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YogAfrica
December 2014 CONTENTS
Message from the Chair
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Ed’s Notes
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Passing of Guruji
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A Greeting and a Farewell
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You Shouldn’t Hurt — Roger Cole
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The Invocation to Patanjali
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Yoga Kritya (Self Practice)
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Bi-Lateral Knee Replacement
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Raya Data in Johannesburg
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Tribute to Two Special Ladies
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Congratulations
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Courses
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Notices
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YogAfrica
December 2014 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
STRATFORD CANNI NG
The year 2014 will go down in h istory as the yea r in which the Iyengar Yoga communi ty world wid e lost its be loved Guruj i . He was in h is 96 t h year. We all mourn his loss bu t are comforted i n the kno wledge that h is teach ings are safe in the hands o f Gee taj i and Prashant and supported by te achers such as Abhija ta Sri dhar, Gee ta ji ’s niece , and Raya D atta, no t forgetting our own wel l qual ified teachers and others from around the world . I was very priv ileged to have attended the G eeta Iyengar 10 day In tens ive in ce lebration o f h er 70th birthday w ith thir teen col leagues from S outh A fri ca. This was he ld at the Shiv Cha trapati Sports Complex, Bal ewadi , Pune from the 1 s t to 10 t h Dec ember. In a ll 1,200 del egates fro m 57 countr ies a ttended the ce lebration . There is a view tha t the organ ising ab il ity o f o ur friends in Ind ia is no t qui te up there w ith th e best. Well th is even t proved beyond doub t th at this v iew is far off the mark . I have a ttended many e vents over the years and I can hones tly s ay that th is o ne ranks among the bes t. From the day o f reg istration to th e clos ing ceremony every thing ran like c loc kwork with no gl itc hes wha tsoever. From the se ll ing of books, o f clo thin g, of props and the provid ing o f l unch for everyone, everyth ing was perfec t. Day one saw the ga thering o f the 1,2 00 deleg ate s in we ll organ ised groupings . The an ticipa tion o f Geetaj i's arrival w as palpab le and when she d id th e applause was long loud and sinc ere. In her o pening address she spoke of Guruj i and ho w the fami ly missed h im. The emo tion in the ha ll was overwhe lmi ng. And so the days progressed with Ge eta ji keep in g us enthralled w i th her teaching , anecdo tes an d other stories. T he in tensive ende d wi th th e Iyengar fa mily hos ting a lunch o f Sou th Ind ian food. A day to remember. The message I brough t home was that one ’s yog a journey should be about d iscip line , cons tant pr actice and to not neg lect Pranaya ma . In fac t the name of the intens ive was ‘ Yoganusasana m’ taken fro m Sutra 1.1 and mean ing disc ipl ine. Jus t as asana practi ce is important so is brea thing importa nt. We di d hear that, in his l ast days, Guru ji con tinued to do pran ayama exercis es to h elp keep his chest open . In Augus t we were privi leged to h ave had Ray a Datta presen t se minars in Joha nnesburg and Cape Town. A truly remarkab le teacher providing the subtle ins igh ts into the practice o f yoga. I w il l say no more bu t re fer you to the exce lle nt and perceptiv e article on page 20 wr itten by Merry and Barbara. I am also please d to see tha t Iyengar yoga is th riving in Sou thern Africa and our membersh ip growing . At the time o f g oing to press o ur numbers sto od at 530 . Oh, by the way , our website is there for you. O n many occasions we receive requests for infor mation which is avai lable on the websi te . So I appeal to you all to visi t the s ite o ften and to use this as the first port o f ca ll when trying to find answers. Final ly I wou ld l ike to w ish each and everyone of you a peaceful time over the hol idays and I hop e that you w il l en joy a l l that you w ish for in 2 015. Be we ll as we bask in the glory tha t is Iyeng ar yo ga. Namaste
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YogAfrica
December 2014 ED’S NOTES
RIVA H IRS CHOW ITZ Dear Me mbers, It has been a d ifficu lt y ear. The pass ing o f Yoga charya BK S Iyengar w as fe lt deeply in our hearts. The visi t by Raya Da ta in Sep tember brought home the deep sense o f loss fe l t by th e Iyengar yoga c ommunity . We are so fortu nate to have the guidance of our teachers many o f who have been s tudy in g wi th the Iyengar ’s s ince Guruj i first star ted teach ing. Pat De acon h as so many lovely s tories of the early years wi th Guruji . I am sure we are al l insp ire d and gra tefu l to kn ow th at our seni or teachers have many years of experience under the wa tchful eye s of the Iyengars. In a recent conversation w i th Gudrun, Jenny an d June an apprecia tio n was discussed o f the wa y Guruji, Gee ta ji and Prashan taj i h ave gu ided this ev er-expanding subjec t of yoga. It is w ith i mmens e humil i ty tha t w e express our gratitude towards the Iyengar fa mi ly. December is a ti me of reflec tion on the year. Th e article written by Faeq B iria abou t sel f-practic e may be help fu l in insp iring you to get on to your ma t to begin to fin d your own practic e. Be in joy, Be in peace , Be in ligh t. Yours in Yoga
Riva riva.hirschow i tz@gma il .co m
"Awareness mus t be l ike the rays o f the sun : ex tending everywhere, illuminating all." - B . K . S . I yenga r
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YogAfrica
December 2014 PASSING OF GURUJI
CARLA RECH "I am wri t i ng t o l et you know t hat t he m om ent has com e - our Guruj i has di ed. Despi t e our enorm ous s adnes s at hi s passi ng, he i s at peace, havi ng l i ved an ext raor di nar y l i f e. W e acknowl edge t he enorm i t y of hi s cont ri but i on and sal ut e hi s achi evem ent s. W e wil l rem em ber hi m i n al l hi s st rengt h wi t h t he f i re of hi s dedi cat i on bl azi ng f i erce and bri ght . " As I wrot e t hese words, at 06h11 on t he m orni ng of 20 August 2014, si t t i ng i n t he Chet ak Hot el i n Pune, I m ust adm i t t hat I was i n a st range st at e. I was shock ed and di sbel i evi ng, but al s o sudd enl y abl e t o m ak e se nse of what had brought us t o I ndi a at t hi s part i cul ar m om ent i n t im e. W e had arri ved at t he begi nni ng of t he m ont h; f i ve of us - t wo seni or t eacher s who had been t aug ht by Guruj i , t wo st udent s who were m aki ng t hei r f i rst t ri p t o t he Inst i t ut e, and m e, havi ng st art ed t oo l at e t o experi ence Guruj i ' s t eachi ngs i n person, but l ucky enough t o have seen hi m pract i ci ng i n t he hal l on ot her vi si t s t o Pune. I had heard hi