Yoga Samachar fall/winter 2015

VOL. 19 NO. 2

Fall 2015/Winter 2016

WOMEN’S HEALTH: MONTHLY CYCLES AND LIFE CYCLES PLUS: INTERVIEW WITH ABHIJATA 2016 IYNAUS CONVENTION PREVIEW PRASHANT’S A MANUAL ON HUMANICS

CONTENTS

YO G A S A M A C H A R ’ S M I S S I O N

Letter From the President – Michael Lucey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Yoga Samachar, the magazine of the Iyengar Yoga community in the United States and beyond, is published twice a year by the Communications Committee of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS). The word samachar means “news” in Sanskrit. Along with the website, www.iynaus. org, Yoga Samachar is designed to provide interesting and useful information to IYNAUS members to:

News From the Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Interview: Abhijata on the Iyengar Women, Ancient Yoginis, and Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Practice of Women During the Whole Month – Geeta S. Iyengar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Accommodating Pregnant Women in General Classes – Chris Saudek and Rachel Frazee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Promote the dissemination of the art, science, and philosophy of yoga as taught by B.K.S. Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar, and Prashant Iyengar

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Communicate information regarding the standards and training of certified teachers

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Report on studies regarding the practice of Iyengar Yoga

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Provide information on products that IYNAUS imports from India

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Review and present recent articles and books written by the Iyengars

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Report on recent events regarding Iyengar Yoga in Pune and worldwide

Ramamani Iyengar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

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IYNAUS BOARD MEMBER CONTACT LIST

Be a platform for the expression of experiences and thoughts from members, both students and teachers, about how the practice of yoga affects their lives

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Present ideas to stimulate every aspect of the reader’s practice

Twinspiration or The Posture of Motherhood – Tori Milner . 17 Breast Health and Yoga – Bobby Clennell . . . . . . . . . . 19 Taming “The Change” With Yoga – Bobby Clennell . . . . . 22 The Important Pelvic Floor – Jaki Nett . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Yoga and Science Part II: Layers of Utthita Trikonasana – Siegfried Bleher and Jarvis Chen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2016 IYNAUS Convention Preview – Michelle D. Williams

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Musings: What Is Enough? – Denise Weeks . . . . . . . . . 39 Book Review: Prashant Iyengar’s A Manual on Humanics – Gary Jaeger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Classifieds

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Treasurer’s Report – David Carpenter

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Fall/Winter 2015 Lynda Alfred lynda@montrose.net

Kathy Simon kathyraesimon@gmail.com

Cynthia Bates cynthiabates88@gmail.com

Eric Small ericsmall@yogams.com

Leslie Bradley certification@iynaus.org

Nancy Watson nancyatiyanus@aol.com

David Carpenter dcarpenter@sidley.com

Denise Weeks denise.iynaus@gmail.com

Alex Cleveland clevelandalex@yahoo.com

Stephen Weiss stphweiss@gmail.com

Michael Lucey 1michael.lucey@gmail.com

Sharon Cowdery (general manager) generalmanager@iynaus.org

Tori Milner torimilner@yahoo.com

Contact IYNAUS:

Anne-Marie Schultz Anne_Marie_Schultz@baylor.edu

P.O. Box 538 Seattle WA 98111 206.623.3562 www.iynaus.org

YOGA SAMACHAR IS PRODUCED BY THE IYNAUS PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Committee Chair: Tori Milner Editor: Michelle D. Williams Copy Editor: Denise Weeks Design: Don Gura Advertising: Rachel Frazee Members can submit an article or a practice sequence for consideration for inclusion in future issues. Articles should be well-written and submitted electronically. The Yoga Samachar staff reserves the right to edit accepted submissions to conform to the rules of spelling and grammar, as well as to the Yoga Samachar house style guidelines.

Submissions must include the author’s full name and biographical information related to Iyengar Yoga, along with email contact and phone number.

Submission deadline for the Spring/Summer issue is Feb. 1.

Submission deadline for the Fall/Winter issue is Aug. 1.

Please send queries to yogasamachar@iynaus.org one month prior to these deadlines.

Advertising Full-page, half-page and quarter-page ads are available for placement throughout the magazine, and a classified advertising section is available for smaller ads. All advertising is subject to IYNAUS board approval. Find the ad rates at www.iynaus.org/ yoga-samachar. For more information, including artwork specifications and deadlines, please contact Rachel Frazee at rachel@ yogalacrosse.com or 608.269.1441.

Cover: Abhijata Sridhar teaching the women’s class at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI). Photo: RIMYI archives

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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IYNAUS OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMITTEES President: Michael Lucey Vice President: Lynda Alfred Secretary: Denise Weeks Treasurer: David Carpenter Archives

Eric Small, Chair Kim Kolibri, Director of Archives Lindsey Clennell, Elaine Hall, Linda Nishio, Deborah Wallach

Certification Committee Leslie Bradley, Chair

Dean Lerner, James Murphy, Nancy Stechert, Lois Steinberg

Elections Committee

Michael Lucey, Chair Lynda Alfred, Alex Cleveland, Anne-Marie Schultz

Ethics Committee

Michael Lucey, Chair Chris Beach, Randy Just, Lisa Jo Landsberg, Manju Vachher, Jito Yumibe

Events Committee

Nancy Watson, Chair Carole Fridolph, Gloria Goldberg, Colleen Gallagher, Suzie Muchnick, Phyllis Rollins

Finance Committee

David Carpenter, Chair Lynda Alfred, Gloria Goldberg, Stephen Weiss

Governance Committee Nancy Watson, Chair

David Carpenter, David Larsen

Membership Committee

Lynda Alfred & Alex Cleveland, Co-Chairs IYACSR – vacant IMIYA – Lynda Alfred IYAGNY – Ed McKeaney IYAMN – Elizabeth Cowan IYAMW – Becky Meline IYANC – Risa Blumlien IYANE – Kathleen Swanson IYANW – Margrit von Braun IYASC-LA – Wendy Alter IYASCUS – Jerrie Crowley IYASE – Diana Martinez IYASW – Carrie Abts

Publications Committee Tori Milner, Chair

Don Gura, Rachel Frazee, Denise Weeks, Michelle D. Williams

Public Relations and Marketing Committee Cynthia Bates, Chair

Ani Boursalian, Rachel Formaro, Shaaron Honeycutt, Louisa Spier, Holly Walck, Nagisa Wanabe

Regional Support Committee

Alex Cleveland & Anne-Marie Schultz, Co-Chairs IMIYA – Lynda Alfred IYAGNY – Ed McKeaney IYAMN – Katy Olson IYAMW – Jennie Williford IYANC – Heather Haxo Phillips IYANE – Jarvis Chen IYANW – Janet Langley IYASC-LA – Jennifer Diener IYASCUS – Pauline Schloesser IYASE – Alex Cleveland IYASW – Lisa Henrich

Letter

FROM THE PRESIDENT

D E A R F E L L OW I Y N AU S M E M B E R S , In an interview he gave in 1982, B.K.S. Iyengar described how, in 1936, he was on a tour with his guru and several other older yogis with the intention to propagate the practice of yoga. The tour was a success, and there were many requests for Mr. Iyengar’s guru to conduct classes. “There were many women in the group who were keen to learn but were reluctant to learn from the elderly persons. In those days, women were very shy even to stand in front of men. So my guruji asked them whether they had any objections to learn from me. As I was the youngest in the group, they readily agreed, but I was nervous. I knew very little of yoga, but the responsibility was great. First I almost became hysterical. Knowing that I was just a novice in yoga, I was placed in a very sensitive situation and yet within myself I thought that I should prove my worth and agree to teach them. This way the inspiration to teach yoga was planted in me by the lady members of Dharwar.” (See Astadala Yogamala, vol. 4, pp. 97–98.)

Mr. Iyengar would have been 17 years old at the time.

When he wrote the preface to his daughter Geeta’s 1983 book, Yoga: A Gem for Women, Mr. Iyengar noted that “The general notion is that Yoga is not intended for women. It is fallacious, and it underrates the moral, intellectual, and spiritual legacies to which women are entitled as much as men… Multitudes of women are seen nowadays who equal and excel men in every faculty. More women can now come forward and strive to attain new heights to enrich Yoga, which is one of our ancient heritages.” Indeed, in the interview from 1982, cited above, Mr. Iyengar notes that “It is a fact that women take to yoga more than men.”

It is now over a year since the passing of this remarkable man, our own guruji. As we slowly take the measure of our loss, we also do well to reflect on the magnitude and the specifics of his achievement, a significant part of which is, of course, the way he welcomed women to the practice of yoga. It seems like fate must have had a hand in the fact that his first students at the young age of 17 were women. He not only welcomed women to the practice, he studied and shared how the practice could be developed to meet different kinds of needs that occur throughout women’s lives. His long essay in volume 8 of Astadala Yogamala on “Yoga: A Saviour in Women’s Life” is excellent testimony to his work in this vein.

At the end of that essay, he cites two famous lines from the Manusmrti, the “Laws of Manu,” an ancient Sanskrit text on religious and legal duties: yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devatah yatretastu na pujyantesarvasta traphalah kriyah “Where women are honored, there the deities are pleased; but where they are dishonored, there all religious acts become fruitless.”

Scholarship and Awards Committee Denise Weeks, Chair

Leslie Freyberg, Richard Jonas, Lisa Jo Landsberg, Pat Musburger, Nina Pileggi, John Schumacher

Service Mark & Certification Mark Committee Gloria Goldberg, Attorney in Fact for Geeta S. Iyengar and Prashant S. Iyengar

Systems & Technology Committee Stephen Weiss, Chair

We live in difficult times, and we have recently lost a great teacher. But his practice, his teaching, his words, and his examples still speak to us and show us a way forward.

I hope you enjoy this latest issue of Yoga Samachar and thank you for your dedication to yoga and your commitment to B.K.S. Iyengar’s legacy.

Ed Horneij, William McKee, David Weiner

Yoga Research Committee Kathy Simon, Chair

Jerry Chiprin, Renee Royal, Kimberly Williams

IYNAUS Senior Council

Michael Lucey, President IYNAUS Board of Directors

Kristin Chirhart, Manouso Manos, Patricia Walden, Joan White 2

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

News IYACSR The Iyengar Yoga Association of California, Southern Region (IYACSR) has broadened its outreach to the community of yoga practitioners in the region and beyond. We have established our website at www.iyacsr.org. Visitors to our website will find a directory of Iyengar Yoga centers in the region, with links to the centers’ pages. The site also includes a web-based application for scholarships, funded by IYACSR. We have awarded $600 in scholarships from online applications already. On the website, students can also register for email announcements of workshops and notable events for the Southern Region.

IYACSR sponsored senior teacher Birjoo Mehta from Mumbai, India, for a four-day workshop over Labor Day weekend, Sept.

4–7, 2015. Birjoo taught asana, pranayama, and pancamahabhutas (the five great elements). Birjoo last came to San Diego in May 2013 as lead teacher for the IYNAUS Convention, Sarvabhauma Yog.

FROM THE REGIONS

Gurukulum ashram in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the puja ceremony included chanting and the formal installation of the new idol on a plinth in the new space. This Patanjali had auspicious beginnings, created by Guruji’s personal stone carver in India and blessed by Geetaji at her 2014 Yoganusasanam convention last December.

The celebration of Guru Purnima is a salute to our teachers, from Patanjali to the Iyengars, and an acknowledgment of all the teachers in the lineage. This intention shaped all the events of the afternoon and evening, beginning with a special benefit class for all levels taught by senior teacher James Murphy and faculty members Tori Milner, Kavi Patel, and Richard Jonas. The class drew on the sequence sent by Geetaji for the celebration of International Yoga Day. There were refreshments and then a puja ceremony with chanting and blessings. The evening concluded with a screening of Atma Darsana, a 2004 documentary about the life and work of B.K.S. Iyengar. ­—Richard Jonas

Brooklyn Class for the Intellectually Disabled Since May, the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Brooklyn has held a class for an organization called Brooklyn Community Services that shares the same floor. Every week on Wednesday afternoon, a group of 10 participants with a range of intellectual disabilities walks through the long hallway that connects our space. They remove their shoes and socks and are full of anticipation for their one-hour class. With nametags on, they eagerly claim their preset mats and the fun begins.

Birjoo Mehta teaches in San Diego.

IYACSR also recently sponsored two members’ workshops.

Intermediate Junior III teacher Sunny Keays taught “The Koshas” in May 2015 at San Marcos Iyengar Yoga Studio.

Intermediate Junior I teacher Nancy Phillips taught our fall members’ workshop at Radiance Yoga in October 2015. This was the first time that a members’ workshop was held at a studio that does not teach strictly Iyengar Yoga. The board approved this venue because it provided an opportunity to share Guruji’s teaching and method with a broader audience.

IYAGNY

Iyengar Yoga Institute of Brooklyn Celebrates Guru Purnima Students and teachers alike gathered at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Brooklyn for Guru Purnima on Saturday, Aug. 1. The celebration marked the special blessing of the association’s newer institute and a welcome for its new idol of Patanjali.

Conducted by Pandit Ravichandran from the Arsha Vidya Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

Each week brings different students—although many take the class again and again. We program a rotation of teachers to keep the students and faculty engaged with the program. As one of the teachers in the program, I do not exaggerate when I say that teaching this group is a highlight of my week. These folks have, on average, a first-grade level of intellectual ability, so it is a challenge to make it both simple and accessible. More than making sure they “get it right,” we find creative ways to present the postures and get them to aim in the right direction and pay attention along the way.

This is one of the only physical activities they engage in all week through their day program. It is gratifying to see their progress. The physical challenges that may come along with their conditions, as well as chronic tension and tightness in certain parts of their bodies, can make everyday movements difficult. Giving them an experience of supported chest-opening, even for a short duration, in poses such as Supta Baddha Konasana and supported Savasana make a profound impact on soothing their nervous systems. In one session, after Savasana, a young man sat up and exclaimed, “The room looks different. It got bigger!” I smiled and said, “The room is the same; you got bigger inside! That’s how yoga works!” He looked 3

as though he would burst with happiness, and said, “Yeah, I got bigger on the inside!”

The program is guided by association director and senior teacher James Murphy. Program faculty include Naghmeh Ahi, Eve Holbrook, Tori Milner, Tzahi Moskovitz, Kavi Patel, Dan Truini, and Susan Turis.

—Tori Milner

IYALA The Iyengar Yoga Association of Los Angeles has had a busy year, but then time seems to fly from season to season. Most recently, we had a wonderful Guru Purnima lecture by renowned Vedic scholar and spiritual advisor Phil Goldberg, professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He spoke on the history of the “Vedic transmission” from the east to the west via the United States, beginning after the Enlightenment in the early 1800s. His talk drew from his book, American Veda, which he brought and signed for attendees.

IYALA held a Sraddhanjali (tribute) celebration for the one-year memorial of Guruji on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Institute. Los Angeles Institute founder and IYNAUS board member Scott Hobbs and senior teacher Lisa Walford spoke on the meaning of the celebration and on the impact Mr. Iyengar had on the teaching of yoga and on individuals using his methods. They also spoke about and introduced the next generation of Iyengar family members who are carrying on the work begun by their father. A community gathering and feast ensued.

The Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles has hired a general manager, Erica Marie Liscano. She began work on Aug. 4 and is busy helping the staff, teachers, and board strengthen its mission and service to the community. Welcome to Erica!

The Los Angeles Iyengar Yoga community was also proud to host the Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics teacher education course at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles in February and July. Teachers traveled from all over the U.S. and even from other countries to study for three intensive days with Manouso Manos and other senior teachers. This is an important new initiative under the leadership of Manouso Manos, Gloria Goldberg, Marla Apt, Lisa Walford, and Eric Small.

The Iyengar Yoga Institute also continues to host “Weekends with Gloria,” where the public is welcomed in to one of the afternoon sessions. We are very happy to be of service to the teacher community.

IYAMN One of the goals of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Minnesota (IYAMN) has been to support the Iyengar Yoga community throughout our region beyond the Twin Cities. In the spirit of outreach, this year IYAMN hosted its annual celebration of Guru Purnima day in Decorah, a beautiful small 4

town in rural Iowa. Decorah is home to a thriving yoga community, and local students were joined by practitioners from across our region, including the Twin Cities, Fergus Falls, and La Crosse. Around 50 students attended class with senior teacher Chris Saudek in a lovely dance studio on the Luther College campus. Local Iyengar Yoga teachers offer classes on campus as part of the college offerings. The day concluded with a shared meal catered by Luther College.

The day was a great success, and the Decorah community did a great job organizing and hosting the event.

Another goal of our association is to bring senior teachers from outside of our region to teach local students. In June, John Schumacher visited us from Washington, D.C., for a weekend of instruction. Throughout the weekend John shared his deep knowledge of the Iyengar Yoga tradition with us. He shared anecdotes and teachings from his many years of traveling to Pune and studying with Guruji. In the fall, we once again hosted Mary Obendorfer and Eddy Marks in the Twin Cities for a weeklong workshop.

Our association has a good foundation of offering workshops and yoga days to local students. As part of our efforts to highlight the senior teachers in our association, Chris Saudek taught a one-day workshop in September. Our goal now is to continue to seek new avenues for supporting and strengthening our association across our entire region. We are working on a new Web presence that is mobile-friendly and that will be a good resource for promoting the practice of Iyengar Yoga in our region.

IYAMW The Iyengar Yoga Institute of the Midwest (IYAMW) is proud to have a lively and productive group of board members including Sue Salaniuk, Lorene Zant, David Larsen, Alicia Rowe, Annie Melchior, Alex Hansen, and Kelly Sobanski. Our committees include Events, Scholarship, Social Media, Nominations, and Membership.

