flexibility from side to side. "I began in the mountain pose with five diaphragmatic breaths. I continued into the pose feeling progressively warmer as I went on. My shoulders were stiff and cracked when I did the arm movements (on both left and right sides). Since I am getting used to the move, I forgot to bend at the knee initially, but I corrected it on the other side. My breathing felt controlled during the movement." With my goal to practice the yoga poses I journaled about over ten years ago and reflect on how they feel today, I headed into three more poses this week. To be honest, I struggle with a home practice (read: it's not exciting by myself or when it's not lead by anyone else, AND setting time aside to go through poses correctly and slowly is tough to do). I really still appreciate being taught yoga in some format instead of just doing it on my own. But I did practice three more poses on my own (I added corpse pose to the end as well). They were the following: Hero Pose (Virasana) With this pose, I had to page through my various books to remind myself what this pose is all about. Based on the book Yoga for 50+ by Robert Rosen, it is a sitting pose with the legs parallel to the thighs. It is likely that you've seen a child sitting in this exact position. And you might recall thinking, Ohmygoodness - how is he/she sitting like that!?! I completed the pose for five breaths (approximately the 30 seconds recommendation). But in reviewing what I wrote 11 years ago, it just didn't seem to fit. Again back to the books (the class manual to be exact) and there in the schematics is the hero pose but it looks more like a warrior I pose. What?!? Well, needless to say, I just did both versions. Here's what I wrote many years back: "At the start of the movement, I allowed myself to become focused by doing five diaphragmatic breaths. During the pose, I began to warm up and became hot. I realized that I was warming up my body after all it had been resting during the night. My muscles did not seem to be tight and the stretching of the hamstrings was not difficult." In researching yawning and yoga, I came across another children's book on stretching. What a fun book Stretch is by Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin! They too share their ideas (via word and illustration) what yawning is to yoga. See below! Yawns ARE a stretch!
LW We recently purchased a new computer and I had a chance to review some of my old files. I previously posted an old university essay I wrote in my academic yoga class but what I also found was a journal that I wrote for a class assignment. Rewind 12 years and I was a third year university student taking yoga in my spring semester. If memory serves, I was to practice at home and write about what I did and how it went. In the next couple posts, I am going to following my student journal and complete the same poses I did back those many years ago. This week I completed three poses at home, as I did for my journal. They include cobra pose (Bhujangasana) which oddly I called snake pose, cat cow pose ( Marjaryasana to Bitilasana) and chopping wood pose (Kashtha Takshanasana). Below are my current day assessments of each pose and the quotes are my thoughts circa 2001 on each pose. Cobra Pose I remember I use to struggle with this pose whereby my lower back would feel "crunched" and some discomfort would occur. I started to "get better" at this pose when Judy would ask the group to only lift our upper torso and use no hand support. This was and is the best way for me prep my spine for cobra pose. By doing a couple baby cobras using my spinal muscles to extend my back, I find my full cobra to be much more supported and less painful! "...I felt in control of my breathing because of the concentration on the inhaling when lifting the chest and the exhalation when lowering the chest. My lower back slowly was able to lift higher off the ground as I progressed through the movement. I play some relaxation music and it helped me to move in a fluid movement." I'm reading an excellent book by Robert Holden called Be Happy. It was one of those random pick ups from the library from the shelf of recommended non-fiction reads. I partially think its the cover that drew me to it - colourful dots in a circle. Nonetheless, it has been an excellent read about his happiness course. My favorite quotes are: "Your ego can desert your heart, but your heart cannot leave you. Thus, the enduring qualities of the heart - such as love, wisdom, courage, strength and hope - are available to you the instant you make yourself available to them." "You do not deserve happiness because happiness is free - there are no conditions." "...the more grateful you are, the more present you become." "Sometimes in order to be happy in the present moment you have to be willing to give up all hope for a better past." "To be happy is to love. To love is to be happy." There has not been one mention of yoga in Holden's book yet, to me the connection is obvious. The ideas in his quotes align with what my understanding is of the philosophies of yoga. Has anyone EVER left a yoga class unhappy? I harbor the guess that the percentage is low if not insignificant. It has been a pleasure exploring my happiness with his book and as I read, my yoga practice almost always pops up in my head. Now I alluded to the fact it is "my understanding" of yoga philosophy. And with that, I just started to crack the spine of another book - Yoga Sutras of Patanjai. I know very little about Patanjai and thus, have one of the many interpretations of his Sutras. Thank you library, again. I dove in head first with my eyes searching for the word happy or happiness. I didn't have to go far to find it... "By cultivating attitudes of friendliness towards happiness, compassion towards suffering, delight towards virtue, and equanimity towards vice, thoughts become purified, and the obstacles to self-knowledge are lessened." I, 33 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Happiness, as individual as it is, fits well with yoga in my books. It is one of the main reasons I do it and want to share it one day with others as a teacher.
