I have enormous respect for Sharath-ji. I have been reading about Krishnamacharya and it is clear to me that he -Sharath- is the real deal, and also it brings to light a lot of questions. Some of them I am asking in this post, some of them in future posts and as I explore the fascinating topic of lineage. Not just on the Pattabhi Jois tradition but in that of all students of Krishnamacharya.
In the Foreword of Krishnamacharya's printed version of the book "Yoga Makaranda" (free here) B.K.S. Iyengar closes the fourth to last paragraph saying: ..."The techniques in the form of Vinyasa or sequential ways of movements... is termed as "Power Yoga" today. His bold, his Title case, his choice of words: ... Power Yoga?
The Term "Power Yoga" was coined by a woman called Beryl Bender Birch, who learned ashtanga yoga from Norman Allan -one of those pioneer first yogis that went to Patabhi Jois in the 70's (60's?) and now teaches in an undisclosed location in Hawaii charging students only if they miss class- .
Birch also studied with Pattabhi Jois directly. In the book she says: ".. I eventually tracked down Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, over the years spent many months studying with Jois directly, and slowly learned of the origins of this unique form"
She then published a book -left- which contains the exact primary series. Pattabhi Jois labeled her "bad lady" in an article on Yoga Journal.I understand what he is saying. After all there is not much asteya there -one of the yoga principles meaning not taking away things without permission- See Christine comment below for clarification.
Yet, when you look at the book and what this type of yoga has done to Americans you cannot but agree that it spreaded it like wild fire. The term caught the imagination of millions of Americans and it got people on the mat, and it happens to be the same sequence as asthanga.
So, good or bad lady, she spreaded yoga like nobody else, as reflected by the fact that every other style out there today is either called "power" or "vinyasa" or "flow", or in some cases "rocket" but that goes to another post.
Would Krishnamacharya frown on her too? or would he have been interested in the fact that millions of people started practicing yoga because the word "power" was used?
Then there are other masters that studied directly with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya we all agree, is the real deal, a true yogi: see stories here that prove why.
Iyengar studied with him for two or three years when he was a teenager, and mostly to heal himself.
Other than that there is not much reference of them ever meeting again in spite of being family -in-laws-. Iyengar tried very hard to learn everything he could. He was said to "spy" on Krishnmacharya to learn pranayama (gotta love him), and eventually came up with the most impressive body of yoga literature this world has ever seen. Gratitude.
His later books, like "Light on Life" or the Indian-published "Light on Astanga Yoga" are not just treatises on yoga but rather full expressions of a living being who is living yoga, he talks about sex, anger, being impatient with his students, his reputation as being mean. He gets real.
Pattabhi Jois studied with Krishnamacharya also in his early years and for not much longer than Iyengar but he remained for over a decade at the palace teaching, and therefore in close contact.
The story goes that Krishnmacharya gave Jois a "sick person to heal" as a test for certification, which he passed. How do you like them apples? My husband, James yesterday had a burst of hick-hups that would not go away -kept going for 6 hours and supposedly was an after effect of anesthesia for mouth surgery-. Would I have been given that test I would have failed.
One of the students of Jois recalls also how Krishnamacharya told Jois to teach exactly as he had been taught. Which he did, hence the similarities between the Makaranda and the Yoga Mala.
Jois followed the directions of Krishnamacharya to the letter as he understood them. And Sharath is following Jois' instructions as well. Yet, evolving, as did Krishnamacharya, changing with the times.
Then there is the later generation, the one that sprouted as the Krishnamacharya grew older. You get TKV Desikachar, his own son. Indra Devi, A.G. Mohan and Ramaswami, which reflect a very different Krishnamacharya because, well, life goes on and things change.
You get Desikachar in this video for example, quoting Patanjali and telling us that the style should serve the student, and that each student should be paid attention to depending on their own situation. Good point! and in an ideal world with a slower pace or less students it would be fantastic. I would love to be able to go to Krishnamacharya's house and study one on one with. Hey I would love to study one-on-one with Sharath, or even John Campbel. But those things just do not happen these days... unless you are a billionaire and then "maybe".
Maybe one question I do have on this video is on the later part of it, how come A.G.Mohan and Ramaswami are not shown on the lineage?