s st i l l st rong and boom i ng voi ce, seen hi s i m posi ng eyebrows i n act i on and al so m et wit h hi s unexpect ed sense of hum ou r when he i nst ruct ed Abhi j at a or Raya as t hey t ook a cl ass. The l i on and eagl e of hi s m any desc ri pt i ons, but t he t am ed versi o n, t em pered by age an d expe ri ence. I had al so wi t nessed t he t o uchi ng devot i on wi t h whi ch hi s assi st ant s hel ped hi m i n t he corne r near t he pr ops and t he af f ect i on t hat was pal pabl e bet ween t hem . I f el t l ucky t o have seen hi m f or m ysel f . Thi s August was di f f erent t hough. He hadn' t been in t he hal l pract i ci ng f or a f ew weeks and unchar ac t eri st i cal l y, hadn' t been si t t i ng on hi s bench on t he fi rst day of t he m ont h, ready t o greet al l t he newcom ers . W e knew he was hom e and c aught m any gl i m pses of hi m pract i ci ng i n Geet aj i "s f ront of f i ce. He was t he re ever y m orni ng, at t ended by t eac hers. Ev ery now and a ga i n, Raya woul d burst t hr ough t he do ors and rush t o f et ch som e pi ece of equi pm ent f or hi m . Hi s presence was everywhe re. Af t er a coupl e of days, he appea red at t he door, seat ed i n a wheel chai r, greet i ng every pe rso n t hat cam e past . I n hi ndsi ght , I t hi nk we real i sed he was real l y si ck but such i s t he l i ght t hat surroun ds hi m , that m ost l y we f el t grat i t ude at havi ng been i n hi s presence. That m orni ng, at 5. 30 am when t he m anage r pho ne d . . . "so sor ry. . . he ha s pas sed. . . ", t he t rut h whi ch w e al l knew, unacknowl edged an d unspok en, suddenl y was real . Shocked, accept i ng and sad by t ur ns, we al l f elt suddenl y adri f t and at s ea. Orphan ed. W e di dn' t know i f we shoul d go t o t he I nst i t ut e as we i nst i nct i vel y want ed, or i f we shoul d gi ve t he f am i l y som e pri vacy. But soo n , word cam e t hat we were wel com e. Even i n t hei r pri vat e gri ef , t he f am i l y i ncl uded us al l i n t he cerem oni e s. W e m ade our way t o t he I nst i t ut e - t her e wer e que ues of pal e, t earf ul , drawn f aces l i ni ng t he dri veway. One by one we ent ere d Guruj i ' s hom e t o pay our l ast r e spect s. He was bea ut i f ul ; bedecked i n f l owers, h ands f ol d ed and f eet expo sed, Pr ashant j i si t t i ng i n di gni f i ed at t endance. Hi s crem at i on was hel d at l uncht i m e t hat sam e day and we f el t honou red an d pri vi l ege d t o wi t ness t he cere m ony. The pri est s and m al es of t he f am i l y were i n w hi t e dhot i s and am i dst t he chant i ng, Prashant j i , as t he el dest , l ed t he ri t ual . I t was so m ovi ng t o see Geet aj i and t he si st e rs a r ri ve, di vest ed of al l t hei r o rnam ent s, hai r wet and st ream i ng down t hei r backs, t hei r l oss so evi dent . W e al l f el t t hat we had been i n t he presence of hi st ory t hat day. How f i t t i ng t hat Jenny an d Gud run had seen Guruj I agai n and t hat we we re i n t hei r com pany. T hat som e w ho were pres ent at t he begi nni ng of I yengar Yoga i n Sout h Af ri ca were shari ng t hi s occasi on wi t h som e of us who wi l l cont i nue i t . Overwhel m i ngl y, we al l f el t t hat Yogachari y a BKS I yenga r' s cont ri but i on was so m uch l arge r and m ore l ast i ng t han hi s own p hysi cal em bodi m ent , and t hat hi s was t he epi t om e of a l i f e f ul l y r eal i ze d. W e have al l st ood i n hi s l i ght , ei t her di re ct l y or as ref l ec t ed t hrough hi s t eac hi ngs. Eve rybo dy cl o se t o hi m ha d t ol d us at di f f erent t i m es t hat he was at peace, a ccept i ng , and our f eel i ngs of sadne ss wer e put i nt o pe rspect i ve by som et hi ng Raya sai d t o m e t hat day. He sai d, "Now, we al l have t o do what we are supposed t o. . . ".
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YogAfrica
December 2014 A GREETING AND A FAREWELL
SUE MORRIS This year in Augus t I had th e oppor tuni ty to tick off an i tem on my bucke t lis t and travel w ith my mum , Jenny, to Pune to attend classes a t the ins ti tu te. We think this was mu m's 15 th tr ip (she ha s l ost count!) , so my li fe has intersected wi th Ind ia on many occas ions, bu t th is was my first time to v is it th e country. In the weeks and d ays le ading up to d eparture, I grappled wi th a smal l a mount o f fea r and doubt: was I s trong e nough for the classes , how was I going to hand le being a way from my chi ldren for so long , was the b ed goi ng to be too hard for me to s leep , and so on. Fortuna tely in the busyn ess of getting ready to depar t, time passed quick ly a nd before long we were mak ing our way through the Monsoon green h il ls to Pune , driving ALL over the ro ad, d espi te the signs i mp loring us to "observe la ne discipl ine" . Arriving at the Che tak Ho tel we met up wi th the rest o f the team from SA : Gudrun , Carla and E laine . And a merry, close band of yog i’s we wou ld be fo r the next 3 weeks . After our first c lass as we w ere pu tting on o ur sh oes, I no ticed tha t Guru ji was si tting a t the door facing the ins ti tu te, en joying the sun . So mu m a nd I w ent to gree t hi m. I sh ould ad mi t here tha t I was qui te nervous - I had no ide a o f the protoco l and his fa ntastic eyebrows looked as fierce as ever! He wa s in a wheelcha ir and lo oked th in , bu t greeted us w ith a huge smile and much nodd ing - Gee ta ji was in th e room wi th h im and told us that he had been instructed by the doc tors no t to ta lk . She was a lso unwel l and so we d ecided no t to l inger. The wa lls o f the ins ti tu te are lined w ith acco lade s for Guruj i , from doctorates to thanks for bui ldin g hospita ls in h is ho me to wn - it is imp ossib le n ot to b e in a wed when me eting someone w ho h as touch ed so many lives , a l l over the world , in so many ways . Unfortun ate ly in the nex t few weeks , we learned , in bi ts and pieces ga thered mostly from reading various papers, tha t Guruj i was i n hospi tal and was having issues w ith h is kidn eys. The ca ll came e arly in the morn ing, before we departed for our class, to let us know tha t the Guru ha d passed aw ay – there was no sympa thy in the ca ll , just a ma tter o f fact conveyance that his ti me had co me. I fe l t at once rel ieved that he had no t su ffered lo ng and at the sa me ti me sad for my mum and Gu drun, his family and al l the others who had known hi m and been insp ired by hi m for much of their l ives. What an enormous loss ! At this ins ti tute among thongs of p eople , s tude nts and press , we pa id our respec ts to his bo d y and gave our condo lences to the fa mi ly . A short wh ile later , we attended the crema tion , and aga in, were somewha t overwhe lme d by al l the press. I wondered as I observed the ritu als , what the post-Iyengar period wou ld bring and was le ft w i th the comforting tho ught that so much of h is legacy liv es on in each on e o f us. And so my trip to Indi a came to an en d, sooner than expected , b ut wi th a sense o f hav ing co me full c ircle: my first greeting of our Guru and a final farewell .
