What if someone was to ask you (very likely): Hey! where does Patanjali ever say anything about vinyasa? Maybe even with a threatening tone or something, doubting your yoga knowledge to the point of making your serpent spine shake. What then?
Vinyasa is the linking of the breath with each movement while practicing asana or poses. It is sacred. It must happen for the practice to be effective.
And where oh where did Krishnamacharya get that from? how did he and his guru gather this tiny bit of information from the 2000 year old Yoga Sutras?
As you know sutra 2.46 is the most famous sutra in the world (make that in my world): 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam, or: Sitted position should be comfortable and steady.
Say it out loud, it feels good: Sthira Sukham Asanam!
That, my yogis, is pretty much everything that Patanjali said about asanas or poses, which we ashtangis -led by Jois and family- take to a whole new level (as in 6 series of them!).
Now, the reason why Patanjali did not elaborate on the poses is simply because:
a) There were other texts on asanas, so people could look those up to learn about them. And
b) He wrote his work with impeccable grammar and to be memorized and passed through the generations. I still have not been able to memorize the whole thing and he knew that someone like me was in the future cards, therefore brevity was of the essence.
But still, no mention of vinyasa. That is UNTIL, the next sutra:
2.47 prayatna saithily anantasam apattibhyam, or: Effort should be accompanied by smooth breath
I was blessed to actually have Ramaswami himself (he studied with the big K for 30+ years) illuminate the point. This is what he said via e-mail:
"Sri T Krishnamacharya had said in his Yoga Makaranda (read it here for free) and also in Yoga Rahasya that full benefits of yogasana cannot be obtained without vinyasas. Regarding the Yoga Sutra reference it would be about the use of breath in the practice of asanas. The interpretation of the terms in the sutras "sthira, sukha, prayatna saitilya and aananta samapatti" the four paramenters mentioned. These refer to comfort, steadiness, smooth breathing and focus on the breath while practicing asanas which is the way Sri TK taught me vinyasa practice."
In his book Yoga For the Three Stages of Life
, he also says:
"... Hence the word prayatna should be taken to mean "the effort of breathing". And it should be made smooth (sithila, from which comes saithilya, relaxation). Thus during the practice of asanas, the breath should be smooth and in my teachers' system it is therefore mandatory to stop one's practice and to rest when the breath is not smooth. shortness of breath is associated with a fragmented mind"
So there you have it! should someone ask you with malicious intent or not, you can tell them that in Sutra 2.47 both Krishnamacharya and his guru derived the need for vinyasa:
...Just as music without harmony and melody will not be enjoyable, so also asana done without vinyasa will not confer health on the practitioner. Such being the case, how can we expect long life, strength, etc. if you do not follow the stipulated rules and disciplines. (Krishnamacharya in Yoga Makaranda)
Related:
Matthew Sweeney has the best pictures on all the vinyasas for the series of Ashtanga
Following the Yoga Sutras on How to Deal with Crappy People
Keeping it Real: 8 Things You Need To Know About the Eight Limbs of Yoga
Vinyasa is the linking of the breath with each movement while practicing asana or poses. It is sacred. It must happen for the practice to be effective.
And where oh where did Krishnamacharya get that from? how did he and his guru gather this tiny bit of information from the 2000 year old Yoga Sutras?
As you know sutra 2.46 is the most famous sutra in the world (make that in my world): 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam, or: Sitted position should be comfortable and steady.
Say it out loud, it feels good: Sthira Sukham Asanam!
That, my yogis, is pretty much everything that Patanjali said about asanas or poses, which we ashtangis -led by Jois and family- take to a whole new level (as in 6 series of them!).
Now, the reason why Patanjali did not elaborate on the poses is simply because:
a) There were other texts on asanas, so people could look those up to learn about them. And
b) He wrote his work with impeccable grammar and to be memorized and passed through the generations. I still have not been able to memorize the whole thing and he knew that someone like me was in the future cards, therefore brevity was of the essence.
But still, no mention of vinyasa. That is UNTIL, the next sutra:
2.47 prayatna saithily anantasam apattibhyam, or: Effort should be accompanied by smooth breath
AHA!
I was blessed to actually have Ramaswami himself (he studied with the big K for 30+ years) illuminate the point. This is what he said via e-mail:
"Sri T Krishnamacharya had said in his Yoga Makaranda (read it here for free) and also in Yoga Rahasya that full benefits of yogasana cannot be obtained without vinyasas. Regarding the Yoga Sutra reference it would be about the use of breath in the practice of asanas. The interpretation of the terms in the sutras "sthira, sukha, prayatna saitilya and aananta samapatti" the four paramenters mentioned. These refer to comfort, steadiness, smooth breathing and focus on the breath while practicing asanas which is the way Sri TK taught me vinyasa practice."
In his book Yoga For the Three Stages of Life
, he also says:"... Hence the word prayatna should be taken to mean "the effort of breathing". And it should be made smooth (sithila, from which comes saithilya, relaxation). Thus during the practice of asanas, the breath should be smooth and in my teachers' system it is therefore mandatory to stop one's practice and to rest when the breath is not smooth. shortness of breath is associated with a fragmented mind"
So there you have it! should someone ask you with malicious intent or not, you can tell them that in Sutra 2.47 both Krishnamacharya and his guru derived the need for vinyasa:
...Just as music without harmony and melody will not be enjoyable, so also asana done without vinyasa will not confer health on the practitioner. Such being the case, how can we expect long life, strength, etc. if you do not follow the stipulated rules and disciplines. (Krishnamacharya in Yoga Makaranda)
Related:
Matthew Sweeney has the best pictures on all the vinyasas for the series of Ashtanga
Following the Yoga Sutras on How to Deal with Crappy People
Keeping it Real: 8 Things You Need To Know About the Eight Limbs of Yoga
Wonderful post Claudia, do love how you bring things together and lay it out so clearly.