Happy, LW I practice yoga because personally it provides me with physical and mental benefits. I have some concrete evidence to support these benefits and at times the scientific side of me wants more. This week I found a glimpse into what I'm looking for - scientific support for a yoga practice. The National Centre for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) produced a video showcasing a snapshot of yoga research. Interestingly, one of the researchers noted she started this work in 2005 so this area of research is relatively new. How exciting! Take a watch below: One additional resources that is my go to for sound scientific work is Timothy McCall's book, Yoga as Medicine. As a health care professional and former graduate student, I thrive on evidence based best practice. These are two resources to keep in the back of my lulu yoga pants pockets!
It is a dream and ambition of mine to include yoga therapy in my practice as an exercise physiologist. One day... LW My husband and I just recently purchased a new computer. We were transferring files and I came across an academic paper I wrote in about 2001. I was fortunate to take an academic class on yoga. At the time, I was focused on athlete health and probably the topic of the paper was chosen because I was training too much (at the time I was competing in triathlons). If you've got time, take a read of my paper on Overtraining and Yoga - just click the link below.
June 2004, Convocation from graduate school
I have written briefly about yin and yang with yoga but it wasn’t until this week when reading, Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers, that my understanding of the two concepts expanded. Rather than me trying to summarize what I read, I will just directly quote what Sarah provides as a great overview in her book. She writes “…a skillful yoga practice can allow both sides of our nature to be inhabited, the receptive, allowing side (yin) and the dynamic engaging qualities (yang).” ...the yogic term for any physical-based practice, Hatha, reflects [yin and yang] these two distinct yet unified energies. Hatha can be broken into its two parts: ha, meaning the warming, sunlike manifestations (from the sun god Surya); and tha, meaning the cooling or moon elements (from the moon goddess Chandra). Hatha yoga is a marriage of ha and tha, a balanced equilibrium of yin and yang energies. The terms yin and yang reflect these same coessential opposites. Sarah continues to write: "Yang yoga practice primarily targets strengthening and lengthening muscles, which of course also improves the health of the organs and bones as well as the circulatory and respiratory systems." "...[yin] practice...is mainly stationary and allows many of the muscle groups to soften, while exposing the joints to pressure as the skeleton is pulled apart..." "Yin and yang are adjectives that describe the way chi manifests itself...". In most cases, each pose can be practiced in either a yin or yang way depending on what physical demands are put on the body. I had never thought that poses could be both yin and yang. It is remarkable how the body can be flexible and yet strong. Depending on how the body is directed, it can focus more on yin or yang. Love it! My yoga practice has now grown in the multitudes! Now I need to be more aware of what type of direction I am going with each respective session - more yin or yang. I've noticed classes listed as one or the other. I'm excited to try both. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes - yin and yang, LW |
Aspiring Yoga TeacherI've practiced yoga since I was a pre-teen and have always found it to keep me centered. I will be a teacher one day and this is my journey to discover teaching and practice. Archives
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