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YogAfrica
December 2014 YOGA SHOULDN’T HURT
ROGER COLE If you practice yo ga, no doub t you ’re aware o f i ts heal th bene fi ts. Bu t l ike any phys ical ac tiv ity , i t’s no t comple tely r isk free . If you’v e been practicing for long, yo u or so meone you kno w has probably pu lled a hamstring , tweaked a sacrum, or exper ienced so me injury whi le on the mat. Close to 9 ,000 A mer icans received medica l trea tmen t for yoga-rela ted injur ies in 2004 and 2005 , according to the U.S. C on sumer Product S afe ty Commiss ion. S ti ll , there are only two yoga in juries reported for every 10,00 0 ti mes i t is practiced , accord ing to Amer ican S ports Data . Injuri es can b e great teachers. They invi te you to uncover your y oga demons —misal ign ments or overzealous a tte mpts to force your way into poses — and make correctio ns. B ut it’s smart to learn proper technique , espec ial ly when it c omes to your in ner knees , hams tring tendons , and sacroi liac j oints . These par ts are vu lnerable to da mage and take ti me to mend . But if yo u understand wh at c auses trauma to these areas , i t’s easy to adjus t your practice to avoid or help h eal injuries . Here ’s a primer on each . Inner Knee The R oad to In jury: Hav e you a lways foun d it di fficu lt to ge t in to Pad masana (Lotus Pose) a nd fel t temp ted to force your legs i nto the pos i tion to j oin your serene-look ing c lassma tes for med itati on? If you are think ing of travel ing dow n th is road, p l ease reconsi der. You may have d iscovered tha t rather than leading you to the b liss ful land o f the Lo tus , pushing yourse lf in th is way de ad-ends wi th a si ckening "pop" in the knee, fol lowed by ye ars of pa in a nd l imited mobi li ty. When you hurt your inner knee do ing yoga , i t’s u sually because y ou’ve tried to force a leg into P admasana or one o f i ts vari ations. Some times the in j ury occurs after one or bo th le gs are already in Lotus position a nd you atte mpt a pose that adds a bac k-bending movemen t, such as Matsyasana (Fish Pose), or a forward-bending mov emen t, such as Ardha Baddha P adma Pasch imo tta nasana (H al f-Bound Lotus Seated Forward Bend). To understand h ow Lo tus can hurt your knee , v is ualize li fting your righ t fo ot up and p lacin g i t a to p your left th igh . To get into this pose sa fely , your th i gh w il l have to ro tate ou tward abou t 115 degre es. For many of us , thoug h, the th igh canno t turn ou t that much , ei ther because of its bon e s tructure or because tigh t muscles and liga ments inhib i t its mo vement. If your thigh s tops rota ting bu t yo u keep l ift ing the shin and fo ot, you’ ll bend the knee j oin t sid eways, wh ich w il l pi nch the inner-knee bones to gether — the upper inner end o f the shin-bone pressing against the lower inner end o f the thighbo ne. Between these bones l ies the media l men iscus, which is a protec tive ri m of car ti lage tha t pads th e knee join t and gu ides i ts move ment. When you l i ft y our fo ot, you are using your same-s ide shinbo n e as a long lever . If the th ighbone doesn ’t ro tate eno u gh, you’ ll app ly tremendous p inching pressure to the meniscus — as i f your shinbone a nd th ighbone w ere a gia nt pa ir o f p liers. Forcing th is l i ft even moderately can do serious da mage . S imilarly , if you are in Lo tus and your top knee is no t on the floor, pushing tha t knee down ward can app ly enor mous da maging force to the meniscus . Prevent and Prepare: To preven t th is in jury, th e first rul e is to never force your le gs in to any Lotu s variatio ns — ei ther by pu ll ing the foot s trongly upward, push ing the knee do wnward, or thrus tin g your body forward or back ward. Don ’t le t your yoga teacher push or pu ll you in to any of these pos es e ither. Janu Sirsasana (Head-o f-the-Knee P ose) and Baddha Konasan a (Bound Ang le Pose) can cause simi lar ( though usua lly less severe) p inchin g o f the inner knee, so practice the m cautiously , to o. S top going deeper a nd back o ff i f you fee l pressure o r pain in the knee . The structures tha t need to l oosen up in these poses are al l loca ted around the hip area, so that’s where you should fee l s tretch ing or releasing sensa tions as yo u go deeper . 9
The safest way to practice Pa dmasana and related poses is to strong ly rota te your thigh ou tward at th e hip and not go dee per into the pose when you re ach the l imit o f your ou tward rota tion. Th is mean s that you’l l have to s top l ifting your foot when your th i gh stops ro ta ting , so y ou may no t ge t your foot on the opposite thigh . (Reme mber the upside : happy, fu nctiona l, pa in-free knees.) You can use your han ds or a strap to help rota te your th ighbone ou tward . Whether using your hands , a strap , or a clo th , i f your knee ends up dang ling in mid air, support it wi th a fo lded b lanket so you do not inadvertently fo rce it downward as you turn the thigh ou tward. The Path to Hea ling: If you have the mis fortun e o f hurting your in ner kne e in Padmasana or a r elated pose, the first thing to do is leave it a lone. Yo u need to res t, ice , eleva te , and co mpress i t for a fe w days to reduce s wel ling and in fla mma ti on. If th e in jury see ms serious , s eek medica l a ttention . It’s a good id ea to rein troduce knee range o f mo tio n a s early as you can by ge ntly flex ing and extend i ng th e knee to the exte nt possib le. A yo ga program for recovery needs to be indiv idual ized to y our need s and supervised by a qual ified instruc tor. But the gen eral pattern is to promo te a li gnmen t and streng th wi th basic stand ing poses , such as Tr ikonasana (Tria ngle Pose) and V irabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II) . If necessary, support your body wi th a c hair to ta ke weigh t o ff the knee . In add i tion , increase ra nge of motion by doing Virasana (Hero Pose) w ith the pelvis su pported o n a prop , and eventu al ly rein troduce outward rota ti ng move ments l ike Baddha K onas ana (and perhaps P admasana) us ing a rol led cl oth behind the inner knee. Padmasana (Lotus Pose), preparation - Se t up b lankets to suppor t your p elv is and righ t kn ee. Si t in Dandasana (Sta ff Pose) wi th bo th legs exten ded. Bend one kne e and p lace a washc lo th beh ind it. Keeping the knee firmly be nt, grip the end of the cloth in one hand and pul l to ward your body and out to the side to open the inner knee and rota te the th i ghbone ou tward . Con tinue this ro tation as you l i ft your heel w ith your o ther hand and p lace your foo t high ato p the opp osi te th igh , near the h ip i f po ssible . Note : Discon tinue if you experience knee d iscomfort. Virasana (Hero Pose), modif ication - Avoid pa i n in your knees by eleva tin g your pelv is as h igh as is necessary w ith fo lded b lankets . A lign yo ur hee ls directly under y our ou ter h ips (th is is less stress ful for the knees than the stan dard al ignme nt of havin g your heels outs ide o f your h ips). Keep your knees sligh tly apart, wi th your thi ghbones paralle l . Plac e your fee t in l ine wi th your shi ns. S it for several minutes da ily . Gradua lly low er the props over a peri od of weeks or mon ths . Upper-Hamstring Tend ons The Road to Injury: Say tha t you’re a flex ible y oga teacher. E ach day you wake up and prac tice ha mstring s tretches , then de monstra te deep forward bends in yo ur classes . When you n otice a pai n jus t below one of your si tting bones , you s tretch i t more, th inking tha t wi ll promo te heal ing . But wh en the pain increases, you decide to rest it. After th e pa in di mi nishes , you s tretch again and rei njure the area. The pa in co mes back , and the cycle repeats . Thi s process can go o n for years. The hams trings are three long musc les that cov er the back of th e thighs . A t the top of th em, te ndons attach a ll three to the si tting bones . A nagg ing s ensation just be low the si tting bone is caused by a tear in the upper-hams tring tendon , near where it co nnects to the bone . To stre tch hams trings in for wardbending p oses like U ttanasan a (S tanding Forwa rd Bend), you s traigh ten your knees whi le li ftin g your sitting bones . Any time you stre tch a muscle , i t p ulls on i ts tendons , creati ng microscop ic tears in them. If you wai t 24 to 48 hours be tween practice se ssions, th ese tiny tears hea l. Bu t the upper-ha mstring tendons can take longer to hea l because they ar e poorly suppl ied w ith blo od. When you don ’t g iv e your hamstrings ti me to res t, you set up a scenario fo r injury . A lig nmen t can a lso be an issue . Teach e rs often te ll beg inners to li ft the ir s itting bon es in f orward bends because beg inners tend to round thei r backs in such poses, w hich can lead to d isk compression and l ower-back i njuries . Bu t peo ple w ith loose hamstrings can li ft their s itting bones so h igh th at the tendon star ts to wrap around the bone . Th is can weaken the tendon . To recap: If you produce new tears in your upper -hamstring te ndons fas ter than your body can rep air the o ld ones, you ’l l end up w ith an in jury. If you r est and s tart to hea l, the par tia lly hea led tissue may sti ll be too weak to w i thstand the pos e and you ’l l tear i t a gain , e nding up wi th more pain than be fo re. If you repeat this cycle often enough , scar tissue w il l even tua lly develop in the torn area — and reh abi10