Alex Hansen is our newly recruited social media artist and his first project has been posting a sequential “Daily Sutra” since April 1 on Twitter. We are halfway through all the sutras now and just about to start the exciting and sublime third pada. This is on our Twitter account: Iyengar Yoga Midwest (@IYAMidwest).

A visual image is included many times, and these creative depictions allow viewers to see the sutras in a new light and further explore their meanings through art.

To keep up with IYAMW workshops, scholarships, and news and to see artistic philosophical musings, please “like” us on our Iyengar Association of the Midwest Facebook page, follow us on Twitter at Iyengar Yoga Midwest (@IYAMidwest), and visit our website: www.iyamw.org On Sept. 25–26, the fall retreat was held in St. Charles, Illinois, at Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

IYANC The Iyengar Yoga Association of Northern California (IYANC) celebrated its one-year anniversary in its new location in San Francisco this past May. The move has brought new energy and vibrancy to our community and teachers but has also come with a significant financial responsibility to pay back the construction loan. So far, we have surpassed our expectations in terms of new classes and well-attended workshops at the new Institute, but we know we can do even better!

2015 IYAMW Iyengar Yoga Retreat

the beautiful Q Center. Senior teacher Laurie Blakeney and Intermediate Junior I teacher Debra Johnson led classes and inspired us to ignite the flame of devotion within ourselves. The annual retreat is an opportunity to spend an entire weekend immersed in asana, pranayama, book studies, sutra studies, quiet times of reflection, and bonding moments with friends.

The theme this year was “Luminosity,” inspired by a quote from The Art of Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar: “As one sees the invisible electricity in the form of light, the yogi too sees the invisible soul in the form of the visible body through perfect yogic performance. In this state he is alone, clean in body and mind, with focused attention and will, ripe in intelligence, simple and innocent in nature. He is full of delight in the tranquility of his consciousness.”

A book discussion was held about The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twin Eng. And new this year, Sue Salaniuk and David Larsen facilitated a philosophy discussion for those of us who wanted to dive deeper into the Yoga Sutras. In particular, we discussed Sutra I.47 and commentary from The Tree of Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar: “When an object is held against a flawless crystal, it reflects without refractions. Similarly, when the consciousness is cleansed from the clutches of thought-waves, it becomes highly sensitive, stainless, and pure and absolute as the seer.”

IYAMW awarded two full scholarships to members for attendance at the 2015 IYAMW Fall Retreat. IYAMW scholarship awards are based on financial need and dedication to Iyengar Yoga and are available to certified teachers and general members. The IYAMW scholarship committee’s upcoming projects include development of grant opportunities for IYAMW members who seek funding for community outreach projects.

All proceeds from our annual retreats are put into a scholarship fund to support future opportunities. For information about our retreats, please see our website: iyamw.org.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

In March 2015, we had our Annual Meeting of the Membership during which we had our first formal election of board members in many years. We had 98 members in attendance and doubled our board members with five new people stepping up to volunteer their time to serve with the association. Our new board is made up of seriously committed practitioners of Iyengar Yoga who also have needed and valuable professional skills to help us build and grow our organization. The new board of directors (iyisf.org/about/leadership) has been working hard to create a more financially stable organization as well as develop plans to expand, improve, and grow.

In an effort to improve our class schedule, attract more students, and increase revenue, our Programming Committee, made up of a combination of board members and certified teachers, developed a new schedule of classes with consistent times, regular options for beginning and intermediate students, and clearer class descriptions. We are also looking into ways to enhance our teacher education program and develop new programming focused on building students’ practice and “studentship.”

IYANE Along with Iyengar Yoga communities all over the world, the Iyengar Yoga Association of New England (IYANE) observed United Nations International Yoga Day on Sunday, June 21, 2015. Our festivities began with a “participatory demonstration,” during which teachers and students were invited to take part in an asana improvisation for 10 minutes, each person playing off one another and creating a shifting tableau of asanas with a joyful and meditative atmosphere. Leslie Freyberg then led us in chanting the second pada of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This was followed by an asana class in which New England teachers Roni Brissette, Claire Carroll, Jarvis Chen, Willamarie Moore, Nadja Refaie, Kathleen Swanson, Nancy Turnquist, and Manju Vachher guided us in the sequence given by Geetaji for Yoga Day. The practice sequence ended with a deep and profound Savasana led by Guruji himself in a recording from the 2005 Estes Park Convention. To hear Guruji’s voice leading us in Savasana was a tender and precious experience indeed!

Together, our community raised over $500 in donations to support IYANE scholarship programs.

IYANE members across our region marked the one-year anniversary of Guruji’s death on Aug. 20. At Patricia Walden’s 5

scholarship offerings, and we look forward to being able to announce new scholarship initiatives in the coming year. Our association is also eager for volunteers to help organize special events and workshops and for writers to submit articles and essays to our bi-annual magazine, The Beacon.

IYANW

IYANE International Yoga Day celebration

suggestion, many of our members devoted themselves to quiet reflection and practice on this day, pausing in gratitude to recognize the profound influence that Guruji has had on our lives, our practice, and our teaching. As we did last year just after Guruji’s death, many Boston-area Iyengar Yoga teachers gathered for a small Sraddhanjali gathering at the Brookline yoga studio of Manju Vachher.

This year’s Annual General Membership Meeting took place on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015, at St. Mary’s Church in Cambridge, Massachusettes. Patricia Walden taught a free class for IYANE members, followed by the General Membership Meeting. The evening concluded with an Indian dinner and a celebration of Guruji’s birthday.

IYANE is currently working on a much-needed redesign of its website. Visitors to the new and improved website can look forward to a sleeker and more user-friendly design, the ability to submit scholarship applications online, teacher listings for all certified teachers in New England, and a workshop calendar utility allowing IYANE member teachers to list their upcoming workshops and events. Check out the updated site at www.iyengarnewengland.com.

Our New England community continues to grow, and this year has been a record year for candidates applying for assessment.

The latest group of candidates includes graduates from our region’s Iyengar Yoga teacher training programs (including programs directed by Patricia Walden, Linda DiCarlo, Peentz Dubble, Kim Peralta, and Janice Vien) as well as a number of teachers who are pursuing higher-level certifications. Our association wishes this year’s candidates the best of luck!

A number of teachers and students from our region are planning to attend Geetaji’s Yoganusasanam 2015 intensive in December. IYANE would like to remind its members that scholarships of $500–$1,000 are available to defray the costs of study in Pune at RIMYI. Application information is available at www.iyengarnewengland.com, and all IYANE members are encouraged to apply. IYANE is also working to expand its 6

During the quiet summer months this year, the Iyengar Yoga Association of the Northwest (IYANW) board made some decisions and plans for the future. Our (mostly) new board includes many members who live beyond the borders of the big cities of Seattle and Portland, and it has great enthusiasm for extending the Iyengar Yoga reach to the outskirts of the Pacific Northwest. For this reason and without hesitation, the IYANW Board raised the stipend for teachers willing to teach free member classes in our rural towns for the next year. We’re looking at it as selfless service to our Iyengar Yoga community on one hand, coupled with a motivation to expose the small towns of the Northwest to some great teachers.

This is also an opportunity to extend a helping hand to the many dedicated teachers who have worked diligently to gain expertise by years of study with so many of our amazing senior teachers in the country and abroad. The IYANW Board hopes to expose the next generation of yoga teachers to new students through this program.

In November, Nina Pileggi, Intermediate Junior III teacher from Portland, traveled south to the small Iyengar Yoga community of Ashland, Oregon, and held a member class for about 15 grateful Iyengar Yoga practitioners. We hope this class is the first of many member classes throughout our region in the coming months.

IYASW The Iyengar Yoga Association of the Southwest (IYASW) hosted an Introductory I/II assessment in our region in October. It had been nearly 10 years since the B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Center of Tucson hosted an Introductory I assessment, with Rita LewisManos, Janet McLeod, and Dean Lerner as assessors. The Iyengar Yoga Center at Scottsdale Community College was excited to host this year’s assessors, Sandi Jordan, Glenn Kawana, and Sue Salaniuk, as well as trainee Craig Kurtz and some of this year’s assessment candidates. This was the first time for the Scottsdale Center to host the event, and the warm, sunny desert weather made for an inviting place for the assessors and candidates to spend the busy weekend.

We had our annual and always much-anticipated visits from senior teachers Dean Lerner and Carolyn Belko in October and November, respectively, and IYASW is gearing up to host our second Iyengar Yoga Teacher Meet & Greet event in the spring.

Last year was such a hit that we decided to make it an annual event. We found it was a great way to bring teachers and students from around our geographically large area under one roof to meet new friends, see old ones, and of course, practice!

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

From the upcoming documentary Sadhaka: The Yoga of BKS Iyengar. Photo: Jake Clennell

ABHIJATA ON THE IYENGAR WOMEN, ANCIENT YOGINIS, AND PAIN

F

ollowing in the footsteps of her grandfather, B.K.S. Iyengar, her aunt, Geeta S. Iyengar, and her uncle, Prashant Iyengar, Abhijata Sridhar is now a senior teacher at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune.

She began her studies as a young woman of 16 and is now a mother and one of the world’s leaders in continuing Guruji’s legacy.

For this issue, we asked Abhi a few questions about women and Iyengar Yoga, and here’s what she had to say.

Yoga Samachar: What influence would you say that the Iyengar women have had on the development of Guruji’s method? First, Ramamani, then Geetaji and now, of course, you.

Abhijata Sridhar: My grandmother Ramamani, of course, played a very important role in Guruji’s sadhana, and this Guruji has said. He would ask her to help him in a certain manner during his early days of practice. Her involvement was vital in the early development of Guruji.

Geetaji, of course, deciphered and interpreted Guruji so beautifully. Her influence is invaluable in making people understand the principles of our system. Sometimes, Guruji’s teaching may seem aphoristic for us, and it is because of her that we understand the depth of Guruji’s teachings.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

And about me, I am too raw now to stake a claim on influencing our system.

YS: You have a unique perspective as Guruji’s granddaughter, Prashantji and Geetaji’s niece, a wife, a daughter, a mother, etc.—how do all these facets of your life as a woman influence your own practice and teaching?

AS: Each of these roles may be influencing me in a manner that I still can’t comprehend because I don’t have a bird’s-eye view of it. I was extremely lucky because I had the three masters shaping me simultaneously. I can understand now very well how different it would have been if even one of those was missing. It is human nature to be swayed by what is palatable to us. So, I am grateful that I was positioned by God such that I could receive from all of them simultaneously.

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Each one’s life is his or her own, and the journey is personal. So too, yoga for each one is a personal journey.

As a woman evolves in her body and mind with age, so too her practice evolves. I started yoga as a young girl, and now I am a mother of a girl. In the beginning, my attitude and aims were very different from now. In that sense, there surely is an evolution. Each one’s life is his or her own, and the journey is personal. So too, yoga for each one is a personal journey. It is difficult to say how it evolved. But if you mean to ask the various routes it has taken, it has indeed been a journey from the body toward my inner being.

By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga, impurities are destroyed: The crown of wisdom radiates in glory.

YS: In the past, yoga was passed down from male guru to male pupils. In the West, although it is slowly changing, yoga classes are mainly filled with women. What do you think opened up this channel for women to embrace the practice? Is the same true in India?

AS: Teaching the ladies’ class under Guruji was a phenomenal experience. There were days that I cried; there were days that I laughed. I have learned so much in those classes that I really can’t pinpoint. He taught through the asanas, but what he really taught was yoga. If you ask me as a teacher what I learned, it will be a very lopsided perspective for the readers. You must keep in mind that I was practicing under him, seeing him practice, and also just seeing him be at the same time. So, it was an all-around development.

AS: Well, Lord Shiva taught yoga first to a female, his wife, Parvati. Saubhagya Lakshmi Upanishad has the teachings of Lord Vishnu to Lakshmi. There have been many yoginis (female yogis) in our ancient history. We also know of wives of sages as being practitioners of yoga. Maitreyi, the wife of Sage Yajnavalkya, for example.

In the medieval period, things changed, especially because of the foreign invasions that happened in India. So the women had to be protected and hidden from the aggressive invaders.

Now, women are coming up in all fields. These days, a woman’s multifaceted role brings so much stress that she benefits a lot with the practice of asanas and pranayama. So many women take to yoga these days.

YS: Our lives as women go through so many dramatic changes from puberty to menopause, and yet there is a tendency to want to practice the same way. Can you speak to this and give us some practical advice for the most beneficial aspects of practicing through the ups and downs of womanhood from youth to ill health and old age?

AS: It is wrong if we want to practice the same way throughout our journey of womanhood. Nature has designed us such that our body and mind both undergo changes with time. We have to respect that. Guruji said, “Body is your child, take care of it.”

Wisdom brings a sense of discrimination. So, we should use our sense of discrimination well as students of yoga.

YS: The women’s class at RIMYI is often one of the most difficult. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience both taking and then teaching this class under Guruji’s guidance?

If you are talking about it being difficult in terms of physical performance, we have to understand that our will power and courage is poor, and we think he demanded more than what we could do. He was actually showing us what we really are capable of. That is one of the biggest lessons we can have.

One day, Guruji made me do Virasana with my metatarsals on a steel rod and knees up on wooden bricks. It was painful.

Much as I forced myself to sit down in Virasana, my body seemed to have a mind of its own, and it simply refused to sit completely in Virasana. Guruji said, “Sit,” and I sat. He asked me how it felt. I said, “It is very painful.” He said, “Who is asking you about the pain?” The only response I could perceive was pain, and for Guruji, that held no value. We are trained to look at pain in just one way: AVOID, ERADICATE and GET RID OF PAIN. Yoga should teach us that pain is a very, very different concept.

We look at pain from the point of view of bhoga—pleasure.

Guruji taught us to look at pains that lead to apavarga— emancipation. We are habituated to not even look into that.

He once told me, “You only look to gratify the senses in your asanas. This way, yoga is far, far away from you.”

This has a deeper meaning. As our outlook, motives, and behaviors change from youth to old age, so too our practice has to be shaped so.

Basically, our notion of easy and difficult is not what reality is at all! So, when we say that something is difficult, it simply means we are not used to honestly putting in that much effort.

Patanjali has said it already: yoganganushthanat asuddhiksaye jnanadiptih avivekakhyateh

YS: Thank you so much, Abhijata.

AS: You’re welcome.

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Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

THE PRACTICE OF WOMEN DURING THE WHOLE MONTH

BY GEETA S. IYENGAR

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n 2002 Geetaji toured Europe teaching and lecturing in many countries. On April 29, 2002, she gave a lecture in Czestochowa, Poland, on “The Practice of Women During the Whole Month.” What follows are several key points from that lecture. You can find the full transcript online at www.iynaus.org/research/menstruation-sequence-rimyi .

Click “Practice of Women.”

Everyone’s needs differ; therefore, every woman should have discrimination. Though there is a general practice done during menstruation, such as forward extensions and supine postures and avoidance of all the inversions, yet as a practitioner of yoga a woman should understand her own problems, her weakness and the particular needs of her own body. Regular practice brings a new awareness in her. She becomes sensitive to her body. The body speaks to her whether it wants to rest, wants to sleep. She wants to learn by herself so that the required and corrective adjustments can be made which differ from the routine practice. *** First of all one should know how to generalize one’s practice or how to do the general practice when not menstruating. ... In a general practice session, you need to do standing asanas, forward and backward extensions, lateral twistings, as well as the inversions, as you need to maintain general health. The asanas belonging to these groups will take care of general health such as postural and functional correction of the body.

They will take care of circulation, digestion, excretion, and so on. *** You often avoid the practice of Sirsasana and Sarvangasana, whereas it is Sirsasana, along with the variations such as Parsva Sirsasana, Parivrttaikapada Sirsasana, Sirsa Baddha Konasana, Prasarita Pada Sirsasana and Sarvangasana, with the variations such as Supta Konasana, Prasarita Pada Sarvangasana, Sarvangasana Baddha Konasana, which are very important in order to keep hormonal balance. Just as we take a bath everyday, we eat food, drink water, and sleep at night, similarly we have to practise these asanas every day.

We have to make it a habit to see that in our practice program, even if nothing else is done, headstand, shoulderstand and variations are always done. ***

During Menstruation You avoid Sirsasana and Sarvangasana or any inversions during menstruation because the inversions are a hurdle to the menstruation’s flow. The inversions arrest the flow.

Now as you know that the menstrual blood has to be discarded, you should not hold the abdomen tight. So you have to choose those asanas in which you do not hold the abdomen hard and tight. For example in the supine postures (Supta Sthiti) such as Supta Svastikasana, Supta Baddha Konasana, Supta Virasana, Matsyasana, and Supta Padangusthasana, the abdomen is not hardened but softened. These supine postures are done during menstruation, which relieves you from abdominal grips and cramps. *** Many women and young girls get cramps and abdominal pains during menstruation. Pains in the legs, body ache, heavy perspiration, and fatigue are very common complaints. Supta Padangusthasana II (Parsva Supta Padangusthasana) is done with support to get rid of swelling, spasm, and exhaustion.

