Different Perspectives on Sunday Conference 23 Jan

Better late than never. An amalgamation of Sunday Conference reports taken from a bunch of different sources. And.. My second post in one day!

I always find it fascinating how different people take away such different things in every single Conference we have. I suppose there are so many different aspects talked about every week, and different things resonate with different people.

Here are some I've come across. Please feel free to add more links to other blogs I may have missed out!

1. From David Garrigues

Sharath's Conference January 23, 2011 from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

2. From Claudia


3. From The Unruly Ascetic


4. From Kino Macgregor (also on Elephant Journal)


5. From Jill Manning (my breakfast buddy in the mornings!) ...And what she says is true. Practically everyone I've spoken to had a flying practice on Monday. Me included.


Do you know of other links? Post them in the comments below!

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Trying To Get Into a Groove

Today's practice was pretty uneventful. I'll save the navel-gazing practice report for when there's *really* some kind of breakthrough. But I made it all the way through Full Primary again. Decided not to attempt standing up from the 3rd backbend and just concentrate on dropping back and standing up. I have a whole month here so I'm pacing myself. What's the hurry? :)

I just remember being pretty unfocused today, then thinking "Crap. I'm tired. And it's only Day 2 of practice. It's gonna be a loooooong month." I'm screwed! (Because of my crazy work schedule, I haven't had a regular practice for a few months now so I think my body's in shock at this prospect of almost-daily practice!)

After class, I found out there's chanting classes in the later part of the morning, as well as Sanskrit and Bhagavad Gita classes. Instead of writing down class times, I decided to do it the high-tech (aka LAZY) way and take a photo of the notice board for all the start and finishing times.

Either I take too many photos, or Sharath just has super eagle-eyes. The notice board is OUTSIDE the shala in the foyer area, and Sharath came out and scolded me "No photos in the shala!" I said "I'm taking note of class times!" To which he replied "You remember here" and pointed to his head. Pffffft!

This is the second time he's busted me taking photos. The first time was before the led Intermediate class during his Sydney workshop. See post here. Both times were really INNOCENT. I didn't know you couldn't take photos in Sydney, and this morning - I really didn't want to write all that info down when I could've just snapped a picture of the notice board! What can I say... it's probably BOTH that he's eagle-eyed and I also take too many photos. HAHAHA!

I'm trying to find my routine here. Y'know... what to do after the morning practice. So I've decided to go balls-to-the-wall with Chanting class in the late morning AND Sanskrit class AND followed by Bhagavad Gita classes in the afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I figure I can take my afternoon naps on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. HAHAHA!

First day of full-on classes and I'm T.I.R.E.D. Probably just taking it all in now too.

Here's a food shot for Danielle. South Indian Thali for lunch today from Green Leaf. SUPERB FOOD! This was like my only big meal of the day (breakfast was 2 coconuts, dinner was 1 coconut and some bananas. I'm going coconut-crazy!)


And here's a cow hanging out in the middle of the cross-roads.


And another cow behaving more like a goat. Was trying to get a shot of the stray dog sniffing through the garbage too, but even the dog deemed the garbage... well, Garbage, and trotted off. So I got the shot too late. It's still funny though, that the dog is walking off in the shot. Ha!

Dropback Win or Meditation Fail?

In my quest to try new things and meet new people in this town (or rather, "cosmopolitan village" that is Amsterdam)... I've come across this pretty rad site, meetup.com.

NO! IT IS NOT A DATING SITE!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Basically - if you key in your city and a topic that interests you, you could very well stumble across different groups of people with similar interests who are organising meet ups in your area. Everything from foodies to movie-buffs to kirtan-chanters to vegans to girlie-groups (groups made up of all women - No, not pop-singer-girl-groups!) are represented in my little city. I'm still pretty new to it so I haven't had the chance to check them all out yet. Seems like a pretty good way to get out there and finally make friends OUTSIDE OF WORK! (Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually quite the hermit, preferring my own company at home. And this site seems like a good approach).

I found a meditation group on the site. It's advertised as "Buddhist Meditation" and kinda sorta put me off at first. I don't like things that are overtly/ in-your-face "religious", if that makes sense. But then I decided to keep an open mind and see if perhaps I could pick up more tools in my toolkit to "still my monkey mind".


So I checked it out last night. On entering the place, I was greeted by not one, but TWO monks in full robes! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Okaaaaaay.

*Keep an open mind*

I should interject here that: I have NO CLUE about Buddhism. My entire family is pretty much Christian and I grew up in a Christian household. Before my grandmother converted to Christianity, I remember she used to have a Buddhist altar at home, with joss sticks burning and lots of food offerings. My only "knowledge" of Buddhism is really an impression... Or rather, an image of gold Buddha idols. And er... that's pretty much it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I actually don't know anything about its theology. I should add, however, I have come to fully embrace the belief that there are many paths to one light (much to my Christian family's dismay). To me, there is NO SUCH THING AS "MY GOD IS BETTER THAN YOUR GOD."

I guess what made me a bit wary of the Buddhist angle in this meditation class is probably precisely because of my Christian indoctrination from a young age. Funny that - My view of "God" now is so much bigger than how the Bible defines its "Christian God"... And yet, I still carry the remnants of... what is it? Mistrust? Suspicion? of ALL kinds of "organized religion". (I just hate it when people try to shove their point-of-view down your throat. Y'know... I'm happy being a gentile, thanks! Don't judge me coz I don't share your beliefs!)