-lita ting scar tissue is typica lly a slo w, di fficul t process. O ften ha mstring in juries tha t see m to occur suddenly are se t up by a gradual w eakening o f the tendon over time , caused by overstretch ing a nd insufficien t rest. The weake ning can cul mina te in o ne power ful stre tch tha t leads to in jury. Prevent and Prepare: To preven t an upper-hamstring in jury, you need to approach stra ight-l eg forward bends gradual ly a nd wi th a wareness, tak ing any pain ne ar th e s itting bone serious ly. Never force a forward bend (or any pose), and i f you fee l d iscomfort at or near the si tting bone whi le bendi ng for ward, stop s tretch ing tha t hams tring i mmed iately . If th e disco mfor t recurs in a fu ture practice , avo id a ny action tha t causes i t for a t least severa l days. Th is usual ly means you s hould avo id practicin g fo rward bends over that leg or you can bend the in jured- side knee in a ll forward bends . Bend ing th e kne e protects the hams tring te ndons by tak ing so me o f the stretc h o ff of th em and g iving the m ti me to repair themse lves before a s igni fica nt injury devel ops. Rein troduce s traigh t-leg forward bends on th e affected side on ly when the disco mfort is comp lete ly gone for at le ast a few days , and then do so gradual ly . Another importan t preven tive measure is to in clude p len ty o f hams tring-s trengthen ing poses, suc h as Sa labhasana (Locust Pose) ,Purvottanasana ( Upward P lank Pose), and V irabhadrasana III (Warrior Pose III), in your asana practice. Bu ild ing muscl e s trength a lso streng thens the tendons o f th ese muscles. However , if you have an ex isting hams tring injury, be sure to in troduce these poses gradua ll y. The Path to Hea ling: If your injury is ne w, es pecial ly if you exper ience a drama tic in jury suc h as a sudden tearing sensa ti on during a ha mstring s tretch, rest and ice th e area immedia te ly. Be s ure to avoid s tressing i t in any way for severa l days be fore in troducing any recovery exercises a t al l. Recovering from an upper-hamstr ing tendon in ju ry typica lly takes a t leas t a year . Th ere are d i fferent schools of though t on ho w to recupera te. Some people sugges t th at you avo id a ll s tretch ing for abou t six weeks whi le s lowly rein troducing very mi ld s trengthening exercises such as tiny prepara tory movements for Sal abhasana and Dhanurasana(Bow Pose). You sys tema tica lly b ui ld up streng th ov er th e next sev eral mon ths, even tua lly add ing p owerfu l streng theners lik e Purvottanasana and exercise s tha t combine s trengthen ing and s tretch ing, such as Sup ta Padang usthasana (Rec lin ing Han d-to-Bi g-Toe Pose), aga ins t resis tance . The key is to avoid any stre tching th at causes pa in to the injured tendon while systema tica lly in troducing s tronger hamstring-streng thening exercises , inclu ding thos e tha t strengthen th e muscle in th e s tretched posi tio n, for several mo nths . You shou ldn ’t rein trodu ce any maximum-power hams tring stre tches, suchs Pas chimo ttan asana (Sea ted Forward Bend), for a t l east a year after your in jury. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) , mod ification - If bend ing forward w ith stra ight legs c auses pain be low one si tting bone , you may have in jured your hamstr ing tendon . To pro tect an in jured hamstring , fold forward into U tta nasana whi le b endin g the knee on the in jured s ide enough to el imina te any discomfort. Th is w il l giv e th e te ndon a chanc e to heal . Con ti nue to stre tch the ha mstri ngs o f th e othe r leg nor mal ly. Supta Padangusthasana (Reclin ing Ha nd-to-Big-Toe Pose) , aga inst resistance - During the later stages of recovery from a h ams tring in jury, you can bu ild s trength whi le stre tching the hams tring muscles mild ly in Sup ta Padangus thasana . Lie back on th e floor through a d oorway or i n the corne r of a room. L i ft one leg at abou t a 60-degree an gle fr om the fl oor and firmly press the heel agains t th e door frame , ho lding for 10 to 30 seconds . Repeat 3 to 5 times . Sacroiliac Jo int The Road to In jury: Suppose you’re one of thos e peop le who finds tha t yoga co mes easi ly to you . You can bend in to most poses wi thou t s tress or s train. One day, wh ile coming out of Janu Sirsasan a, you notice tha t so meth ing feels a l ittle o ff do wn wher e your lower back joins your pelv is. From that d ay on, you frequently have a nagg ing ache in tha t area. It ’s usual ly more annoy ing th an disab ling , and pe riodically it goes aw ay al toge ther, o nly to mysteri ous ly reappear days or even weeks later . These are some of the symp toms o f an uns table sacroi liac jo in t a l ternate ly moving ou t o f al ignmen t and back in a g ain. The sacrum is the bone tha t is sh aped like an u pside-down triang le at the base of the sp ine. On each side o f the sacrum, a roughened sur face makes contact w ith the correspondin g surfac e o f the le ft and right il ium bones , or the " wings " o f the pelv is. T hese are the left and ri ght sacro il iac (SI) join ts. Stron g 11
liga ments ho ld the SI join ts together to preven t the sacrum from tipp ing forward be tween the i li um bones. To get an i dea o f where your SI joi nts ar e, trace your thu mb over the top ri m o f your pe l vis on one side , mov ing back ward un ti l you find the rearmost bony promine nce o f th e i liu m (this is ca ll ed the posterior super ior i liac spine or P SIS) . If i t were possib le to press your th umb forward an inch o r two , deep in to your body , you would be touch ing one of your S I join ts. Yoga stude nts frequen tly deve lop a speci fic pai n pattern tha t’s characteriz ed by a dul l ache ov er an area about the size of a quarter and is cen tered on the P SIS on one s ide o f the body on ly. Si ttin g, forward bendin g, and tw isting move ments o ften make i t worse, and back and side bend ing can a lso be painfu l . Al though no t al l experts a gree an d othe r in juries must be ru led out, many yoga teach ers and health pro fessiona ls bel ieve that this pa in pa tter n is cause d by the misa lign ment o f one o f the s acroiliac join ts . According to o ne the ory, yoga practice (especia lly if it emphas izes forward ben ds, tw ists , and poses that stre tch th e inn er th ighs) can l oosen the su pporting lig amen ts o f the S I j oin ts over ti me, un ti l one side of the upp er sacru m sl ips forward rel ative to the i l ium on tha t side . Becaus e the two irregul ar surfaces no longer si t properly on one ano ther, pr essing the m toge ther tigh tly (as occurs s trongly wh ile sitting) causes pa in . Prevent and Prepare: To preven t th is prob lem from happen ing , be mind ful o f your al ignme nt in different types o f poses. In forward bends , be carefu l to move your sacrum and i liu m forward as a un i t. For example , in Janu S irsasana, move in to the pose by t il ting the il iac crest (pelv ic ri m) of the ben t le g forward toward the foot o f the stra ight leg . Th is makes the i li um push the sacrum along so tha t th e two bones move as one . When your i liu m stops mo ving, do n’ t til t your sacrum any d eeper in to the pose . Likewise , in twis ts, experi ment w ith lettin g the pelvis turn along w ith the sp ine ins tead of kee ping it fixed , so the sacru m and il ium move as a un i t. In forward bends , twis ts, and a ny p ose tha t stre tches your inner thighs , try con tracting the pe lvic -floor muscles . These musc les help ho ld the sacrum in pl ace by pu ll ing the si tting bones toward one an other, thereby squeez ing the i li um bones inward agai nst the sacrum. F inal ly, s trengthen ing musc les of the back w i th poses such as Sa labhasana , and s trengtheni ng the deepest a bdominal muscle ( transversus abdomin is) w ith Pranayama practices such as K apalabha ti (Sku ll Shin ing Breath), help stab il ize the S I join ts. The Path to Healing: If you already have a sac roiliac misa lign men t, the key is to ad jus t the join t back into its proper pos i tion and keep i t th ere. Some health pro fessiona ls know how to manua lly man i pulate the S I join t back in to p lace, but i t o ften pops b ack out soon afterward. Therefore , it’s he lpfu l to learn how to rese t your own S I join t using asana tech niques, bu t it’s best to learn these techn iques from a quali fied instruc tor. The go lden rule for S I-adjus ting pos tures is tha t a correct pose shou ld immed iate ly fee l good on the injured area whi le you practice i t. En ter each pose slow ly, and if i t causes any d iscomfort ne ar th e PSIS , come o ut o f i t righ t away . No t al l poses w ork for a ll peop le, but you need o nly a si ngle on e that works for you . Two exa mples o f poses that he lp some people are the Sa labhasana and V irabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) varia tions shown here. E ither s ide o f the V irabhadrasana I var iation may be h elp ful . Once you have learned to pu t your S I jo int back i nto place , make sure i t is properly loca ted before each yoga prac tice and fo llow the preven tive s teps a bove to keep it there. At the end o f practice , us e your technique a gain , i f needed , to fir mly reset the j oi nt. S ome teachers find tha t taking spec ial care to keep the SI jo in t in p lace at a ll times over a period o f months or even years can make it more sta ble . Salabhasa na (Loc ust Pos e), modificat ion - T his pose may he lp s tab il ize the sacroil iac jo ints . Strap your ankles 8 to 12 inches apart. L ie on yo ur b elly wi th your arms a longside your b ody, pal ms facing up. As you inhale , li ft your arms , l egs, and ch est up . Pu ll ing th e legs s trongly ou tward aga inst the s trap may reli eve sacroi liac sy mpto ms; i t con tracts ou ter hip musc les (glu teus medius and min imus) th at pu ll the il ium bones apart, te mporarily creating a gap between the sacrum and i liu m to give the sacru m the freedom to move back in to pl ace. In troduce this pose gradual ly and back off immedia te ly i f it c auses
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discomfort. Virabhadrasana I (warrior pose I) , var iation - This pose may rel ieve sacroi li ac symp toms by p utting asymme trical forces on the join t. Move in to i t slo wly to make sure it fee ls OK ; avoid it if it hur ts. Take a wide str ide, bend your fron t knee, and p lace a b lock be twee n your knee and the wal l. K eep y our fron t shin vertical , back knee s traigh t, back heel l ifte d, and ches t l i fted . Sh ift your body weigh t and adjust the an gle of your p elv is to find the posi tio n that feels bes t in your sacroi liac area .
