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May 11, 2012
May Student of the Month
Lotta Gustafsson graduated from the ISHTA 200 hr. Teacher Training in Stockholm, which took place over the month of August, 2011. She currently combines teaching weekly classes with caring for her four-year-old daughter.
How has yoga changed you?
Yoga has helped me a lot with back and neck pain. It has changed me physically, but also it has brought me to know my real self. I now make contact with my true feelings and can create space between me and my feelings and thoughts. My yoga and meditation practice makes me a better mother. I become a better version of myself.
Has doing yoga given you any important insights about yourself?
Yes, every time I practise.
Would you share them with us?
One important insight is that I can trust myself. If I listen inside I almost always have the answers; I just have to trust my inner knowledge. It may sound like a cliché, but you really will have a deeper knowledge about yourself and life if you pay attention to what is going on inside.
If you had started yoga at seventeen, would it have changed your life?
Yes, I know it would have changed me.
Please tell us how.
It could have changed the path of my life, because it would have given me better tools for my journey to come. I think I would have been more confident in trusting my inner compass. I have always been a physical sort of person, and I might have become a “Super Yogi” (if I had avoided injury).
If you could be a yoga pose, which one would you be?
Savasana.
Why?
Savasana, in my opinion, is the best pose. It relaxes your body and focuses your mind. It is a pose where you work with the inside and the outside. Savasana can open up my body better than other asanas after a stressful day.
What is your favorite thing to do after a satisfying session of yoga?
Take a walk and get some fresh air, or just relax with a cup of tea.
Do you have a favorite yoga quote or saying you would share with us?
“There will be some who are born in a state of Yoga. They need not practice or discipline themselves.” Patanjali, Sutra 1.19.
A “real” yogi is not necessarily someone who practises asanas or follows “my” kind of yoga. Everyone has their own path in life.
May 10, 2012
A Face in the Crowd
I had been teaching all morning. On Notting Hill Gate I ducked inside a coffee bar for a latte and a moment’s rest. I took a seat where I could watch the people passing by outside. Notting Hill Gate, Saturday, midday: tourists gushing into the entrances to the Tube and being flushed out of the exits, all searching for El Dorado—Portobello Road.
While I was looking at the faces–laughing, talking, shouting, smiling, frowning–I was reminded of an astonishing passage from Seize the Day, one of, if not the greatest of, Saul Bellow’s books. Here Bellow is describing the thoroughfare of Broadway on the Upper West side of Manhattan, as it looked to him (through the eyes of his protagonist, Tommy Wilhelm) in the mid-1950s.
On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay about the doorways of butcher shops and fruit stores. And the great, great crowd, the inexhaustible current of millions of every race and kind pouring out, pressing round, of every age, of every genius, possessors of every human secret, antique and future, in every face the refinement of one particular motive or essence—I labor, I spend, I strive, I design, I love, I cling, I uphold, I give way, I envy, I long, I scorn, I die, I hide, I want. Faster, much faster than any man could make the tally. The sidewalks were wider than any causeway; the street itself was immense, and it quaked and gleamed….
The wonder of Bellow’s genius (freely on show in all his books) is that he can deftly marry pictorial description with psychological insight. Great writers are miniaturists and visionaries at the same time, and Bellow is one of the very greatest; it is one thing to describe a crowd in motion, but it is quite something else to enter into the minds of the crowd and to render the rush of thoughts and feelings, as Bellow does in this passage. It takes us out of the moment and projects us into the infinite. Undoubtedly this was Bellow’s intention. He wanted us to see all of humanity “antique and future” in one strike. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand pictures could not conjure up what Bellow achieves with a dozen lines.
Was Bellow thinking of Purgatory as he described the crowd on Broadway? Perhaps he did not see people at all but lost souls swept this way and that by the forces inside them that were outside their control.
It is the paradox of the modern world that we appear to have greater choice and greater control over our lives, and yet, more than ever, we seek advice and help to live our lives fruitfully, as if the centuries past have taught us nothing, as if with every era we must start again and experience the same anguish and uncertainty about the world around us, whatever progress we appear to have made.