Now that I've put things in a bit of context, back to my meditation class story.

What immediately clicked when the class started though, was the teacher-monk started off with "Many people ask me if Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy. Frankly, if you ask me, I really don't know what it is. All I can say is that for me, it's a method to find happiness in life."

WOW! What a totally cool monk! (I never thought I'd ever utter a phrase like that in my life! "A cool monk"?! WTF? HAHAHA!) That immediately helped drop all my wariness. And I could just get on with why I was there in the first place: to learn about meditation.

We started off with a preliminary meditation exercise - similar to how you'd ground and centre yourself before a yoga class. Coming to a place of stillness, observing the breath as you inhale and exhale. Umm... my monkey mind immediately went to thoughts of "I really NEED to go to an Osteopath. Can feel this imbalanced pelvis!"

... ... ...

After that centering exercise, he began to explain that there are 21 Lamrim meditation exercises in total and today's would be on the 4 Noble Truths of the Buddha. A lot of it kind of overlapped with some yogic philosophy. And it was at this point I really got lost. I think I caught myself thinking "OK, here goes with the Buddhist teachings, blahblahblah..." To be honest, I thought he was talking about the "4 NOVEL Truths"... Until much later on that I realized he was talking about the "Noble" truths. I'm a terrible student.

And then you know what I was doing? I ended up thinking about dropbacks.

I was sitting in the middle of a meditation class and there I was, thinking of being in a gloriously deep, long, hangback. With arms outstretched, I was imagining grounding strongly through my legs, pushing the hips as far forward as they could go, stretching those hip flexors... then opening up the space between each vertabra as I was ever-so-slowly, with control... bringing my hands down to the floor. With straight feet, grounded to the floor the whole time (coz I tend to lift my heels on landing).


I mean... WTF, right?

He pretty much lost me after that. After explaining the 4 noble truths, we went into another meditation session, but the whole time with my eyes closed, I was practising hangbacks in my mind. I was practising the PERFECT DROPBACK. No splayed feet. No raised heels. Just a glorious opening in every part of the body.

Dhyana, Seventh Limb of Yoga: EPIC FAIL!!!!!

I was obviously still stuck on the Third Limb, Asana. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Claudia's just done her poll on dropbacks - Did you do them before or after Intermediate? (I had to dropback AND stand up from backbends before I was given Intermediate). If she's not obsessing about dropbacks, I obviously am! I actually really enjoy them, now that I'm into the dropback groove and kinda-sorta over the fear of bonking my head on the floor. HA!

I'm not really sure what I learned from the meditation class, or if I will go again. Think I'll need to give this a couple days to sink in first!

-----

It's ALL Practice!

I have been told by my Yoga-Practice-Angel, aka Fran, to stop obsessing about all the other million and one things in my life and get back to obsessing about Ashtanga (see her comment from previous post.)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Thanks, Fran! Sometimes we all just need a good kick up the butts. Right? Consider this butt kicked. :)

It's been said many times before that any kind of injury teaches us humility on our mats. It's so true in this case. My busted foot is by no means a yoga injury, but trying to keep up some kind of asana practice has been INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.

Even getting through any of the seated poses has been awkward. Any time my left foot is moved beyond a certain angle, the muscle where my arch is hurts to high heaven. Easy poses like Janu Sirsasana A become incredibly painful on the foot. Like... SERIOUSLY?! So I end up doing more poses on the right side than on the left... And then end up feeling lopsided and thinking "This can't be good for me." Right?

I feel like a fish out of water without being able to do my regular practice. It's a good reminder to just BLOODY JOYFULLY SURRENDER to where my body is at right now. I feel like such a cop-out, especially after recently getting back into the swing of practice again in London and thinking "I'm NEVER gonna stop practicing again!"

Moral of the story: NEVER say NEVER.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I can still hear my Physio tut-tutting me about not resting my foot enough. I thought finally getting a bike and being mobile again would take some pressure off this foot. As it turns out, I realize now I stop and push off on the bike with my left foot. So any time I come to a stop, the foot goes BAM! on the road and I feel a shock up my arch. Oh shit. (I tried doing it in reverse, pushing off and stopping with the right foot. BUT. My body just doesn't get it. Have you ever tried putting on a shirt the other way around - putting in the arm you DON'T usually put in first? It's a total mindfuck and even after the shirt is on, something feels off-kilter.)

The Universe is obviously making me rethink my situation and circumstances... And the more I think about it, the more it feels like maybe it's making me think about the attachment to practice. I fully believe attachment to practice is GOOD. Sharath said so too during his conference in Sydney. (Sorry, I hate to use the "Sharath said so" phrase too, but look at me using it!!)

A few times in the past week, when the asana practice has become either too physically laboured on the foot or just too much of a mental distraction (I find myself thinking "when will this bloody foot get better?!" then lose focus on breath/ bandhas/ drishti)... I've just stopped completely and moved into a Pranayama practice. Just a simple 10 minute exercise of sitting with only the Ujjayi breath for 10 counts on the inhale and exhale, then moving into Kumbhakas (breath retention) after the inhales/exhales... has made such a BIG difference to my frame of mind.