Setubandha Sarvangasana done on cross bolsters, with legs either on the floor or elevated, apart or together, helps in individual cases to get rid of abdominal cramps, pain, nervousness, anxiety, fear, neurosis, low blood pressure, mental tension, and so on. *** Now, after supine asanas one should do forward extensions (Paschima Pratana Sthiti). The asanas like Adho Mukha Virasana, Adho Mukha Svastikasana, Adho Mukha Baddha Konasana, Janu Sirsasana, Triang Mukhaika Pada Paschimottanasana, Ardha Padma Paschimottanasana, Marichyasana, Adho Mukha Upavistha Konasana, Parsva Upavistha Konasana, and Paschimottanasana are the main asanas that come under this category. In these postures women are given bolsters so that they rest their foreheads on the bolster. ***

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During menstruation women often get a heavy headache or a migraine. So if you have very heavy migraine, the forward extensions really help. Adho Mukha Svastikasana and Adho Mukha Virasana are the best asanas where women can rest easily, but the forehead has to be elevated to rest on a support and not down on the floor, so that relaxation can be found in the posture. *** After these forward bends there are a few standing asanas known as Uttistha Sthiti which you can do, provided you are not tired and do not tense the abdominal region. For instance Uttanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Parsvottanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana with extension of spine or concave back, help greatly. ... In Adho Mukha Svanasana you can keep a bolster for the head to rest. Adho Mukha Svanasana on the rope too helps, where you move the thighs backward so the abdomen finds more space and the heavy bleeding gets checked. Similarly, Parsvottanasana, done with rope support, brings softness to the abdomen.

The asanas I have listed preserve energy. It is important to understand that during the menstrual period, because estrogen is going up, you feel active and you think that you can do everything.

But the same estrogen that will be reaching its peak in the next four days can be utilized for the right purpose. The subsequent energy fall needs to be avoided. So you should not create an imbalance in the hormones. But if you preserve energy during menstruation, and if you use that energy after menstruation, it will help you improve your yogic sadhana (practice).

Post-menstruation After menstruation comes to an end and the bleeding has completely stopped, you have to see that you begin your practice with Sirsasana and Sarvangasana. You have to start with these asanas which you had omitted during menstruation.

These are the two postures which will bring hormonal balance in the first instance. ... I would suggest you do Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana in Sirsasana and Sarvangasana as well as Supta Konasana. These asanas make the uterus settle back properly. ***

*** You can do Viparita Dandasana and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana using props. These two asanas done with the help of props certainly give the same effect of Sirsasana and Sarvangasana during menstruation. You can keep the legs elevated if it causes backache or any other pain. So you have to understand and do those postures in such a way that the pelvic and abdominal regions do not shrink, do not contract, and you can rest. *** There are many women who also suffer from depression, asthma, cold and cough during menstruation but when they raise the chest upward and open the sides of the chest in Viparita Dandasana and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, then they find they get great relief. *** Finally, estrogen, which is at low level during premenstruation, gradually begins to rise during menstruation, ready for the next part of the cycle. It is this estrogen in the body that makes you active, keeps your mind fresh and makes you recover from fatigue. Therefore during menstruation, in these postures you begin to be more active to bring the estrogen level up higher. In other words, in this way you produce the hormones that bring you to a healthy state.

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***

From the post-menstrual period, gradually increase your practice starting with your standing asanas, lateral twisting, forward extensions, backbends, and so on. This period between menstruation and ovulation is a very good time for everyone to work on backbends, standing poses, balancing, etc. so that the glandular system comes into balance.

Ovulation After 13 days you come to the time for ovulation. When a woman comes to the ovulation period there will be some more changes in hormones. ... These days, 13 to 16 after menstruation, are called the ovulation period. Those who have no problem can keep the practice as it is. But if you are not getting proper menstrual periods or you have a problem with ovulation, or you are not conceiving, then you need to adjust the practice. You have to see that during the time of ovulation you do not do hard work particularly as far as the backbends are concerned such as Urdhva Dhanurasana, Viparita Dandasana, Kapotasana, Vrschikasana, Viparita Chakrasana, and so on. Once again you have to concentrate more on Sirsasana, Sarvangasana, and forward extensions. If you want to do backbends, then you should do them with props. You have to see that you support the pelvic region in all back bending asanas.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Post-ovulation Then 17 to 20 days after menstruation comes the post-ovulation period. It is normal for everyone to feel there is a slight loss of strength during the ovulation period. There is a fall in strength whether women are menstruating normally, or leading towards pregnancy. ... Now you find that, in this period, the asanas are not coming as easily as before. Especially, you find that your body is getting stiffer, you need to put in more effort, and you perspire more than expected. You face a tough time after ovulation. Even athletes and sports women face the same situation. ... This is because estrogen levels come down and progesterone levels begin to rise. ... [At this time, you should] concentrate on inversions, supported back extensions, and Janu Sirsasana, which help to maintain energy. *** Do not be afraid of the increase in stiffness in the post-ovulation period. Instead at this time, if you concentrate more on sitting postures such as Upavistha Konasana, Baddha Konasana, Virasana, Padmasana, Malasana and similarly on Supta Padangusthasana II, you will find the pelvis opening and that means freedom. Even your irritation can be lessened in this way. You can do Ardha Chandrasana, Virabhadrasana II, Utthita Parsvakonasana in order to open the pelvis. You can do it either in a restful way with support or without support.

Similarly, you can do Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana with your leg supported to help pelvic opening. After doing these asanas you can switch over to backbends such as Viparita Dandasana, Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana, Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana, and so on.

During the period of premenstrual tension you feel low in energy, depression, emotional disturbance, imbalance, then do backbends, such as Viparita Dandasana on the bench or chair, Urdhva Dhanurasana and Kapotasana on a chair. These backbends help you to come out of depression and emotional disturbances.

The Monthly Cycle in Balance Know that after menstruation for the first 15 days your body works superbly. It cooperates with you. But for the next 15 days it does not cooperate much, so you have to cooperate with it.

You feel fatigued, angry, heavy, hot, and stiff. For this reason you must bring a lot of adjustments into your practice. So the earlier practice helps the next 15 days’ practice and this practice helps you during menstruation. A proper practice during menstruation helps your body to function properly during the following month.

So it is not a question of doing less or doing more. It is a question of doing the appropriate practice with understanding to face the changes and adjust yourself. A balanced practice is the key for health. *** For more information on how to address specific menstrual issues, refer to Geeta’s comprehensive book, Yoga: A Gem for Women.

Premenstruation In contrast, it is at this period when supine asanas are helpful to those people who begin to get premenstrual tension or premenstrual syndrome. There are quite a few women who feel heavy in the body, heavy in the breasts, get body aches, cold, cough, and even feverish symptoms. These are very common problems before menstruation that disappear after menstruation. *** Often during premenstrual tension you have a headache. You find that you are not able to eat food or not able to digest food; then you have to do forward extensions such as Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottanasana, Upavistha Konasana by resting the forehead on blankets. Do chair Sarvangasana and half Halasana. Avoid Sirsasana and backward extension if you have a headache. But when there is no headache, then certainly do Sirsasana as well as supported backbends.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

***

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ACCOMMODATING PREGNANT WOMEN IN GENERAL CLASSES

BY CHRIS SAUDEK AND RACHEL FRAZEE

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hether a pregnant woman is a brand new beginner or an experienced student, accommodating her in a general class and keeping the class moving along can be a challenge to some teachers. But Iyengar Yoga, with its emphasis on individualized instruction and creativity within an excellent system, is ideal for working with pregnant women in any level class. Of course, it would be most beneficial to have a separate class just for pregnant women, but that is not always possible because of the busy schedules of both the pregnant women and most yoga studios.

It is much easier to accommodate a special need such as pregnancy when the student consistently attends a regular class. The teacher can more easily plan a class and anticipate special poses or setups for a pregnant woman. For example, the first poses that should be learned by pregnant women are Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana, Bharadvajasana I, and Supta Baddha Konasana, which are very beneficial poses for all students, but especially for pregnant women. Pregnant women should be asked to memorize the names of these poses because they will be given as alternatives to certain poses throughout a series of classes. (For example, these asanas will replace the Navasanas and the closed twisting poses such as Marichyasana III and Ardha Matsyendrasana, to name a few).

In Yoga: A Gem for Women, Geeta Iyengar states that “those who have conceived may, for the first three months, practice all the asanas and pranayama given in this book except Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, Jathara Parivartanasana, Navasana, and all asanas from Section VII� (the backbending section). However, she also warns that pregnant women must be careful during the first three months because there are chances of miscarriage during this period. Therefore, even though Geeta does not mention modifying for the closed twisting asanas, such as Parivrtta Trikonasana, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, Marichyasana III, and Ardha Matsyendrasana I, to name a few, we recommend that pregnant women, from the moment they indicate to us that they are expecting, modify for these poses.

Hence, they are instructed to do Utthita Trikonasana and Utthita Parsvakonasana (both against the wall for support), a wide Marichyasana I (see photo 1), or Bharadvajasana I instead of the above.

Some of the syllabi in the IYNAUS Certification Manual can be explored to better illustrate specific accommodations both for the pregnant student new to Iyengar Yoga as well students who have been regular students for some time.

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Chris Saudek, Uthitta Padmasana, 1985

Introductory I Syllabus A pregnant woman at any stage of pregnancy can practice all of the poses listed on the Introductory I syllabus with small modifications. All of the lateral standing asanas should be performed with the back to the wall (or trestle) with a block for the hand for balance and support (see photo 2).

Parsvottanasana and Virabhadrasana I can be done facing the wall with hands on the wall. After the first three or four months, other modifications should be made to ensure more room for the growing baby. Yoga: A Gem for Women and many other books outline common modifications. For poses such as Tadasana, Utkatasana, Malasana, and some of the standing forward bends (Uttanasana, Padangusthasana, and Padahastasana), one will have to take the feet to hip distance apart as the pregnancy progresses past three months.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Marichyasana I should also be done with a wider stance (see photo 1). Also, both the standing and seated forward bends (including Parsvottanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, and Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana) should be done in the concave back position with extra support of a strap, blocks, blankets, or wall to make more room for the growing baby.

Getting into and out of Salamba Sarvangasana as one progresses through pregnancy can be difficult. For this reason, we suggest walking up the wall (see photo 3). Supta Konasana with support (see photo 4) is a nice variation that is relaxing for the expectant mother but keeps space in the pelvic region for the baby. Setubandha Sarvangasana is generally modified by doing cross pillows (see photo 5).

Introductory II Syllabus There are a few more asanas to address in this syllabus. Poses such as Garudasana should be done with the arms only.

Virbhadrasana III needs support of both the arms and back leg (see photo 6). The Navasana poses are replaced by seated poses such as Baddha Konasana and Upavistha Konasana.

Bharadvajasana I or a wide Marichyasana I replace closed seated twists, while Utthita Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, and Ardha Chandrasana are alternative poses for the standing closed twists. Utthita Parsva Hasta Padangusthasana with support (see photo 7) can be done instead of Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana or any part of Supta Padangusthasana. Variations for Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Ustrasana, and Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana on the chair are shown in photos 8a, 8b, and 8c, respectively. Sirsasana can be continued if a student was proficient in the pose before pregnancy with the only modifications being to take support of the wall and keep the legs wider apart (see photo 9). Forward bends should all be done in the concave back position.

does not feel limited to more beginning poses. She can learn to adapt many poses by keeping in mind her comfort as well as making more space for the baby. For example, Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana with support (see photo 10) can be a great relief for pregnant women who get backaches or feel compression in the side waist area. Another option is a standing version of Supta Padangusthasana III done with the use of the wall and a stool (see photo 11).

Relaxation is especially important for the pregnant woman. In the beginning, Viparita Karani (see photo 12) can help to relieve morning sickness. It is a very restful pose, so at all stages of pregnancy, it can be used when a pregnant student begins to show signs of fatigue during class. Savasana, Supta Baddha Konasana, and pranayama with support of bolsters (see photo 13) are all boons for the pregnant woman in the later stages of pregnancy as well as in labor between contractions.

Adjusting poses for the pregnant woman in all levels of classes so that she is safe and well cared for helps her feel confident and positive in her mind and strong in her body throughout the pregnancy. For teachers, it can be a creative endeavor and very rewarding.

Intermediate Junior I and More Advanced Syllabi Of course, the standing asanas with use of support, the concave forward bends, and many seated poses will help a regular student who is pregnant remain strong and free from aches and pains from carrying the added weight. The inversions are important for strength and a peaceful mind. As Geeta has written in Yoga: A Gem for Women, “yogasanas… strengthen the pelvic muscles and improve blood circulation in the pelvic region, they strengthen the reproductive system, exercise the spine, and make the period of confinement bearable.”

Once we come to these syllabi, the same precautions and modifications as previously mentioned apply. From this point on, we assume a pregnant student has been a long-time regular student before pregnancy, knows the names of the alternate asanas, and is able to set up the modifications. It is important to make modifications for more “advanced” poses so that the pregnant woman who has been a long-time student Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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1. A wide Marichyasana I is a good alternative for the closed twisting asanas.

4. Supta Konasana with support is relaxing for the expectant mother and keeps space in the pelvic region for the baby.

2. Ardha Chandrasana (and the other lateral standing asanas) should be performed with the back to the wall (or trestle) with a block for the hand for balance and support.

5. Setubandha Sarvangasana is generally modified using cross pillows.

6. Virabhadrasana III needs support of both the arms and back leg.

3. The wall makes it much easier to get into and out of Salamba Sarvangasana.

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Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

7. Pregnant women can perform Utthita Parsva Hasta Padangusthasana with support instead of Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana or any part of Supta Padangusthasana.

8b. Ustrasana can be modified using a chair, bolsters and blankets, and ropes when available.

8c. Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana is modified over the chair with support for the neck and shoulders.

8a. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana can be modified using a chair or stool.

9. Modify Sirsasana using support of the wall and legs wide apart.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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10. Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana with support can be a great relief for some pregnant women who get backaches or feel compression in the side waist area.

12. During early pregnancy, Viparita Karani can help to relieve morning sickness and is a very restful pose at all stages of pregnancy.

11. Supta Padangusthasana III can be done with the use of the wall and a stool.

13. Savasana, Supta Baddha Konasana, and pranayama with support of bolsters are all boons for the pregnant woman in the later stages of pregnancy as well as in labor between contractions.

Chris Saudek (Senior Intermediate III) is the founder of The Yoga Place in La Crosse, WI and senior teacher there. She is the editor of Yoga During Pregnancy, A Guide for Iyengar Students and Teachers and also produced Yoga Karunta, the Use of Wall Ropes and the laminated cards with suggested sequences for backaches, high blood pressure, the menstrual cycle, headaches, pregnancy, and general restoration.

Rachel Frazee (Introductory II) is a student and teacher at The Yoga Place. Rachel is the model in the photos and gave birth to her second son on July 30, 2015.

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Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

TWINSPIRATION OR THE POSTURE OF MOTHERHOOD

BY TORI MILNER

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gave birth to twins last fall. Witnessing this first year, I am struck by the fact that, among many things, yoga postures are a natural part of our human development. As I watch my son and daughter’s physical progress, I understand where the postures came from and see how they are inherent in our evolution as human beings—starting in a Savasana -like, inert state to rolling, twisting, sitting, popping up on all fours, rocking, crawling, leg extensions, pulling up to stand, squatting, free-standing, and any day now, I am sure to see them taking their first steps.

They inspire me as they literally make monumental strides every day. I feel as though I can see their brains creating new pathways and strengthening the ones that are already there.

They are steady, focused practitioners, never tired of what they have to do to reach what they are aiming for, such as the stove control panel, the cat, or my wall ropes. They are little scientists, performing experiments over and over to see what will bring the desired results. They are artful performers, raising themselves up and lowering themselves down to all fours, moving like modern dancers as they build the confidence to stand on their own two feet. They are natural yogis. They are ever in the moment. They seem to experience the fullness of those moments through their physical form, honing their skills and abilities with each meaningful and purposeful movement.

When I first learned I was pregnant with twins and began to get regular ultrasounds, it became clear that they had different patterns, rhythms, and positions. I always just assumed that twins were “the same,” but right away I sensed that two very different beings were developing. I became aware of how dependent they both were on my body as their foundation for health and life and what a responsibility I had to keep my body a fit home for them until they were ready to come out into the world.

Being only five feet tall and having twins, I grew large very quickly—by the time I was nine weeks pregnant, I was already showing and needed new clothes. The way they were positioned inside put tremendous pressure on my diaphragm and, well, just about everywhere else. Almost immediately, my yoga practice began to change to accommodate my rapid weight gain, the change in my center of gravity, and my feet. Oh my poor feet! I was incredibly swollen by 11 weeks and had a condition called polyhydranimos, which meant each sac was holding more than average amounts of amniotic fluid. I had to bring support to almost every type of pose and slowly found Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

Tori Milner with Jack and Madelyn

that I had to let go of most of the physical postures altogether.

In a twin pregnancy, it is like being eight weeks further along than a single pregnancy, so at five months, it looked and felt like I was ready to give birth, but I had a long way to go. The polyhydranimos also made me seem even further along, carrying so much extra fluid. Standing and seated poses with wall support such as Upavistha Konasana and Baddha Konasana became staples. All of the inversions (even Viparita Karani) put too much pressure on my diaphragm and left me feeling breathless. Lying on my back in any way (even supported) put too much pressure on my vena cava, so I eventually let all of that go for lying on my left side only and doing slow, soft breathing.

The more the babies grew inside of me, the more immobilized I became. I stopped working at 26 weeks.

Although this may sound depressing, it wasn’t! In the 10 weeks at home before the twins were born, I experienced profound silence and peace within the stillness that was imposed upon me. I attribute that ability to remain stable within to the foundation of my yoga practice. My practice became more about a connection with myself and my breath and staying quiet and restful. I felt focused and relaxed as I prepared for their arrival.

The Gift of Patience As many women who have twins do, I had a caesarean birth.

