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 

Tripsichore Yoga

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 for info on the workshop, see my website: www.LizDoyleYoga.com and to register, email me at lizdoyle@msn.com

Opportunities and Challenges

I was honored by my friends' request to "officiate" their commitment ceremony. What I didn't expect was how it would change me. I arrived in town for dinner, and when I got home, I reviewed what I was going to say, and started to get very emotional. I was re-working it a bit, re-typing and reviewing everything, and I needed an objective point of view. It was quite late, but my friend Stephanie answered. She approved of what I had written, and followed with: "you need to somehow incorporate this part of you into your teaching".

Well, I knew right away she was right, but I asked her to elaborate. She said, if I could share this part of me with my students, they would be able to connect with me and feel that I care about them, and she shared with me some feedback she had received from people who had attended my classes. What hurt about these words was she was right. I know I have not totally shared myself with my students. The worst part was thinking that my students had suffered for it, and did not know how much I care about them.

I don't know what this is all going to mean for me, my teaching and my students, but I do know that sharing what's in my heart (without sounding like a blowhard) will be a challenge. I'm guarded. The power of what I feel inside is overwhelming, and I don't yet know how to express it without being overly-emotional. This process is going to make me a better human being and a better yoga teacher. And that's what it's all about anyway.

I salute, honor and support my friends Gary and Chris as they embark on their life together. And I thank them for being the kind of friends that inspire and challenge me to be the best human being I can be.
--------------------

Here's what I said during the opening remarks while "officiating" the commitment ceremony:

Hi Everyone, I’m Liz. I met Gary a few years ago when he attended a yoga class I was teaching. As yoga practitioners, we’re trying to peel away the layers of junk that prevent us from radiating our true selves, which is, of course, Love. When thinking about Love, I turned to the writings of a Sufi Mystic and Poet of the 13th century named Rumi, and I came across these words, so apropos for this ceremony:

“On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open, and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day.”

The fact is, the wind of life, and life’s available experience, is ALWAYS perfect. It’s really just a matter of opening the sails of the heart, so that the hardened layers of protection we wear as a result of the less enjoyable aspects of Life can be shed, and Beauty can be seen in its full glory. Today IS such a day. Today is a gateway. You may have noticed that marriages are often conducted under archways. These gates or archways are symbols; of goals attained, and more importantly, as a symbol of the end of one phase, and the beginning of another.

Gary and Chris, you’ve chosen to stand here together and make some serious promises to each other, and then walk together through the metaphorical gate to the rest of your Life together. It takes courage and “heart” to make these commitments, and to have this opportunity is a Blessing. No lifetime voyage is without hardships, but know that you are not alone. We are all here, literally at your back, to support you. Today is about your love for and commitment to each other—but know that you are not the only ones making promises today. Our presence here signifies our commitment to you as a couple, helping you all along the way, doing our part to help you keep your promise to each other.

With that said, it’s the two of you that will do the heavy lifting, and reap the incomparable rewards that only come with hard work, devotion, sacrifice, and most of all Love. Where do we look for Love, and how do we keep it alive?

I don’t know what words of inspiration I can offer to the two of you, who inspire all of us. It’s your love for each other that brought you together, and brings us all here. What is love?

Gary, Love is the feeling in your heart that fills it completely, in way you never imagined you could feel for another human being…

Chris, Love is the music of Gary’s laughter in your ears…

Gary and Chris, Love is the respect you have for each other’s way of expressing themself and the confidence each of you have in being who you are…

Chris, Love is Gary’s unexpected kindness towards and tolerance of Teddy when you first met (letting you know you would get the same treatment)…

Gary, Love is talking about your future with Chris early on, even though it made you little nervous, and Love is also his reaction.

Love isn’t one big thing, Love is the Beauty in all the little things. You already recognize the Beauty in each other, and in all the little things about your Beloved. It’s these little signs of Beauty, that add up to the one big thing: the two of you together.

Before the lovely Julie reads for you, I will leave you with one last bit of advice from one of Rumi’s poems on keeping love alive:

RELATIONSHIP BOOSTER
Here is a relationship booster
that is guaranteed to
work:

Every time your spouse or lover says something stupid
make your eyes light up as if you

just heard something

brilliant.