ReplyDeleteI think this bit about the breath being smooth is what leads Ramaswami to be a little critical of Ashtanga as an approach to asana. If you see a lot of ashtangi's out of breath and panting through the second half of their series then you do have to ask what's going on, nothing smooth about that.
But then of course I'm sure most ashatnga teachers would have a problem with anyone in their class panting away too. Perhaps they would stop them at that point in the series. I can manage primary with a smooth breath throughout and 2nd on a good day and of course there are Ashtangi's who can manage the Advanced series with smooth breathing too ( certainly not me, lots of breaks ). Think ashtanga needs defending on this point and perhaps it's a good argument too for the stopping of students at a particular point in a series.
That said I remember practicing the Triangle and on One leg sequences with Ramaswami on his course and we were all panting away from the effort. He would stop us half way through the series to take a few moments in savasana to get out breath back before continuing. He would do that in other sequences too after a particularly strenuous posture or subroutine. This is something Krishanmacharya would do.
Does that happen in the shalas much, taking a mini savasana half way through ( as opposed to taking a minute or eight to retie the bandana or straighten the mat : ) I mean, the problem of course is keeping the heat up but my recent post has made me see how different many shalas are in their approach.
Oh and which edition of the sutras is that, love it.
ReplyDeleteHi Grimmly, He did mention something like that, and there is no way that a mysore room would encourage anyone to take savasana in the middle of series, not that I know of, so I suppose it rests on individual effort to really pay attention and slow down so that the breath can be the queen of the practice...
ReplyDeleteIt took me years to smooth things out with primary, and it is still not perfect, but I do slow down. What you say does happen however, I call it "the respirators", or simply people that get out of breath... suppose it isa process, there is just too much that has to come together and remembering the series is a challenge to begin with.
But it is an issue, yes, it needs attention. My guess is from a teaching perspective that teachers will focus on one thing, either the student is learning, or trying to balance or focusing on thebreath, trying to teach all at once could backfire...
The version is one paper copy Ramaswami gave us at the workshop... not sure which idea, but the translations of the words are his, and the big K which is amazing really when you think about it :-)
I always figured it was mentioned in an out-take that would show up on the Yoga Sutras: Deluxe Edition, along with the part where he mentions coffee...
ReplyDeletegreat post!
ReplyDeleteI am so fortunate to have met Ramaswamiji so early in my teaching career...he inspired me to go to KYM.
Am also fortunate to be able to study with AG Mohan next year in India. Will be interesting to see how the teaching styles of Mohan, Ramaswamiji, and Desikachar compare....
Yoga for Cynics, that is funny, I am almost tempted to create such a Deluxe Edition :-) and the coffee had me cracking up
ReplyDeleteLinda that is a very fortunate and I hope you blog about the styles variations and similarities, it will be a revelation for sure to hear your impressions.
Great post, Claudia! Actually, in Astanga Yoga As It Is, Matthew Sweeney quotes Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta:
ReplyDelete"O Yogi, do not do asana without vinyasa."
The trouble with this quote, of course, is that it comes from the Yoga Korunta, which has been eaten by ants! :-) And I also don't know what the status of the Korunta is in the yogic canon relative to the Yoga Sutras. But this quote is here for the yogi's disposal, for what it's worth :-)
About smoothness of breathing: Yesterday, in the backbend workshop, Matthew Sweeney actually mentioned that for most people, if the breath is too long during intense backbends, the belly muscles kind of collapse, and maintaining mula bandha becomes harder... Of course, if the breath is too short, there will be problems too. I guess what he's saying is that for most people, it's natural for the breath to be quite a bit shorter in intense backbends than in other postures. I think Iyengar says the same thing as well somewhere in Light on Yoga. Of course, "shorter" does not mean "less smooth", but I think most of us would tend to associate smooth breathing with longer breathing. Or is this not true?
Hi Nobel, yes, shame about the Korunta, I am thinking of writting a novel in which a yogi discovers the old lost copy, half eaten by ants, and then there are all sorts of conspiracies around her... hee hee
ReplyDeleteAs per the breathing, we were JUST talking to Martina about this, and she even remembers someone asking Sharath that same question, in terms of "is it really true that your breath is eaven and smooth all the time", and he saying, not really, there are certain poses (I think Kapotasana was the example), where it is just not possible.
I am not sure what Ramaswami or the Big K would say to that same question, but my guess is that we are all human and unless we have 70 years of yoga experience our breath is not very likely to be fully even and smooth and beautiful all the time, but we do aim for it...
Nice that you went to Sweeney by the way! :-)
i think your thought sequencing is really "on" with this -
ReplyDeletebut ultimately, for me, the references to the past don't convince
that the sutra's, or their interpretation thereof, today, continue to work, does...
as does all the contemporary fitness research conjoined with safe effective practice (which i'm still very much learning)
thanks ;-)
Adan, I hear you.
ReplyDelete