"It is completely illogical to have third series as a pre-requisite for pranayama" said K in a comment recently, he is referring to the entry level barrier placed through the lineage in which I practice of having to master the equivalent of Olympic fests of yoga poses before being able to start on the limb of breathing extensions or pranayama, and which would take us higher in the tree of yoga on the road to liberation.
I relate to the frustration, perhaps this chapter of Maehle's Book will help clarify why yoga poses or asanas ares so important and also WHICH asanas we need to focus on.
Not only that but it may also clarify what is pranayama proper, meaning when we take it seriously, as opposed to the pranayama which is used only for healing benefits, as yoga therapy does and which may require less strict entry level points.
ONLY CERTAIN ASANAS ARE NECESSARY
OP Tiwari, a living world master of pranayama, says that it is important to be proficient at "certain" asanas, meaning the ones that apply to pranayama, a far distance from mastering 3rd series of Ashtanga Yoga.
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".
I hope you join me in reading, commenting, and telling me what aha! moments you get.
----
Back to the Illuminations of this chapter:
Page 127 starts by going over a myriad of scriptures and old yogic texts and how they all agree that before starting a pranayama practice one must be doing asana.
One must be grounded in the poses, understand the body, have gone through the fire of the postures.
But then the question becomes: do I need to know all the asanas? There are 7000 that Krishnamacharya listed, some people say there are as many as living beings, and after all, what is needed for meditation or pranayama is only a solid, balanced sited pose, nothing else.
Enter the lotus pose, or padmasana. Then again, Padmasana would be mastered -according to this chapter- only if one can be within it comfortably for 3 hours. There we go!
ONLY IF YOU SERIOUSLY WANT LIBERATION THROUGH YOGA
Gregor states that this is pranayama taken seriously, the kind that begins when retention of the breath is longer than 48 seconds, and if one wants to actually use the ladder of the yoga techniques to climb to samadhi. It is not simple breathing exercises.
"I hope that I have created some curiosity and enthusiasm in you towards padmasana. But please don't be as silly as I was going to the 3-hour level so fast. Your knees will thank you for it." (page 133)
He then goes over a list of requirements for padmasana, which includes feet and hands turning away from the floor, legs not lower than the muladhara or root of the spine (perineum), pelvis tilted forward quite strongly, etc.
For those of us for whom padmasana (lotus) is very difficult, there are 2 other recommended poses, which although less effective in producing the energetics that padmasana does, can help us learn and build up to it, they are:
(a) siddhasana,
(b) svatikasana, and
(c) virasana,
they diminish in difficulty as you go down the alphabet, with virasana being the most simple. He recommends starting there, with virasana, and learning progressively how to get comfortable on the other ones until when we can build up to the full lotus.
The chapter mentions as a way of closing that inversions are also very important, not just the sited poses.
WHAT TEACHERS MEAN BY PRANAYAMA IS NOT ALWAYS THE SAME
There is also an interesting discussion in which he points that the entry level for pranayama has been lowered around our current world, but it is important to notice that in those cases teachers are using pranayama in the "therapy" form, for healing, not for extraordinary results as those obtained from a deep practice.
In other words, two teachers could be talking about pranayama but they could be naming something which means different things in their mind. One could be talking about simple yogic exercises of breathing (no retentions or small retentions) to bring about relaxation, peace, healing, the other one may be talking about pranayama proper as intended in the scriptures and for spiritual liberation.
Retentions of 48 seconds or more with bandhas and proper technique is what should give us a hint as of what is it they are really talking about.
3 Hour padmasana! 3 hours in the lotus pose! What do you think?
---
Not only that but it may also clarify what is pranayama proper, meaning when we take it seriously, as opposed to the pranayama which is used only for healing benefits, as yoga therapy does and which may require less strict entry level points.
ONLY CERTAIN ASANAS ARE NECESSARY
OP Tiwari, a living world master of pranayama, says that it is important to be proficient at "certain" asanas, meaning the ones that apply to pranayama, a far distance from mastering 3rd series of Ashtanga Yoga.
"He [Tiwari] says that once one has achieved asana siddhi (power) in certain postures, one may commence pranayama. In other words, asana siddhi is not a term that applies to the simultaneous mastery of all postures but only the postures that are applicable to pranayama" (Page 129)
---
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".
This week we are observing chapter seven (although the chapters in this book don't actually have numbers, but if they did, this would be it).
The title of the chapter is Asana.
