Yogr Thonpy - IV

Prelude To Practice of Asanas

Yoga Mandiram
8y S, Ramasv/ami, Trustee,Krishnamacharya

Jivamani BhraiatphanaSahasraVidhruraVlgwam
AnantayaNagarajayaNamaha| |
Bhavatnandalaya

nal stimuli. They are, firstly helpsin one becominga fuAhimsa or non-violonceto- tu'ist. Accordingto our Achwards aff beingsand accord-larya, Brahmacharyais the
ing to Patanjali,all beings "most beneficialand feasible
reciprocategenuinenon-vio- yamain Kaliyuga,
lance towafds the Abhyasi
ond in his prasencsalso lose NIYAMAS
enmity among thomselves. The five Niyamas include
Satyais thinking and spoak- Souchaor cleanlinesswhich
ing the Truth,which will lead lesds to a heathly life and
..-.. arisingout
to a perfect correlation bet- preventsdaseases
ween deedand results. As- of closecontact with people
theya is non-stealing,or a
at large.
trusteeshipapproachtowards
out of contontment(satoweatlh and. earning out of
Th6se distractionscan be hanest and prescribedduty sha) arises immnsgmental
broadlyclassifiedinto three. (Nijakarma). Paradoxically peace(sukha). lt is said in
Those arising out of such a personcomesto man- Manusmritithat the happi(a) external world (b) one's age wealth. Strongth is nessarisingoutof fulfilqnent
or of desires- sithor here or
own body (c) the mindpreg- acquiredby Brahmacharya
nant with previous samska- controlled sex within the hereafter- is not comparabla
ras. Yama and Niyama ara institutionof marriage.Non- even to a sixtoenthpart (Shotho two angaswhich,if pra- possession or Aparigraha dasimKalaam)of that oxpectis.d, roduc th sfflictions fraas the mind from the riencedby the reduction of
(klera) arising out of sxter- worriesof losing wolthand desire itseff.

It has bsn mentionedthat

the goal of Yoga is total
of Purushaand
independence
is achievedby the c$sation
of all mental changes that
one normallyexperiences.lt
requiresenormouspracticeof
the mind to transcendtho
distracted states to become
aliveto stillness.TheAshtanga Yogais the mesnsto reduce th6 distractionsand is a
logical,srepby stepapproach
towerdsthat end.

Yet h c hd K a m a s u k h a m
Loke
Y et h ch a D i v y a m M a h a t
sukham!
T rus hna A k s h a y a S u k h a s yete
Na A r h a t a h S h o d a s i m
K a l a a m! !

Yogabhyasi, who is earnest,

he suggests keeping in the
b a ck o f th e m in d th a t o n e
h a s ta ke n to yo g a a s a d e liberate attempt to attain peace
o f m in d . Alla ctio n s in co n siste n t with th e ya m a n iya m a s
are motivated
by greed
T aoas wh i c h i s m o d e r a t r o n ( L o b h a ) , e n m ity ( Kr o d h a ) o r
i n s peec h a n d f o o d h e l p s t o in fa tu a tio n ( M ch a ) , a n d will
mak e t he b o d y a n d s e n s e s le a J.o n ly to m ise r y ( Du kka ) ,
more s ensi t i v e . S w a d h y a y a co n fu sio n ( Ag n a n a ) , wh ich
or s t udy of t h e s c r i p t u r e s t, h e will b e e n d le ss ( An a n ta p h a Karma and D e v a t a p o r t i o n s , la ) . All a tte m p ts a t yo g a b h pres um abl y w
, i l l h e l p o n e g e t ya sa with o u t th e se p r e r e q u idirec t per c e p t i o n o f t h e site s will b e u se le ss a n d
De v at a c o n t e m o l a t e d . A n d b e n e fits,if a n y, will o n ly b e
o ut of an a t t i t u d e o f s u r r e n - temporary. Practice of mere
d er t o t he U n i v e r s a l L o r d a sa n a swith o u t ch a n g e in th e
(l swara pra n i d h a n a ) , i n c l u d - fo o d h a b its a n d o th e r a ttitu i n g all dha r m i c a c t i o n s a n d dinal changes are perhaps the
their res ul t s , p r e p a r e s t h e ca u se o f d ise n ch a n tm e n t o f
mind f or in t e n s e C O n c e n t r a- many who attempt at yogasanas. Of ithe yamaniyamas,
ti o n (-amad h i ) .
Tapas and Brahmacharya are
perhaps the most important
a n d r e le va n t,a s th e y h a ve a lPR E REO UI S I T E S
so a d ir e ct b e a r in go n th e p h S ome re fl e c t i o n o n t h e ysica l co n d itio n o f th e Yo g a b h ya si. With o u t T a p a s o n e
abov e Y a m a n i y a m a s w i l l
i n dic at e t ha t t h e s e p r a c t i c e s becomes obese, suffers from
and at t it udi n a l c h a n g e s , a r e m a n y a ilm e n ts o f sto m a ch . lt
nec es s arya n d s u f f i c i e n t p r e - is not possible to do asanas
requisites belore the other with a sick sto m a ch . Sim iBahirangas a d h a n a sa r e c o n - la r ly with o u t Br a h m a ch a r ya templat ed. W h a t i s c a l l e d f o r a t le a st in th e b e g in n in g - o n e
i s a delibe r a t e a t t e m D t t o will n o t b e a b le to d o M u la prac t ic et he m s o t h a t o n e i s b a n d h a . wh ich is th e fir st
di st urbed m i n i m a l l y b y t h e step in the higher benefits of
external world. lt is however Yogabhyasa.
easier said than done.
The n6xt set of distractions
Pat anjalir e c o g n i z e ss u c h a are of the body and Patandifficulty as mainly due to iali uses Asanas to gst over
our c hildho o d h a b i t s a n d them. By means of practice,
co ndit ionin g . T o h e l p t h e it is possible to remain in a

particular posturo-comfortable and steady.

