Lengthing your life through Pranayama

I have been thinking a lot lately about breathing in my yoga practice. I find that the emphasis on breath that Krisnamacharia (a mid-20th century yoga guru) included in his teaching on yoga have fundamentally changed my experience with yoga and by extension my experience with life. Breathing exercises in yoga, known as Pranayama (meaning the extension of prana- the life force) all have the same fundamental goal--to make one more present in their practice. By using the breath in a focused way one can more efficiently enter into a zone of awareness stepping out from our usual, less mindful, experience of the world and into one where each moment is harnessed and examined because we are aware of our breath in each moment. Nadishodina (alternate nostril breathing) is one exercise I find really useful when I am just waking up. Sometimes my mind is jumping all over the place and I know I wont be able to just sit and meditate so instead I'll close my mouth and alternately breath in through my left then right nostrils for fifteen minutes. Kumbaka (breath retention) is another centering pranayama technique I'll use. I tend to incorporate this into my three part yogic breathing as I was shown to do by my mentor yogi Thomas Fortel. Laying back onto two stacked blankets I'll breath in from the belly up to my collar bone and hold the breath, then exhaling out I'll hold my breath when my belly is empty of air. Each hold is for a few moments. Some traditions restrict the teaching of Pranayama until one has completed many years of yogic training. My personal experience is that some of the simpler exercises can complement and support a more physical asana practice. I think pranayama has something to offer all yogis.

Your Practice Space

A few words about your practice space. To cultivate your home practice its important to have a sacred spot picked out. In my small home I have a rug over the spot where I practice. In the morning I head down the stairs remove the rug and do my practice. The rug acts as a nice buffer; protecting this space from the flow of traffic. When I remove it a quick sweep and small energetic ceremony is all I need to clear out any dirt (and stale energy).

Most of us have challenges in creating a practical, quiet and clean yoga space. I do have friends who have built home yoga studios but for most of us this is impractical. A few rules of thumb to consider when designating your spot:

First, address the spaces practicality. Place your mat in the location you are considering then get on your hands and knees. Facing lengthwise, extend your right hand forward and left leg back into "spotting dog" pose. Are your touching anything with your leg or hand? If not swivel 45 degrees to the right, assume the pose again and ask the same question? Do this until you've made a complete circle. If you haven't touched anything you should be ok for most poses.

Second, are their times when you can have relative quiet in this spot to practice? I say relative because some noise can be soothing and can become part of your practice soundtrack. When teaching at a retreat in Yalapa Mexico a year ago we always started before dawn in a little studio on the beach. When the sun first came up the sounds of nature and the waking coastal village would creep into our shala. The roosters and passing conversations of fishermen just felt right for that spot and our practice. So find a place you know the sounds that do emerge will be ones that work for your self practice.

Third, is the space clean? By this I mean both physically and energetically. Obviously a dirty floor can detract from your practice as it is unpleasant to inhale dust motes or to slip on clothes strewn about so a little broom work can really improve your experience. But also is it energetically clean? Do you have any negative associations with that spot? Is it comforting to sit and meditate in or do you feel distracted whenever there? I have a friend that does energy work who, before each practice, performs a brief energy cleaning ceremony. She does this by simply slicing her hands through the air around the space and then sweeping the air away with her arms, in so doing moving any stale energy and creating space for new fresh energy to fill the void (an out with the old in with the new approach). This may seem a little hokey for some but you might be surprised what happens when you do it.

Overall, you are the best judge of what you need in a home yoga space. These are just three recommendations that I've found useful at my house, so experiment and play to make your yoga spot your own.

Namaste,

Patrick

Lower back suppting Chair Pose

After spending the morning with my Physical Therapist, we devised a new way to get into chair pose that is particularly supportive of those with lumber back issues. 1. First bend the knees while pulling in the belly button and arching the lumbar spine. pull up on the paraneaum. 2. Extend the arms outstreatched and upwardsa at about a 45 degree angle. bring the weight into the heels and balance for 10 long breaths. do three sets. This protects the lumbar spine particularly L5 S1 from over curvature - convex- of the lower spine. This would be less helpful for those with the opposite problem or a concave lumbar or flat lumbar disposition.

Iyengar's first 10 postures from Light on Yoga

Light on Yoga was Iyengar's first recognized major contribution to yoga in the West. Thought the writing is a bit staid and the photographs a grainey black and white the book retains its usefulness as an instructional instrument. Espically interesting are Iyengars takes on pranayama and on the Bahandas. In both cases when talking about breathing exercies and root locks he explains things in an accessable and clear way. I do recognize that in reading the text I am aided by my knowledge of yoga which allows me to 'see' exactly what he describes.

Having picked up Light on Yoga just the other day off my book shelf I thought a nice experiment would be to work through the book and attempt all 700 or so postures, completing about 10-20 at a time. This is rather ambitions as many require a very supple body and some postures will take some time to master. Yet I feel up to the challenge.

In fact after doing them myself I instructed my class in the first 10 postures today. They seemed to very much enjoy the expreience if not the effort as it was difficult for many of them to get the revolved poses (uttitha parsvokonasana etc)

Thats all for now I hope everyones self practice is coming along

P

Making Space

The toughest part of being new dad is making space for yoga while taking care of our new little peach. The fact is it can be done. Yesterday we all did about a hour of yoga while my wife did some pilates. We passed little banana between us when she needed attention and put here into her seat when she seemed able to entertain herself. I also recognize that this space for yoga is based on the fact we are both off work just now and that there will be less time once my job starts up again. Pre planning is really whats most important here and making sure I communicate with my partner about taking yoga time. She needs/deserves her time too.

cheers

New Baby has arrived and the yoga continues

Our baby , Bella , was born day before yesterday and has kept us busy and me away from this blog. I think she is a little Budda baby as she sleeps often and then looks around with those knowing eyes. Yoga journal is as follows: I've done some childs pose, cat/cow and a few spotting dogs in the AM to get the spine woken up. Meditated on the morning of my daughters birth but not a lot of vinyasa to speak of but baby has kept me present and in the moment, really wonderful.

More to come

Patrick

Starting out

What is yoga? More importantly what is yoga to me. It has been translated from Sanskrit to mean 'union' or 'yoke'. I like to think of it as an immutable word, something that has always been the same like the sound of the universe, "ooommm", but I know in my world yoga has come to mean different things depending on what I've needed it to mean. When I was a 26 year old wide-eyed beginner to the physical practice of yoga (the vinyasas) it was another way to get an adrenaline high. Five years later it helped me through a tough breakup and I began to study the eight-fold path of yoga and attempted meditation for the first time. Finally, I headed for India and had the chance to study with a yoga master.

Since those earlier years I have made yoga a big part of my life (teaching it, and attempting to live yogicly) but I still struggle with what it means and how it brings meaning into my life, so, here I am blogging about it, hoping that by writing an entry here, from time to time, will help me think about my experience with yoga and will allow me to develop a personal practice which leads to a modicum of balance in my life.

With that said_ I did very little except think about doing yoga today, is that yogic? dohno.