I sipped my latte and then had a surge of elation. (It wasn’t the caffeine—I drink decaf.) I was suddenly very grateful for my yoga; without it, I am sure I would already have been swept away by the fierce currents of modern life. Yoga creates space between me and the abyss. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out several times. When I opened them again, the sun was doing its best to shine—which in London in April takes some doing.
I took up my latte, left the coffee shop, and was swallowed up by the crowd.
Knowing Boundaries: Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
The tree grows and grows, and then it stops. How does it know when the time is right? I am not a botanist, and I am sure there is a scientific explanation, but I prefer to imagine that it is an instinct at work, some cosmic awareness that tells the tree when to call a halt to its growth.
When I look at a forest from afar, its beauty thrills and awes me, especially when the forest stands on a grassy plain or a mountainside. Especially an oak forest. There is a volume and a presence in an oak forest that makes it seem so potent, so alive, as if it might start moving across the landscape. And yet the forest never moves (except in Macbeth). It holds its place. It instinctively knows the limit of its expansion.
My question is this: what does the tree know that we do not? What inherent awareness does it have about its boundaries and limits that is denied us at birth and that we can only learn from hard-won experience? A child maps her boundaries and limits by blundering up against them: accidents with objects, confrontations with parents. When the child reaches adulthood a whole new set of rules must be learned, and before they are, there are many slips and mishaps on the way. We learn our limits from clashes with others. We must undergo awkwardness, confrontation, and humiliation before we finally admit to ourselves where our limits lie.
Yoga, with its emphasis on holding the pose, with its tendency to self-restraint, contemplation, and inwardness, can help us to affirm our boundaries for ourselves, and not have them imposed on us by others. What the tree knows instinctively, Tree Pose can help us learn by cultivating our spatial awareness and honing our aptitude for mental and physical balance.
In the pose, one foot is solidly placed on the ground; the other is drawn up the inside of the standing leg, toes facing down. The standing foot, pelvis, shoulders, and head are vertically aligned. Hands can be extended above the head, separated or with palms touching. The position is held for as long as is comfortable. While gazing at a point helps with balance, you can practice your inward gaze by keeping the eyes closed.
Tree pose teaches us to be aware of the space we inhabit, and how we stand in relation to those around us and our environment. If we can learn this lesson for ourselves, we may not have to learn it in a starker way from others.
ʘ
If you would like to reacquaint yourself with the steps to a perfect Vrksasana, visit http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/496
The Making of ISHTA. A is for Ayurveda.
Ayurveda (the A in ISHTA) is the traditional Indian system of medicine whose origins date back at least two thousand years. The objective of Ayurveda—the name comes from the Sanskrit words “ayu” (life) and “veda” (knowledge)—is to help a person live a long, healthy life by balancing the constitution (with the emphasis on prevention of disease rather than cure). The treatment involves diagnosis of the patient’s personality as well as body, the prescribing of herbal remedies, breathing exercises, and meditation. Every step in an Ayurvedic treatment is accompanied by observation, inquiry, direct examination, and knowledge derived from the ancient texts; it is a truly holistic discipline.
According to Ayurvedic theory, the universe is made up of the Five Great Elements (Pancha Maha Bhutas): Air (Vayu), Space (Akasha), Fire (Tejas), Water (Jala) and Earth (Prithvi). These elements are contained within each of us in different proportions, together making up the individual’s constitution, or prakriti, which in turn consists of three sub-elements called the doshas: Vata (air and space), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (earth and water).
Once the Ayurvedic doctor has diagnosed a person’s prakriti, it is compared with that person’s vikriti (current condition), and recommendations can be made in order to bring the two states into balance (imbalances being conducive to ill health).
ISHTA uses the elements of Ayurvedic theory to arrive at the most suitable style of yoga for each student. Once the student has an understanding of her prakriti, the teacher can assist her in tailoring a physical and spiritual practice to address any imbalance in the doshas. This may mean avoiding certain asanas or cultivating a deeper and slower practice that includes more meditation. On the other hand, it might mean speeding up the sequence and working harder! Everyone’s dosha is unique, and your ISHTA practice will reflect that.