The question is, what is the lineage of Krishnamacharya? What does it mean to: -like Krishnamacharya said-: Spread Yoga Wisely ?
RELATED POST:
8 Short Stories about Krishnamacharya that Reveal What Kind of Man He Was
Download Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda here
In the Foreword of Krishnamacharya's printed version of the book "Yoga Makaranda" (free here) B.K.S. Iyengar closes the fourth to last paragraph saying: ..."The techniques in the form of Vinyasa or sequential ways of movements... is termed as "Power Yoga" today. His bold, his Title case, his choice of words: ... Power Yoga?
The Term "Power Yoga" was coined by a woman called Beryl Bender Birch, who learned ashtanga yoga from Norman Allan -one of those pioneer first yogis that went to Patabhi Jois in the 70's (60's?) and now teaches in an undisclosed location in Hawaii charging students only if they miss class- .
Birch also studied with Pattabhi Jois directly. In the book she says: ".. I eventually tracked down Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, over the years spent many months studying with Jois directly, and slowly learned of the origins of this unique form"
She then published a book -left- which contains the exact primary series. Pattabhi Jois labeled her "bad lady" in an article on Yoga Journal.
Yet, when you look at the book and what this type of yoga has done to Americans you cannot but agree that it spreaded it like wild fire. The term caught the imagination of millions of Americans and it got people on the mat, and it happens to be the same sequence as asthanga.
So, good or bad lady, she spreaded yoga like nobody else, as reflected by the fact that every other style out there today is either called "power" or "vinyasa" or "flow", or in some cases "rocket" but that goes to another post.
Would Krishnamacharya frown on her too? or would he have been interested in the fact that millions of people started practicing yoga because the word "power" was used?
Then there are other masters that studied directly with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya we all agree, is the real deal, a true yogi: see stories here that prove why.
Iyengar studied with him for two or three years when he was a teenager, and mostly to heal himself.
Other than that there is not much reference of them ever meeting again in spite of being family -in-laws-. Iyengar tried very hard to learn everything he could. He was said to "spy" on Krishnmacharya to learn pranayama (gotta love him), and eventually came up with the most impressive body of yoga literature this world has ever seen. Gratitude.
His later books, like "Light on Life" or the Indian-published "Light on Astanga Yoga" are not just treatises on yoga but rather full expressions of a living being who is living yoga, he talks about sex, anger, being impatient with his students, his reputation as being mean. He gets real.
Pattabhi Jois studied with Krishnamacharya also in his early years and for not much longer than Iyengar but he remained for over a decade at the palace teaching, and therefore in close contact.
The story goes that Krishnmacharya gave Jois a "sick person to heal" as a test for certification, which he passed. How do you like them apples? My husband, James yesterday had a burst of hick-hups that would not go away -kept going for 6 hours and supposedly was an after effect of anesthesia for mouth surgery-. Would I have been given that test I would have failed.
One of the students of Jois recalls also how Krishnamacharya told Jois to teach exactly as he had been taught. Which he did, hence the similarities between the Makaranda and the Yoga Mala.
Jois followed the directions of Krishnamacharya to the letter as he understood them. And Sharath is following Jois' instructions as well. Yet, evolving, as did Krishnamacharya, changing with the times.
Then there is the later generation, the one that sprouted as the Krishnamacharya grew older. You get TKV Desikachar, his own son. Indra Devi, A.G. Mohan and Ramaswami, which reflect a very different Krishnamacharya because, well, life goes on and things change.
You get Desikachar in this video for example, quoting Patanjali and telling us that the style should serve the student, and that each student should be paid attention to depending on their own situation. Good point! and in an ideal world with a slower pace or less students it would be fantastic. I would love to be able to go to Krishnamacharya's house and study one on one with. Hey I would love to study one-on-one with Sharath, or even John Campbel. But those things just do not happen these days... unless you are a billionaire and then "maybe".
Maybe one question I do have on this video is on the later part of it, how come A.G.Mohan and Ramaswami are not shown on the lineage?
The question is, what is the lineage of Krishnamacharya? What does it mean to: -like Krishnamacharya said-: Spread Yoga Wisely ?