Maybe it's the Ujjayi breath, but it seems to be able to recharge me much more than my asana practice has in the past couple of weeks. So... it's not quite Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Yoga, but I'm practicing a different limb of ashtanga yoga - not the asanas, but the pranayamas. Who cares?! It makes a difference to how I feel, so I'll take what I can get.

I still can't stop that niggling sobbing (no, WAILING) in the back of my mind... MY DROPBACKS!! MY STANDING UP FROM DROPBACKS!!! I just got those back and I'm back to "square one" AGAIN?!? Holyfuckingshitthissucks.

Sorry, bad lady. I'm only human.

The GOOD NEWS is... Today, I emailed KPJAYI coz I still hadn't heard back from them about my application. I sent them a scan of my application form and they replied the same day and said OK, I'm in. (Er... why do they make you snail-mail the application then?!)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

I've booked my flight already. ON IT!

Now sorting out this vedic studies visa thingamajig. I'm still in the midst of figuring it out, since I'm not a Dutch local here and things get a little more complicated. I actually have to make a train ride out to The Hague where the Embassy is to personally make the application. Another adventure.

Once I've figured it out, I will definitely post step-by-step info on what YOU need to do to get your ass to Mysore. Everyone seems to be a bit confused by this new yoga student/ vedic studies visa regulation now. So when I know what to do, SO WILL YOU! :)

OK... So now starts the next mild panic of "getting my practice back to where it was" before I get to Mysore. It's been 8 months and I'm still stuck at Laghuvajrasana (moving countries and turning my life upside down might figure into that but I can't see past that now.) Holyfuckingshitthissucks. I am convinced I will be stopped at Supta Kurmasana coz I've completely lost that bind. Then the other voice in my head keeps saying "SO WHAT EVEN IF YOU GET STOPPED AT... AT... NAVASANA?!? SO WHAT?!?!??????"

Trying to joyfully surrender to this process and stop playing mind games with myself. Holyfuckingshitthissucks.

I apologize for all the swearing today.

*End of today's yoga obsession*

On to my next obsession: Finding the perfect wicker basket for the bicycle.
Here's your reminder of what it looks like:


This?

(I'm leaning towards this. But maintaining the all-white look will be a bee-atch!)

Or this?

"The Only Way Out is In"

I'm getting my practice groove back, YAY!

This evening I had a solid, full Primary practice. Felt nice and strong... still had a snotty nose in forward bends, but I wasn't so out of breath and knackered like I was on Sunday. I got the hand-bind and the feet-bind in Supta Kurmasana, and also had 3 pretty amazing dropbacks (I was inspired by the picture of Susan's hangback in the Kino workshop photos on Facebook. Thanks for tweeting it, Mel!)

What's helped me focus is also thinking about keeping the energy focused internally. Part of this is coz I've been reading an interesting book by Anthony Carlisi, who also goes by the name of Prem... The Only Way Out Is In: A Modern Day Yogi's Commentary on the Synergy of Ashtanga Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tantra. He's been certified by Guruji, and he talks about the relationship between Ashtanga Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra through his own life experiences. I'm halfway through the book only, but I've got to say it's a really fascinating read.



Granted, the picture on the cover is not the most inviting since it conjures up Hindu symbolism. I dunno, what is it?! I wouldn't have given it a second look if not for the good reviews it has, including recommendations by many established Ashtanga teachers in the intro.

The many typos and spelling errors in the book are slightly distracting (I spot these things and get annoyed by them)... and he has a habit of cracking silly little jokes along the way (again, something a good Editor could have fixed)... but I guess he's writing it like he's telling it to you in conversation. You just have to get past all the typos and wisecracks and see the content for what it is. It's definitely worth a read if you're looking for another take on Ashtanga yoga, beyond just the asana part of it.

His section on Ayurveda has made me interested in delving a little deeper into this... and I'm now researching other books on Ayurveda by Vasant Lad and Robert Svoboda. I am especially interested in the area of food and nutrition and how the types of food you eat affect your Vata/ Pitta/ Kapha make-up.

But... I have digressed. My whole point in the first place was that in reading Prem's section on Ashtanga Yoga, I was reminded today of how the bandhas keep your energy locked internally within you while you practice. Kinda like Diana Christinson's "Pull Through" video I posted a while ago, where she talks about a similar thing of drawing your energy inwards and keeping it compact. Today I made a conscious effort to apply this not just in jumpbacks, but throughout the practice... and I find this really makes a difference to how I feel during, and after the practice too.

Focusing especially on engaging Mula and Uddiyana Bandhas today also automatically made me go within my breath... everything else got tuned out. I wasn't thinking or fussing about anything else.

Today, I had a good practice. :)

I Went to Bikram™ Yoga

I didn't make it to that Bikram class in the morning, but coz I finished early today, I thought I'd take their evening class. It was cold and raining all afternoon... just the perfect kind of weather to get toasted.

Man, did I get toasted.

The last Bikram class I took was probably oh say... about 2 years ago. The first time I did it, I probably had to stop about 10,000 times coz the heat and humidity were making me so light-headed I felt like I was gonna throw up, then pass out. Tonight, I did a little better and stopped about... oh say, 5,000 times instead? I still felt like I was gonna throw up, then pass out.