March 28, 2012
The Power of Three: Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
Three is a mysterious and potent number. It appears frequently in classical mythology, fairy stories, religion, literature, architecture—and yoga, whose province is the vital trinity of body, mind, and spirit. The most sacred eastern symbol of OM, which represents all creation and is often chanted at the beginning and end of a yoga practice, is made up of three audible sounds (A-U-M).
Three, in the form of the triangle, is a basic component of the physical practice in yoga, found in active poses as well as in seated meditation (the three points of the triangle being the top of the head, the right and the left knee). After meditation we visualize an upside-down triangle in front of the sacrum bone (which is itself triangular) in order to ground volatile energy and retain it in the pelvis, the seat of power and procreation.
The yantra (a diagram to aid focus in meditation) for the heart centre (Anahata chakra) is made up of two overlapping triangles, one pointing up and one pointing down. The one pointing up represents our ability to move towards higher consciousness; the one pointing down represents our ability to draw higher consciousness into us and manifest it in life.
The image of two overlapping triangles has an ancient provenance, appearing widely in the great eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam) as well as Christianity, and lesser offshoots such as alchemy and occultism. The meaning of the overlapping triangles appears to be consistent, wherever the symbol is found, and can be summed up as: “That which is below is also that which is above.” And we could talk about exactly what that means until all the candles have burned out! Suffice to say that man has always sought both complete immersion in the world and complete detachment from it, which may explain the timeless potency of the symbol.
In trikonasana (Triangle Pose), we are looking to establish two triangles: one bordered by the two legs and the floor, the other constructed from the front leg, the underside of the torso, and the bottom arm (resting on shin, foot, or block). When we have secured for our feet a solid, stable foundation that grounds and connects us with the earth, we unfurl ourselves and settle into the pose, eventually gazing up at the top hand and merging with the point of focus. Perhaps we should call it, in honour of the Renaissance, the vanishing point—the centre of the infinite. The vanishing point is also constructed around a triangle.
When we practise trikonasana we are supremely conscious of looking upwards to the heavens while remaining firmly rooted to the earth. It is both an active and a meditative pose, and, like the triangle itself, is suggestive of much more than can be seen from our own limited perspective: depth, adaptability, impregnability, mystery, and longevity.
That which is above is also that which is below, which is also that which is beyond our understanding.
ʘ
If you would like to reacquaint yourself with the steps to a perfect Trikonasana, visit http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/494
The Making of ISHTA. T is for Tantra.
Tantra (the T in ISHTA) is a spiritual movement whose origins date back as far as medieval India. Tantra has taken multiple forms and been interpreted in numerous ways over the centuries: it has been a hermetic cult and a liberal credo, sometimes secretive, sometimes accessible. There is a whiff of the sulphurous occult about it, as well as the scent of a spring morning. Perhaps it is this very contrariness that attracts those of us seeking personal transformation, drawn, as we often are, to both the dark and the light. (That tantra has of late become associated in the public mind with advanced sexual practices has certainly not hurt its appeal to a modern audience.)
But what does tantra stand for? What is its philosophy? In general terms, tantra says that the Divine is everywhere around us, that we are a part of it, and that we can connect with it, if only we can liberate ourselves from the illusion (maya) of daily life and recognise the truth.
According to tantric lore, the universe was created out of two opposite but attracting forces: the god Shiva, who brings the male forms of intelligence and wisdom, and the goddess Shakti, who represents the creative, nurturing energy of the feminine. Shiva and Shakti were joined together in blissful harmony before time began, and when they were parted, the universe came into being. Tantra also says that Shiva and Shakti remain tethered by a subtle cord of energy, and the objective in ISHTA yoga is to reunite Shiva with Shakti through the physical body, and thereby return to wholeness and bliss.
The word tantra comprises the Sanskrit words “tanoti” (to expand), and “trayati” (to liberate), and ISHTA uses tantric techniques to expand the mind and liberate the consciousness: asana to purify the body and meditation to elevate the mind.