Recovery has been slow, and my ability to discern when I was ready to resume my physical practice—and how much and how rapidly—has been an important part of the journey back to strength and stability. But what is most remarkable to me has 17

Little by little, I revisit poses that I have known well for years. But they are different now, as am I. been the gift of patience and my ability to accept that my life and body are very different now. I was struck in the beginning by how hunched over I became tending to the twins’ needs and how the posture of motherhood, of giving myself over to them, was quite a contrast to Tadasana, but how important and natural this shape was to nurture, guide, and protect them.

So it is no surprise that I started my asana practice after two and a half months with some supported supine poses to open my chest, seated poses to strengthen my pelvic floor, standing poses to strengthen my lower body, and inversions to quiet my mind. Backbends and twists are taking longer to come back because of a common pregnancy-related tearing in my abdominal muscles called diastasis recti. Little by little, I revisit poses that I have known well for years. But they are different now, as am I. It is like going back to a place I used to live with open fields, but now there are shopping centers, highways, and traffic lights, and it’s not so familiar. The old shortcuts don’t exist anymore! I have to learn new pathways, face new challenges, and respect my new limitations—not just physically but also in relation to the presence of two new joyful beings who demand

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most of my time and attention. So I know my asana practice will be short and to the point, or perhaps intermittent throughout the day. I also understand that this is temporary and is appropriate for this time in my life. The babies need me more than I need to practice a certain pose and so, in a sense, that has become part of my practice too. What posture do they need me to take?

To hold them, feed them, comfort them, play with them, etc.

Those are postures too!

It seems the babies and I are on parallel tracks. When they were only able to lie still on their backs, I could just about manage supported Savasana and some quiet, slow breathing.

Now, the mastery they are gaining over their embodiment during this first year of life is truly an inspiration as I attempt to also master the new body that I have. As they grow stronger, so do I. As they gain confidence to try new things, I gain confidence to retry the things I once did without effort. My compassion for the weak, heavy, and frail has grown tremendously in my teaching. I have a firsthand understanding now. I feel so much gratitude that Iyengar Yoga is a foundation in our lives and in our household, and I am eager to share it with them when they are ready.

Tori Milner (Junior Intermediate III) lives in Brooklyn, NY with her partner, Sarah, and their twins, Jack and Madelyn. She teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes of New York and Brooklyn.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

BREAST HEALTH AND YOGA

BY BOBBY CLENNELL

Attention to Breast Health in Pune Students come to the medical classes in Pune to be treated for heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease, vertigo, endometriosis, arthritis, scoliosis, stroke, obesity, and many other problems including those arising from accidents.

In recent years, breast cancer has been added to the long list of diseases handled in the four weekly classes taught by the Iyengar family and qualified teachers. Guruji gave many guidelines for helping breast cancer patients. For instance, in the supported supine poses, students with breast cancer receive a notably soothing psychological response and a therapeutic effect on the blood and the lymph circulation, both of which help build up resistance to disease.

Breast Problem Causes One in eight women in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Even more women experience breast pain or discomfort because of pregnancy, nursing, being overweight (excess fat increases estrogen in the breast tissue), hormone imbalance, the menstrual cycle, menopause, or injury.

Stress ranks high among risk factors for breast discomfort.

Women give much of themselves to their families and relationships. Emotional wounds and losses affect the uterus and the breasts.

Breasts are a part of the reproductive system. Though cyclical breast pain is usually related to the menstrual cycle, emotional stress can affect hormones—no matter where a woman is in her cycle. A recent study found that women who reported being under stress had twice the risk of developing breast cancer as those who managed to stay undisturbed.

Breast Pain and Discomfort Cyclical breast pain—which accounts for nearly 75 percent of all breast complaints—is related to how the breast tissue responds to monthly changes in a woman’s estrogen and progesterone levels. The breasts may feel swollen, painful, tender, or lumpy a few days before menstruation. Breast pain and swelling usually end when menstruation is over. Cyclical breast pain may last for several years but usually stops after menopause.

Noncyclical breast pain is far less common and is not related to the menstrual cycle. Physical activity, especially heavy lifting or prolonged use of the arms, has been shown to increase breast

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

pain when the pectoral muscles, or muscles deep within the chest wall, become sore. Also, arthritic pain can occur in the middle of the chest where the ribs and the breastbone connect.

Exercise According to a dozen studies in recent years, regular exercise can substantially lower the risk of breast cancer. A Harvard study found that young women who exercised most were most protected against breast cancer as adults. Exercise balances insulin levels, delays the onset of menarche, and helps prevent abdominal fat, which increases estrogen. In other words, exercise decreases the amount of estrogen a woman produces during her lifetime. Exercise also encourages restful sleep, which is when the body goes into detoxification mode (and produces the anti-cancer hormone, melatonin).

Detoxing The detox pathways that are stimulated by a regular yoga practice are the skin, liver, colon, lymphatic system, and respiratory system.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system and plays a vital role in fighting bacteria and infection. It is a network of organs (spleen, thymus, tonsils, and adenoids) and vessels, nodes, and ducts. The lymph vessels branch throughout the body similar to the way the arteries and veins do, but the lymphatic system tubes are much finer than arteries. They carry a colorless liquid called lymph, which washes away bacteria.

Lymph nodes—small, soft, oval structures—are connected to each other in chain-like fashion by the lymph vessels and act as filters for foreign particles and damaged cells. The nodes are spread throughout the body and congregate around the edges of the lungs, breasts, and heart, as well as under the arm or in the groin.

The spleen, which is located on the left side of the body just above the kidney, is the largest lymphatic organ. If the spleen detects potentially dangerous bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms in the blood, it creates white blood cells called lymphocytes, which defend against invaders.

The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produces, stores, and releases hormones. These hormones regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood. When everything is in balance, the body functions properly.

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A SEQUENCE TO SUPPORT BREAST HEALTH This sequence is not suitable for women undergoing treatment for, or recovering from, breast cancer. Do not practice this sequence during menstruation.

Practice these poses (and others) to reduce occurrences of benign cysts and periodic breast tenderness.

• Tadasana . Develops correct posture. Provides proper support for the breasts. Brings physical and emotional stability. Calms and clears the mind and nervous system.

• Urdhva Hastasana from Tadasana . Opens the armpits.

• Baddhanguliyasana from Tadasana . Lifts the chest and extends the spine.

• Adho Mukha Svanasana , from crossed ropes. You can also practice independent of the ropes with the hands to a chair seat, or on the floor, forefinger and thumb pressed against the wall. Quiets the mind, restores length to the anterior spine and breasts, and energizes the body.

• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana with hands on the sides of a chair seat. Opens the chest and stretches the breast tissue.

• Ghomukasana . Stretches the nipples and the skin over the breasts (to boost lymph circulation around the breasts and lungs, the skin over the breasts should move in all directions away from the breastbone). As you lift your chest, take two or three deep breaths.

• Uttitha Hasta Padasana. Sets up the body for whichever pose is to come. Stretches breast tissue away from the breastbone.

• Ardha Chandrasana . Teaches balance. Widens, spreads, and lengthens the entire front body, and opens the groins.

• Parsvakonasana and Parighasana . Stretch the entire side trunk, side of breast, and armpit on the diagonally extended arm side.

• Bharadvajasana, Marichyasana I, and Ardha Matsyendrasana . Flush the liver and flush out toxins.

• Backbend with upper back curved over a horizontal bolster. Place the pelvis and shoulders on the floor, either side of the bolster. Backbends reduce depression, minimize inhibitions, and dispel fear.

• Backbend over a chair back, hands to wall. To prevent the chair from tipping, raise your heels and place them against the front legs of the chair. You can also go over a backbend bench or a trestle. This opens up the breasts and boosts circulation throughout the chest. The top of the chair back should rest right behind the breastbone.

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• Chair twist. Recovers the lower back from chair backbend.

• Sirsasana /rope Sirsasana . Stimulates lymphatic and immune systems.

• Adho Mukha Virasana . For recovery after Sirsasana: The muscles that run the entire length of the spine are lengthened, as well as the breast tissue, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. As the head is lower than the heart, the nervous system is soothed, and the heart muscle is rested.

• Setu Bandha over a bolster. The upper back should be concave to bring circulation to the breasts. You can begin by practicing this over a bolster. Over time, the upper back becomes educated enough to practice this pose over a block.

• Sarvangasana . Promotes good blood and lymph circulation. Calms the nerves, decreases depression and anxiety symptoms, eases fatigue, improves immune function, and balances the thyroid gland.

• Halasana . Practice in such a way that you increase the volume of the chest: Pull your spine in and up. Balances the thyroid gland.

• Supta Konasana . To ventilate the groins, you can also support the toes (turned under) up on two chairs.

• Parsva Halasana . Opens the armpit and the tissue of the breast that the legs go away from. Stimulates liver circulation.

• Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana . Like Parsvakonasana and Parighasana, this pose stretches the side body. Very energizing.

• Janu Sirsasana . Activates the kidneys. Quiets the brain.

• Viparita Karani . Soothing. Accesses space in the chest cavity. Stops heart palpitations.

• Savasana . Outer corners of the eyes should be soft. Roll your shoulders back and down. Make sure the palms are soft and relaxed.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

The liver is a significant organ when it comes to hormone balancing and detoxification. It converts potentially toxic forms of estrogen (either from the environment or those created by the body) into safer forms of estrogen. Since estrogen is so significant in the development of breast cancer and other hormone-sensitive cancers, it is of vital importance to ensure the health of the liver.

Alcohol consumption, chemicals, protein deficiency, and an underactive thyroid compromise the elimination of estrogen by the liver. The liver also plays a vital role in metabolizing breastprotective Omega-3 fats.

When the liver is not functioning properly, toxicity, gallstones, breast cysts, headaches, depression, and mental disorders can become more prevalent.

How Asana and Pranayama Help Iyengar Yoga offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to health. The foundation for improving the health of our breasts via asana has six parts: 1) Twists and standing poses. The liver is on the right side of the trunk, one half inch below the ribs. It moves with the breath.

Twists aid the detoxification process. Rotating the abdomen puts pressure on the liver, which in turn stimulates the circulation in the organ.

2) Lymph flow. The only way to achieve lymph flow is through body movement. Practice the poses that improve mobility around the shoulder joints and the outer edges and sides of the breasts and armpits. Women tend to drop the chest, collapsing the distance between the two ribs right under the breasts. This is a place where women have to bring space to increase circulation. Make sure the chest is lifted throughout your practice, particularly in standing poses, inversions, and forward bends.

3) Backbends. These poses open the chest and stretch breast tissue. They strengthen and boost the immune system and improve the circulation of blood and lymph throughout the entire body. This helps combat obesity, which increases inflammation and is a risk factor for breast cancer.

4) Inversions. A regular practice of inverted postures helps balance hormone levels. This is one of the areas where yoga has a unique beneficial effect. Practice them often, at least three times a week.

5) Regular practice. Asana and pranayama improve general health. You get healthy. Then your breasts get healthy.

6) Restorative practice. A regular restorative and pranayama practice reduces stress levels and calms the nerves.

Liver and gallbladder stretches include Uttitha Parsvakonasana, Parighasana and Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana.

Salamba Ardha Urdhva Dhanurasana (standing back arch) is perhaps a little advanced for some.

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (backbend over a chair) would be a good alternative. Both poses create space in the chest, lungs, and breasts.

Bobby Clennell (Intermediate Senior II) is the author and illustrator of Yoga for Breast Care, The Woman’s Yoga Book and Watch Me Do Yoga.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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TAMING “THE CHANGE” WITH YOGA

BY BOBBY CLENNELL

T

he word “menopause” continues to provoke anxiety and confusion. Many women are even reluctant to say the word. Some simply shrug off this universal phase in a woman’s life. They say it’s a normal part of the life cycle, and women should sail right through it.

Downplaying the impact of this change in our bodies only serves to leave us stranded in lonely ignorance, when in fact, the changes brought about by menopause can be positive. Women can experience new energy and focus when their childbearing years are over—really!

Constructive coping with menopause includes acknowledging the physical changes and psychological challenges that occur at midlife. The solutions lie in acceptance, not in denial or attempts to “turn back the clock.” Menopause is a beginning, not an ending. It’s a process, not a discrete event. It’s the beginning of a new expression of the feminine force. To better understand menopause as a whole, let’s define the three phases: Perimenopause. The Japanese call this phase “the bad shoulder years.” They may not have a vocabulary for it—they don’t have a word for hot flashes either—but they know what’s going on, and they do have hot flashes. Perimenopause is an approximately eight- to 10-year period that leads to the nearshutdown of ovarian function and hormonal changes that result in various emotional and physical symptoms.

Menopause is the junction between two worlds. It is the complete cessation of menstruation for at least one year.

There is a one- to three-year “settling down” period after the last period. This is categorized as a part of menopause.

Postmenopause is an approximately 20-year phase in a woman’s life from around 52–75 years of age. A woman can come out of menopause truly transformed. She can be at her most profound and creative. One hundred years ago, most women would not have lived beyond the age of 52. Women are, for the first time in history, experiencing and enjoying this additional phase, which goes beyond the scope of this article.

What Is “Changing” Exactly?

Perimenopause is a gradual process—the ovaries do not stop working suddenly. From around 35 to 40 years old, a woman’s hormone production gradually declines. By the mid-40s, a woman may begin to experience clear symptoms of estrogen deficiency such as irregular periods—shorter or longer, lighter or heavier—or changed premenstrual symptoms such as menstrual cramps. Hot flashes, night sweats, disrupted sleep, mood swings, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating may also occur.

Other symptoms include self-doubt (especially if you had self doubt when you were younger), changes of metabolism, and exacerbation of all conditions (old health problems or long22

buried health issues that may surface at this time).

Women who may not recognize that these symptoms are all related try to deal with them individually.

High levels of estrogen during a woman’s childbearing years protect against heart disease. Estrogen helps raise the blood levels of the “good” cholesterol, HDL, which counters arterial clogging, maintains the elasticity of blood vessels, and diminishes the tendency of the blood to form clots. Estrogen also helps maintain bone density.

As ovarian function slowly declines, muscle mass may begin to slowly wane, accompanied by a rise in body fat and a gradual thickening around the waist and abdomen.

Too much estrogen can cause sore and tender breasts, headaches, bloating, irritability, weight gain, ankles swelling. Too little estrogen causes hot flashes, poor concentration, insomnia, vaginal dryness, genital atrophy, and bladder irritation.

Remember that other body locations such as the adrenal glands also produce estrogen.

What to do?

Hormone levels can fluctuate drastically during the year prior to menopause. Befriend your symptoms and negative emotions.

Head into menopause as healthy as possible; this is a time to be in tune with your body. Trim pounds gradually. Weigh yourself daily. But don’t try to get too thin or fret about fat around the waist for now. Some studies show women have an easier time going through menopause when they have a little more fat on them. Those with decreased body fat, decreased hormones, stressful family history, and a nutrient-poor diet get slammed in menopause.

Some withdraw in preparation for metamorphosis. Others see the clock ticking and up activity levels.

Take time to practice. Nurture yourself. Laugh, and if you need to, cry. Spend time with other women who are going through the same thing. Journal. Each day, do one nurturing thing—legs up the wall, nap, walk the dog, take an oil bath. Be creative.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Menopause is a time for Ahimsa, nonviolence. Don’t be afraid to speak the truth. Get rid of the people or things in your life that steal your energy.

Practice the poses that make you comfortable and quiet. Don’t practice to fight the natural process. When you have no symptoms, absolutely do a regular practice.

PMS During Perimenopause There may be more depression or headaches that are showing up for the first time, or worse than previously. A week before a woman’s period, she sweats. It might be something she has to go through, but she can watch for the triggers: anxiety and rapid heartbeat.

The standing poses may bring on fatigue in the abdomen and thighs at this time. Do the four lateral standing poses (Utthita Trikonasana, Virabhadrasana II, Utthita Parsvakonasana and Ardha Chandrasana) against the wall (with block support)—you can’t make your muscles work if you are not strong enough. For abdominal pressure caused by water retention, face the horse (postmenopause, for osteoporosis, the back is to the horse). If you have both issues, decide which is the greater—work according to your constitution and need.

PMS symptoms improve with yoga. Moods stabilize. Thinking becomes sharper.

Throughout the Month: The Poses to Practice STANDING POSES Standing poses ground and stabilize, especially when emotions are in turmoil.

• Adho Mukha Svanasana on ropes, heels to wall. To ease emotional upset, support the head. Take legs wider to soften the abdomen. Premenstrually, women get coughs and colds. It’s the same at the first stage of menopause.

Glandular changes bring vulnerabilities and suddenly lungs are affected. This pose not only opens the chest, it helps maintain emotional stability.

• Uttanasana with head supported. This pose helps avoid irritations and hot flashes. The back of neck, head, and ears should not get compressed. Legs apart, head on chair, arms folded, hips to wall. You can also practice this pose with hands to wall. Tight hamstrings? Turn your toes in.

• Prasarita Padottanasana . Steadies emotional turmoil.

Grounds and stabilizes. Reduces high blood pressure, hot flashes, and low feelings. Aids digestion, tones abdominal organs and maintains vaginal moisture, as well as helps maintain estrogen levels provided by adrenal glands. Take the head inward so the backs of the ears and neck remain soft. This pose can also take us through the standing poses; rest between poses with the head supported. It’s more cooling than jumping between poses. Go through the pose to change sides.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

• Virabhadrasana II . Avoid this pose during menopause if lower abdomen is inflamed or heavy. Don’t stay long if this pose produces symptoms of heat. If hot, try placing the hands on hips.

• Uttitha Trikonasana . Face a trestle. Sciatic pain is very common as the groins become hard at this stage.

The ligaments don’t hold and suddenly, pain comes in the lower back.