RELATED POST:
8 Short Stories about Krishnamacharya that Reveal What Kind of Man He Was
Download Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda here
Claudia
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Hatha Yoga ( or Physical Yoga ) is a vast subject and has many dimensions to it and this Physical Yoga is only a part of the larger subject called Movement therapy and no one can be considered to be a "real deal" including Krishnamacharya and the only real deal is Lord Shiva the father of all Yogas .Coming to the point regarding Lineage ,I consider that today Lineage is considered more as a form of Branding or to hold monopoly . Sri Krishnamacharya never did such a thing but kept himself innovating and changing his approach according to the times ,situations as well as with respect to the students to whom he taught .Each and every student took one aspect of his teachings and refined it in their own ways and that is why you see a vast difference by way each senior students of Krishnamacharya teaching in a different way i.e Desikachar - a gentle approach , BKS Iyengar - focus on static yoga with emphasis on alignmnet , Pattabhi Joise - focus on Dynamic yoga with intense vinyasas to produce heat etc and all of them claim to follow Krishnamacharya lineage .There are still others like A.G.Mohan and Srivatsa Ramaswamy who have studied with Krishnamacharya but who are not known much and they too have their own unique styles .
Kindly note that each and every student of Krishnamacharya is only representing one phase of his teaching and no one can claim to represent all that he had to offer .
Even Krishnamacharya in spite of his great knowledge on yoga could not solve everyone's problem and as an example the great maverick Guru U.G. Krishnamurti when he went to Sri Krishnamacharya to solve his physical problem he got frustrated by the yoga as taught by Krishnamcharya and left him and took to Tai Chi where he found better relief for his problems .
So let us not consider any one as the real deal . Except almighty Lord Shiva all humans on earth are only representative of one small aspect of the divine knowledge called Yoga .We need to pay our respects to these human masters for protecting , preserving and nurturing one aspect of yoga but if we keep worshiping them as the "Be All and Know All of Yoga " then I am sorry that we are missing out on the much larger picture and will end up with disappointment as life is multi dimensional and it will not help those who stick to a uni dimensional approach to things .
such an interesting post! I know that thoughts of being true to how I was taught are on my mind when I am teaching. It will be interesting to see how things sort themselves out with respect to the tradition over the next 10 years or so. Great food for thought!!
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of Beryl...it was never her intention to take something that wasn't hers or to present the primary series as her own. The title of the book came from her search to find a way to explain to people at the time the book first came out that this style of yoga was active...that you were going to sweat...which was not the way most yoga classes were happening at the time. She and Pattanhi Jois did eventually sort out their mis-understanding. (I spoke to Beryl personally about all this at a workshop once.) :)
Curious the need to use words like Lineage and Tradition ( David's blog ) rather than, say, Style which seems more appropriate. Of course Style is less commanding, authoritative.... controlling, less exclusive.
ReplyDelete@ Krishna, thanks for your comment, I agree with you that Shiva is the one that gave us yoga -or so the story goes?-, however, in this post I am talking about the real world. Of course I am not denying Shiva's reall-ness ( I a ctually think I have had some close encounters with him) but I am rather moving towards what I can touch, work with, people I can meet, talk to... and In that context, to me, Krishnamacharya, Sivananda a and perhaps only a few others, in incarnated form, are the real thing.
ReplyDeleteIf it was not beause of Krishnamacharya was sent out into the world by his guru -from Mount Kali- with a clear directive to teach yoga to unenlightened people like me, it is likely I would have never heard of the Pradipika or the Yoga Sutras.
I only heard of all of this beause of him and all the brave pioneers that became his students and students of students et all, that is why I am calling him the real thing, he lived the 8 limbs, he was an example of what a yogic life is, and he lived and breathed yoga.
Shiva is myth, Krishnamcharya I can read. Appreciate your input, but I am not so sure I am missing the bigger picutre, I am stanging by my belief that I am actually trying to understand what lineage means to me, right here right now.
Lastly, perhaps I ask too much, I want it to be easy to understand. Maybe I should just do my practice...
sight
@Christine, I appreciate you telling me this, I had no idea. It seems I know very little about everything!
It is very heart warming to hear the background story on how Berryl coined the term (or did not coin it), as in when you say because she thought it was "powerful", which it is.