The asana practice stretches and strengthens the body in order to free blocked energy and build physical and psychic heat (tapas), thereby helping us to shed our wasteful habits and destructive tendencies and make way for new and positive development. After asana we meditate, using tantric visualisations to draw Shakti back to Shiva, in order to explore the subtler aspects of being and channel energy for personal transformation.
We try to sit in meditation for eighteen minutes each day; doing this regularly imbues us with a lasting sense of wholeness and peace.
The promise of inner bliss—not just on the mat but in the home and the workplace, not only during yoga practice but for every hour of the day, through all the myriad scenes and tableaux of life—is a very plausible explanation as to why tantra continues to exert a powerful attraction for people seeking a better way of being.
Mother Theresa’s “Do it anyway”
The story of Agnes Bojaxhiu, the Albanian Roman Catholic nun who became, rather more famously, Mother Teresa, is a testament to selflessness and devotion. When we think to complain about the difficulties of our lives, our struggles, our doubts, and our feelings of insecurity and uncertainty, we can look to the supernal example of a woman who left her family, her home, her country, and every comfort to care for “the poorest of the poor” in Calcutta. That she became an unstoppable force of one, untiring and unceasing in her efforts, is more than an inspiration: it is proof that the world can be changed for the better. This poem - “Do it anyway” - was discovered, so the story goes, written on a scrap of paper tacked to the wall of her room.
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centred;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may cheat you;
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten;
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
The original poem was written in 1968 (by a Dr. Kent Keith), and Mother Teresa made some amendments, the most notable of which may well be in the last line. “It was never between you and them anyway.” What did she mean by the use of the word “them”? For me. it stands out. It seems to hint at the struggle Mother Teresa underwent to fulfil her mission. Perhaps those people who did not believe in her at first, who would not help her, are the “them.” She did not let “them” stand in her way, and with success, and the worldwide attention it brought to her mission, everything changed. Her name has, in the end, become a synonym for devotion to others. Selfless acts—after they have been performed successfully, of course—will always bring a stream of well-wishers and offers of help. Everybody wants to bask in the sunlit aura of a saint.
March Student of the Month
Philippa Devas has been my student for almost five years. She is a talented interior designer, devoted mother of three, and effortlessly embodies the quintessential English style that is everywhere admired for its refined mixture of the traditional and the contemporary.
How has yoga changed you?
Yoga has changed me in many ways – I feel physically stronger, I feel calmer and less stressed, and I think I am more responsive now, rather than “reactive,” which I have been previously. The combination of yoga and meditation has enabled me to have more self awareness and this has been hugely beneficial on many levels.
How you do you hope that it will change you in the future?
I hope that the benefits that yoga has given me so far will continue – and that by continuing to practice yoga and meditation, my self awareness will deepen and I will be more able to cope with difficult or stressful situations and/or relationships.
Has doing yoga given you any important insights about yourself?
It has given me many insights.
Would you share one with us?
One of the most important relates to my breathing; I have realised that in the past, when I have been frenetic and stressed, my breathing was very shallow, and even more so when I was anxious. Doing yoga has enabled me to slow down, and not only breathe more deeply but also be more conscious of my breathing; this in turn has helped me to be calmer and more centred.
If you had started yoga at seventeen, would it have changed your life?
Undoubtedly.
Please tell us how.
Firstly, I think I would have had much improved posture – I have always tended to round my shoulders, and yoga has helped me to change this. Secondly, I would have started my “inner” or spiritual journey earlier; I feel sure this would have affected the decisions I made and thus have changed the course of my life.
If you could be a yoga pose, which one would you be?
Dhanurasana – Bow Pose
Why?
I like this pose because it opens the heart; and I think heart-opening is extremely important – to enable one to be more loving, and also to be more receptive to loving.
What is your favourite thing to do after a satisfying session of yoga?
Have breakfast – I prefer to do yoga first thing in the morning and then to have a breakfast afterwards.
Do you have a favourite yoga quote or saying you would share with us?
“The release from fear is what finally precipitates the full flowering of love. In this state you will love what you see in others, and others will love you for having been seen. This is the softened perception of the world that yoga promotes.” ~ Erich Schiffmann
February 9, 2012
February Student of the Month
Angela Cano, who is from California, was living in London with her husband when a friend recommended my teaching to her. We started with private sessions, which led to Angela signing on for the ISHTA Teacher Training. Angela became a mother for the first time a year ago and has now returned to the US. She is currently writing a book.
