How long should I wait before I start pranayama? How do I know when I am ready? This is a question that comes up quite a bit, and I believe Ashtanga yoga, the tradition I practice (in the Mysore style of Pattabhi Jois) may have complicated things by proposing a rather definite statement: "either you do third series (of asanas) (the equivalent of being an Olympic athlete for yoga poses) or you should not start it".
Bold statement that is. Wouldn't you say? Not many of us will ever reach third series, let alone first. Not many of us will ever even be able to bind in Marichasana D!
Bodies are of many kinds, they have different genetics, biologies and emotional stories that weave them into patterns that may not so easily be unlearned. Migh take time. Opening them may take longer than we ever dreamed of, at least in my case that seems to be how it is. And I love her for it.
Every challenging pose informs me of areas I need to work on, not just at the body level but at the level of pent-up "energies" that I may have stored there. For example my inability to open the front of the body wide and at large and drop back may have to do with a fear of falling pray to a predator that will rob my heart. May sound silly. It is totally how it feels.
So what should one do? Pretend like one is not ready and will never be? Or should we charge ahead and pay no attention to where our asana practice is and forge into the fourth limb of yoga without hesitation? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. Here is what I think:
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This is the series I've come to call Claudia's Book Club in which we are starting with a very timely book: "Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga". It is timely because it is about time that we leave behind our childhood obsession with asana (poses) and move on to practicing pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga.
That of course does NOT mean that we do not pay attention to asana, it just means that we begin to pay more attention to our breath, this "companion" without whom we are dead.
----
Back to What I Think:
Whenever I think of the issue of starting pranayama I look at Iyengar for encouragement. I imagine him winking at me with his deep eyes and lush eye-brows, and whispering: "Learn, try, grow!".
His teacher, the big Krishnamacharya, told him: "No! You are not ready, you must not practice". What did BKS did? He spied on him! He learned anyway. Nothing was going to stop him from learning. Now a days he can inhale for one minute and exhale for one minute too, who knows how long he can retain, who cares? He is a happy man.
"Better to beg for for forgiveness than ask for permission" said Marie Currie. A female scientist who was way ahead of her time. My writing teacher Peter tells me this quote is actually from Grace Myrray Hopper... Every day I learn something new.
Patanjali in his yoga sutras establishes that we need to be steady and comfy in a sited position to start pranayama. Yes I am paraphrasing, he might not have said "comfy". We will need the steadiness of the back for the energy to flow upwards, we will need a strong and healthy body to sustain the higher currents of energy. But that's it. No third series.
That being said, anyone who does gets to the third series will have four developed conditions in their body: (a) very opened hips (from legs behind the head poses) (b) strong arms from the arm balances, (c) a deep backbending practice which ensures opening of the front of the body, and, finally, (d) the most important thing: a likely ability to sustain the lotus pose for long periods of time.
Instead of asking how long do I have to wait, perhaps we could ask "how is my lotus coming along"?
The lotus pose, yogis-of-old tell us, is the best position in which to attempt meditation and the higher limbs of yoga.
In my case I started practicing with a teacher (a great one) in Thailand during the 5 week teacher training course in Ko Samui. I am aware of how lucky I am to have an advanced practitioner like Paul Dallaghan sit with me one-on-one and make sure my kapalabhati was coming from the belly and not from the chest, or that my bandhas were applied right when I was holding while at nadi shodhana practice.
At that time I was rather new to Ashtanga and did not (still cannot) sit in the lotus pose for long periods of time. However, I can sit in the OTHER THREE, easier, less perfect poses which are not "ideal", but are still OK (Siddhasana, Svastikasana, Virasana)
So you see? My pranayama practice is just like me:
It is not perfect, nor does it want to be. It is where it is, I work at it. It is what I make it, a daily showing up for the cushion, and an attempt at following what I have learned and continue to learn with dedication and an attitude of humility. Day by day, one breath at the time. It is in the practice, and continuing studying that I learn.
Will there be a day where I can sit in the lotus and retain for 60 seconds and hence gain one unit of the next limb of yoga (as we learned in last chapter)? I don't know, and I don't care.