A Bikram class is thus a very good lesson in humility. HAHAHA.

I'm not in my top physical state coz my asana sessions have been patchy in the past few weeks (you know this)... and even though his copyrighted 26-pose sequence is a really easy Hatha yoga sequence, that bloody humidity just nails you. I was floored sooooo many times. But I figured stopping every single time I needed to would be much more elegant than keeling over and passing out if I just pushed on.

The first thing that struck me about this place were the 3 HUGE photos on top of the wall. So any time you had to look up for drishti, you got distracted by:


And there was a third picture flanking Bikram's right of a chubby dude... whom I thought was Bishnu Gosh at first (Bikram's teacher), but now that I've googled it, it seems like the picture on his left is actually of Bishnu Gosh. So... sorry folks, all I can say is the chubby dude had long flowing locks, sat in an almost lady-like sideways pose and was the only one who wasn't sitting on a tiger.

So... what do you do when you've already decided you want to go to this yoga class, paid the money for the yoga class and brought all your gear into the studio to set yourself up for said yoga class only to be confronted with such DISTURBING IMAGES?!? ...I guess it's supposed to come across as "fierce" but all I could think of was "What about Ahimsa?" (I mean... HELLO McFLY? Those dudes are sitting on SKINNED TIGERS?!?!???)

I did the only yogic thing I could think of doing in such an ironic situation: PASS NO JUDGMENT.

And then the next thing I thought: Liz would piss herself laughing if I could get a picture of this. HAHAHAHA. Sadly, no cameras in class of course. Thank goodness the internet raked up 2 of those 3 pictures.

Here's where I feel I need to interject with my personal opinion of Bikram. He's not exactly the most "yogic" of teachers... everything from his flashy lifestyle (100 Bentleys. Or is that Rolls Royces. OK, I'm hyping up the figure too, but you get the idea.), to his use of language ("Because I have balls like atom bombs, two of them, 100 megatons each. Nobody fucks with me.") SERIOUSLY. ...to his copyrighting of his asana sequence and suing any unlicensed studio for using the name Bikram™... Yeah, it's all kind of vulgar and un-yogic.

BUT... is it? On the other hand, kudos to him for telling it like it is. He is honest and unapologetic for who he is, what he does and how he lives. I mean, who said yoga teachers were GOD, right? (By "GOD", I mean: Perfect.)

Crazy as anyone is for practicing yoga in what is pretty much a steam room-sauna, there is some benefit to it. I like to call it "gateway yoga". I know lots of people who've come to know yoga precisely coz of a hot yoga class, and from there delve into other aspects of it. So I'm not gonna knock this style of yoga coz god forbid people get into a "My guru is better than your guru" debate. Which would be completely WRONG and beside the point (Thanks Marinus, for that quote. I will forever remember it was you who reminded me of this!).

And the fact is, it is nice to finally be in a warm room in the dead of winter and be able to feel your muscles expand and open up, just like they should. (OK, maybe 40 degrees Celsius is kinda pushing the warm-factor, but hey... I'll take what I can get).

Oh, and the teacher-chatter I was so afraid of? ...It helped that the class was half in Dutch, half in English. HAHAHA. Each pose is repeated twice during the 1.5hr class, so the first round of asanas were taught in Dutch, and the second round were explained in English. This worked very well for me coz I didn't understand half the chatter that was going on, anyway! It was like having BBC World radio on in the background when the foreign correspondent is blabbering on. You just kinda zone out. And coz I was watching what other people were doing to figure out which pose came next, I was glad for his English translation by the time he got to it.

Impressions of Bikram as a form of yoga, after coming back to it 2 years later? (and after practicing Ashtanga Mysore style monogamously during this period). They're such different forms of yoga, like on opposite ends of the scale... the most obvious is the decibel-level of course. There's barely a sound made except for Ujjayi breathing in a Mysore class... this, versus the Bikram script.

The other thing that really struck me was how externalized a Bikram class is. I never noticed this before, only this time round. I mean... you're staring into a mirror in front of you, watching to pull this up, push that down. As opposed to internalizing the process in a Mysore environment - feeling where in the body you ought to be working. Also, with Mysore it's so internalized that everyone's doing their own thing, at their own pace... no one really cares where in the series you're at.

With Bikram, because everyone's looking into the same mirror, it also felt like there's a bit of competition going on (he's bending more than I am, she's getting her leg higher in Nataraja, etc.) I caught myself comparing at times, only because you're all staring into the same bloody mirror so it's right there in front of you! (OK, here's where you say "Then engage Pratyahara to the max!") I can so totally understand why he of all people is pushing for yoga competitions and for it to be part of the Olympics (Sorry folks, this is where I draw the line. Yoga is NOT competition). I don't agree with it, but now I understand a bit better WHY he's all for competition. The use of mirrors in class encourages this.

And finally, while I got to crack my back open in that delicious heat and with all those lovely backbends, I have to say that only practising those 26-postures is extremely limiting (if this the only asana practice one does). No arm-strengtheners! Not much core-building! Listen to me, I'm such an Ashtangi!