Inner groin contraction also exacerbates hot flashes. Open the pelvic region toward the trestle.

• Uttitha Parsvakonasana . Facing the trestle gives “moral support” from the front. The spine is at the back, so you can move it into the body. To reduce hot flashes and relax the throat, practice with head supported. The head and brain remain quiet and muscles are not irritated. Use a block inside the bent leg foot.

• Parsvottanasana . To avoid getting hot, practice with the head supported, arms down.

• Ardha Chandrasna is a quintessential woman’s pose.

Practice it at the wall. Gives freedom in the pelvis and spine; spreads horizontally and therefore cools.

INVERSIONS Inversions quiet the mind. Sirsasana along with Sarvangasana resettle the glandular system and re-establish hormonal balance.

Together they make the head quiet so you don’t get too hot (in Sirsasana, use a channel); synchronize the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, and ovarian glands; and relieve sore, tender breasts.

• Adho Mukha Vrksasana . During perimenopause, put legs in Baddha Konasana. Palms can be turned out.

• Rope Sirsasana (after standings). In perimenopause, become a “beginner” again.

• Sarvangasana . There are many ways to work in this pose.

When the abdomen is away from the spine, it cannot be nourished. Plus 50 years of gravity pull the tissues down.

Focus on relaxing the throat. For those whose tailbone begins to project and pubic plate hardens, turn heels in, toes out.

• Sarvangasasna on a chair (along with other poses).

This asana may used to check prolonged or heavy bleeding but work with a senior teacher. Come out of Sarvangasana through “upside down” Paschimottanasana.

To bring the legs down and to spread the sacrum, extend your buttock bones toward your heels. You might get sore muscles but not sore organs.

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• Nirlamba Sarvangasana . This asana reduces hot flashes.

The pituitary becomes quiet, which causes the pelvis to open more. This pose keeps high blood pressure, migraine, headaches, and hot flashes at bay. If the uterus is hard, the throat is hard. Keep inner walls of the throat receding and the abdomen soft. When Nirlamba Sarvangasana is mastered and can be held for up to five minutes without strain, you may continue by coming into Swastikasana, belting your legs to relax them, as well as Baddha Konasana, if mobile enough, and Upavista Konasana with the legs resting at the wall. These variations lift the sacral muscles, the ovaries become light, the abdomen softens, and circulation improves.

• Karnapidasana in Nirlamba Sarvangasana (ear pressure pose). When practiced in combination with other poses, this last variation compresses the abdomen, which helps improve the circulation of blood, lymph and prana around the abdominal area, and brings the uterus and ovaries to a healthy state.

• Viparita Karani . This asana is half backbend, half forward bend. The sitting bones drop off over the far edge of the bolster (forward bend). When the spine is long, take more height. To come out, slide back. Now the abdomen becomes light and the armpit chest opens.

FORWARD EXTENSIONS These poses may not be the best way to reduce hot flashes (Supta Baddha Konasana is better). If you are stressed, they pacify the adrenals. If you have anxiety, however, they are not effective.

• Adho Mukha Virasana . This asana is soothing.

• Paschimottanasana with head supported. With the legs together, this pose produces too much heat (although it does lift and tone the pelvic floor). Rest the head on a chair seat (arms folded) or bolster and keep the legs apart.

• Janu Sirsasana . Do this pose in the same way to create calmness.

All the forward bends may be practiced during perimenopause, except for Marichyasana I as it’s too constricting.

SITTING POSES In these poses, extend the space between the groins, hip bones, and lower ribs. Open the sternum bone. Find a balance between lifting and relaxing. Have the courage to work through your fears. Inhale and exhale to the wisdom of your heart.

RECLINING POSES These poses are restful and nourishing. Workouts cause hormone levels to plunge and muscles to shrink, creating peevishness, fatigue, and insomnia. Hot flashes can begin at the backs of the knees and creep into the chest and face and bring shakiness and irritability. Take it easy! Always give your body time to put back what it’s put out. Keep the abdomen and uterus soft to avoid hot flashes and night sweats.

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• Supta Baddha Konasana widens the pelvis and groins, creating space in this region.

Regular practice (with Supta Padangustasana I) removes backache. This pose also reduces hot flashes and checks irregular menstruation, vaginal dryness, vaginal or urinary infection, and incontinence. Sudden perspiration and panting for breath puts women in an awkward position, so practice this pose regularly. Bloating and heaviness of the abdomen is also lessoned. This asana, practiced along with inversions, also checks diarrhea and reduces night sweats.

When sweats come, don’t hold yourself tight but decentralize the body. Also have a regular practice of Ardha Halasana.

Along with Supta Baddha Konasana, these poses oil the hips and reduce pain and rigidity of movement: • Supta Padangustasana I . Do this first for slipped disc or backache. Pull leg over the head repetitively. Reduces swelling in the feet and legs. But be aware though, if this pose exacerbates hot flashes and general discomfort, it may be best left until after menopause.

• Supta Padangustasana II. Menopausal women will not be able to do these poses with straight legs. This is not permanent—you can bend the knee. Support the leg if necessary.

Propping it against the wall or up on something is a more passive way of working. “Decentralizing” horizontal movements that take you from the center to the periphery use less muscular effort and are cooling.

• Diagonal Supta Padangustasana II , with one leg bent in Supta Baddha Konasana . To help maintain balance, place a folded blanket under the straight leg hip. Because the legs are wide, this also reduces hot flashes.

• Supported Savasana . This pose puts the body and mind in a restful state. Lie down over a bolster. Move the inner shoulder blades in, and allow the outer shoulder blades to release. Relax the root of the thumb. Watch how the abdomen recedes when you exhale and is undisturbed when you inhale.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

BACKBENDS Backbends (and Sirsasana) help conquer fear. They are important poses because they energize the adrenals, but practice them with support so you don’t bring on hot flashes.

• Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana over a chair. Supporting the head is grounding, but at the same time, this setup is uplifting. Support the feet if necessary. For tall people, place blankets on the chair.

• Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana over crossed bolsters, arms folders above head. If the abdomen is at the apex, this variation relieves constipation, digestive disorders, bloating, etc.

To lift melancholy, depression, or if recoiling inside, have the apex be at the chest. Lift the breastbone! For anxiety, support the back of the head (this now becomes Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) and spread the breastbone laterally.

• S upta Baddha Konasana in Setu Bandha over crossed bolsters. This pose calms the mind, stabilizes the emotions, and keeps the thoracic spine mobile and strong.

Restorative Poses When your body is going through changes, you need rest. Make restorative poses the core of your practice. They are the essential for crossing the menopausal bridge.

Take the time to practice at least one restorative pose per day.

Use plenty of props so you can enjoy and hold them.

Try practicing at the beginning and end of the day for at least 20 minutes—with the second practice focusing on restorative poses. Go to classes, too!

To avoid consuming vital energy, start with a supine asana. To avoid the back of the neck becoming heavy and hard, it should be free, so lift the head slightly by supporting with a folded blanket. The throat should feel soft and the back of the neck comfortable and extended. When the head tilts back, irritation and annoyance set in.

• Salamba Purvottasana (off platform or on two chairs). All women should do this, even teenagers. Women should rest before class. We are all over extended.

Here are four short, cooling, restorative practices: ONE • Baddha Konasana (you can also practice this on its own).

This can be done so many ways—holding ankles, over a bolster, etc.

• Upavista Konasana at the wall. Don’t try to get better today. Watch that the mouth cavity feels spacious inside.

• Supta Baddha Konasana at the wall. You can also practice this in an “L” shape with your legs up the wall.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

TWO • Setu Bandha Sarvangasana . On four bolsters, thighs and ankles belted—but not too tight, please.

• Baddha Konasana in Setu Bandha Sarvangasana over crossed bolsters. This pose gives some of the effects of backbends combined with the cooling effects of Sarvangasana. Baddha Konasana also releases heat.

THREE • Supta Swastikasana (or if appropriate, Padmasana) over a spine-wise bolster • Swastikasana (or Padmasana) in SetuBandhasana over crossed bolsters • Viparita Karani FOUR • Ardha Supta Konasana with toes on two chair seats.

Have two helpers lift the student up—one at the root of each thigh.

• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana over four bolsters • Viparita Karani PRANAYAMA Ujjayii and Viloma in Savasana. These pranayama help you cool down (particularly with long exhalations), restore energy, reduce bloating and swelling, and avoid night sweats. The student returns to normalcy and a feeling of exhilaration sets in.

A Final Short Practice Viparita Dandasdana and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana with the proper spinal support expand the chest region. These two poses in combination bring steadiness in the mind and settle emotional disturbances. A fear complex, feelings of loneliness and depression, and lack of confidence bring much distress.

Together, these poses bring about a change in attitude. The uplifted heart makes one cheerful and checks mood swings.

Physiologically, they check the rise and fall of blood pressure, activate the glands, and remove sluggishness in the organic body. Circulation improves, the nervous system is energized, and insomnia is dealt with. They also curb the sometimes alarmingly increased sexual urge without making one lose the potential energy.

With grateful thanks to Patricia Walden from whose workshop some of these notes were taken and Geeta Iyengar, without whom this article could not have been written.

Bobby Clennell (Intermediate Senior II) is the author and illustrator of The Woman’s Yoga Book, Watch Me Do Yoga, and Yoga for Breast Care.

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THE IMPORTANT PELVIC FLOOR

BY JAKI NETT

T

he pelvic floor is a topic that is approached very gingerly when discussed in a yoga classroom setting. It is not an area that we talk openly about like we do our back, legs, arms, or chest. As teachers, we tend to be cautious about how we include the subject—especially in a general yoga class. But it’s important nonetheless.

The pelvic floor is referred to in two ways: the pelvic floor as an area or the pelvic floor as an anatomical structure. It is important to understand the anatomical pelvic floor and its accessory muscles to be able to work with the pelvic floor area in your yoga practice.

The Anatomical Pelvic Floor Pelvic floor muscles are postural muscles—slow twitch muscles, endurance muscles. Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction affects muscle fiber length and contractile force. Stretched and stiff muscle fibers have a decreased ability to generate power for support.

perineal muscle group is more superficial and comprises the perineal body, which is often referred to as the “perineum.” The perineal body is the strong center-supporting member that supports the pelvic floor muscles. When there is damage to the perineal body it weakens this important support.

The anatomical pelvic floor has many functions. First, the muscles of the pelvic floor connect the front body to the back body. Second, they close off the bottom of the pelvic outlet.

Third, they are responsible for the support of the abdominal viscera. And forth, they resist the internal downward force called the “Valsalva maneuver,” which is a silent wrecker of the pelvic floor muscles.

What is the Valsalva maneuver? It is a natural force that increases interabdominal pressure—the internal force we use to stabilize the core of the body when any form of elimination is needed; it helps force things out.

The dynamic, anatomical/mechanical chain reaction of Valsalva is the sequential inhalation and retention of the breath, which flattens out the diaphragm, blocks the throat, contracts the abdominal muscles, and constricts the sphincters in the pelvic floor and anus. It can have a different result depending on which valve or sphincter is open or weak when Valsalva is expressed.

We experience Valsalva when we laugh hard and loud, sneeze, cough, vomit, defecate, lift a heavy weight, or when we do Paripurna Navasana. These actions can set fear into a woman with weakness of the urethra sphincter, also known as “incontinence.” The push during childbirth is Valsalva to the 100th power.

Pelvic Floor Area The boney boundary of the pelvic outlet is created by the pubic bone, the ischial tuberosities or sitting bones, and the inferior sacrum or coccyx. Two muscle layers close off the pelvic outlet: These two layers are the perineal and the levator ani muscle groups, collectively called the perineum or pelvic floor. The levator ani is referred to as the true pelvic diaphragm or true pelvic floor. The perineal muscles are known as the urogenital diaphragm. The levator ani is the deeper of the two layers. The 26

Pelvic outlet with perineal muscle groups transparency overlaying levator ani muscle groups

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction There are three pelvic floor dysfunctions that can occur separately or together: • Incontinence • Vaginal laxity • Overstretched levator ani and perineal muscle groups, i.e. weak pelvic floor Incontinence can occur in two basic forms: stress and urge.

Stress incontinence is when there is a sudden build up of Valsalva and the pressure forces urine out. Urge incontinence is when the bladder has lost its ability to feel the slow filling-up of urine, creating the sudden urgent need to get to a toilet.

Vaginal laxity is when the vagina has become stretched and has lost its ability to contract. In yoga, when a student inverts, air sometimes enters the vagina, and when the student comes down, it expels with a sound. The ability to consciously contract the vagina along with correct alignment will help control this issue.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Overstretched pelvic floor muscles can be caused by Valsalva, being overweight, strain from constipation, pregnancy, bad posture, pelvic floor operations, sedentary life, menopause, aging, and other issues.

Often people confuse a prolapsed uterus with pelvic floor muscle weakness, but it’s not weakness in that area per se.

Prolapse is the result of overstretched ligaments that need to suspend and hold the uterus in its proper place. When these ligaments become stretched and lose their ability to keep the uterus properly aligned, the uterus can slip and turn itself to align with the vaginal canal and move down. And the unconscious pressure of Valsalva can further assist the uterus in moving downward. Contracting of the vaginal muscles will not stop the the uterus from descending. But when the prolapse is at “first stage,” inversions can help manage it.

When working with the pelvic floor muscles, understand that the collective area of the pelvic floor can present different dysfunctions. There can be weakness of the urethra sphincter but no other weakness, laxity of the vaginal canal but no incontinence—or a person can have both.

Muscle Groups Obviously, the external manifestation of the female and male genitalia is quite different, but the musculature and their actions are basically the same in both sexes.

The perineal muscle group contains the superficial pelvic floor muscles that are shaped like a triangle—the urogenital triangle.

These muscles take their origins from the pubis and ischial tuberosities and form the perineal body. The perineal muscle group includes: • Ischiocavernosus • Bulbospongiosus • Transverse perineal • Perineal body The perineal muscles are concerned with urination in both sexes, and in the male, with ejaculation.

The levator ani is supported by the perineal muscle group. The levator ani is a wide, thin muscular sheet that is actually made up of three muscle sets. Together, these muscles form an efficient muscular sling that resists the rise of intrapelvic pressure and supports and maintains the pelvic viscera in position. In women, the levator ani is open in front to allow for the passage of the vagina and urethra, which structurally predisposes a weaker foundation. In men, it is not open in front, which allows for a more stable pelvic floor with only the urethra passing through.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

An interesting note about the levator ani is that the majority of its fibers are mostly associated with the anus, i.e. levator, “lifting” and ani, “anus.” The levator ani, which takes it origins from the pubic bone, illium, and coccyx, includes the following muscles: • Bulbospongiosus • Puborectalis • Pubococcygeus Because the perineal muscles and levator ani muscles are very close together, it is impossible to precisely neutralize one and activate the other, but with a little understanding and sensitive work, localized contraction can be achieved.

In addition, there are two vaginal muscles that run in opposition to each other. The deeper layer, the stronger of the two layers, runs lengthwise along the canal. When it contracts, it pulls the vaginal canal upward. The inner layer, which can be felt with the fingers, has fibers that run in a circle around the canal. When they contract they close the circumference of the vaginal canal.

These muscles together are known as the “vaginal coat” and can be contracted to counteract vaginal laxity.

When doing pelvic floor work, contractions are kept between the perineal body forward toward the pubic bone. Because the anal sphincter and buttock muscles are stronger than the weakened pelvic floor muscles, they should be negated as much as possible so their contraction does not override the weaker muscles.

Working With—or against—Valsalva Remember, Valsalva is downward pressure. Become aware of how much Valsalva is unconsciously being produced in everyday life. Learning how to reverse this pressure is paramount. In most articles about the shape of the pelvic floor, it is described as having the shape of a basin or hammock. In 1976, a study by Hjartardottir, Nilsson, Peterson, and Lingman in Sweden used MRI to reveal that the pelvic floor is actually a dome shape when muscular tone is present. They concluded that the idea of the basin or hammock shape came from early dissections done on older women who had had many babies.

When practicing the lift of the pelvic floor or reversing Valsalva, visualize a dome and try to make the lifting dome-shaped. Be sure to make the lift conscious and soft.

In Muscles: Testing and Function, Kendall, McCreary, and Provance state that “without minimizing the importance of proper foot position that establishes the base of support, it may be said that the position of the pelvis is the key to good or faulty postural alignment.”

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A Yoga Sequence for the Pelvic Floor?

I do not give a set pelvic floor sequence. Any asana is an opportunity to bring awareness and health to the pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscle work can be very tiring—so selected asanas should be interspersed thoughout the sequence of your choice. Again “a set yoga sequence” is not the way, but keeping certain concepts in mind while practicing is the key: • Keep the pelvis correctly aligned at all times.

• Use a strong external rotation at the hip joint when the pose demands it.

• Lift the pelvic floor softly to reverse Valsalva.

• Make pelvic floor contractions soft and site-specific.

Remember: Contractions are made from the perineal body forward.

• Do not contract the buttock area; this area should be kept as inactive as possible.

External rotation at the hip joint is important when it comes to yoga asana. External rotation action in asana gives an unexpected bonus: the lifting and strengthening of the levator ani. There are six deep muscles in the pelvis that produce external rotation. Two external hip joint rotator muscles are especially important in pelvic floor work: the obturator internus and piriformis. The obturator internus takes its origin from the inner surface of the pelvic bone; the piriformis takes its origin from the inner surface of the sacrum. Both muscles insert on the grater trochanter. Because of their location and lines of pull, the pelvic floor diaphragm is affected because of the communication between their fascial connections to the levator ani.