Yoga to me is the journey within, is the connection I feel to the soul when I am in it, and it is the coming home. How does that feel like? It feels like a gigantic hole in my lower back that was open and leaking sadness has been plugged with a warm energy that makes everything look radiant. It manifests when I can make decisions in the world that come from a place of center and honoring of my spirit. It is shown to others when I can act with respect, and to the best of my abilities.
The rest is just practice. Oh yes. Now, back to the book.
Why is this chapter important?
The chapter is unpretentiously called "General Guidelines". It is what inspired me to give deep thought to the primal question of when to start. That was the biggest aha! moment here. There are several other details in the chapter like what season is most auspicious (all really since the advent of heat and a/c), when not to practice (electric storm), the importance of clean air, health, how to develop and attitude of worship, what if you are not a worshiper kind of person? It has talks about ratios, mantra, digital count and many, many other things.
It makes for a wonderful starting point on getting clear about the level of committment it takes without setting an entry bar so high that it seems unatainable. For example: The practice of pranayama begins to highlight the powers that can come with a dedicated and devoted attempt at it. It is critical to approach the practice with an attitude of humility:
 |
| Tim Miller in Viranchyasana A From third series. Easy, right? |
Bodies are of many kinds, they have different genetics, biologies and emotional stories that weave them into patterns that may not so easily be unlearned. Migh take time. Opening them may take longer than we ever dreamed of, at least in my case that seems to be how it is. And I love her for it.
Every challenging pose informs me of areas I need to work on, not just at the body level but at the level of pent-up "energies" that I may have stored there. For example my inability to open the front of the body wide and at large and drop back may have to do with a fear of falling pray to a predator that will rob my heart. May sound silly. It is totally how it feels.
So what should one do? Pretend like one is not ready and will never be? Or should we charge ahead and pay no attention to where our asana practice is and forge into the fourth limb of yoga without hesitation? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. Here is what I think:
----
This is the series I've come to call Claudia's Book Club in which we are starting with a very timely book: "Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga". It is timely because it is about time that we leave behind our childhood obsession with asana (poses) and move on to practicing pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga. That of course does NOT mean that we do not pay attention to asana, it just means that we begin to pay more attention to our breath, this "companion" without whom we are dead.
----
Back to What I Think:
Whenever I think of the issue of starting pranayama I look at Iyengar for encouragement. I imagine him winking at me with his deep eyes and lush eye-brows, and whispering: "Learn, try, grow!".
His teacher, the big Krishnamacharya, told him: "No! You are not ready, you must not practice". What did BKS did? He spied on him! He learned anyway. Nothing was going to stop him from learning. Now a days he can inhale for one minute and exhale for one minute too, who knows how long he can retain, who cares? He is a happy man."Better to beg for for forgiveness than ask for permission" said Marie Currie. A female scientist who was way ahead of her time. My writing teacher Peter tells me this quote is actually from Grace Myrray Hopper... Every day I learn something new.
Patanjali in his yoga sutras establishes that we need to be steady and comfy in a sited position to start pranayama. Yes I am paraphrasing, he might not have said "comfy". We will need the steadiness of the back for the energy to flow upwards, we will need a strong and healthy body to sustain the higher currents of energy. But that's it. No third series.
That being said, anyone who does gets to the third series will have four developed conditions in their body: (a) very opened hips (from legs behind the head poses) (b) strong arms from the arm balances, (c) a deep backbending practice which ensures opening of the front of the body, and, finally, (d) the most important thing: a likely ability to sustain the lotus pose for long periods of time.
Instead of asking how long do I have to wait, perhaps we could ask "how is my lotus coming along"?
The lotus pose, yogis-of-old tell us, is the best position in which to attempt meditation and the higher limbs of yoga.
In my case I started practicing with a teacher (a great one) in Thailand during the 5 week teacher training course in Ko Samui. I am aware of how lucky I am to have an advanced practitioner like Paul Dallaghan sit with me one-on-one and make sure my kapalabhati was coming from the belly and not from the chest, or that my bandhas were applied right when I was holding while at nadi shodhana practice.