“Sometimes our body is w il ling , but our mi nd is w eak. Some ti mes o ur mind is wil ling , but our body is weak. Do no t be a fraid . S trive to exte nd your capaci ty but do no t be d isappo inted w ith yoursel f. Wha t d oes not cha llenge us , cann ot change us .� - B. K. S. I yengar
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YogAfrica
December 2014
THE INVOCATION TO PATANJALI - COMMENTS AND TRANSLATION DR GEETA S I YENGAR The t wo sl oka s (ve rses ) t hat we chant t o i nvok e Lo r d Pat anj al i begi n t he Bhoj av ri t t i , Bhoj ’ s com m ent ary on t he Yoga Sut ras. I t says, f i rst of al l , t hat Lord Pat anj al i i s consi de re d t o be t he i nc arnat i on of Adhi she sha, t he cob ra, w hi ch i s t he seat f or t he L ord Vi shnu, t he ve ry creat o r of t hi s worl d. I t i s s ai d he t ook bi rt h t hr ee di f f erent t i m es, gi vi ng t hree di f f erent sci ences f or peo pl e t o i m prove t hem sel ves. The f i rst i s yoga. yogena ci tta sya padena vacam To puri f y t he m i nd (ci t t a), pu ri f y t he cons ci ousnes s, Pat anj al i gave t he sci ence of yoga (yoge na) t o u s. To puri f y our use of wo rds (pa da) and spee ch (vac ca), he gave a c om m ent ary o n g ram m ar t o us, so t hat ou r use of words and way of speaki ng i s cl ari f i ed, di st i nct and pure. m al am sari rasya ca vai dyakena To rem ove t he i m puri t i es (m al am ) of t he body (sari ra ), he gave us t he sci ence of m edi ci ne (vai dya kena ). yopakaro ttam prav aram m uni nam Let m e go near t he one who has gi ven t hese t hi ngs to us. patanj al i m pranj al i r anato’ sm i Let m e bow down m y head wi t h m y f ol ded hands t o L ord Pat anj al i . Then af t er knowi ng t he wo rk of t hi s Lo rd, t he second st anza say s what L ord Pat anj al i l ooks l i ke. T o do a ny m edi t at i on f i rst t he f orm ha s t o b e i n f r ont of t he eyes. abahu purusaka ram From t he hand up t o t he head he has t he shape (kar a m ) of a hum an (purusa ). sankha cark rasi dhari nam I n hi s hand he i s hol di ng t he conch (sankha ) and di s c (cak ra) sahasra si ra sam svetam On t op of hi s head (si rasam ) he has got a t housa nd (sahas ra ) hoods of t he cob ra, becaus e he i s t he i ncarna t i on of Adi shesha, t he great est cobra. Svet am m eans whi t e. pranam am i patanj al i m I bow down t o Pat anj al i . W e chant so t hat at t he ve ry begi nni ng t hat f eel i ng of sanct i f i cat i on com es f rom i nsi de, wi t h t he f eel i ng of sur rende ri ng ones el f , because not hi ng can be l ea rned i n t hi s worl d unl ess you hav e t he hum i l i t y t o l earn. So t he m om ent you t hi nk of t he Lord [ Pat anj al i ] at t he begi nni ng of doi ng a pr act i ce, you kn ow t hat you ar e ve ry sm al l i n f ront of t hat great e st soul . Once t hat i s u nder st oo d t hen t he ot he r p robl em s whi ch al way s ari s e whi l e p ract i ci ng, m ai nl y concerned wi t h t he ego, wil l be aff ect ed.You know t hat you are “com i ng down” t o l earn som et hi ng. And you can’ t l earn anyt hi ng unl ess you c om e down ; i f you t hi nk you are on t he t op and you k now eve r yt hi ng, t hen you a re n ot a l ea rner at al l . I n t hat sense, t he chant i ng hel ps. W e de ci ded t o ch ant t hese t wo sl o ka s f rom t he very begi nni ng. W hen Guruj i asked us t o pract i ce yoga we st art ed wi t h t hi s reci t at i on. But we di dn’ t do i t i n t he cl asses because when peopl e cam e a s be gi nner s, t hey had t he i dea t hat i t i s a rel i gi ous pra yer of con cer n onl y t o Hi n dus. I t t ook peopl e a l i t t l e whi l e t o unde rst and. W henev er w e had som e publ i c pro gram , a cel eb rat i on suc h as D i val i o r Guruj i ’ s bi rt hday, we wo ul d re ci t e t hese p ray ers. Pe opl e st art ed t aki n g i nt ere st and a ski ng u s what t he p raye r s m ean. W hen i t was unde rst ood, e very body acc ept e d i t . For seve ral year s now we h ave been chant i ng t hese praye rs bef or e cl asses. This explanation of t he invocation to Patanjali is adapted from an interview given by Geeta at RIMYI in 1992 during the C anada intensive. The interview was c onducted by Margo Kitchen and videotaped by Heather Malek, transcribed and edited by Judith M.in consultation wit h Marline Miller.Adapted by Francis Ricks. Thanks to t he Iyengar Yoga Centre of Victoria f or permission to reproduce this article.
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YogAfrica
December 2014 YOGA-KRITYA (SELF-PRACTICE)
FAEQ BIRIA Self-practice is the very founda tion o f yoga and all other paths of inner quest. I borrowed thi s term yoga-kritya from the grea t ep ic o f Ind ia , The Mah abharata (X II. 294.6). It means the yoga practice . The terms that we o ften use for practice are abhyasa and sadhana (which includes tapas). sadh ana conveys generally the idea of " means" and "aid s" and espec ial ly the means and aids for e manc ipation . In the second cha pter o f yoga su tras, Pa tan jal i gives the three fo ld Kriya-yoga as the me tho d of sadhana and th e as tanga yoga as the means to d o sadhana . He ta lks abou t abhyasa in the first chapter. Th i s chapter is mean t espec ial ly for the most vehe -ment yogis. The prec ise descrip tion o f Nago ji Bha tta of abhyasa as "the atte mpts made by yog i aga in and again, to bring back the citta to the sta te of sta bil ity w ith in the stream o f unmoving one-po inted ness , whenever it wand ers outside o f the ob jec t of me dita tio n" shows the i mportan t posi-tion o f abhya sa in the hierarchy of yoga practice . For this reason, some of the trad itiona l commen- tators of yoga s utras like Nag oj i Bha tta h imse lf a nd Rama nanda Ya ti bel ieve tha t abhyasa an d i ts fo llo wing co mpo nent vairagya cannot be practiced by someone who hasn't ye t attained the sta te of C itta-suddh i (purifica tion of the mind). Vacasprti Misra goes even fur ther and de mands the "puri fication o f th e entire personali ty " to become el igi ble for abhyasa . It mus t be based on this view tha t the yog is like Hariharananda Aranya , hav ing mos t probab ly in mind the three works o f Lord Pa tanj al i (tha t we repe at i n our dai ly invocation) cons ider the kriya-yoga as the me thod to reach to a three-fold sa myama : • Tapas as the con trol of th e body • Svadhyaya as the con trol of the speech • lsvara-pranidhana as the con trol o f the mi nd The order of transformation Though I am asked to wri te about asana practi ce, yet I have to cle ar a first erroneous conception which consis ts of considering sadhana as only the practice of asanas and the practice o f asanas only on a p hysica l p lane . In our Guruj i's assessmen t o f yoga sutras , sadh ana means the prac tice o f al l petals o f yoga on physical , physi olog ical , energe tica l, men tal , inte ll ectu al and sp iri tual p lanes , w ith zeal , a wareness and devotion .The oral tradi tion of yoga has se t an evol utive diagram for the n atural trans forma tion of a disciplined adep t, and his evo lution from mil d (mrdu) state to a supreme ly in tense ( tivra-samveg in) l ev el.