Also interesting that you heard her say that she reconciled with him. It brings me peace to hear that, wish that story appeared in Yoga Journal one of these days :-)
@Grimmly, good point. Desikachar in the video says "style". I suppose with the word style, like you say, things become more approachable, like flavors that can be chosen, as opposed to lineage which is, yes "authoritative".
I keep thinking about this...
Thanks everyone for the conversation.
Very interesting post, Claudia. I don't really have much to add to this conversation, as I am probably not as well-informed about such things as everyone who has contributed thus far. But I'm going to piggy-back on this post by coming at this same issue from a different angle. Stay tuned...
ReplyDeleteNobel, you know I will ;-)
ReplyDeleteClaudia
ReplyDeleteThe essence of my argument is "Focus on the teachings" rather than the "teacher / individual" and as regards teachings remember no one source has all answers to everything .For functional utility / worldly transactions we can use the lineage tag as "Sivananda Lineage" , "Krishnamacharya Lineage" , Iyengar Yoga teacher, Ashtanga Vinyasa teacher etc etc but beyond that functional purpose kindly do not get trapped in the lineage business .Yes it is good for business purpose but for the quest of truth it is a big hindrance . In modern context protection of lineage means protection of the business associated with that lineage . That is the reason why you now see the Controversy of the publication of the book "Yoga Makaranda" of Krishnamacharya and that is also one reason why people like Srivatsa Ramaswamy , A.G.Mohan are not mentioned by KYM and that is also one reason why you see less Indians in Mysore .By the way I have nothing against people interested in protecting their Yoga business but please do not use fancy names like protecting the lineage etc etc to justify your hidden motives .Forget about those people , as practitioners we need to ask ourselves the following questions : Why do we do go for a particular lineage ? Is it for the business opportunity or is it for health/fitness or is it for truth ? or is it a combination of all the above ?
On Beryl, interestingly enough, David Swenson mentioned her at the start of the workshop last weekend. He was talking about Ashtanga was brought to the US and how, with other yogis, it started to seed and spread. Beryl found that there was a lot of resistance to the term Ashtanga, and simply called it Power Yoga and it gained popularity.
ReplyDeleteGood post!It's given best new idea to the people.It's very important word like lineage.
ReplyDelete---
yoga austin
Krishna, I see, now I am more clear about your point. thanks for the clarification. In that light I agree with you. I was just talking last night with James about this topic I personally realized how sometimes, say in my own specific case, just because I have some experience with yoga -not 1 million years but a few- my body is beginning to guide me to do things, try new things, like nadhi shodhana before meditation or staying much, much longer during inversions.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am beginning to get out of this exploration is that lineage is whatever brings one closer to truth, to no b/s as they say in America, to being "real" and to being kind, in EVERY aspect of life. It is also what makes us clean, healthy and eventually englightened which serves society. Which path we follow is perhaps a lineage, or a "style" as Grimmly pointed out, until we found our own truth, but it eventually becomes what it was from the beginning, an inner journey,
So I agree with youwhy do we go to a lineage, what are our intentions behind, this is what Sivananda would have us do, question everything, get real.
I do not have the answer to that other than in my own personal experience, and I can see how it may have started by searching for profit (being pretty, finding a boyfriend, getting a yoga career), and it changed, the yoga changed me, into a more devoted person, a moredetached person. Not perfect, of course, farfrom it, but it definitelly brought me cloer to the truth...
Oh well, I am going blog post on this answer... perhaps I shoud do a follow up post!!!
Yogincory, I love that story, thanks for sharing that with me too. I am glad that the ashtanga community of teachers acknowledges that her doings actually helped propagate... I can imagine how in the beginning -and even now- perhaps there was a huge resistance for that kind of a term... it does sound pretty foreigner!
@Catherine thanks
You write: "She [BB]then published a book -left- which contains the exact primary series."
ReplyDeleteNo, not the exact primary series, but close. I do not have the book here so I cannot point out the differences (and I really do not care too much), but when when her book came out we were sitting around and comparing it to Lino's book (the only authoritative text at the time) and lots of little (and bigger) details differed.
Hi Roselie, you are right it may not be exact but it comes pretty close, just looked over it before publishing. Lino has a wealth of explanations in the book, was just looking at it yesterday, each breath is marked, each vinyasa, a very different book indeed.
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