Dammit, at least with Ashtanga there's a progression to the practice... you keep adding on more poses that will help you strengthen/ open this-and-that part. So even within the "fixed" series, you're still adding on and growing stronger and more flexible. There's a progression. I'm not sure how this would work within Bikram's series... but I'm also unsure if there are "advanced variations" to the poses. Any Bikramites care to share? I mean - I'd think you'd hit a plateau at some point, no? Or am I missing something?

I'm glad I went. I was craving heat, but by the end of it my head was bursting with "WHAT WAS I THINKING?" as I stopped for the 5,000th time before I threw up or passed out... It would probably be a while before my next Bikram class, I think I've had my fill for a while. It's just nice to shake things up a bit, once in a New Moon. (Haha, bad Ashtanga moon day joke) (Which is today, by the way. Which is why I went for the Bikram class in the first place. The joke is so bad I had to explain it in such detail).

Those 3 photos are still burned into my memory. Arghhh!

Sharath in Sydney: Conference #2

Today's talk he gave was a little bit shorter than last week's, and he spoke about the asanas.

The asanas are done to purify the mind, body and nervous system. How are they to be done? Sthira Sukha Asanam (quoting from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras)... they must be stable and comfortable. Then he repeats... "COMFORTABLE". Everybody laughs.

Build strength and stamina over time... it's not about the number of asanas you do, but about how you do them (quality over quantity, I suppose). Even if you perfect only 10 asanas, that's OK and enough.

On a side note, yesterday I'd asked if anyone had any questions to ask him at today's conference and Grimmly had asked a couple of good ones (see yesterday's comments). Unfortunately, those questions came in after the conference was over, so I didn't have the chance to ask him. However, what Sharath says here might give you a clue as to how he feels about it.

Sharath continued with saying each asana is connected to each other. There are certain ways to do each asana, it all has a purpose for purification. When the asana is perfect and sthira/ sukha happens, the nervous system is purified then the mind is ready and clear to go to the next level.

Then he brings up an example: In the Primary series backbends and dropbacks, "if you can't do that, intermediate will be difficult". (I put those in quotation marks coz I wrote down notes and that was exactly as he'd said it). So, I dunno if that answers Grimmly's question or if that's still open to interpretation.

I personally feel that having listened to him in both conferences and how he keeps emphasizing that there's a method to the progression and "Don't hurry", and especially after watching the intermediate class today (I'll write more about this in the Week 2 Day 5 update after this), I feel dropbacks probably need to be mastered before moving onto intermediate in order to get the maximum benefit from the intermediate series.

Don't get me wrong here, I mean, sure you can practice intermediate if you can't dropback yet, but the whole point of intermediate is about Nadi Shodhana, which works on the energetic body. So... if the physical is not completely cleansed or there are still blocks within the physical body from not having mastered all of the Primary series, then how can you obtain maximum benefit when you start working on the energetic body through the second series? (especially when the initial asanas within second series are all about backbends!) This is of course, my interpretation and understanding of it, especially after listening to how he keeps emphasizing that there is a method to the progression.

After this, he asks people for questions, but there is a long pause, people are afraid to ask. Then he goes off and starts talking about the qualities of a yogi. He recites a very long chant (it could've been a poem or a saying, but I've no idea what this is). Then he goes line by line and interprets it in English. I think some things got lost in translation but very loosely, it went something like, a yogi has a slim waist (?!), speaks well (his words are musical/ nice to hear), and is soft-natured... I got a bit lost here so this part didn't really come to much in my written notes! For this, I apologize.

Then the questions came.
Q: When practising on our own, do we practise to your count? As long as your count?
A: You can go up to 5 breaths if you have the time. The important thing is the inhale should be as long as the exhale. So if the inhale is 2 seconds, the exhale should also be 2 seconds. Inhale 5 seconds? Then exhale 5 seconds. It is important to focus on your own asana and don't compare to the person in front of you! Think about what you're doing in your asana, cultivate them by focusing on your own asana.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the bandhas?
A: Do bandhas properly for a long life. Jalandhara bandha (chin lock) is mainly used during pranayama. What's the source to control your mind? ...Mula bandha (root lock). If applied right, it can be practised all the time. This is why many can't do Karandavasana - coz you only have arm strength, no bandha strength. Same thing also for jumpbacks. Who can do jumpback from Padmasana properly? It's the bandhas, not the arms. It's about your internal strength, and synchronizing the breath with bandha control.

Then he asks for who can demo a jumpback and teasingly asks a guy to do it. "Jacob! You come and do!" He looks like a physically strong guy, he comes up and says "I can't actually do a proper jumpback". Everyone laughs. He gets up and does it though and this is what annoys me about guys and upper body strength. TOO EASY FOR THEM!

Sharath then gets into Padmasana and does a vinyasa out of Padmasana, lifting up with complete control, getting an impossibly high lift (elbows at 90 degrees!), pauses for what feels like a few seconds balancing mid-air in Padmasana (his body is at an incline, not perpendicular to the ground), then quietly, gracefully and slowly... unfolds his legs mid-air and shoots back to Chaturanga. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

He then lifts his shirt up to show how it's all in the bandhas and internal strength. His Uddiyana Bandha lock is ridiculous. It actually folds his abdomen in half! At first I thought it was coz he was tucking his chin in, holding his shirt up with his chin, causing the fold in his belly... but he's a skinny guy with no fat/ folds in his skin, so why was there this massive fold in his belly?! Yeah folks, it's called Uddiyana Bandha Power to the MAX!