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This means th at a yogi o f our Guruji 's attain me nt can engage fu lly his en tire physica l , men tal and spiritua l being in an asana and can get any asana from any layer, from the skin to the innermos t core of his be ing . This idea may look s trange, ev en sh ocking to the ph ilosop hers and they may even ob ject against i t: How can the a tman or purusa , the i mmu table sel f, wh ich canno t be grasped (th e fa mous quotation in Brhad-Aranyaka-Upan isad), wh ich reveals i tsel f only to itse lf, do an asana? The an swer is by reaching to Guruji ly engar's s tandard . Three major princ ip les in the practice of asana s I .The aim and goa l of practice: We must defin e why we are practicing a sequen ce or an asana and we must not forget i t throug hout our practice . "Never lose the s igh t o f the sel f" , s ays a famous yog ic ad age. We must a lso c learly define whe ther the aim o f p ractice is : • to learn? • to conso li date? • to s tudy? • to reach ma turi ty in the asana? 2 2.The persona l mood: The approach to practice is very impor tan t. Acco rding to Bhagavad-G ita , the frui ts of practice de pend upon the spiri t wi th which we un dertake the practice . So me 40 years ago , I read an advice in L inga Maha-purana, that even a fter four decades remai ns fresh in my mind and gu ides me in my da ily p ractice : "The aspiran t mus t under take the practice a lways wi th a good mood" . 3.V inyasa or the proper seq uencin g: It is in dispensab le to respect a proper sequenc i ng to reach the desired asana and to choose a r ight method to rea lise through that des ired asana th e desired e ffec ts or states inh erent to i t. Etymo logic al ly vinyasa means "arrangemen t" , "o rder","pu tting i n" , "p lacing dow n" or "pos ition (of the limbs)". Most probably the term was used in the ancient ar t of jewe lry as th e art o f arranging and positioning the ge ms , and reached yogasastra throu gh Mima msa-darsana. Guruji lyengar defines V inyasa as "a seque nce to reach the ul ti mate or fina l sta te o f asana , wh ere the mind and inte ll igence , alon g wi th energy (prana) and conscious awareness (prajna) are bui lt up with in the sys tem in d i fferen t aspec ts o f human beings sequen tia lly and gradua lly ".Th ere is a great adage attribu ted to a yog i o f old ti mes, Vanan a Rishi : " O yogi , never attend the practice w ith out proper sequencing ". Three stages in the pract ice of an asana The yogasan as mus t be perfor med wi th respec t to the three stages of prac tice o f an asana . In de ed the yog is have d ivide d the practice o f a n asana i nto three s tages 2 , borrow ing two terms from SadLinga 3 for the first and the third stages : I. Upakrama 3 , the beg inn ing, the introduc ti on or : how to en ter into the pose . Vacaspati Misra,V ijnana Bhiksu and Bhoja R aja , all be lieve tha t the word asana has as root "as" (to sit) and define i t as asyate 'nena, tha t is " the p rocedure and way through wh ich one en ters in the pose". Un fortuna tely mos t o f lyengar yoga prac ti tioners fee l on ly concerned by th is stage and o nly on a pure ly physica l leve l. Prashantji o ften ins ists on the fact tha t upakrama must cond i tion the body, th e mind, the inte ll igence and the aw areness to go in to the pose , and to reach the purpose o f it. 2 2. Sthiti, main ta ining or: ho w to stay in the po se. This is the stage where the very effec ts of the asana are created .The s tudents of yog a who visi t Pune an d observe our Guruj i's practice , are amazed to see the stab il ity and the deep in trospective sta te wi th which the master stays in ea ch pose. We can a lmost consider th is s tage as asan a-jaya or the conques t o f the pose . 3. Upasamhara 3 , the end , the conclus ion, the re capitu lation or, how to conc lude the pose .
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How to prepare the body and its components for the practice of asanas Once I have read in one of the Puranas (mos t probably in Visnu Moha-Purana) tha t in old time s the guru, before in itia ting a disc iple into a new asan a, used to give h im proper man tras which prepared the specific par ts o f his body to ge t the pose wi thou t effor t. Prashantj i has s tudied deeply the e ffects of v ibra tions o f Sa nskrit a lphabe t on the body and mind and I am sure that readers who have had the good luck of participa ti ng in his classes have been amaz ed realis ing the powerful effec t o f these vibra tions on their body, breath and mind . 4 In the early 1970s when I was travel ling as a s tu dent o f yoga , I saw in a yoga co mmun ity how th ey fed the aspirants , from chi ldhood , wi th a special di et (with a comp lete ly secret recipe) for about twelve years.This , along wi th three sessions of practice a day, created a full disposi tion in the ir bodies to get the mos t compl ica ted asanas wi th a great ease (I saw the children in the backyard of the mon astery having fun , balanc ing in Kandasana w ith the heel s under the throat!) . I wi tnessed also a Kalar ipay yattu 5 master o f Na ir clan w ho through die t, fu ll res t in a dark room and lon g sessions o f o il massage , create d such a softness in the body tissues of his d iscip les that he cou ld ad just even the sco lio tic spine s, before re-muscl ing the body aga in, curing de formi ty . How Guruji's words ignited in me the reflect io n over the preparation of the body for asan as Two i nciden ts par ticu larly made me th ink o f find ing the way to prepare the body for en tering in a specific asana: During the years when lyengar yoga was beginn ing to be spread in the wor ld, many p eople used to practice w i th Ligh t on Yoga. Some ti mes they used to wri te to Guruj i about their in juries c aused by practice or their fa ilures in ge tting some adva nced asanas. It was a mazing to s ee how qu ickly Guruji used to ans wer the m: i f the injury ca me whi le prac tic ing a pose, i t was because another pose, wh ich was on a lower hier-archy in Ligh t on Yoga, has not been wel l practiced . If one did fai l in getting a new pose , i t was because the preparatory poses in preceding weeks o f the programme have not been we ll mas tered. The second inciden t happened when a sen ior s tuden t of Guruj i asked h im abou t the apparent inc oherency o f some o f the advanced sequences o f L ight on Yoga . G u ru j i a ns w ere d th a t h e could h imse l f go from any pose into any o ther pose through link ing the inner tech-nica l po ints of th e poses, whereas w e shou ld search the li nking a sanas' according to the struc ture o f the poses a nd need s of our body , to comple te the programmes . Guruji's method of prepar ing the body for asa nas This became the beg innin g of a new era o f refle ction for me . Having par tic ipate d for so many ye ars in the classes taught by Guruj i, Ge eta and Prashan t I began to th ink abou t the prepara tions they us ed to give in the ir classes and the ir me thods o f l inki ng . In Oc tober 1989, during a walk o ne very cold e vening in Moscow , Guru ji gran ted me w ith a few prec iou s guidel ines to th ink about the h ierarchy of asan as and about the prepara-tions of the body . Ho wever, i t took me al most e igh t years of prac tice , teachin g and observa-tion to reach to a sa tis fac tory class ifica t ion, approved by Master . 17
Guruji's method of prepar ing the body for asa nas This beca me the beg inning of a new era of re fle ction for me. Having participa ted for so many ye ars in the classes taught by Guruj i, Ge eta and Prashan t I began to th ink abou t the prepara tions they us ed to give in the ir classes and the ir me thods o f l inki ng . In Oc tober 1989, during a walk o ne very cold e vening in Moscow , Guru ji gran ted me w ith a few prec iou s guidel ines to th ink about the h ierarchy of asan as and about the prepara-tions of the body . Ho wever, i t took me al most e igh t years of prac tice , teachin g and observa-tion to reach to a sa tis fac tory class ifica t ion, approved by Master . I had always understood and admi tted wi th humi li ty tha t none of us could be Guruji! He could op en the body and mind o f al l o f us wi th in a fe w minutes with a fe w very wel l chosen poin ts and then h ave us doing the mos t di fficu lt asanas w i th ease , co mfort and p leasure. I wi ll never forge t tha t ho t e vening o f Apri l 1980 wh en he wa lked in and asked us to go d irectly in an in tense vari ation o f Vi pa rita Danurasana.Tha t day he showed us that he cou ld also prepare the body for an asana, through the asana itse lf. 6 In deed, as tol d me once by the la te Vanda Scaravel li ."he d id hi msel f the poses for us, with in us , mak ing us be liev ing that we were do in g them by ourselves" , breakin g th is way our psyc hologica l and menta l barriers. I learned to ponder o ver the pose that I w as going to do or to teach a nd, inspired by Guruji 's sequencings , I star ted to prepare the body gradually through the other simple (and some ti mes more d ifficul t) 7 poses to get that required p ose. Guruji ca lls this method the pra ti loma v inyas a of samputana kriya (ascending sequence of enc asement ac tion) and calls the returning method as anuloma v inyasa . He expla ins very beautiful ly: " This way of chang ing the body , vi ta l energy, mind, senses of perception , and ligh ten ing the in tel li ge nce and "I"-consciousness (ego) is cal led pratil oma vinyasa, w hereas returning from comp l icated to simp le asana and pac ify ing the co mp lete sys te m of the body and consc iousness is ca lled anulo ma v i nyasa.This way , the a lertness of activi ty and pas sivity in the body are increased or decreased, wh ich helps to open the horizon of th e mind ."