At that time I was rather new to Ashtanga and did not (still cannot) sit in the lotus pose for long periods of time. However, I can sit in the OTHER THREE, easier, less perfect poses which are not "ideal", but are still OK (Siddhasana, Svastikasana, Virasana)
 |
| Phew, I can do that! (Siddhasana, BKS Iyengar) |
It is not perfect, nor does it want to be. It is where it is, I work at it. It is what I make it, a daily showing up for the cushion, and an attempt at following what I have learned and continue to learn with dedication and an attitude of humility. Day by day, one breath at the time. It is in the practice, and continuing studying that I learn.
Will there be a day where I can sit in the lotus and retain for 60 seconds and hence gain one unit of the next limb of yoga (as we learned in last chapter)? I don't know, and I don't care.
Yoga to me is the journey within, is the connection I feel to the soul when I am in it, and it is the coming home. How does that feel like? It feels like a gigantic hole in my lower back that was open and leaking sadness has been plugged with a warm energy that makes everything look radiant. It manifests when I can make decisions in the world that come from a place of center and honoring of my spirit. It is shown to others when I can act with respect, and to the best of my abilities.
The rest is just practice. Oh yes. Now, back to the book.
Why is this chapter important?
The chapter is unpretentiously called "General Guidelines". It is what inspired me to give deep thought to the primal question of when to start. That was the biggest aha! moment here. There are several other details in the chapter like what season is most auspicious (all really since the advent of heat and a/c), when not to practice (electric storm), the importance of clean air, health, how to develop and attitude of worship, what if you are not a worshiper kind of person? It has talks about ratios, mantra, digital count and many, many other things.
It makes for a wonderful starting point on getting clear about the level of committment it takes without setting an entry bar so high that it seems unatainable. For example: The practice of pranayama begins to highlight the powers that can come with a dedicated and devoted attempt at it. It is critical to approach the practice with an attitude of humility:
"...Kumbhaka gives great power. there is almost nothing that cannot be achieved if kumbhaka is mastered. It is absolutely essential that this power be laid at the feed of the Divine and nowhere else."And finally, let's not take it so seriously because we are all going to die. So I'd rather try.
"Think about it for a moment: To make your body perfectly proportioned and healthy may just give you the opportunity to ignore the reality of your death for longer. But even then you will die, and, if you ignore that fact longer, you may actually die a bigger fool than if you hadn't been involved in life-extending yoga practices at all. By 'bigger fool' I mean even more attached and identified with body and mind and even less appreciative of your eternal, spiritual nature."
My question to you if you are reading with me, is which part of the general guidelines brought the most aha! moments for you?
CLAUDIA'S BOOK CLUB:
"PRANAYAMA THE BREATH OF YOGA"
Chapter One: How Many Breaths Do You Do Per Minute?
Chapter Two: Part I: Who Is An Expert In Yoga?
Chapter Two: Part II: How To Get Your Body To Be 16 Years Old Again
Chapter Three: Meditation is Useless Unless Both Nostrils Are Active
Chapter Five: How Do I Know If I Am Ready For Pranayama?
Chapter Eight: Pulling Your Brain Updwards. On Bandhas and Pranayama
Chapter Nine: Why Gross Purification Is Critical To Yoga
Chapter Ten: The Breathing Exercise That Gets Rid Of Our Fears
Chapter Eleven: How Not To Be An Idiod In Pranayama. Nerve Purification
Chapter Twelve: Bhastrika Pranayama - Life Force on Steroids
Chapter Thirteen: What The World Needs Now Is More Left Nostril Breathing
Here is a link to the book in Amazon. Join me in reading!
It is quite baffling why Sri Jois made his 3rd series prerequisite to practising pranayama. It sounds very illogical and irrational.
ReplyDeleteKirit, I hear you, but I actually think it is great because the entry point, the bar is so high that it makes us go back and reconsider and therefore it puts the power of decision back on the individual. That is how I see it.
ReplyDelete