For a yoga practitioner, poses such as Trikonasana, Vrksasana, Baddha Konasana, Supta Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana/Sama Konasana, and contralateral rotation of the hip joint as with Ardha Chandrasana are a boon to the pelvic floor muscles.

Three poses address the pelvic floor directly: Tadasana, Baddha Konasana, and Bakasana. Each of these asanas teaches us the basic actions to support the pelvic floor muscles.

TADASANA Tadasana teaches how to align our posture to stand up correctly. When the body is aligned in its evolutionary upright alignment, muscles work the way they are suppose to. When standing in Tadasana, the pelvis must keep its anatomical neutral position (i.e., not in an anterior tilt or sway back, which dumps the abdominal contents forward and shifts the pelvic 28

floor backward, or in a posterior tilt or tucking of the tailbone, which grips the anus and buttock muscles and moves the pelvic floor forward). No matter what configuration an asana takes, it is about balance, and Tadasana is the first teacher of pelvic floor balance and placement.

When the pelvis is in its natural upright position, the abdominal contents are kept in place with the aid of the abdominal muscles, which lift the pubis from the front, as well as the hamstrings, which pull down the sitting bones in the back. The body knows what to do, and when it is put into alignment, it will do its job. Asana evolved from the spiritual man. So when we work with asana, keep in mind the anatomical body.

BADDHA KONASANA Baddha Konasana teaches external rotation at the hip joint.

Baddha Konasana action at the hip joint can be found in many asanas. Remember, external rotation at the hip joint also activates the muscles of the levator ani to contract and bring lift. Just think how many opportunities asana offers for this action.

BAKASANA Bakasana teaches how to balance on the arms and hands. Bakasana is very powerful because in it, Valsalva is reversed and lifted up. The abdominal muscles contract and are pulled back to the spine, and the urogenital triangle is pulled forward and upward. The open Tadasana and compacted Bakasana, if done correctly, will put you on the fast track to strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.

Parvatasana in Baddha Konasana

Bakasana

PRICKING ATTENTION Mr. Iyengar once instructed to teach an asana or an action inherent in an asana in order to “prick” the attention, to develop sensitivity. I use the following asanas to prick the attention toward the pelvic floor area: Tadasana

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

• Keep the right leg in strong external rotation (the action you learned from the phasic leg in Vrksasana).

Toe stand in Urdhva Baddhangulyasana • Keep the feet, ankles, and legs together and bring the arms overhead; lift the heels up high and stand on the toes.

• Keep the right leg stable as the pelvis and left leg rotates.

• Rotate the pelvis into vertical alignment. The left leg and pelvic bone are positioned and held up by the deep rotators of both hip joints.

• Align the pelvic floor and vaginal canal and lift them up as you balance on the toes.

Utkatasana • Lift the arms and align the pelvis as in toe stand Urdhva Baddhangulyasana.

• Make a connection between the pelvic floor and the lifting arms and interlaced fingers. Let the lifting of the arms lift the pelvic floor.

The toe stand teaches how to reverse Valsalva and how to lift the pelvic floor.

Toe stand in Urdhva Baddhangulyasana

• Slowly bend the knees. Lift the pubis upward and slide the urogenital triangle forward.

• Descend the sacrum downward and allow the lumbar spine to move a little backward and lengthen.

Vrksasana (phasic leg position) • Stand with the left side toward a wall and the left hand at the wall for balance.

• Keep the sitting bones and vaginal canal pointing straight down. Do not grip the anal sphincter.

Utkatasana

• Keep the pelvis stationed as the right leg moves and rotates at the hip joint.

• Bend the knees only as far as the alignment of the pelvis and torso is maintained in the upright position.

• Rotate the right leg out strongly, bend the right leg and hold it about 12 inches off the floor.

• Do not go to the deepest knee flexion because the action of the pelvic floor will be lost as the buttocks begin to stick out.

Vrksasana

• Keeping the left side and pelvis in place, contract the deep hip rotators at the right hip joint to bring the right thigh/leg back in line with the left.

The effect on the pelvic floor can be felt when the obturator internus of the lifted leg is first put into contraction and then required to become a supportive and stabilizing muscle.

Ardha Chandrasana (from Tadasana)

• This asana teaches the movements of the pelvis and brings sensitivity to the pelvic floor.

Inversions • Pelvic alignment in inversions is important. While in Tadasana, the vagina points directly downward; in inverted asanas such as Sirsasana and Adho Mukha Vrksasana, it should point upward.

• Turn the right leg out. Place your right hand on the floor and lift the left leg to a right angle to the floor.

Ardha Chandrasana

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

Sirsasana

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The Pelvic Floor After Pregnancy Pelvic floor work should be practiced before becoming pregnant because it will familiarize a woman with how these muscles can be strengthened. With the growth of gestation and hormonal changes, muscles and ligaments of the abdomen and pelvis relax. It becomes futile to try to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy because nature is going to win.

Even if delivery is through a C-section, the pelvic floor muscles will have become relaxed just the same. Understand, the body is getting ready for the big “Valsalva” of childbirth.

After giving birth, a woman should take time to rest. When she is ready to start her asana practice, she should begin with a restorative sequence. Pelvic floor work should be interspersed throughout the chosen sequence. After delivering a baby, a woman’s pelvic floor is in its weakest state, and trying to contact those muscles can produce stress and a feeling of failure, which could cause her to stop trying.

First practice asanas to start lifting the pelvic floor and to strengthen the vaginal canal. Start in a supine position because this takes stress off of the internal organs, which have been stretched from pregnancy and delivery.

Supta Baddha Konasana with toes to the wall.

• Make sure the lumbar spine is elongated and the broadest part of the sacrum is flat on the floor.

• Place your feet on the blocks and rotate the feet to place the outer edge of the feet flat on the blocks—this moves the thighs into Baddha Konasana position.

• Keep the pelvis level and hold the lift to feel as though it is levitating. Now add the pelvic floor action you have learned.

• This variation helps strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor and vagina and also supports the sacroiliac joint. The ligaments in this area are also often stretched during pregnancy and delivery.

Upavistha Konasana (variation) • Sit on the floor and spread your legs as wide apart as you can.

• Place your hands on the floor behind you.

Lean back, laterally rotate your legs, and bring the outer legs and little toe side of the feet to the floor.

• Lift the pelvis just a Upavistha Konasana little, then the pubic plate, and then softly lift the vaginal area into a dome shape.

Supta Baddha Konasana

• Now move to the classic position and align your pelvis in its vertical position with your torso perpendicular to the floor. Do not tilt the pelvis forward and project the lower belly out or round the spine back.

• Place the hands on the top of the thighs at the hip joint.

• Contract the outer hips to take the thighs toward the floor as in Baddha Konasana and, at the same time, push the top of the thighs toward the feet. Remember not to arch the lumbar spine.

• Now softly lift the pubic plate and abdominal area in and up.

• Lift the muscles of the pelvic floor into the shape of a dome and softly contract the vaginal canal upward.

Supta Baddha Konasana (variation)

• Lift the pubic plate up; lift the vaginal area into a dome shape. Interlace the fingers and place the hands on top of the head or bring them into Namaskarasana. Press the legs down firmly and balance on the sitting bones.

Once control for lifting the pelvic floor has been gained, standing poses can be introduced. But gravity is not your friend: It is paramount to keep the pelvis from tilting forward.

Utkatasana is also important after giving birth because it teaches a woman to put the abdominal contents, which were pushed outward during pregnancy, back into the pelvis.

• Fold a blanket into a narrow width to support the spine.

• Place two blocks at the wall about two feet apart.

• Recline on the blanket with the lower end of the blanket at the floating ribs and your buttocks on the floor.

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Supported inverted poses use gravity to assist in pelvic-floor conditioning. During pregnancy, the pelvic floor muscles are slowly stretched, and during delivery, Valsalva and hormones cause the pelvic-floor muscles to relax and be easily stretched to the maximum. The vaginal canal is also stretched considerably during delivery.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Supported Salamba Sarvangasana with wall or chair

Chair Sarvangasana

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From your choice of prop set up, bring your feet to the wall or backrest of the chair.

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Once the shoulders are on the support, place the soles of the feet at the top of the backrest, and slip one arm at a time under the chair and hold the back legs of the chair.

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Keep the legs hip-width apart and allow gravity to assist in dropping the pelvic floor inward. Bring the pelvis forward to align the pelvis perpendicularly. Now slowly start closing the vaginal canal. Remember, do not make your contraction hard and try to relax around the anal sphincter.

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Arch the lumbar spine and let the buttocks become relaxed and allow the sacrum to drop toward the seat of the chair.

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Keeping the feet on the backrest, bring the bottoms of the feet together and let the legs fall apart into Baddha Konasana.

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Allow the lower abdominals, inner groin, and pelvic floor to relax and consciously let the vaginal canal open and relax.

Tight Pelvic Floor Muscles The pelvic floor muscles must have tone to maintain support.

They must be able to contract to maintain continence, and they must be able to relax to allow for urination and bowel movements, and in women, sexual intercourse. When these muscles have too much tension, they will often cause pelvic pain, lower back pain, or urgency and frequency of the bladder and bowels. Tight and painful pelvic floor muscles can be stressful especially when it comes to intercourse.

When addressing tight pelvic floor muscles, put the pelvis in a position where those muscles are not needed for support—such as in supported inverted asanas. When the pelvic floor is engaged, it will interfere with the relaxation of the vaginal muscles, and it is important to learn to totally relax the pelvic floor.

Wall rope Baddha Konasana •

Once into position, the feet and legs of Baddha Konasana aid in relaxing the pelvic floor.

•

Because of the position of the legs, the vaginal muscles are opened and with the assistance of gravity and time, the pelvic floor muscles will relax.

Unsupported asanas will not relax tight pelvic floor muscles because in order to hold asanas such as Sirsasana and Sarvangasana in correct balanced alignment, there must be contractions at the pelvic floor.

A 3-D Look at the Pelvic Floor To get a good visual understanding of the pelvic floor muscles, look at AnatomyZone’s “Pelvic Floor Part 1: The Pelvic Diaphragm—3D Anatomy Tutorial,” https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=P3BBAMWm2Eo, and “Pelvic Floor Part 2: The Perineal Membrane and Deep Perineal Pouch—3D Anatomy Tutorial,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Ax3rLFc6M on YouTube.

Jaki Nett (Intermediate Senior I) is the co-owner of Iyengar Yoga Napa Valley and is on the faculty at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. She authored A Crack in the Mask: A Humanistic Approach to Managing Incontinence and Iyengar Yoga: An At-Home Practice . Jaki’s teaching style is anatomy-centric.

Baddha Konasana in sling Sirsasana

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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YOGA AND SCIENCE PART II: LAYERS OF UTTHITA TRIKONASANA

BY SIEGFRIED BLEHER AND JARVIS CHEN

Siegfried Bleher

Jarvis Chen Photo: Travis L. Kelley

I

ntermediate Junior III Iyengar Yoga teachers Jarvis Chen and Siegfried Bleher continue their conversation in the second of three parts, this time on the many layers a practitioner can touch in Utthita Trikonasana . In Part I, they spoke about the different ways of knowing that characterize science and yoga, and whether there is a place from which the deepest experiences of yoga are amenable to scientific study. Next time, in Part III, they will consider whether the experience of Samadhi and the deeper changes in qualities of consciousness that emerge from the experience of Samadh i are amenable to scientific study.

Jarvis Chen: I thought we should start by recapping what we covered in the last conversation: ways of knowing, ideas about the inward inquiry of yoga, in terms of our individual subjective experience of yoga versus making predictions about the everyday world around us with a more externalized inquiry. And we talked about that interesting experience when we are practicing asana, and having cultivated intelligence to a great degree, where there are flashes of intuition that we know what we know in a very deep way. Do you agree with that?

Siegfried Bleher: Yes, and I guess one thing I wanted to add to that is that we arrived at a way for making the conversation practical. In that regard, the topic for the current conversation arose. Even though we may focus on Utthita Trikonasana, on the different layers we can touch in practicing, we may still connect with what we covered in the last conversation, in particular, the different ways of knowing. For example, how do the different ways of knowing inform how we might practice Utthita Trikonasana, or any asana? One thing I would like to cover in our current conversation is how the practice of Utthita Trikonasana, as we’ll talk about it, intersects with the research question: Are the different layers that we can experience in the practice of Utthita Trikonasana amenable to research?

JC: Right. And what kind of research? And there is the way in which the practice of Utthita Trikonasana fundamentally changes the questioner. As we penetrate through the layers, and we go deeper into the subjective experience, we come right up against the fact that to even practice Utthita Trikonasana is to transform the questioner or the instrument of questioning. In some ways, that’s where the magic of yoga happens.

In all of the things we learn about points and precision— learning principles of alignment in the physical body that are observable—we find principles that can be translated to different individuals and bodies. For example, as the Iyengars teach us, how we turn the knee, how we plug the femur into the hip socket, how we elongate the spine, how the spine receives

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the actions of the arms and legs, in some ways replicates the idea that there are truths about the physical world. That the ways different parts of our embodiment relate to each other are in the realm of replicable physical phenomena. So we can probably conduct a study where we observe what happens to a variety of bodies when they do Utthita Trikonasana using the back leg in a certain way: Does pressing the outer edge of the back foot elongate the spine, or does turning the root of the thigh out of the front leg help to create proper articulation in the hip socket? And we can probably phrase questions about how those are done, and how they can be refined, that are replicable across a population of practitioners, even as they might be individualized as they adjust themselves to maximize the utility of the pose for them. These questions are still in the realm of physical phenomena that are observable, that can be correlated and replicated. So I think that’s the first layer, or these are the outer layers, and as we go deeper into Utthita Trikonasana, other qualities of experience might come to the forefront.

We are taught by more senior teachers how to see issues in students, and how to respond to these issues.

SB: Along the same lines as you describe, I would like to recall a study I participated in that Kimberly Williams designed on low back pain [published in Spine Journal in 2008]. In that study, we took every participant through the same 24-week protocol developed by Lois Steinberg. When we deliver the intervention, there is some responsiveness on the teacher’s part to the individual differences among the participants. Part of that flexibility in the delivery of the intervention is based on what is seen from the outside by the teacher, and part is based on a certain sensitivity to what the participant is experiencing subjectively. But even for a general yoga class, there is still the need for a mixture of observation of external information seen by a teacher and internal response from the participant. So, to some degree, we can distinguish between some generalized Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

We have to evolve, and then we go back and involve.

characteristics that are related to the external physical shape of the pose and how the individual musculoskeletal system responds to that shape.

SB: As we talk about the experience of practice and teaching, it occurs to me that some of the terms we are using touch on the various levels of prakriti that Patanjali talks about.

JC: My approach when I am working with someone therapeutically has to be very individual—I can’t think in terms of a standardized protocol. At the same time, the part of me that is an epidemiologist is saying, “Well, how can I evaluate the efficacy of these techniques without standardizing the protocol?” That’s a conflict I am always aware of, but at the same time, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a conflict. We talk about this in public health education—about the mind of the doctor/clinician versus the mind of the public health scientist.

So what you are describing is very familiar to me. What it also shows is that it is a slippery distinction to think only about standard or population average versus individual effects: The population average is an average over individuals, so each is a separate lens for looking at the same phenomena.

JC: I was just reading a paragraph you wrote about the ways in which these levels are present in other levels—as we go further into the undifferentiated layers, their potentials are present in the more differentiated forms. Is that what you are referring to?

SB: We are taught by more senior teachers how to see issues in students, and how to respond to these issues. And then there is your own experience as a teacher, where you certainly have one-on-one interactions with individuals. But the learning process does include an innate capacity to generalize—both an intentional process of generalizing that’s similar to designing a study and also a more innate process based on intuition built up from many previous experiences.

JC: This is reminding me of Bayesian statistics: We have prior experience, and we have current observation. We combine these two to make a posterior proposal about the world and then compare it with the observable data and our prior experience; we synthesize the two. That’s part of the process of generalization you are describing.

SB: And isn’t it true that this process of generalization is not always deductive?

JC: Right, it is often inductive.

SB: It’s inductive and intuitive.

JC: Right, and this is exactly what I think of when Guruji talks about instinct versus intuition. Instinct is the habitual response, based on our samskaras, whatever [tendencies] our embodiments have, but then by cultivating intelligence, we can replace our instincts with intuition. That’s the way intuition grows—it comes out of the synthesis of prior experience and some elements of discrimination and observation of our current experience.

These enable us to transcend previous patterns.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

SB: Yes, it is. For example, when we look at a single student, and as you said, we synthesize our prior experience and the current presentation, we help the student have a positive experience. Part of that would be what Patanjali might say is the particularized level of experience (visesa) of the four levels. And at some point, we also fold in the unparticularized level, which is what I am calling the more generalized knowledge that we bring to the experience. These are both embedded in the moment, aren’t they? The ability to discriminate between these two levels has a practical value. It is not only that we bring to bear all these layers in our practice, but for a teacher, the ability to discriminate between these two layers is a part of growth in teaching as well.

JC: Right. This is also often true in therapeutics. One of the things I’ve often thought is that when there is a dysfunction or when someone has an injury, all the different parts of prakriti are a mess—knees, lower back, hips become jumbled in their relationships with one another. So we have to go through a process of differentiating in order to clarify all the different parts from one another—we have to evolve, and then we go back and involve.

SB: I would even propose that the faculty of discrimination is a key faculty that proceeds at all layers. In Kaivalya Pada, for example, the end of discrimination is discriminating between the most refined sattvic state and purusha. The final moment of enlightenment is the act of discriminating between what we might confuse to be purusha but which is still citta. Even though it may be the most refined state of citta, it is nevertheless citta. It might take many lifetimes to arrive at that, but that is the end of discrimination. I would even propose that the process of involution is, in fact, an unconscious result of evolution. As I evolve and discriminate between the “jumble” of the body and the mind, the mind automatically goes inward.