...alertness of activity and passivity in the body are increased or decreased, which helps to open the horizon of the mind
Aum Sri Gurubhyo Namah ║ I S ri B .K . S l y engar, A s t adal a Y o gam al a, V ol . 2. 2 S ri P ras hant l y enga r' s art i c l e: ' Our S y s t em ' i n Y oga f or a New M i l l enni um . 3 S ad-Li n ga: S i x m ark s s o be not i c ed i n unders t andi n g of t he V edas . 4 S ee, al s o, t he out s t andi ng res ea rc h work s of S i r J ohn Woodr of f e i n hi s Garl and of l et t ers . 5 T he S out h I ndi an m art i al art , m os t probabl y a s y nt hes i s of Dhanur -V eda an d A y ur-V eda. 6 S ri P ras hant l y enga r. A B C of T ri k onas ana. 7 A c c ordi ng t o P ras hant j i , t he ai m of adv anc ed pos es i s to prepa re bo dy t o get bet t er m ai n pos es .
“Yoga al l ows you t o f i nd an i nner peace t hat i s not ruf f l ed and ri l ed by t he endl ess st res ses and st r uggl es of l i f e. ” ― B. K. S. I yengar, Li ght on Li f e
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YogAfrica
December 2014 BI-LATERAL KNEE REPLACEMENT
JENNY GE DDES My husband and I were involved in a very bad accident in Bo tswana in 200 1 wh ich resul ted in me badly in juring my left h ip, knee and ank le . Over use of my ‘goo d’ leg resul ted in this leg curvin g out badly. In Ju ly last year I consul ted an Orthopaed ic Sur geon in Johannesburg who on ly opera tes on kn ees. He said th at i f he only operated on the one knee the weak leg would no t support me and reco mmend a Bi-lateral Knee replace ment. He to ld me tha t he normally has a cut o ff age of 70 but tha t I wa s fit , strong and very supp le and he wou ld do b oth kne es si mul taneous ly. Over the n ext 4 mon ths I prepared mysel f for th i s major op eratio n by s trengthen ing my upper bod y as the streng th here was needed to l i ft mysel f up fr om chairs etc . A lso the s tretch ing o f the backs o f my knees was most i mportan t – in fac t th is is the ‘s ecret’ to a successfu l knee replace ment, both be fore and after the operation . On the 25 Nove mber of last year wen t in to L inks fied H ospi tal wh ere this rep lacemen t to ok place . After 6 days in hospita l I was d ischarged to a Reha b Clin ic where I was ta ught how to cope. Ho w to sit, how to ge t up from a chair and ho w to use the wa lker and crutches . It is now al most a year since the operation and i t has been a ‘success’ s tory. The bend o f the k nees is 135 degrees and on goi ng for a check-up in J uly the S pecia lis t was so de ligh ted that p hotos were taken of these incredibl e knees. It has not bee n an easy journey, but thanks to Iyengar Yoga over many years and the abili ty to use tha t knowledg e to once again ‘get my l i fe back’. The firs t ti me of stretchi ng on my back could not get up fro m the floor as it was imp ossib le to kneel , but this was o vercome by goi ng up i nto Adho Mukha Svanas ana a nd the n w alk ing up into U tta nasana. Walking is now a pleasure and can manage up to 5 km. There is no longer any pain and no pain killers and an ti- inflammatories are take n. Classes w ere resumed 2 mon ths after the opera tion , bu t i t was wi th great d ifficul ty that I pul led myself up to my stud io using my upper body strength and then teach ing the cl ass sitti ng on a chair. Now nearly al l the poses are demons trated . I wi ll never be able to bend the knees comp lete ly, b ut I am so del igh ted to do mos t thin gs and can even now manage to kneel a lbei t on a bo lster. Namaste
“Yoga al l ows you t o redi scover a sense of whol eness i n your l i f e, where you do not f eel l i ke you are const ant l y t ryi ng t o f it broken pi eces t oget her. ” -B. K. S. I yengar—Li ght on Li f e
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YogAfrica
December 2014 RAYA DATA IN JOHANNESBURG — 5 TO 7 SEPTEMBER 2014
MERRY P ARK and BARB ARA BU NTMA N This was Raya's first v isi t to Sou th A frica a nd i t proved to be mos t success ful . We were al l ver y conscious of the fact tha t it was our first se minar taken by an in ternational teacher s ince the pass ing of Guruji . Dur ing the 3 day course , Raya shared many of his memories of our hon oured teacher with us. He gave us a gl immer of every day l ife at the Ins ti tute , descr ibing how it is poss ible to i mmerse o neself in yoga whi le rema in ing engaged in the world . His devo tio n to Guru ji was obv ious. There were moments when h is feel ings of deep sadness and lo ss were overwhe lming , bu t throughou t, h is treme ndous grati tude to Guru ji for a ll he had shared wi th hi m was ev iden t. It gave us the oppor tuni ty to reflect on the effec t th at Guruji 's passin g has had on us , n ot only as ind ividua ls, b ut on the yoga co mmun i ty as a whole . Raya disp layed h is tre mendous hu mi li ty in commenting at the be ginn ing o f th e seminar tha t he di d not presume to teach us, partic ularly as we were an unknown group o f s tuden ts o f div erse capabi li ty . H is skill lay in his abi li ty to gu ide us , to a llo w us to explore for ourselves our own po ten tia l , and to challenge ourselves in the sa fe ty of his gu idance . He encouraged us to observe ourselves in the a sanas. Using the analogy o f a sca ner, he gu ided us to ' scan' our o wn body , to take note o f the ini ti al po se, to become su fficien tly aware ourselves of the ad ju stmen ts necessary to i mprove that pose, and th en to 're-scan' the asana , enc ouraging us to take own ership o f our p erformance , rather than merely o bserving h is ac tions and 'co pying ' them. He d id no t bo mbard us wi th many and varied pos es bu t ins tead , over th e 3 days, incremen ta lly bu il t up our understa nding o f the ac tions involved in car rying ou t the pose , as we ll as increasing the in tensity with wh ich tha t particular p ose w as done . Raya used many and var ied analog ies - phys ical , sens ory and i nte llec tual . These help ed br ing a wareness and understand ing to our in terpretation o f the poses. He c ompared an asana to a free-sta nding sculpture that h as a particular, objec tive sha pe and form. He presen ted hi msel f as our gu ide, e ncouraging us to see beyond the purely phys ical s ta te of tha t pose an d help ing us to respond/re-act ind ividually an d subjec tively to it. He encouraged us to challe nge our fears of the unknown using the s imp le action o f s teppi ng back in to a pose ins tead o f al ways s tepp ing forwards in to i t. He introduced u s to a further 3 sets of 'eyes' over and above the physi cal eyes, descri bing the way in wh ich they assis t us in observing, v isual ising and a lign ing our poses . He wove these threads and concep ts througho ut the course of the 3 days - and , through h is mul ti- fac ted repetition , i t was possib le for each and ever y student to achieve so me level o f und erstandi ng and to take some thin g meaning fu l a way wi th h im/her. He was adamant in h is encourage ment that we respect and va lue our own teachers and th at we acknowledge th eir cons istent and constan t role as they support and guide us . With his ex tens ive knowl edge and understa nding o f yoga, h is relaxed and easy manner , his won derful sense of humour an d h is ex traordinary abi li ty to recount a good s tory, Raya proved to be an ex cellen t teacher - a nd a l ink between the past, the presen t and the con tinuation of the Iyengar Yoga syste m.
