|
|
Thought for the Day: Eknath Easwaran
Those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in meditation. But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through meditation.
– Bhagavad Gita
Once, when the Buddha was told that one of his disciples was having trouble, he went to the young man’s room to see what the problem was. This young man had been born in a rich family, and he had been trained in music, so he still kept his vina – an instrument something like a guitar – in the corner of his room. When the Buddha entered, he saw the vina and said, “Let me see if I can play your vina.”
The disciple reluctantly brought it forward. He didn’t know that the Buddha had been an expert musician.
The Buddha tightened the strings of the vina until they were about to break. The disciple protested, “You are not supposed to tighten the strings like that, Blessed One; they will break!”
So the Buddha, with tender cunning said, “Oh, yes! Then should I make them loose?” And he loosened all the strings until they couldn’t be played at all. “Here, let me do it for you, Blessed One,” said the disciple, and he adjusted them. “They are now just right, neither too tight nor too loose.”
The Buddha smiled, “Yes, you see, that is what my path is: just right, neither too tight nor too loose. Moderation in everything. Temperance in everything.”
Click here for More Thought for the Day
|
|
|
Musings from the Mat
Recently, an experienced yoga teacher posed a question that may feel familiar - about feelings of inadequacy with regard to teaching yoga to students who have various health conditions. Teachers who teach gentle, therapeutic styles of yoga are more likely to find their classes populated by students who are drawn to the healing properties of yoga. That has certainly been my experience.
In response to the inquiry, another teacher suggested that by teaching what we know and creating a comprehensive yoga class, students usually leave feeling much better than when they arrived. Of course, it is important that the student attends an appropriate level class and that the teacher is able to offer general modifications for safety and comfort.
This week I came across some teachings that offer perspective for students of yoga and yoga teachers. Mukunda Stiles offers a really nice summary of Hatha Yoga and Classical Yoga in his book "Structural Yoga Therapy." In it he reminds us that "yoga is based on a process of physical and mental training culminating in the direct experience of developing insight to know the hidden truth of one's nature...Hatha Yoga seeks to balance the body with the mind...Hatha Yoga is not an end unto itself; rather it is a means to direct the mind by removing the obstacles of unsteadiness and discomfort that are experienced in the body, breath and sensory awareness."
With regard to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, (sthiram sukham asanam 2.46), Stiles goes on to say, "When this relaxation of effort and steadiness of body is created, the resulting pleasurable sensations of being in the stillness and contentment of the final posture prevades all levels of psychology, physiology, and consciousness. It is this benefit that make yoga unique. The multidimensional being is put into a state of re-integration that organically creates feelings of wholeness." Later, Stiles writes, " without receiving the general benefits of Classical Yoga, the specific benefits to health and physiology are short lived."
Students often come to yoga to get into shape, increase flexibility, address health concerns and issues of aging, etc. Teachers can be really challenged in multilevel classes with students of differing abilities including health / injury related limitations.
If we are to use Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (Classical Yoga) as a guide, then as yoga teachers, sthiram sukham asanam can be our touch stone. A steady, comfortable yoga posture adapted to the needs of the student using variations and modification / props.
* Yoga pose is a steady and comfortable position.
* Yoga pose is mastered by relaxation of effort, to create a lessening of the natural tendency for restlessness, and indentificaiton of oneself as living with the infinite stream of life.
* From that perfection of yoga posture, duality, such as praise and criticism, ceases to be a disturbance.
* When this is acquired then naturally follows a cessation of the movements of inspiration and expiration; this is called regulation of the breath.
So, from asana - breath. Kripalu uses an expression BRFWA - breathe, relax, feel, watch, allow - to describe the process.
|
|
|
The Kripalu Approach to Posture Assisting
Another perspective on Yoga Sutra 2.46, Sthiram sukham asanam relates to posture assisting. Yoga Journal's My Yoga Mentor featured an article by Carol Krucoff, The Philosophy of Touch: Exploring the Benefits and Risks of Hands-on Assistance.
From the article, this quote on the Kripalu approach:
Kripalu Yoga has specific guidelines for use of touch, according to Shobhan Richard Faulds, a senior Kripalu Yoga teacher in Greenville, Virginia. "We do not do any kind of chiropractic adjustment or apply any outside force to the body," he says. "The touch considered most helpful is light touch that encourages the student to press into certain parts of the body." An example would be placing a hand on the crown of the student’s head and asking her to press into the teacher’s hand.
"The movement comes from the student’s body, not the teacher’s," Faulds stresses. "The touch brings awareness to a body part and suggests a movement, but there’s a deep respect for the wisdom of the body in how to access this movement."
Touch is usually done with the hand, although occasionally the feet are used, he says, for example to ground the outside of a student’s foot. "This must be done carefully, since I’ve had students tell me that in another yoga tradition the teacher kicked them, and it felt like a violation," Faulds says. "When we come into a student’s space, we do so with great respect and always under the student’s control."
While Faulds considers touch helpful and "sometimes essential" in teaching asanas, he says he doesn’t touch very much in his classes. "Doing asanas is only the beginning of yoga and is a doorway to pratyahara (sensory withdrawal)," he says. "I try to guide people to a deeper yoga that gets them into an introverted state." Touching students who have gone "very deep inside" can be counterproductive, he says, "because it brings them back to an externalized state of awareness."
Click here for My Yoga Mentor, Issue 90
|
|
Early Bird Discount Extended to Friday, June 7th
Teaching Adaptive Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis in Hartford, Connecticut
June 14 - 15, 2008
-
Location:
-
Workshop Schedule:
-
Saturday, June 14: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
-
Sunday, June 15: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
-
Registration Fee:
Click here for more information
|
|
|
Group discount at Kripalu
I have formed a group with the name “Yoga Heals Us” for August 17-30, 2008. Anyone who wishes to join the group for any of the dates between August 17–30, 2008 (exceptions noted below) can do so by calling Kripalu Registration at 800-741-7353.
Besides getting a discount, signing up with a group has another advantage - only 50% of the payment is required at registration. The remainder is charged to your card one week prior to the start date.
Please pass this email on to anyone who may be interested in sharing this discount for eligible programs that fall between August 17 - 30, 2008
Click here for more information
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Contact |
Karen O'Donnell Clarke, ERYT
Kripalu Yoga & Integrative Yoga Therapy
yogahealsus@yahoo.com
www.yogahealsus.com
|
|
