The Yoga Unicorn

The best stuff to teach always comes from one’s own practice, and in yoga experiential knowledge is considered to be the highest form of knowledge.  This is why I’m so excited to share the techniques in my classes that have so recently come together for me in the last month and a half.

When I spend time with Edward Clark (//Tripsichore.com), without fail, I have a new recognition of how lazy I am in my practice.  I don’t mean that I’m not doing enough chaturangas, I mean that I am not using the resources of my body (muscularly, Pranic energies fueled by the breath, et al) in even the simplest of poses, let alone transitions.  And the truth is that if I am honest about using everything to breathe my way into poses, the simplest poses require more effort than doing the hard stuff without the technique.

The latest epiphany was exerting effort through the back body to stabilize the torso.  This is particularly effective technique for backbends and pressing into inversions, but dramatically impacts stability in everything.  The Tripsichore breathing methodology is profound, and there’s so much to the seemingly simple premise of keeping a long neutral spine through pranayama technique while doing asana.

Edward recently wrote a few words about the muscularity of the breath.  In other words, we should actually be employing muscular effort to deepen the breath in a way that is coalescing and consolidating the body as Prana (fueled by the breath) moves the body through space.  The key is not to “just breathe”, but to use the breath as a vehicle through which Prana is manipulated, and Edward goes on to say,

“Few people seem to realise the muscularity of the breath…there is a great deal of physical effort put into a very precise movement.  Ordinarily, I suppose, we associate this level of effort with large movements…running, jumping…but one of the remarkable things about yoga is the discovery of what happens when you put that much effort into something that seems relatively limited….you know, instead of flailing ones arms or legs around, you put all that effort into moving the middle of your pelvic bowl a relatively small distance.”

To accomplish this involves a sustained level of concentration and effort to put some real depth and breadth of power behind the smallest of movements.  As it turns out, this intensity of focus (dharana) and careful placing of the body through manipulation of Prana (vinyasa) is what yoga is all about.  It’s a very intense process to master this technique, and I can assure you it’s worth it—repeated effort ultimately results in formerly elusive magic that makes everything come together to achieve what you could not do before.  And that, my friends, is better than a Unicorn smelling of fresh baked bread eating sunshine and rainbows.

To read the rest of Edward’s message on the muscularity of yogic breathing click HERE

To come to my classes and learn the “Unicorn Techniques”, there are classes Monday-Thursday 12N and 5:45PM at Seattle Yoga Shala.  Email me at lizdoyle@msn.com and I’ll send you the info.  You can also check out my website HERE: //LizDoyleYoga.com

Riding the mythical beast called Prana,

Liz

Here are the rest of Edwards comments on pranayama:

I suppose it is worth stressing that pranayama and breathing are not really interchangeable terms.  Breath is a mechanism through which prana is manipulated.   Essentially, any model one produces for what is meant by prana would be likely to include in its definition (though perhaps only tacitly)  that it is a way of looking at things that makes them have some kind of coherence.  E.g. the model of kundalini being a serpentine  energy that arises from some point  the base of the spine suggests a place where the movement of energy commences and a path through which it travels.    This possibly lends coherence to the movement  of the body and/or mental processes that happen when this model is used to interpret experience.  Coherence or unity being an alleged aim of yoga…an aim that would include the intentions of a practitioner and the resolution of their actions…could be evaluated then in terms of how well they were able to behave as if they were making prana/kundalini run through their body in a coherent fashion.   Breath would be part of this.

It is odd then that a slow and muscular breath is felt to be a just an optional add-on for most vinyasa practitioners rather than the place that any movement commences.

Few people seem to realise the muscularity of the breath…there is a great deal of physical effort put into a very precise movement.  Ordinarily, I suppose, we associate this level of effort with large movements…running, jumping…but one of the remarkable things about yoga is the discovery of what happens when you put that much effort into something that seems relatively limited….you know, instead of flailing ones arms or legs around, you put all that effort into moving the middle of your pelvic bowl a relatively small distance.

Apropos injury…one of the compelling reasons for the use of a slow breath is that it slows the practitioner down enough to be able to observe when they are getting into perilous territory.  It is hard to breathe slowly and go into a place where you injure yourself.

The Relevance of Vinyasa

 

Edward Clark of Tripsichore Yoga will be in town October 5-6, 2013 for workshops, lectures, and practices (read more details by clicking HERE).
  
One of the lecture/practices is on Vinyasa and it's relevance in the larger context of Yoga and the Practice.  I asked Edward to write a few words about the workshop, and I think you'll find it interesting.  Read on...

