Where do Āsana lead us?
Category Archives: Āsana
We are welcome to use Kumbhaka (breath suspension) but……
”We are welcome to use Kumbhaka (breath suspension) but if it in any way affects the quality of the Inhale or Exhale and our own relation with this flow, then there is no meaning. The tragedy of Kumbhaka is that we can use force, as in Āsana, to achieve our aim. But why and at what price?”
- TKV Desikachar June 30th 1978 from a one week retreat on Prāṇāyāma in Switzerland
An example of Avidyā or Illusion……
An example of Avidyā or Illusion – confusing the maturation of your Āsana practice with the maturation of your Yoga practice? (Yoga Sūtra C2 v4)
Begin your practice from where you are, finish your practice where you are going.
“Begin your practice from where you are, finish your practice where you are going.” – TKV Desikachar June 1978
TKV Desikachar’s Yoga Routine for Soccer and Football – with Larry Payne, 1986
Posted by Samata Yoga in three parts with introductions by the late Mary Lou Skelton and TKV Desikachar.
Part One
Also posted in All Drawn from the Web, cYs Journal, Views around the Source, viniyoga of Yoga, Yoga Bricolage
I have a strong feeling my father invented these sequences……
“Question: Why were Yogāsana-s practiced differently before this book (Yoga Makaranda)?
TKV Desikachar: I have a strong feeling my father invented these sequences based on a classical way of prostration to the Sun called Sūrya Namaskāra. He extended it to other Āsana-s as well based on this ancient procedure. He probably innovated in this manner because he had to teach young children at the Yogaśālā, whose energy levels are very different from adults. We are fortunate for this today, as a wide range of practitioners practice Yogāsana-s in this form.”
From an interview in complementary Issue 0, August 2011 in Synergie a bi-annual newsletter published by Media Garuda, the Media division of KHYF.
The test for intelligent effort is the response of the breath.
“The test for intelligent effort is the response of the breath.” – TKV Desikachar June 1978
Also posted in cYs Journal, News Views & Posts, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff
Exercise should be ‘standard part of cancer care’
All patients getting cancer treatment should be told to do two and a half hours of physical exercise every week, says a report by Macmillan Cancer Support. (More than many attending their weekly Yoga Āsana Class? Plus there are also holidays to take into account?)
BBC News Today
Also posted in All Drawn from the Web, cYs Journal, Yoga, Health & Lifestyle
One should practice and inquire into the effects of the practice…….
“One should practice and inquire into the effects of the practice (short term and long term) as well as the practice.” – TKV Desikachar June 1978
Also posted in cYs Journal, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
We must discover why we practice.
“We must discover why we practice.” – TKV Desikachar June 1978
Also posted in cYs Journal, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Responses to three questions for a media article
I was recently asked to provide ‘expert quotes’ in response to three questions for a media article by a freelance journalist for MSN on a Yoga related issue. These are my reflections:
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Pauls Musings on Yoga Today, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga, Yoga Sūtra Posts
The Breath is the canvas on which we paint the pictures of our Body.
“The Breath is the canvas on which we paint the pictures of our Body.”
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Standing to Challenge, Lying to Support, Inverted to……
Guidelines for Breath in Āsana and Prāṇāyāma
Standing to Challenge, Lying to Support, Inverted to Develop, Back Bend to Stimulate, Seated to Refine, Seated Breathing to Transcend, – the Breath.
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, News Views & Posts, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, Prāṇāyāma, viniyoga of Yoga
The āsana are presented in vinyāsa krama……….
Introduction to Yoga Makaranda by TKV Desikachar
Extract from the issue of KYM Darśanam published in November 1993 written by TKV Desikachar as an introduction to a serialisation of the Yoga Makaranda which ran over 10 issues of the magazine until February 1996.
“The āsana are presented in vinyāsa krama, the way it was taught to children in the Yogasāla.
This should not create the impression that T Krishnamacharya taught in this manner to everyone.”
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Views around the Source, viniyoga of Yoga
Progress must be seen as the distance from……
Notes from my first seminar with TKV Desikachar in Cambridge August 1976
”Progress must be seen as the distance from the starting point, rather than the more usual reference of the distance from the finishing point.”
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, News Views & Posts, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
How long should a person stay in an āsana……
Question to T Krishnamacharya -
Q: How long should a person stay in an āsana every day?
A: A person must stay in any one āsana for at least fifteen minutes.
From the book ‘Śrī Krishnamacharya – The Pūrnācārya’, published by the KYM in 1997
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, News Views & Posts, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Notes from my personal conversations with TKV Desikachar
Chatting with my teacher during a lesson in the early 1990′s I commented on an observation formed from discussions with my students from a study group I had brought to Madras (Chennai) for a two week seminar during my personal study stay that year (continued).
Paul’s Daily Yoga Quotes Page
Personal Commentary to Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā Chapter 3 verse 13
mahākleśādayo doṣaḥ kṣīyante maraṇādayaḥ I
mahāmudrāṃ ca tenaiva vadanti vibudhottamāḥ II
“It dissolves defects like mahākleśa (avidyā) ……… I
For this reason the wise call it the great (mahā) mudrā II”
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, News Views & Posts, Pauls Daily Quotes Page, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Personal Commentary to Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā Chapter 1 verse 17
Kuryāt Tad Āsanaṃ Sthairyam Arogyaṃ Cāṅga Lāghavan I
“Āsana Practice brings increased steadiness, less illness and a lightness of limb.”
This verse is telling us that development and refinement of and in Āsana is a foundation for or first accessory towards more subtle practices. Don’t confuse the vehicle with the goal. I am reminded of a recent quote from Srivatsa Ramaswami: (continued)
How to Observe an Āsana Session – by Margaret Pierce
The dancer glides gracefully to her accustomed spot and sighs as she lies down. It is 5.50pm, ten minutes before class. One woman sits knitting intently. Another sits serenely in Ardha Padmāsana. Another, face alit, places a rose on my table, while the tense weight-lifter eagerly describes his latest injury
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Yoga Postures in Practice – A series on Āsana by Paul Part 4 Utkaṭāsana
Part Four – Building our Support with Utkaṭāsana
This is the fourth in a series of articles presenting the core principles for āsana practice as taught to me through many years of personal lessons in India with my teacher TKV Desikachar.
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff
The viniyoga of Āsana – Collective of Parts 1-15 as a Downloadable PDF
Extracts from my notes from my 121 Studies in India with TKV Desikachar whilst resident in Madras 1979-1981.
Click to download this series of posts as a PDF Document for storage or printing
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
T Krishnamacharya – Collection of Film Clips from 1938
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was 50 when the film was made from which these excerpts were taken. He is now seen as one of the the most influential teachers in establishing what Yoga has become identified through today. His students included Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi, and his son TKV Desikachar.
Also posted in All Drawn from the Web, cYs Journal, Haṭha, Views around the Source
The viniyoga of Āsana – Collective of Parts 1-15
Extracts from my notes from my 121 Studies in India with TKV Desikachar whilst resident in Madras 1979-1981.
Also posted in cYs Journal, Haṭha, Paul’s Yoga Related Stuff, viniyoga of Yoga
Conscious breathing is one of the greatest tools to influence……
“Conscious breathing is one of the greatest tools to influence the effect of the postures without changing the posture.”
- TKV Desikachar