Q: How do you know when you're ready for more advanced poses? Like headstand? [giggles from the crowd]
A: A good teacher will know when to move you on. But you can already practice headstand if you're doing the Janus and the Marichyasanas.

Q: Does your head touch the floor in headstand?
A: Yes, it touches the floor, but no pressure on the head. Come down slowly from headstand and rest a long time after. Allow the blood to go back through your system slowly. Headstand can be longer than shoulderstand. You can do this asana for as long as you like. It has many benefits.

Q: How long should Savasana be?
A: What you all are doing after your asana is not actually Savasana. Savasana is an asana in the 6th series! What you're doing resting after your asana is more like Sukhasana... Easy pose, or Happy pose! In the 6th series Savasana, which means dead posture, you actually stop your breathing. Well, you don't actually stop it but is close to it. You remember the story of Krishnamachrya stopping his heart beat? ...that's not me yet! [laughter] But my grandfather taught me this Savasana, to stop the breath in 6th series.

In Sukhasana after practice, 10 to 15 minutes is long enough. Otherwise your body gets too cool.

He then ends off by saying: You must remember that yoga doesn't need us, we need yoga. Keep the tradition, don't change it.

He then showed us a DVD of the KPJAYI Trust, a charity that Guruji set up in Mysore when he turned 90. A part of their karma yoga, they help the orphanage and mentally disabled. What was cool is one of my friends is in the video! She's the hot blonde chick who appears a few times and is teaching the kids (she also has a bad-ass intermediate practice)!

His talk on the bandhas and bandha control made me think a bit more about it in today's practice, and I'll have an update on that a bit shortly. It's dinner time now. :)

Sharath in Sydney: Conference

As promised, here's my little report on his conference last night. Some of you are chomping at the bit to hear about it... I will try as much as I can not to mangle what he said (though I'll be paraphrasing all of the time). Will try to follow Susananda's lovely reporting style on his recent UK conference since I enjoyed it very much.

He started with an opening chant (I have no idea what!), and then a talk on the practice of yoga. Umm... yes, I took notes (I have to, otherwise it's in one ear and out the other!).
[Update] This was the Opening chant: "Agnyaana Timiraandhasya Gnyaana Anjana Shalaakayaa Chakshuhu Unmeelitam Yenam Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha"

A Guru can save us from the pangs of ignorance (darkness) by applying to us the balm of knowledge or awareness of the Supreme, I salute such a Guru.

The talk kinda sorta touched on the following:

Yoga came from the rishis in order to help them attain higher consciousness. He talked about the importance of the 8 limbs of yoga - where Ashtanga gets its name. We must follow the Yoga Sutra's 8 limbs step-by-step, building from the foundation up.

Hence, starting with the Yamas & Niyamas (guidelines on how to live your life), before progressing onto asana, pranayama, pratyhara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi.

Asana is the foundation - we use this to purify the body and the mind, then the next step is pranayama and so on and so forth. By doing so, your organs come under your sense control. The purpose of doing asanas is so "the practice should change you."

This is why the Ashtanga system is complete in incorporating asana, pranayama, drishti, following the 8 limb path.

People say things like "I only do meditation, but not asana"... but how can you sit still with your mind if you haven't learnt how to control it through asana? Doing so is just sitting, not meditating [this might rile some people up!] Asana is one limb to connect to the rest. All the limbs are important, you can't practice only one without the rest.

An interesting point he touched on when talking about the Niyama "Svadhyaya" (self inquiry) is it's important to think about "what is yoga"... get more knowledge from the practice, to sit, think, read about it. He talked about Guruji's famous quote of "Yoga is 99% practice, 1% theory"... this "practice" does not refer to just physical practice... it refers to your self-inquiry of svadhyaya.

Then he spoke of the importance of lineage/ the role of the guru (don't freak out! "Guru" here simply means teacher). For everything, there is a way to do it. To fully understand and learn, you must stick with the same teacher and have faith in his/ her method. There are exercise videos & books you can learn from, but energy doesn't transfer if you just watch.

Even Krishnamacharya read many books but couldn't find any teacher to learn yoga from. He finally heard of a yogi, Ramana Mohan Brahmachari (let's call him RMB from now), who lived at the foot of a mountain (or was it a forest?) but when he went to see him to ask him to teach him yoga, RMB refused to see him for a few days, only sending his son out on the second day with 2 chepatis (flat bread). Krishnamacharya said "I'm not here to eat chepatis, I want to learn yoga". [giggles ensue] So he passed the test and learned from RMB for the next 7 years.

His point was that these days people learn a few months from this teacher, then another few months from another teacher, then after that coming up with their own "system"... there's no depth to their knowledge when they don't stick to one lineage/ method. People can offer teacher trainings for a few months, claim to teach you pranayama or meditation in one class, tell you you can reach samadhi. People go to different gurus to learn different things, but this will only confuse you. Go to one teacher.