How has yoga changed you?
In more ways than I probably even realize! Physically, I am stronger now than I have ever been, and this is very noticeable when I am doing other forms of exercise (running, weight training, etc). But perhaps the most amazing change is in the development of my self awareness. Yoga, in combination with meditation, has given me the wonderful gift of understanding myself at a new level.
How do you hope it will change you in the future?
I hope this level of self understanding will continue to deepen. When I practise yoga, I am able to centre myself, and I’d like to become more skilled in centring myself in various situations off the mat – especially the stressful ones.
Has doing yoga given you any important insights about yourself?
Countless insights.
Would you share one with us?
The most profound insight I have had recently is that a less rigorous yoga practice can actually be the best thing for my mind, body, and soul. I have been an athlete and runner my entire life, and working out has always been a part of my day and a vehicle for stress relief. Until recently, I believed that the more stressed I was, the harder I needed to work out in order to relieve the stress. I now understand that slowing down and doing a less rigorous practice will build less heat in my system and therefore relieve the stress more effectively.
If you had started yoga at seventeen, would it have changed your life?
Certainly.
Please tell us how.
It would have enabled me to begin the journey of self discovery that much earlier, which would have resulted in my making different, more conscious choices.
If you could be a yoga pose, which one would you be?
Vrksasana (tree pose).
Why?
Tree pose is about setting your foundation, rooting down strongly into the earth, finding and keeping your balance while at the same time reaching towards the sun – and you do this no matter what might be happening around you. I want to strive to bring this same approach into every day of my life.
What is your favourite thing to do after a satisfying session of yoga?
Walk and reflect. I always find that I have some of my most insightful, calm, and peaceful moments after I leave the mat. These are the moments I relish, and I try to maintain this energy through the activities of the day that follow.
Do you have a favourite yoga quote or saying you would share with us?
“The breath, body, and mind all work together. If one of these is agitated, the other will follow. If one is calmed, the others will follow.” This simple yet life-altering concept was one we learned as a part of the ISHTA 200-hour training, and I continue to remind myself of it on a regular basis. Whenever I’m feeling agitated, it is typically because I’m moving so quickly that I’m not breathing adequately and my entire system suffers. Breathe, breathe, breathe…just breathe.
Between Heaven and Earth: Mountain Pose
Mountain Pose (Tadasana) is the foundation for all the other yoga poses. Feet, legs, spine, neck, head are arranged one atop the other in perfect alignment, balancing each section of the body and allowing the breath and prana to circulate freely. The look of the pose is solid and stable, but it is not inert or indolent. The mountain is the centre, the focus of attention, and it may seem locked into time and space, but inside and all around there is great activity.
Consider the series of woodblock paintings by the great Japanese artist, Hokusai (1760-1849), Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji; in these, Fuji, the sacred Japanese mountain, is portrayed from multiple perspectives: dwarfed in the distance by a great wave seen in close-up; in snow; on a balmy day; through the piers of a bridge; in the far distance, seen behind rooftops; casting its own reflection in a lake, etc. In these marvellous scenes, people may come and go: working, travelling, at play, at rest; and Mount Fuji—always present, always dominant—seems to change in any number of ways, according to the artist’s perspective, drawing us on to unexpected feelings and insights. Hokusai’s fascination with the mountain demonstrates that a monumental shape, when seen through a creative eye, can assume many forms and meanings.
Let us remember, then, when we assume Mountain Pose, that however simple, basic, and one-dimensional tadasana may seem in yoga photographs, its subtleties are many. If we practise this pose with integrity, aware not only of what is inside us but what is outside, others may come to see us as Hokusai saw giant Mount Fuji: endowed with silent majesty but capable of infinite variety. And, what is more important, we may come to see ourselves with the fresh, unfailing eyes of a great artist.
ʘ
If you would like to reacquaint yourself with the steps to a perfect Tadasana, visit http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/492