 

VINYASA 

Though Vinyasa and "Flow" forms of yoga are among the most popular practices, their lineage and place in yoga orthodoxy are rarely articulated.  This workshop looks at the ways in which the Tripsichore vinyasa practice integrates pranayama and philosophy to make possible the accomplishment of difficult work on the mat. 

 

The concept of vinyasa as applied to yoga philosophy could either be considered very ancient or radically new.  In either case, vinyasa seems to be the great contribution to yoga of this particular generation of yogis.  Most yoga discipline has worked on refining one's self in the direction of greater stillness - an absence of movement in the mind and body.  Superficially, vinyasa would seem to contradict this.  However, the mental focus and physical technique needed to bring about continuous fluid movement can also bring one to a "seat" of great stability and clarity. The stability is not only in the posture, but in the transition between postures - to the point where there is no distinction between movement and stillness.  The place of vinyasa in the history of yoga is yet to be determined, but as yoga has become a worldwide pursuit, it is probably safe to say that its importance now also lies in how people begin to apply it outside the more traditional places it has been practised.  

 

VINYASA, in our definition, is the evenly metered flow of movement, breath and thought resulting in a smooth, uninflected state of being.  The vinyasa techniques are pursued to bring about clarity and stability to one's thoughts and actions.  

 

In seated meditation, there is an inclination to go inward. Looking inwardly has been a major thrust of yogic practice. But one has as many inward distractions as one has outward distractions, so I am a little bit inclined towards harnessing the senses rather than get rid of them. In vinyasa yoga, you don't stop in a posture, you stay in a flow. There isn't a pause of any kind. And so the idea of eka grata is focusing on the flow itself. 

 

 

This makes more sense if the idea is understanding the totality of the universe which must contain within its singularity many things which appear to be contradictory. When we talk about things like cosmic consciousness, it's not just the cosmos of the inner landscape we're talking about, it's the enormity of the universe, and that's not just something that takes place within our own vista locked in the cranial vault. 

 
 ~Edward Clark

Join us October 5th and 6th!
  
See you soon and keep practicing!
Liz
//LizDoyleYoga.com 

What's All The Fuss About Prana?

Hello Friends!

This month I wanted to talk a little about Edward Clark and what you can hope to get out of his workshop in September. For starters, it's a rare occasion to spend time with a Master Teacher, dare I say "international yoga celebrity", in a more intimate format that welcomes intelligent discourse and questions.

Edward is uniquely funny, brilliant and an effective and entertaining teacher. I encourage you to join us for the weekend of September 23-25 (details and comments from students who attended his previous workshop to the right) for Edward's workshop in Seattle. It promises to be a good time loaded with fun, great yoga technique, and yoga philosophy discussions. Here're a few words from Edward regarding what we'll be covering and why:

"At the very second you are reading this, somewhere on the globe, there are at least 3 yoga teachers exhorting their students to "Breathe". I have the statistics in my briefcase. Unless the students are enrolled in a YOGA FOR PEARL FISHERS PROGRAMME (copyrighted and trademarked), they can't have been avoiding breathing for too long. So, asking questions that seems too obvious and which have hence been overlooked, what are the advantages in breathing well? What constitutes "good" breathing? Also, a somewhat more sophisticated question, what are the techniques?

The answers to these questions may seem surprisingly complex and contradictory. For instance, on the one hand, "good" breathing is held as a tenet of most contemporary yoga practices whilst on the other hand, lengthy breath retentions are esteemed by much of the hatha literature of yore. The vinyasa premise is that breathing is a mechanism through which prana is manipulated. But, WAIT! What exactly is meant by the term "prana"? It would be pointless to try to give a full answer to the question in this brief pitch to lure you into attending a FULL!! Weekend of workshops and lectures (Yes, come on -- do you really think you're going to "get it" by attending a couple of the sessions? I reckon it takes at least a month of 8 hour sessions to even come close).

While this workshop won't "open your heart" or "root your core" or even "make a shamanic transformation", it will present a forum for the technical aspects of pranayama in vinyasa practice -- a subject rarely given extended discourse."

Well, there you go...from Edward himself. As most of you know, I spent a month with Edward at his studio in London learning his technique. It was an incredibly meaningful learning experience, and absolutely invaluable. We all know breathing is important, and as teachers, we talk about it constantly. Edward practices what he preaches, and what Edward will teach you is the specific whys and hows of making the breath work for you in your practice. And you may be surprised to find out it's not just about the physical practice, that's just the part people see...

Pranically Yours,

Liz

PS- to learn more about Edward's upcoming workshop in Seattle, September 23-25, or to register, email me at lizdoyle@msn.com, or check out the website: www.LizDoyleYoga.com

See you there!

RROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Imagine you're a lion today and receive these benefits:

~Relieves tension in the chest and face.
~Stimulates the platysma, a flat, thin, rectangular-shaped muscle on the front of the throat. The platysma, when contracted, pulls down on the corners of the mouth and wrinkles the skin of the neck.
~Simhasana helps keep the platysma firm as we age.
~Facilitates the three major bandhas (Mula, Jalandhara, Uddiyana).

The Breath, Self-study and the Practice

Hello Friends!

About a year ago, I felt that the next stage of development in my practice would come from a melioration of the breath, and it's something I work on constantly. The practice is, as one of my teacher's said, "a meditation on the breath".

On a recent vacation, I attended a yoga class and the teacher kept encouraging a VERY loud Ujjayi breath (see article to the right for a description). I listened carefully to her thoughts and instructions, and tried some things out in my own body.

In my opinion, especially for beginners, an extremely loud breath can be particularly helpful in tracking the breath and it's qualities, as well as learning to control it. And even as one's practiced becomes more advanced, I think it can be helpful on occasion to power up the breath depending on what's happening in any given day or pose; perhaps if one is losing track of the breath or having difficulty sustaining a consistent breath during a particular practice. But I don't think that the volume of the breath is the only indicator of its proper execution.

I often hear or see students in my class who have such an intensity in the breath, that it actually creates tension in the body. Additionally, the movement of the breath in the body is isolated to one particular area, and not necessarily because the breath is intentionally directed there.

At some point in one's practice, there is a refinement of the breath, making it more subtle, and I'm not referring simply to it's volume. The Ujjayi rhythm, always audible by it's nature, becomes an opportunity to regulate the breath in a controlled way, and in no way creates undue tension or tightness in the breath or body. As for where the movement of the breath can or should be found, watch this video of BKS Iyengar demonstrating JUST ONE BREATH. And notice, with an inhalation of nearly 50 seconds, his body barely moves. There's no radical pumping or expansion of the belly, it's as if the entire body is gently and calmly absorbing the breath equally. And listen to the sound... the beginning sounds exactly the same as the middle and the end.

As an experiment, try to make each of your exhalations sound like the inhalations, your inhalations sound like exhalations, and the duration and quality of each sound the same throughout your entire practice--WOW! It requires such focus and control. And at first, learning to direct the breath to certain areas of your body is helpful. Later, maybe one can achieve the ability to breathe as fully as Iyengar, as the entire body participates equally in the breath.

Yoga is a practice where everything, and I mean everything, is done with intention. Not a cell of your body is left out of your awareness, and everything has meaning and purpose. Your practice is a vehicle for self-study. Try new and different things out in your own body and decide for yourself what you think and why.

Treat your practice with respect and love. Whether you intend it or not, the beauty that occurs in your practice will spill out into your everyday life, so make it the best you can.

Warmly,

Liz Doyle
www.LizDoyleYoga.com

What is Ujjayi breathing and how is it done?

I like Tim Miller's description:

When done properly, Ujjayi (translated as "victorious") breathing should be both energizing and relaxing. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali suggests that the breath should be both dirga (long) and suksma (smooth).

The sound of Ujjayi is created by gently constricting the opening of the throat to create some resistance to the passage of air. Gently pulling the breath in on inhalation and gently pushing the breath out on exhalation against this resistance creates a well-modulated and soothing sound-something like the sound of ocean waves rolling in and out.

It is important to remember that the key to Ujjayi breathing is relaxation; the action of Ujjayi naturally lengthens the breath. Some small effort is required to produce a pleasing sound, but too much effort creates a grasping quality and a grating sound. Generally, it is the inhalation that presents the greater challenge. So begin by practicing on the exhalation where there is a natural letting go process.

To practice the inhalation, focus on creating a soothing and pleasing sound that is unhurried and unforced. I suggest working on your Ujjayi breathing in a seated, relaxed cross- legged position. Imagine sipping the breath in through a straw. If the suction is too strong the straw collapses and great force is required to suck anything through it.

Once Ujjayi breathing is mastered in a seated position, the challenge is to maintain the same quality of breathing throughout your asana practice.


Throughout your practice, try to maintain the length and smoothness of the breath as much as possible. Once you find a baseline Ujjayi breath in a pose that is not too strenuous (Downward Facing Dog for example), endeavor to maintain that quality of breath throughout the practice. Some asanas require great effort, and you may begin to strain in your breath. If you are straining in your breath, you may be pushing yourself too hard in your practice.

Use that feedback as a guide throughout your practice-if you start to strain, it may be time to back out of a pose and rest.