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YogAfrica
December 2014 TRIBUTE TO TWO SPECIAL LADIES
At our l ast Assessm ent Com m it t ee AGM bot h Gi l l i an Bacon and Pat Deacon st epped down f rom m any year s of Com m i tt ee work. Bot h Pat and Gil l have worked t i rel essl y f or t he I nst i tut e i n di ff erent l eadi ng f unct i ons f or over t hree dec ades eg Nat i onal Chai rperson of Cent ral Com m i t t ee, Chai rperson of t he Assessm ent Com m i t t ee, Regi st rar of Assess m ent Com mi t t ee, and Regi onal Chai r, Regi onal Secret ary and Trea sure r and gene ral dogs body! They opened t hei r hom es f or m eet i ngs and gat he ri ng s and host ed t eacher s and f el l ow st udent s on m any occasi ons. They were bot h i nt i m at el y i nvol ved i n draf t i ng our Const i t ut i on, whi ch i s so hi ghl y regarded wo rl dwi de. Pat ’ s husband Dave and Gi l l i an’ s husband Bri an are bot h cal l ed –The Si gni f i cant I nsi gni f i cant Ot her – f or t hei r m any cont ri but i ons t o t he SA I nst it ut e. Bot h Pat and Gil l wi l l cont i nue t o be Teacher Trai ne r s and Assesso rs. Now t hat t hey have graci ou sl y passed on t he rei g ns, t he chal l enge t o t hose of us f ol l owi ng i n t hei r f oot st eps i s t o m at ch t hei r consi st ent dedi cat i on, no easy t ask! W e t rust t hat Pat and Gil l wi l l share t hei r ri ch experi ence when requ est ed. I am sure I speak f or al l of us, m em bers of t he I yengar Yoga I nst i t ut e of SA t o say
Thank You Pat and Gillian f or al l your m any hours and y ear s of work t o m ake t he I nst i t ut e f unct i on so wel l . And especi al l y f or runni n g t he Teacher t r ai ni ng i n such a di sci pl i ned m anner and f o r m ai nt ai ni ng t he hi gh st andards. You are t he m ost wonderf ul rol e m odel s. The I yengar Yoga Com m uni t y of SA owes you bot h a debt of grat i t ude t hat cannot be repai d. But perhaps t he oppo rt uni t y t o serve i s a prof ound bl essi ng i n i t sel f f or whi ch we can al l be grat ef ul i n our di f f erent ways.
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YogAfrica
December 2014 CONGRATULATIONS
The fol lowi ng teachers were success ful in passi n g the ir In termedia te Junior Level 1 assessmen ts i n November 2014 . Gauteng Yvonne de Bruin Pravina R anchod Rhonwen Harford Mozambique Toni Geyve Western Cape Riva Hirschow itz Esmé de Wet Southern Cape Paula Vi ljoe n We wish the m al l the best as they con tinue their yoga journey and may al l tha t they do be success ful !
“Breat h i s t he vehi cl e of consci ousn ess and so, by i t s sl ow m easured obse rva t i on and di st ri but i on, we l earn t o t ug our at t ent i on away f rom ext ernal desi re s t oward a j udi ci ous, i nt el l i gent awareness. ” - B. K. S. I yenga — Li ght on Lif e
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YogAfrica
December 2014 COURSES VISITING INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS
2015: Corine Biria: Cape Town: Johannesburg: Firooza Razvi: Johannesburg:
28 Feb — 04 March 07 — 08 March General Classes: For teachers only:
03 — 04 October 06 — 10 October
YOGA RETREAT WITH BRIGITTA TUMMON
YogaPoise Retreat 2015 May 22-24 August 7-10 November 13-15 Bodhi Khaya Retreat Centre, Gansbaai with Brigitta Tummon for info: brigitta.tummon@gmail.com
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YogAfrica
December 2014 IYENGAR YOGA IN OUDTSHOORN
The BKS Iyengar Yoga Centre, Schoemanshoek, Oudtshoorn, Klein Karoo South Africa December 2014
This Centre is dedic ated to the teachings of S ri B .K .S .Iye ngar Welcome to the B KS Iyengar Yoga Cen tre, nestle d in the bea utifu l and tranqui l Schoema nshoek va lley on the way to the famous C ango caves. Surrounded only by na ture and the majes tic Swartbe rg Mounta ins , the C entre o ffers the comp lete yo ga experience. O ur ful ly equ ipped Cen tre is des ign ed to give the Iyengar yoga practitioner th e opportunity to exper ience h igh-qual ity yog a tu i tion in a peaceful and pris tin e setting. Dav id and I are active ly invo lved in the teacher’s train ing progr am for bo th In troductory and Jun ior Interme dia te lev els. Train ing is do ne as a se mester-style program – more deta ils ava ilab le. For in forma tion abou t the 3 & 6-day retreats , regular workshops and our res identia l teachers tra ining program, please v isi t our webs ite, wh ich has been speci fica lly des igned to g ive you a compr ehensive p icture o f w hat the Yo ga Centre has to o ffer . The Schoe manshoek val ley offers a varie ty of su itab le accommodation to co mple te the exper ienc e. The town of Oud tshoorn comp li men ts this qu ie t, rural env ironmen t and George airport is a me re 65kms aw ay.
More abou t us a t h ttp://www .iyengaryogawi thdav i d.com h ttp ://w ww .iyengar-yoga-seq uences.com Upcoming retreats SUMMER: Fr iday ,14 t h February 2015 — Wednes day, 18 t h February 20 15 AUTUMN: Su nday, 22nd March 2015 — T hursda y, 26th March 2015 (Congo v isitors) WINTER: Saturday , 1 3th June 2015 — Wednes day, 17trh June 2015
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IYEN GAR Y OGA PR ANA YAMA C LASS ES
WITH JUDY FARAH
“Pranayama removes the veil covering the light of knowledge and heralds the dawn of wisdom” Sutra 11.47 Pranayama, the 4 t h Li mb o f yoga, is the science of the breath . Regular prac tice o f Pranaya ma is as essen ti al as a regu lar Asana practice . On Sa turday 24 t h January 2 015, I w il l start a new course (1 Sat. per mo nth) of Pranayama Sad han a; In the L ittle Glen , Camps Bay . This beau ti ful , peace ful space al lows for quie t a nd focuse d Yo ga Sa dhana (practice). (Please d iarize the fol low ing da tes for your conv enience 24 t h Jan; 21 s t Feb ; 28 t h March ; 18 t h Apri l; 23 r d Ma y; 20 t h June; 25 t h July ; 29 t h Aug ; 26 t h Sep ; 31 s t Oct; 28 t h Nov .) The c lass runs from 0 8h30 – 10h00 ; A ll leve ls o f practitioner are mos t welco me. For further de tai ls and book ings please con tact J udy on 082 825 6792 or e mai l judy@yogasou tha frica .com www.y ogasoutha frica .com IYEN GAR Y OGA AT B UDH IST RET REAT CE NTR E, IX OPO
WITH JUDY FARAH 26 June to 2 July 2015 This magni ficent Re treat Cen tre in KwaZu lu-Nata l o ffers a p eacefu l sp ace for the heart and so ul to open up to some qu iet and focused Y oga Sadhan a. It ca n be done in two sections: 1
Begin ning Friday eveni ng 19h0 0, 26 t h June to Sunday lunch 28 t h Ju ne
2
B eginn ing Friday evening 19h0 0, 26 t h June to Thursday lunch 2 n d July . (Friday Di nner is served at th e B RC at 17h30)
The re treat w il l cons ist o f Asana (Pos tures) and Pranayama (breathing), wh ich wi ll bu ild up over the course of the 7 days . Al l levels o f prac ti tione r are mos t welco me. For further de tai l an d book ings please con tact th e BRC on 039 8341863 or e ma il brcixopo@fu turene t.co .za. Check the web si te http ://w ww.brc ixopo.co .za
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YogAfrica
December 2014 NOTICES
Newsle tter comp iled and ed ited by Riva H irschow itz . Typesetting by Stra tford Cann ing. Our sincere thanks to a ll who took the time and made the effort to con tribu te to the con ten ts o f this magaz ine . Anyone w ishing to con tribu te arti cles, pho tos, in forma tio n or s uggestions to th e newsle tter may contac t our ed itor : Ph 082 782 8275, ema il : r iva.h irschowi tz@g mai l .com
“W e m ust creat e a m arri age bet ween t he awarenes s of t he body and t hat of t he m i nd. W hen t wo part i es do not cooperat e, t here i s unhappi ness on bot h si des. ” –B. K. S. I yengar—Li ght on Li f e
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