We happen to be now reading into the second part of the book in which he is covering all preparations for pranayama. This second part includes four chapters: on proper food intake or Mitahara (last week), asana (this post), bandhas (next week), and finally kryias (methods of purification).
We happen to be now reading into the second part of the book in which he is covering all preparations for pranayama. This second part includes four chapters: on proper food intake or Mitahara (last week), asana (this post), bandhas (next week), and finally kryias (methods of purification).
I hope you join me in reading, commenting, and telling me what aha! moments you get.
----
Back to the Illuminations of this chapter:
Page 127 starts by going over a myriad of scriptures and old yogic texts and how they all agree that before starting a pranayama practice one must be doing asana.One must be grounded in the poses, understand the body, have gone through the fire of the postures.
But then the question becomes: do I need to know all the asanas? There are 7000 that Krishnamacharya listed, some people say there are as many as living beings, and after all, what is needed for meditation or pranayama is only a solid, balanced sited pose, nothing else.
Enter the lotus pose, or padmasana. Then again, Padmasana would be mastered -according to this chapter- only if one can be within it comfortably for 3 hours. There we go!
ONLY IF YOU SERIOUSLY WANT LIBERATION THROUGH YOGA
Gregor states that this is pranayama taken seriously, the kind that begins when retention of the breath is longer than 48 seconds, and if one wants to actually use the ladder of the yoga techniques to climb to samadhi. It is not simple breathing exercises.
"I hope that I have created some curiosity and enthusiasm in you towards padmasana. But please don't be as silly as I was going to the 3-hour level so fast. Your knees will thank you for it." (page 133)
He then goes over a list of requirements for padmasana, which includes feet and hands turning away from the floor, legs not lower than the muladhara or root of the spine (perineum), pelvis tilted forward quite strongly, etc.
For those of us for whom padmasana (lotus) is very difficult, there are 2 other recommended poses, which although less effective in producing the energetics that padmasana does, can help us learn and build up to it, they are:
(a) siddhasana,
(b) svatikasana, and
(c) virasana,
they diminish in difficulty as you go down the alphabet, with virasana being the most simple. He recommends starting there, with virasana, and learning progressively how to get comfortable on the other ones until when we can build up to the full lotus.
 |
| Virasana, also known as hero pose |
WHAT TEACHERS MEAN BY PRANAYAMA IS NOT ALWAYS THE SAME
There is also an interesting discussion in which he points that the entry level for pranayama has been lowered around our current world, but it is important to notice that in those cases teachers are using pranayama in the "therapy" form, for healing, not for extraordinary results as those obtained from a deep practice.
In other words, two teachers could be talking about pranayama but they could be naming something which means different things in their mind. One could be talking about simple yogic exercises of breathing (no retentions or small retentions) to bring about relaxation, peace, healing, the other one may be talking about pranayama proper as intended in the scriptures and for spiritual liberation.
Retentions of 48 seconds or more with bandhas and proper technique is what should give us a hint as of what is it they are really talking about.
3 Hour padmasana! 3 hours in the lotus pose! What do you think?
---
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!
Thank You for differentiating the Pranayama techniques, Claudia. Once I found the magic of the ujjayi breath, I applied it to all of my asana practice. However, it seems that both Maehle and Iyengar say there are certain types of pranayama that should be learned outside of just the "ujjayi breath" after many asanas have been mastered? Both pranayama described by Iyengar and Maehle have a certain methodology to them and should be practiced precisely, usually with the guidance of a teacher? I've only skimmed "Light on Pranayama" by Iyengar but would like to read it in entirety coupled with Maehle's book, which I just may buy, now, that I know its under $20. Only done Padmasana using ujjayi techniques or using retention of 10 seconds, but will try retaining for more than 10 next time. 3 hours in Padmasana is a challenge, but if the experts say it works as a seat of meditation, will work up to it...Thanks as always. Sorry, I think I did something to the star tool above. oops.
ReplyDelete...Go slowly with pranayama. Consider this:http://sarmoung.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/the-art-of-breathing-2-hidden-power-and-possibilities/
ReplyDeleteHi Claudia,
ReplyDeleteHealthline is interested in contributing a guest post to earthyogi.blogspot.com. We would be open to contributing any blog that would be of interest to your readers. Healthline bloggers have been featured on a variety of sites including:
Washington Times: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tango-mind-and-emotion/2012/aug/10/how-healthy-choices-easy/
Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/036515_diabetes_strawberries_prevention.html
Patch.com: http://strongsville.patch.com/blog_posts/where-and-what-to-eat-in-cleveland-to-beat-the-winter-blues
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Warm Regards,
Tracy