And that is the hidden gift of the Iyengar Yoga method, I believe.

There is such an emphasis on fine-tuned awareness, that that process itself is what brings us deeper inside.

JC: So that discrimination has to extend from every visesa particle all the way to align stuff that is behind the visesa. This is reminding me of Sutra I.40 paramanu paramamahatvantah 33

In this case, the vessel is our embodiment and the content is our consciousness.

asya vasikarah: “Mastery of contemplation brings the power to extend from the finest particle to the greatest.” Now, to interpose for a second [and related] question: The elements are directly perceivable, but what about the subtle elements, the tanmatras—are we in the business of [exploring] what those are from a scientific perspective, or are they a different kind of experience to be only experienced from the inside?

SB: Fair question! But maybe that question is even applicable to the physical level. For example, if I experience my arm as this very concrete physical thing, and yet say the experience of my mind is more subtle and less tangible, that’s probably something most people can relate to. But on the other hand, I am still experiencing my arm with the same tools I experience my mind with. There is no [essential] difference; one comes from turning attention outward, the other from turning attention inward, but both are internal experiences.

JC: Then also, there is the question, “In what way am I experiencing my arm?” The moment we start to talk about things like “I experience the solidity of my arm” or “I experience the motion of my arm” or “I experience the feeling of my arm,” we are in the realm of the subtle tanmatras, and we are also in the realm of the subtle aspects of the elements. So, in Guruji’s methodology, this is our entry into experiencing the more subtle aspects of our being—via the senses. And to think about subjective experience through the senses requires an observer to be there. Otherwise, how do you have sense experience without someone to experience it?

SB: Well, this brings up the theme of the effect of observing on the reality of what is being observed. From a quantum perspective, observation is the reifying moment. And, until there is observation, whatever we consider to be present is not fully there. There is a complex object (a wave function) present, which exists partly in our normal three-dimensional space and partly in more of a subtle realm, the imaginary realm in a mathematical sense. The combination of these is called a “complex manifold.” Until we perform an observation, it still exists in a complex manifold—it is neither real nor unreal. Once an observation is made, this “thing” loses its connection to the subtle realm, and it becomes observable.

JC: It becomes fully “observed.” Observation reifies it, and it becomes fully observed.

SB: Yes. There may be some links between this description and the sutras.

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JC: We sort of alluded to this in our previous conversation when we said that most of the observable things in the physical world we study with the usual scientific method are things that have been “observed.” But when we are talking about yoga, we are much more in a subtle world than in the world of “observed” things.

SB: Well, we have an opportunity to explore a translation. We have a very well-mapped out cosmology from Samkhya philosophy, but very little of that cosmology has a modern scientific parallel. For example, I don’t know what a tanmatra is in terms of Western scientific methodology. [Perhaps a tanmatra is a quale, which is a term in analytical philosophy that refers to the quality of a sense experience. For example, the redness of the color red, or the sourness of something sour.] If our aim is to propose a study of, ultimately, Samadhi, then we can’t start there. Maybe we can start with something less subtle, like the tanmatras.

JB: Guruji talks about this in Astadala Yogamala. He talks about gross elements and their subtle manifestations, and sense perception as the pathway to the subtle. There is also an interesting sutra in Samadhi Pada I.35 visayavati va pravrttih utpanna manasah sthiti nibandhani: “By contemplating an object that helps to maintain steadiness of mind and consciousness.” That brings us to an interesting proposition: If we are embodied purushas, with consciousness, and our entry into the more internal world of the Self is via the senses and their more subtle aspects, can we come up with a methodology to study and measure those perceptions? Is that the way we can enter into this internal world, to ask the perceiver directly?

SB: A related concept is that of transformation. I recall Manouso Manos mentioned in a workshop I attended: If you are not changed by your practice, then it is not yoga. I took this to mean that there are clear signposts along the way that, to the practitioner, confirm they are or are not on the right path.

JC: This is also what I was getting at before about the practice itself transforming the one who is perceiving. I am reminded of some of Prashant’s teachings, where he says we are in the same physical body, doing the same pose, and yet can have dramatically different subjective experience. He uses the idea that water stored in a copper vessel has different qualities from water stored in a silver vessel—the water picks up the qualities of the vessel it is stored in. In the same way, we do the same pose and have the same breath, but then the breath is in a vessel that has other qualities we bring about by how we practice. In this case, the vessel is our embodiment and the content is our consciousness.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

If I can’t make the sattvic quality real in how I interact with others, then the value of the spacious experiences isn’t present.

SB: So the scientific method is to learn how to distinguish copper from silver. Even though we know the observer is the practitioner, and the observer changes as a result of the process of observing, there may be changes that occur over a lengthy study—probably not an eight-week study! Can we design a study that can show there are systemic and systematic changes that take place after one year of practice, after 10 years, or 20 years, and that these are reproducible?

JC: Well, it would be hard to do a randomized clinical trial—you would have to follow people for a very long time, account for people who drop out. You could also study observationally without a control group, while controlling for variables that can cause the same changes but that aren’t related to yoga practice.

SB: What I would like to propose, in the context of practicing Utthita Trikonasana, is that we start by aligning the gross layer, the physical body, in the usual sense of instructions like “turn the front thigh out, move the back leg back, lift the chest, and stretch the arms.” These kinds of alignments bring awareness of alignment, which is probably new to beginners. Very quickly this brings awareness of the joints, which is a more subtle aspect of the physical body than the whole limb. So the joints are already a stage of discrimination. The next stage is the paired action. For example, “press the inner foot of the front leg down as you roll the top of your thigh out.” That does a couple of things: One is that it integrates what I discriminated earlier as the upper leg and lower leg; secondly, I suddenly have not only an awareness of my muscular layer, I also have awareness of connective tissue that connects all the way from my foot to my hip.

JC: I agree with you. We actually train teachers this way. First teach to the big parts of the body, then the joints, connective tissue, and relationships among different parts of the body. We also begin to have an energetic experience of the body, with subtle qualities like density, space, fluidity, solidity. There is a transition from the gross elemental body to the more subtle qualities of the elements. In Volume 8 of Astadala Yogamala, Guruji talks about how to adjust yourself more subtly. He talks about Utthita Trikonasana, about comparing the back leg and the front leg. Often what happens is that the back leg is too earthy, it is dead and inert. So what we have to do is bring the air element vayu tattva to the back leg. Then he says the front leg has too much of the water element ap tattva, or instability.

So we are to bring the earth element into the front leg. When I practice this way, I bring vayu tattva into the back leg and reach it back. And the front leg that was watery, I stabilize it—I press the inner edge of the heel and tighten the knee a little more, which brings equality to the legs. And we have a different experience of internal space in the front or in the spine as a

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

result. It took me 10 years to find this article and to read it, but this is where my mind goes: This is going beyond just the experience of the physical body in terms of its mechanical bits and pieces into the more subtle realm of the qualities of the limbs, which is related to sense perception.

SB: But now this brings up another question: Say you have brought more of the earth element into the front leg, and more air into the back leg, and experience the outcome of that in the trunk. Can you say a little more about the global effects of that way of practicing in the legs?

JC: There is a definite cause and effect relationship between this way of using the legs and the feeling in the trunk. Beyond that, there is a change in consciousness: Somehow bringing a sensitivity to the legs in this way and making subtle adjustments causes consciousness to spread.

SB: To connect with the sutras, there are the three parinamas (transformations) in consciousness: nirodha parinama, samadhi parinama, ekagrata parinama.

JC: And in the elements, dharma parinama, laksana parinama, and avastha parinama. [These are discussed in Sutras III.9-13.]

SB: What I am wondering is whether the way we are talking about Utthita Trikonasana lends itself to a close link with specific sutras and, at the same, to a kind of formulation that is amenable to scientific methodology. For example, consider someone who can subjectively report a change in their perception of space or sense of proprioception. Such a change can be tested in different ways, with a standardized inventory of questions, and also with brain imaging. Is there a physical tracer that corresponds to the subjective change in the person’s perception? And are there lasting measurable changes?

JC: There is also physiological response, as to stress. We have this sense that long-time practitioners respond in the moment to stress in a different way. These are some things we can look at from an external viewpoint.

SB: I would like to look at the changes in consciousness you mentioned when we practice Utthita Trikonasana: Why would someone want to have these, why have an expanded sense of consciousness rather than a grounded or concrete sense of awareness?

JC: What we are talking about is the sattvic quality. When our consciousness is more sattvic, we also have qualities like maitri, karuna, mudito, upeksanam and, according to Prashant:

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…we have actually identified things we can study from the outside, even as we acknowledge that the experience of going deeper into our subjective world is a subjective one. sublimity, purity, piety, etc. Qualities like compassion, friendliness, and so on come to the forefront when the mind is more sattvic. Also our subjective experience is of a mind less wrapped up with the ego, attachment, aversion, things that disturb the stability of the mind. This is certainly what the Yoga Sutra promises us, and it is also my personal empirical experience.

SB: I can get into pretty nice “spacious experiences,” but if I can’t make the sattvic quality real in how I interact with others, then the value of the spacious experiences isn’t present.

SB: A related question: Assume a set of practitioners show a higher score on qualities like friendliness or compassion. To what degree is the higher score a result of specific attempts to develop these qualities and to what extent are they the result of a movement of the consciousness toward more sattvic qualities?

SB: Now, coming to the end of our second conversation, how would you summarize it?

JC: That’s a good question. So, if you were trying to design a study to distinguish these mechanisms, then you would have to try to separate those causal pathways. My personal experience is that the texture of consciousness has to change in order for those qualities [compassion, friendliness, etc.] to be manifested in a sustainable way, for them to be emergent qualities of our consciousness without our conscious effort to cultivate them. At the same time, consciously trying to cultivate them helps them to happen.

SB: Is it a guarantee that if you cultivate this change in, as you call it, “the texture of consciousness” that the four qualities naturally emerge? Are they, in fact, emergent properties of a particular texture of consciousness? Or does there have to be a synthesis of the change in the quality of consciousness and the intentional practice of those qualities? Is one type of change sufficient for the other or only necessary?

JC: Yes, which is a sufficient cause and which is a necessary cause? Now someone could come into this conversation and ask “Why does it matter which one it is? Why not practice both and whichever it is, it works out?”

SB: My response would be “Fair enough.” But this line of questioning is also a practice of discernment. My hunch is that the different things we are talking about happen on different layers of the being. The changes in the texture of consciousness take place in one layer, and the emergent [sattvic] qualities you are talking about take place in a different layer of the being.

JC: In some ways, I do think that one of the reasons they are not sustainable if they come from the ego is that they do have to happen in other layers.

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JC: I agree. If we can’t manifest these in our relationships with others, are they manifesting at all?

JC: I like where we’ve ended up. We’ve come way past turning the front knee to maitri and karuna. We have arrived at talking about changes of consciousness as signs of evolution along our path. I like that. If we are making propositions about things that should change in the practice of Utthita Trikonasana, then we really can come up with things to study in Utthita Trikonasana. For example, an instrument to measure friendliness and compassion—that would contribute significantly to existing research. We haven’t just talked about the realm of inquiry in yoga as being purely subjective and not amenable to scientific study; we have actually identified things we can study from the outside, even as we acknowledge that the experience of going deeper into our subjective world is a subjective one. I also realized in our discussion that it is our senses which give us entry into the more subtle layers.

SB: I don’t know if you’re familiar with this work, but there is a psychophysicist, Robert Cloninger, who has developed a stage model of development based on a single scale that is inclusive of Piaget’s stages of early childhood development and Erik Erikson’s stages of adult development. He includes measures of compassion, as well as self-transcendence. So we wouldn’t necessarily have to invent such instruments from scratch.

JC: For years in my field, we have often had doctors who say, “Why don’t we have measures for positive things like compassion and joy?”

SB: Our final conversation will be on studying Samadhi, where you and I can be as the “blind leading the blind”!

JC: Or, as Prashant would say, “in a dark tunnel with a dim light…”

Jarvis Chen is a public health scientist, a social epidemiologist, who studies the effect of the social environment on health.

Siegfried Bleher teaches physics and studies nonlinear (chaotic) systems and their application to low-temperature plasmas.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

2016 IYNAUS CONVENTION PREVIEW PRACTICE: FROM THE PERIPHERY TO THE CORE TO THE PERIPHERY

BY MICHELLE D. WILLIAMS

T

he Florida Iyengar Yoga community is in full swing with preparations for the next IYNAUS convention, to be held May 27–30, 2016, in Boca Raton. The theme for the 2016 convention will be “Practice: From the Periphery to the Core to the Periphery.” Abhijata Sridhar, the granddaughter of B.K.S. Iyengar, will be our teacher and guide for the convention classes. The convention leadership team includes Colleen Gallagher and Carol Fridolph, co-chairs; Suzie Muchnick, curriculum chair; and Nancy Watson, steering committee chair.

“The Iyengars have always urged us to practice,” Suzie says.

The global Iyengar Yoga community has focused intently on teacher training over the past few years, which has helped build the next generation of teachers, but it’s important in the midst of developing teaching skills to always return to our own practice, which is at the core of our work as students and as teachers.

In many of his writings, Guruji has encouraged us to deepen our practice from the outside in. In Chapter 1 of Light on Life, he writes, “True health requires not only the effective functioning of the physical exterior of our being, but also the vitality, strength, and sensitivity of the subtle levels within.” When the idea for the theme of “practice” was presented to Guruji in the spring of 2014, he wanted to be sure that we honor the whole cycle of yoga—from the periphery to the core and from the core back to the periphery.

The convention planners have chosen the Florida state shell, the conch, as a symbol to emphasize the theme in the convention logo. “As children, we are excited by the shape and colors of the outer shell, but we are mesmerized when we hold the shell to our ear and listen,” Suzie says. “And so from the periphery of the body of the shell, we explore without hesitation its core. We wonder what lived inside, where it went in its transformation, and what it became. Guruji implored us to investigate a similar experience within our own selves.”

Welcoming Abhijata IYNAUS and the Florida Iyengar Yoga community are pleased to host Abhijata as the sole teacher for the 2016 convention.

Abhijata is a senior teacher at Ramanani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune. As a young woman of 16, she had the good fortune of beginning her yoga studies under the guidance of her maternal grandfather, our Guruji, as well as her aunt, Geeta S. Iyengar, and her uncle, Prashant Iyengar.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

Caption

Abhijata earned a master’s degree in bioformatics from the University of Pune before making a decision to devote herself to the full-time study and teaching of yoga at RIMYI. Once she did, it was evident to anyone studying at the Institute that B.K.S. Iyengar and his granddaughter were devoted to one another and to the practice they shared.

“It’s one thing to see and hear someone on YouTube and another to be in the presence of that teacher,” Suzie says. “With the convention, we offer the excitement of studying directly with a teacher who we travel to India to study with. We are bringing India to Florida.”

Community Spirit With a strong focus on community, the leadership team for the 2016 convention will open doors and hearts to yoga practitioners who may want to learn more about Iyengar Yoga.

“We want those who have not been touched by ‘the real thing’ to see, feel, hear, and touch the experience that pulled us on this path and keeps us on this path,” Suzie says.

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The entire Florida-based Iyengar Yoga community has enthusiastically stepped forward with hours and hours of volunteer work and will also officially sponsor the convention.

Iyengar Yoga schools and certified teachers in Florida are coming together to raise money to contribute to a scholarship fund that will help IYNAUS members—students and teachers alike—attend the convention.

“The Florida community has done an awesome job of coming together to put this event on,” Nancy says.

Abhijata will teach two mega classes on Friday, one on Saturday, two on Sunday and one on Monday morning. The convention schedule will include plenty of free time for students to relax, spend time with yoga friends and colleagues, and enjoy the beautiful Florida beaches in the area. In addition, there will be a convention store, archives exhibit, and a Saturday evening banquet. The IYNAUS Board of Directors will have a face-to-face meeting on Monday after the final class and departing Puja.

Logistics and Information More information about the convention schedule can be found online at www.iyengarflorida2016.com, along with registration details.

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Discounted lodging is available at Boca Raton Resort & Club and Beach Club for $127 per night. Parking and shuttle bus discounts are also available. For more information or to make a room reservation, please visit www.bocaresorts.com or call 561.447.3000. Be sure to indicate that you will be attending the Iyengar Yoga event.

The Florida community welcomes volunteers who can help with the convention before, during, or after the event. It’s a great way to build community, make friends, and have fun. The team needs help with everything from set up and registration to props management, storage security, and clean up. For more information or to sign up for a job, please visit www.iyengarflorida2016.com/volunteer.php.

As always, the convention store is a great way to share products and services with a significant audience of dedicated yoga practitioners. For vendor application information, please visit www.iyengarflorida2016.com/vendors.php.

Information about advertising in the convention magazine or providing sponsorship funds can also be found on the convention website at www.iyengarflorida2016.com.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

WHAT IS ENOUGH?

Musings

BY DENISE WEEKS I took my first trip to Pune to study at RIMYI in June. In the lead up to my departure, I read Anne Marie Schultz’s piece in the Spring 2015 Yoga Samachar that included this delightful quote from Prashant: “99.9 percent of yoga students who come here are heading toward disappointment.” Ever the sober realist, I shared this line with everyone who asked me if I was excited about my upcoming trip. Keeping expectations low seemed safe and wise.

