Yoga

Yoga Asanas

...Exploring unlimited potentials within…

Yoga is a very powerful way of living, accessible to all. Yoga refers not only to yoga postures ("asanas"), as it is unfortunately defined in the west, but way much more than this. According to the ancient Patanjali Yoga Sutras, yoga is an eight-fold Path, of which asanas are only the third foundational but very important limb to help you start this journey.

I feel truly blessed that all my yoga studies have taken place in India, from where yoga originated a few thousand years ago. Many long visits, many teachers, many lessons… continuing to fill my cup of experience. Only after fifteen years in the East, I started to feel somewhat mature to commence sharing my journey on a bigger scale. Up until now, I have only unzipped pockets of selected yoga knowledge during my teachings in China, Myanmar, Thailand & India.

Recently, I began making longer return visits to the West. Frankly, I was shocked by what I found being taught in most yoga studios!!! I explored countless in the top cosmopolitan cities, but many a times I was not sure if I turned up for a yoga class OR for some aerobic workout with loud music in the background. Don't get me wrong, it would often be a good workout but definitely not yoga!

Fast moving "vinyasa" cycles with no alignments whatsoever, no adjustments (oral or otherwise), improper sequencing, resulting in chaotic energy channeling to different parts of the body and hence, waste of "prana" (vital life force energy). I felt it was not about the "inner" but all about the "outer" energy of the class: fancy clothes, flaunting arm stands, competition with others, making sure one's ego is intact… or even growing bigger!

As a side note, sadly, recently this also led many Indian yoga schools turn into "bhog" (fake ones), that tailor western needs for a good monetary reward, at a cost of losing the core of what yoga is all about:

humbleness…

…a journey from dissolving one's ego-self into the Higher Self… dismantling "thick ego walls" & realigning oneself with Cosmic Energies, thus exploring the Union with the Macro in perfect geometry- inner & outer… Eventually, coming to the stage when one is able to download the whole Cosmos within ONE asana. Stiram Sukham Asanam, i.e. a posture should become steady and be performed with ease for a prolonged period of time, making all fluctuations of the mind vanish; thus, becoming ONE with the asana.

It may take many years or even lifetimes to reach this stage, but every journey starts with the first step.

I will leave you with a few questions to ponder upon:

Can every ballet dancer or circus artist, who can bend his/her body in any way, become a good yoga teacher?
Can an instagram photo represent true yoga? even if it gets a few thousand or a million "likes" (especially, the ones in a bikini)?
What does a yoga certificate mean, if one has not become an embodiment of what one teaches?
Can one become a yoga teacher through online trainings? Not only does this sound ridiculous, this is a very dangerous path, to say the least, especially for beginners
What is your intention of joining a yoga class? Is it to challenge your body or gain stability of mind? or maybe something even more?
How are you to do a "vinyasa" (flow) sequence correctly without first mastering each posture individually (i.e. traditional 'hatha yoga' style)?
How many vigorous yoga style teachers have you seen age gracefully?
When practicing yoga postures, do you feel any other shifts happening within you, besides the physical?
How is your breathing during your practice? Is your breath moving your asana or your asana moving your breath? Have you even been aware of this?
Is your sweat (if any) the same as when you do any other physical exercises? Yoga works on many layers, penetrating beyond the surface skin, thus making you sweat very differently… You'll know the difference when you experience it for yourself.
How is your energy level right after a yoga class? and 1-2 hours thereafter? Do you feel recharged or "crashed"? …the latter of which would indicate you've wasted too much "prana" (vital life force energy) and will need time to recuperate it.
What is a state of your mind & emotions before, during and after practice? Are you moving inwards or outwards? Have you noticed your thought patterns?
Has your anger gone up or down? Do you still get extremely excited &/or extremely low? Is your life nevertheless full of reactions?
Have you been cultivating more pride or humbleness during your class? How is your self-esteem? Are you more accepting of yourself & others? With a practice of real yoga, the actual make up of you (your "gunas") will start changing… there will be a big shift within the very core of YOU.
Can you sustain your yoga practice every day on your own? … or are you dependent on your yoga teacher(s) to provide you with different "vinyasa" (flow) sequences, …which are very appealing to the mind for their variety, but give you no tools to do or sustain your own practice?

Remember, Yoga is a journey from dependence to independence. A true yoga master will never make his/her students dependent; instead s/he will provide you with proper foundations, the tools to work with and will leave you with self-practice for some time before you return to him/her for further training. The real learning starts with self-practice… when yoga becomes part of your daily routine, like, eating, sleeping, bathing...

Pranayama

Bridging the outer with the inner…

Pranayama (i.e. a techniques of directing vital life force energy ("prana")) is the fourth limb on the Path of Patanjali Yoga Sutras. It is a very crucial stage connecting the "outer" with the "inner". It is still considered an "external" journey, but much subtler than the previous limb of yoga postures ("asanas").

Pranayama works not only on your body's cellular* level but also on the level of your mind, emotions & energy. Pranayama helps you change your deep rooted tendencies: from a mode of ignorance ("tamo guna")… to a mode of passion ("rajo guna")… to a mode of goodness ("sattva guna").

(*If you do pranayama properly for about 80 minutes a day, around 21000 cells get converted.)

Pranayama is also a beautiful tool, helping you enter into a state of meditation quite effortlessly. Going straight into meditation is not an easy affair; it is not so simple to unplug yourself from a constant overflow of thoughts. Pranayama serves as a beautiful bridge helping you transition into a meditative state with much more ease.

As a side note, pranayama should only be learnt from a teacher directly. In fact, it is quite dangerous to study pranayama on your own: be it, with a help of books or any virtual platforms, unless you are dealing with the very basics of it. You are in contact with a very high energy voltage here; if you "press the wrong button", things might go wrong… for ever!