He related a story where he sat next to a lady on a flight and he asked her what she did. She said "I'm a yoga teacher". Everyone burst out laughing. Someone chirped "What did you tell her what you did?" Sharath replied "Nothing, she didn't ask me."

Question & Answer session.
Q: Do you find Westerners different, more easily distracted?
A: You are more distracted because you have more distractions in the West. You go to different gurus. Ultimately it's up to you to decide. But follow the rishis, who followed one teacher. India has a more disciplined life, but there are different kinds of attachments/ non-attachments. Many Western students have been able to adopt a disciplined life too.
[This reminded me of something I read somewhere (Heart of Yoga?) where Krishnamacharya refused to teach Western students for the longest time, thinking they weren't disciplined enough. This kinda makes sense why now, looking at it from the 8 limbs point-of-view]

Q: How long should the primary series take to practice?
A: 1 hour 30min, 1 hour 35 minutes. Anything more and you'll be tired.
[No wonder we've been more tired so far... each led class had averaged 1hr 45min!] :p

Q: What do you think about the use of props?
A: No props! For chikitsa, to cure diseases, if you can't walk, then yes OK for props use. But all of you are healthy and physically able - why do you need props
[Hmm... I smell a debate on this one]

Q: What's the best time to practice? / Should you practice at the same time every day?
A: Early morning is the best time. Less distractions, the mind is pure. 3.30am - 5am is best. I had to practice with my grandfather at 1.30am. If you wait till later in the day, your mind will be distracted by what has already happened that day.

Q: Is there such a thing as "positive attachment"? Isn't any kind of attachment bad? What if I am too attached to my yoga practice?
A: Attachment to your practice is good. It's a different kind of attachment. Can you survive without food? This is just like how you need yoga. If you don't practice, you get distracted and you get sick mentally.

Q: Do you feel a burden having to carry on your Grandfather's work?
A: There's no burden if it's not a burden. [what an awesome answer!] I was on my way to getting my electronics engineering degree. But my mother called and said "please come and help your grandfather, he's too busy". I planned to be there only for one month to help him, but once I started, I knew I was to be a yoga teacher.

Q: I love yoga and I know this is my path, but I don't want to teach. Is this wrong?
A: Yoga is for your spiritual knowledge. Yoga helps you in your work. Yoga helps you in your life. You don't have to be a teacher. The teacher's path is hard.

Then we closed off with a chant honouring Guruji.
[UPDATE] Thanks, @Ashtangikali for what both chants were, including translations:
"Om Sahana Bhavatu, Sahanao Bhunaktu Sahaveeryam Karvaa vahaiand
Tejaswee Naava Dheeta Mastu Ma Vidvishaa vahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"

I pray that you help me teach, you help me learn. May our study be brilliant and may we not misunderstand! Om Peace, Peace, Peace!

And we also chanted the also the Closing Prayer again, wishing peace & happiness to all beings on earth.

I was struck by his matter-of-factness. There was nothing high-faluting or esoteric at all about how he explained things. It was a "this is just how it is" manner about it. He's got a quiet calm about him, is earnest and serious in his discussions, but also cracks the odd joke (I like!) and he's soooooo down to earth and humble.

A very inspiring teacher. When's the next flight to Mysore again?

To-Meat (Sadie Nardini) or Not-To-Meat (Sharon Gannon)?

Ooh! Looks like the gloves are coming off on this great debate!

According to Elephant Beans, the two yogis will be debating the issue whether yoga & meat-eating are mutually-exclusive on live video on Huffington Post this Wednesday, August 19th.

UPDATE: Apparently this has been rescheduled to Sept. 1.

...But Maybe You're More Highly Evolved If You Eat Meat Without Guilt?

Here's another interesting article I've come across on the "To veg or not to veg" question I've been mulling over. See previous post on the animal industry.

I've had some interesting comments both privately and on this blog from people with widely differing views. Much like the discussion going on in the comments section on Sadie's Huffpost article (on being a meat-eating Superstar Yogi).

Here's another great article, which looks at it from another angle. Click on the picture, or on the link here. Still chewing the (veggie) fat on this one. Things that make you go hmm...

The Ethics of the Animal Industry

As I'd mentioned in an earlier post a couple weeks ago, I was going back into my "vegetarian phase". I have these on-again, off-again vegetarian phases, and these have always stemmed from a health/ detox perspective. I've just always felt lighter and with more energy whenever I've gone veggie.

A friend and I had gone on a 7-day fast & detox at a health spa in Koh Samui a few years ago, and I'd remained vegetarian for about 6 months after that. Early last year, I'd gone vegetarian again also for about another 6 months... that is, lacto-ovo vegetarian. No meat at all, with no seafood either. The only animal products I would touch were dairy (hence the term: lacto) and eggs (hence the term: ovo). However, my immune system crashed on me in a massive way - I fell ill about 3 times in those 6 months, and each time it would wipe me out for about a week at a time. I don't usually fall sick, and even if I do it wouldn't last more than a few days so something was definitely up with my diet at the time.

I'd put it down to pure vegetarianism not working with my body. After all, I had gone to a Kinesiologist who put me on a candida detox to clear out my intestines (no wheat, no sugar, no yeast) and she did mention that there was something to be said about the "eat right for your blood type" theory... and since I'm O+, I'm technically supposed to be a meat-eater.