Once there, like Anne Marie and many others, I kept a daily blog for the family, friends, and students back home who wanted to follow my adventures. On the evening after my first class with Prashant, I happily reported that I was among the lucky .1 percent—not disappointed at all! Confused, wide-eyed, sweaty, yes. But not disappointed in the least. I could report the same after my first class with Geeta two days later, and again the next week when I felt uplifted after having stood fewer than three feet in front of her during a Virabhadrasana I sequence without attracting any attention to my uneven hips. I was riding high.

This is not an “and then” narrative. Nothing happened later that put me into Prashant’s 99.9 percent. I didn’t like every class equally; sometimes my attention waned; I had stronger days and weaker days. But despite these normal hills and dales in mood and energy, I remained the opposite of “disappointed.”

What would Prashant say? “Appointed”? Satisfied, in any case, and curious.

What piqued my curiosity the most was the paradox I observed at the heart of my experience. Even though Geeta and Prashant teach in very different ways, I noted how they both circled around a similar refrain of “you have to do this on your own,” “this can’t be taught,” and “you should already know this.” Right.

I understood this as an injunction to take the practice inward, to stop waiting for someone to tell me what to do, to go back to the source. These lessons challenged me and made me wonder: By even being there, was I playing the part of a superficial consumer of yoga? Was I like the cad in this Christina Rossetti poem who gets rebuked, “Go, seek in haste: but wilt thou find?/Change new again for new; / Pluck up enjoy—yea, trample, too.”

Compounding my confusion was the fact that I saw fellow Institute students taking classes offered by other Iyengar Yoga teachers around Pune. A Sunday class here, a Wednesday evening class there. Yet more excellent yoga, more skillful instruction. On one hand, I felt confident that I was getting the best possible experience from my six classes a week with Geeta and Prashant, but on the other hand, I found myself wondering, should I be trying these other teachers, too? Taking more classes, getting more perspectives, squeezing every bit of yoga instruction out of this Pune experience?

Perhaps it all comes back to what I should already know, as Geeta might say, if I understood abhyasa and vairagya more perfectly. Perhaps there is no paradox at all, only the truth at the core of this yogic pursuit. As Mr. Iyengar writes in his commentary on Sutra I.12: “Without restraint, the forces generated by practice would spin out of control ... [but] vairagya without abhyasa could lead to stagnation and inner decay.” Is this my answer? Constant consumption without thoughtful absorption might lead to a chaotic rather than centering yoga experience, but without a little firm guidance every now and then, my practice could easily stall out. But what is enough?

Since returning from Pune, I’ve been asking myself that question in many different ways. How many workshops do I need to take every year to keep the fire of my practice burning without becoming superficial in my quest or losing track of my goals?

How many YouTube videos do I need to watch and how many more articles do I need to read to perfect my understanding of various asana? How many more points do I need to work on in my Trikonasana when I still haven’t fully mastered a few of the foundational basics?

I think I understand now why people leaving Pune put down a deposit for their next trip, and why, for many, the space between visits is a year or two at most. For me, the receipt I got from Pandu for a return visit two and a half years from now is not a guarantee of future fulfillment or a sought after notch on the belt of yoga experiences one “must have.” Instead, it reminds me to keep questioning my intentions and goals and to not be put off by the paradox but to embrace it. And to keep asking (about yoga and my life in general), what is enough?

Denise Weeks (Intermediate Junior I) teaches in Bellingham, WA. She is secretary of the IYNAUS board and the copy editor of Yoga Samachar. The photo blog she kept during her June trip to Pune can be seen at www.polaroidblipfoto.com/dwbham.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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Book

REVIEW

PRASHANT IYENGAR’S A MANUAL ON HUMANICS

BY GARY JAEGER, PH.D. It has been 30 years since Prashant wrote his first book, which has now been rereleased in honor of its author’s 65th birthday. Such an auspicious occasion deserves a look back at this Manual on Humanics. First books are often ambitious, and this is no exception. In its 15 chapters, Prashant introduces his readers to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, situates those sutras within the context of Indian philosophy, contrasts them with modern science, and demonstrates how they can respond to the questions and rebuttals of those other systems of thought to arise as the pre-eminent system. It would be impossible to attend to all the details provided in such an ambitious text, and so I will focus on its two main themes: philosophy and religion.

Prashant begins by distinguishing these two. Philosophy is, he tells us, “a view of the external world seen through the intuitive landscape.” Religion, on the other hand, “is a set of instructions on a way of life.” Seen in this way, these two disciplines appear to be at cross purposes. As a theoretical pursuit, philosophy seeks to explain how the world is. As a practical pursuit, religion seeks to explain how we ought to operate in the world.

Prashant aims to show how yoga can be both philosophy and religion, and so he contends, “There are a very few systems of philosophies which have succeeded in narrowing the gap between philosophy and religion, and yoga darsana scores a distinction here over all other systems of thought.” To this end, he considers two ways in which theory and practice can appear to be at odds.

The first has a modern source. Since the scientific enlightenment, the West has relied on empirical science to learn about the external world. The point of yoga, however, is to overcome the suffering through the “development of an internal capacity to help the mind keep restrained from all fanciful, violent, and turbulent radiations and establish it in placidity.” Clearly, yoga lies on the practical side of the theoretical-practical divide.

Moreover, it is a practice that involves and benefits the mind. If it can be situated within any theoretical framework structured by empirical science, then psychology, the branch of empirical science concerned with the mind, would be the most obvious contender. Prashant, however, rejects this, arguing that “Western psychology is generally understood as a study of behaviorism… it has tended to be parochial, for it is obsessed with the 40

instincts of the bio-world, in general, and humanity, in particular.”

Although many psychologists would reject the reduction of all of their theories to those of behaviorism, there is a part of Prashant’s point worth considering. While psychology might not reduce all thought and action to a mere behavioral response to external stimuli, it is nevertheless an empirical discipline that can only explain the human mind and motivation by way of what can be observed. The practice of yoga, however, requires a more subtle apparatus to make sense of the way it profoundly transforms us.

Modern science is not the only theory that appears to conflict with the practice of yoga. There is a second and much older source as well. This other apparent conflict regards the uneasy way in which the practice of yoga fits within the theory of Samkhya from which it comes. Samkhya, like yoga, is one of the orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. It provides the metaphysics, or theory of existence, upon which the practice of yoga is built. Samkhya tells us how the aspects of individual consciousness (citta), our organs of perception and action, and the subtle and gross elements all evolve from unmanifest prakrti. Yoga accepts this account of evolution in order to provide guidelines for reversing this evolution through the process of pratiprasava or involution. As Prashant makes clear, however, despite this similarity, “The yoga darsana stands distinctly separate from Samkhya-philosophy... .”

One reason for this stark divide concerns epistemology, or the study of knowledge. Samkhya believes that all knowledge, including the knowledge by which we overcome suffering, is learned through observation and the inference and testimony that proceed from observation. Although yoga takes these forms of knowledge to be helpful, it maintains that even these fluctuations of consciousness must be stilled. Another reason why Samkhya stands divided from yoga regards its position on Isvara (God). The Yoga Sutras maintain that devotion to God is essential to progress in yoga. Samkhya remains more neutral on the issue. As Prashant explains in Chapter 7, Samkhya maintains a principle called satkaryavada, which holds that an effect must already be present in its cause. Since the world evolved from prakrti, but God is untouched by prakrti, Samkhya maintains that God could not have created the world. If there is a concept of God to be found in Samkhya, it occupies a peripheral position.

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

For yoga to overcome the apparent conflicts between theory and practice, it must provide a theoretical explanation that neither modern science nor ancient Samkhya offers. It must explain how the yoga practitioner can traverse the intricate landscape of the mind and come to know God without relying on empirical perception. Yoga, Prashant contends, more successfully narrows the gap between theory and practice because it relies not on empirical perception, but on what he calls “intuitive mysticism.”

“In intuitive mysticism of yoga, we try to understand how a yogi gets knowledge of subtle matter, infinite matter, supra matter with such ease as though this knowledge was at his fingertips.”

It is only by experiencing the subtlety of the mind itself that we become ready to receive a consciousness as pure as God’s own.

What Prashant demonstrates in A Manual on Humanics is that far from being opposed to the theoretical pursuit of knowledge, the practice of yoga is itself a pursuit of knowledge, not the empirical knowledge of the external world, but the truth-bearing knowledge that destroys suffering and brings us closer to God. Gary Jaeger is an Intermediate Junior III instructor living in Nashville, TN. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago and teaches both eastern and western philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Classifieds YOGA PARAMPARA With Patricia Walden: Honoring the Legacy of B.K.S. Iyengar, Aug. 17–21, 2016, Enfield Shaker Museum, Enfield, NH. Visit www.ahayoga.com to register or contact jilljohnsonyoga@gmail.com.

phone numbers, USPS addresses, and websites. Please contact Rachel Frazee at rachel@yogalacrosse.com or 608.269.1441 for more information or to submit an ad.

CALL FOR MUSINGS Yoga Samachar seeks submissions for our “Musings” column, which features a range of short thought pieces from members.

These can be philosophical in nature or might focus on more practical topics—for example, a great idea for managing your studio or for creating community in your home town. Please send your own Musings to yogasamachar@iynaus.org by Feb. 1.

ASK THE YOGI Rotating senior teachers provide answers to your questions related to how or when to use props, how best to deal with specific health conditions, philosophical help with the sutras, tips on teaching or doing certain poses, and more. Please send questions to yogasamachar@iynaus.org by Feb. 1.

JOIN IYNAUS To join IYNAUS or renew your current membership, please visit our website and apply online: https://secure.iynaus.org/join.php.

Membership fees begin at $60, with $30 of each membership going to support teacher certification and continuing education.

YOUR AD HERE Yoga Samachar accepts short, text-only ads to announce workshops, offer props for sale, list teacher openings at your studio, or provide other yoga-related information. Ads cost $50 for up to 50 words and $1 per word over 50 words, including Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

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Treasurer’s

REPORT— IYNAUS FINANCES

IYNAUS FINANCIAL UPDATE

BY DAVID CARPENTER

In last spring’s issue, I provided a fairly comprehensive overview of IYNAUS’ finances and of the financial issues that the board was then addressing. Happily, no significant new financial issues have arisen in the interim. I will confine this report to addressing the association’s balance sheet, summarizing the current status of the issues discussed in last spring’s report, and discussing the importance of charitable contributions to IYNAUS.

IYNAUS’ Balance Sheet A balance sheet is a snapshot of an organization’s assets, liabilities, and net worth at a particular moment in time. My practice has been to publish our balance sheet, as of the end of October, in each fall issue of Yoga Samachar. The following table shows IYNAUS’ balance sheet as of that date in each of the past four years.

IYNAUS BALANCE SHEET Oct. 2012

Oct. 2013

Oct. 2014

Oct. 2015

73,484

105,485

155,177

83,936

37,030

31,818

CURRENT ASSETS Unrestricted Assets IYNAUS bank accounts and cash equivalents Accounts Receivable Withheld 2014 dues—IYAGNY Withheld 2015 dues—IYANC

12,190

San Diego conference/convention loan

18,750

0

0

0

IYASE loan on Maitri conference loss

6,000

6,000

3,000

0

Store accounts receivable

2,456

2,061

3,852

1,836

IYNAUS store inventory

83,272

79,219

95,046

106,870

Prepaid expenses

2,414

864

669

720

Computers and equipment

5,585

3,452

3,452

2,729

3,740

8,363

Restricted Assets IYNAUS archives bank account Certification mark bank accounts

70,041

84,915

83,394

90,818

TOTAL ASSETS

262,002

281,996

385,360

$339,280

1,634

2,110

1,837

0

3,300

0

CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts Payable Prepaid 2015 assessment fees Long-term notes (international archives)

9,250

9,250

9,250

9,250

TOTAL LIABILITIES

10,844

11,360

14,387

9,250

EQUITY (Net Worth)

251,158

270,636

370,973

$330,130

TOTAL CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS

143,525

190,400

242,321

$183,217

UNRESTRICTED CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS

73,484

105,485

155,117

$105,126

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Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

Year-to-year balance sheet comparisons are rough measures because the amounts in our various accounts at any given moment can simply reflect timing differences in receipts or payments. But our balance sheet is certainly now weaker than in October 2014. I primarily focus on “unrestricted” cash: monies that can be spent for any purpose. We have about $70,000 less today than a year ago. In substantial part, this is due to increased expenses in the past year—the salary of a new part-time employee who manages the store, increased compensation for the assessment committee chair, and expenditures to improve our website. But some of the difference relates only to timing. For example, we have incurred about $20,000 in expenses for our convention in Boca Raton next spring, and we obviously have yet to receive revenues from this event. Similarly, we just made a large inventory investment for the IYNAUS store, which will be converted into cash as purchases are made in the coming months. Our cash has also been adversely affected by the facts (discussed below) that two regional associations failed to remit dues collected on IYNAUS’ behalf in recent years, and our cash position will be stronger when those receivables are paid in full. All in all, our unrestricted cash position is still acceptable.

Our “restricted” cash is up slightly. As a reminder, these monies primarily consist of the certification mark account that is jointly controlled by IYNAUS and by Gloria Goldberg in her capacity as the U.S. attorney in fact for Prashant and Geeta Iyengar. These monies are available only for jointly approved projects to promote Iyengar Yoga. While investments were made from this account to advance these goals in the past year, they were more than offset by certification mark revenues received during the year. We also have a separate restricted account composed of charitable contributions designated for our archives project.

As a result of the generosity of some members, we have about $5,000 more in this account than we did a year ago.

Overall, our net worth—the difference between our assets and liabilities—declined by about $40,000 in the past year but is still greater than in other recent years.

Update on Financial Issues and Challenges Here is a quick update on the financial issues that I discussed in the last report.

Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar

DUES WITHHELD BY REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS In my last report, I noted that that the Iyengar Association of Greater New York (IYAGNY) faced financial challenges in 2014 and consequently did not remit $37,037 in dues monies to IYNAUS between April and November of that year. IYAGNY recently told us that that its financial situation has stabilized, and it agreed to pay us these monies, plus interest, in 12 monthly installments between September 2015 and August 2016. As the balance sheet reflects, we have already received two of these payments. IYAGNY also has been current with dues remissions since December 2014. We are very pleased to be working in good faith with IYAGNY to address these matters.

Shortly before this report went to press, I also learned that the Iyengar Association of Northern California (IYANC) failed to remit a smaller balance of unpaid dues ($12,190) during a staff transition in 2015, and IYANC has similarly agreed to pay these monies with interest over 12 months. We are investigating mechanisms to avoid future recurrences of such problems.

PUBLIC RELATIONS We have discontinued the informational ads that we ran in five issues of Yoga Journal (at a cost of $10,000) last year.

Our public relations committee—chaired by Cynthia Bates—and the board determined that these monies are better spent on targeted press releases and other initiatives that are developed with our public relations consultant and news agency.

ASSESSMENT Prior to our April 2015 in-person meeting, the board was preparing to conduct a comprehensive examination of the financial aspects of our assessment system. But shortly before we met, rumors began circulating that there may be worldwide changes in assessments in 2016, and shortly after we met, Geeta Iyengar, in fact, scheduled a meeting in December 2015 to discuss the assessment system. So at last spring’s meeting, we decided to defer a comprehensive re-examination of assessment finances in the U.S. But because we determined that the demands which have been placed on the assessment committee chair have grown exponentially, we decided, as an interim measure, to increase her compensation. We will reconsider all these issues after we learn the results of Geeta and Prashant’s review of the assessment system.

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THE IYNAUS WEBSITE The board has approved initiatives to upgrade our website technologically and also to improve its content and the presentation of the content. We determined that these costs can be managed.

THE MAY 2016 CONVENTION IN BOCA RATON As noted above, we have already incurred a number of expenses in connection with our May 2016 convention in Boca Raton, Florida. It promises to be another magnificent gathering of our tribe and an opportunity to experience profound and transformative teaching. Because it will be held Memorial Day weekend, we have been able to hold the convention at a very reasonable cost at a fine resort hotel on the Atlantic ocean. My law firm held partner retreats there twice, and I can personally attest to the fact that it is a first class facility. Needless to say, we have the highest hopes that the event will be successful financially as well as programmatically.

itself (which is a tax exempt Section 501(c)(3) corporation under U.S. tax laws). These have included contributions designated for our archives project and also contributions that are unrestricted and can be used for any of our programs. We are very grateful for the generosity of those members who have made these contributions; these monies have given the board significant latitude to enhance existing programs and to launch new initiatives.

So for those of you who have the financial means to do so, please consider making a charitable contribution to IYNAUS before the end of the current calendar year or when you pay your dues for next year. As noted, contributions can be designated for the archives project or if they are not designated for any particular purpose, the contributions will be used for our general programs. Also, as I noted in last spring’s report, IYNAUS is able to receive gifts made in wills or other estate planning documents, so please consider that option as well.

Charitable Contributions to IYNAUS

David W. Carpenter

In the past several years, IYNAUS has not only received contributions that are passed through to the Bellur Trust but also charitable contributions that have been made to IYNAUS

IYNAUS Treasurer

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Oct. 26, 2015

Yoga Samachar Fall 2015 / Winter 2016

“ Yoga is no yoga for me without thinking of her. She has made her abode in my heart and ever lives with me as long as my conscious awareness remains in me.

That is why I do not feel her loss, even after her death.”

—B.K.S. Iyengar, Astadala Yogamala vol. 1, p. 39

Ramamani Iyengar Photo: RIMYI archives

B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States P.O. Box 538 Seattle, WA 98111 www.iynaus.org

Streets of Pune. Photo: Denise Weeks Painted portrait of B.K.S. Iyengar at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India