Since then, I've kept to a largely veggie diet, but would eat some meat or fish a few times a week to "supplement" my diet. Having said this, every time I ate any meat, I would feel the effects - I'd feel a bit more sluggish and heavy, and chicken definitely got my sinuses going too.

A few weeks ago, I decided to go back to being vegetarian again as the more I thought about it, the more I reckon the reason why my immune system shut down on me the last time was probably coz I wasn't supplementing with vitamins. Oh. Duh. Yeah, seriously... I wasn't even taking a multi-vitamin or B12 or essential fatty acids supplements. DOH! Of course I was gonna get sick if I wasn't getting these anywhere else in my diet. (This time around, I'm supplementing and stocking up on those vitamins!)

Around about the same time I went back to vegetarianism, someone from my online yoga book club, Namaste Book Club (yes, I'm that much of a yoga nerd. I'm part of a yoga book club. An online one at that!) suggested I also read Sharon Gannon's "Yoga & Vegetarianism", which looks at it from a yogic point-of-view (based on the Yamas).


Now if you didn't already know, Sharon Gannon's the co-founder of a style of yoga known as Jivamukti Yoga. I have a copy of her book of the same name, written with the other co-founder, David Life. It's a beautifully written book on their yogic philosophy which their school is based on, and part of this philosophy is keeping to a vegan diet. There is a chapter in the book on "ahimsa", which translates as "non-harming" (especially to other beings). Hence their insistence on a completely vegan diet, free from any animal products and by-products.

When I first read the book, I pretty much skimmed this chapter. I found it to be a very polarizing, politicized view (yes, I'd conjured up images of PETA supporters splashing paint on people wearing fur, Sea Shepherd supporters strapping themselves to the front of whaling boats... and every conceivable extreme behaviour from animal rights activists). Perhaps I wasn't ready to listen to their message yet. Besides, my personal view of Ahimsa is also applicable to the self: if I'm harming myself by not eating what my body needs, and if I'm O+ and *need* to eat meat according to "Eat Right 4 Your Type"... then I'm not practising Ahimsa on myself! (exactly like what happened when the Dalai Lama's doctor ordered him to start eating meat!) ...well, yeah. It all made sense to me, since I'd always approached it from a health/ nutritional perspective.

For some reason, I was very intrigued by Gannon's ENTIRE book on "Yoga & Vegetarianism" (even though I couldn't get through ONE chapter on it from her previous book.) She tackles the subject based on the 5 Yamas - One of the Eight limbs of Yoga, taken from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. (The Yamas are basically guidelines to how you should interact with the world around you.) She summarizes the points in her book here, a link I'd seen on Elephant Journal. It's probably what got me intrigued.


I'm still halfway through the book, but she's already presented very clear and compelling arguments not only from an ethical perspective of how the meat & livestock industries treat the animals, but also from nutritional and environmental pollution points of view how we're just screwing everything up, ourselves included. It's making me think about it from a much larger perspective, beyond just ME.

And since I've felt the stirrings of shying away from meat from an ethical point-of-view, I've now come across yet another piece which has made me realize just how ignorant and how in denial I've been about how that juicy piece of "grain-fed steak" landed on the table in front of me (or even that grilled "free-range chicken breast", "naturally raised" smoked salmon... heck, while we're at it... that pair of Ugg boots, or that leather jacket came to be).

I guess eating meat and using animal products has been so much a part of my life, ingrained since childhood, that you just take it for granted - never questioning where it came from, assuming that every animal has its part to play in life and well... they're raised for food so it must be OK. And since those eggs I'm boiling are cage-free, free-range eggs, I'm doing my part to keep those animals "happy"... and since I buy mostly organic, I'm ingesting stuff that's got more "positive energy" surrounding it. And I was kept in my little bubble of denial - never-questioning, never-probing a little deeper than I have... until now.

Enter the documentary, Earthlings. Here's the trailer, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix:

WARNING: It is violent, brutal and very real.

You can watch the full documentary online here.

It is also deeply moving and a powerful kick up your butt to boot you out of your ignorance. For me, at least that's what it was. I'm still processing what it all means to me and how far I'll draw the line. I guess if you can still rest easy eating meat knowing where its come from and what's happened in the process of getting it neatly packed on your grocery shelf, then by all means, go ahead and continue eating it.

I can't.

In fact, I'm considering going vegan. As much as I love cheese, I'd blindly assumed dairy was fine since y'know... the cows don't get slaughtered or anything yucky like that... How bad could it be, right? But seeing them chained all day with a super-short lifespan, dying from exhaustion from producing milk... like ?!?!??? Yikes, do I really want to be contributing to THAT?

I think it's important to know where your food comes from - you are what you eat, after all. Which is why you should watch that documentary and make up your own mind about it. I am not preaching at all, I can only tell you what MY opinion is on the subject as it pertains to MY life and MY eating habits. I really believe that you consume things on an energetic level as well, which is why knowing what I know now, how can I continue supporting the meat & animal products industries?

It's probably going to be a pain in the ass and quite a mission to shift my dietary habits (oh dairy, how I love thee), but it's less of a pain in the ass than some of the things that go on in those slaughterhouses. Still processing where that line is for me. Watch this space for more mental farts on the subject.