Asanas are to be practised
a t a qui et, cl ean pl ace. The
b e gi nni ng of summer, especial l y for those sufferi ng from
r e spi ratory ai l ments and that
o f rai ny seasonare suggested
fcr
starti ng yogasanabhya s a.
AS A N A S A R E MA N Y
It i s sai d that asanas are
in numerabl e.Y oga texts mentio n that there are as many
a sanasas there are speci es.
A sanani cha Tavanti
Yvanto Tivasasayah I
E ut presently, about 80
a sanasor so are general l yi n
vo gue. l t i s sai d that our
Acharya has i n hi s repertory
n e arl y 700 asanas. In ol den
days, generally, people were
e r adi cati ng and preventi ng
diseases by means of asanas
a n d pranayamas. l t i s sai d
th at those ai l ments-chroni cth at are not curabl e bv medi .ca l sci ences (V ai dya sastra)
a n d drugs, shoul d be cured
b y asanas and pranayamas.
Un fortunatel y, duri ng the
d a r k centuri es i n the past,
m a y of our anci ent scri ptures
o n Yoga and therapy are l ost.
It is recommended that
practice of Yoga asanas
should be started with a
prayer possibly the
one
a p peari ng at the begi nni ng
of this article.
The practice of asanas is
getting to be popular again,

aftef a lapse ofa number of a

years. The acceptance in ths
we s t , es pec i a l l ya m o n g s c i e n tists and doctors, of Yoga as
a subject of great significance has. it is to be admitted'
gi ven a f illip t o t h e p r a c t i c e
of a s anas in I n d i a a s w e l l .
Ho wev er, t h e m e c h a n i c a l
approach to the practice of
asa nas ,as a c h i e v i n g a p a r t i cu lar pos e, - s o m e h o w - w i l l
not giv e t he n e c e s s a r yr e s u l t s .
T he s t udy o f V e d a s ( a d h ya y ana) has t o b e d o n e w i t h
Udatta, anudatta and swarita
notes. Othefwise it is merely
p ros aic , T hi s s a s w a r ac h a n t i n g of
Vedic texts has
been going o r r f r o m t i m e i m memorial.No b o d y c a n t h i n k
of it ot herwis e . S i m i l a r l yw i t h
our mus ic a l s y s t e m , i t i s
mus ic , only i f i t i s s u n g w i t h
sh rut i, lay a m , d h r u t a r n ,a n u dhrutam etc. For poetry, one
has t o s t ic k to c h a n d a s ,y a t i ,
prasa etc. lf one takes to
mantra upasena, the various
nya s asof an g a , k a r a , s a r i r a ,
kala, iiva, Matruka, Tattwa
etc. are to be cbserved for
the f ruit ion o f t h e u p a s s a n a s .
But in yogabhyasa, the
present day approach to the
prat c ic eof yo g a a s a n a sa n d
pranay ma i s w i t h o u t t h e
preparat ion s a n d v a r i a t i o n s
ot v inv as as . W i t h o u t t h e
Vinyasas, the asana 'practice
is only as good as any othet
physical activity. lt is little use
if one learns a dozen wellknown asanas and practises
them wit hou t t h e v i n y a s s s .

It is my Acharya's contention
th a t th e d isillu sio n m e n t o f
many yogabhyasis is due to
practice of asanaswithout the
ya m a s, n iya m a s, vin ya sa s'
syn ch r o n o u s b r e a th in g , th e
a cco m p a n yin g b a n d h a s a n d
with a g r e e d fo r q u ick r e su lts.

lite ral l y means i nfi ni ty and

ce r tai n school s suggest one
sh o ul d concentrateon i nfi nrty, w hi ch to say the l east i s
absurd for practice for a
yo g abhyasi . A nanta i s N agar a ja or A di sesha and si nce
Pa tanj al i i s the i ncarnati on
o f Adi sesha,one shoutd conte m pl ate on the f i gure of
BREATHING PATTERNS
Na garaj a or P atanj al i . Thi s
Yet another factor of im- will bethetradi ti onal approap o r ta n ce in a sa n a s is th e ch . Thus w hi l e practi si ng
use of breath in all the vinya- asanas, by means of purposesa s a n d a sa n a s, He r e a lso , Iu l breathi ng and mi nd fi xi ty,
m a n y sch o o ls te a ch yo g a one gets steadiness and relawith o u t a n y r e la tio nto b r e a - xa tion i n asanapracti ce.From
th in g in a sa n a s p r a ctice a n d Asa nasi ddhi , one i s not affeca ctu a lly d isco u r a g e th e u se te d by pyreai a or hypothero f b r e a th , o n th e p le a th a t th e m ia , or any other opposi ng
p r a ctice o f b te a th in g is a co n di ti ons, physi cal or menseparate aspect, dealt with in ta l.
Pr a n a ya m a . Ho we ve r , it is
T atahaD w andw an A nabhi fo u n d in e ctu a l p r a cticeth a t
ghataha I !
syn ch r o n o u s b r e a th in gp a tte r n in Vin ya saa s a n a b h ya sais
n e ce ssa r yto a tta in th e d e sir - IN ASANA PRACTICE
e d r e su lts. Pa ta n ja li in th e
T here are four factors i n
Yo g a su tr a sm e n tio n s a b o u t it
yo gi c breathi ng.Fi rsti s P urato a ch ie vea sa n asid d h i- wh ich
hol dis ste a d in e ss a n d co m fo r t in ka or i nhal ati on. Then
in g of breath after i nhal ati on.
a sa na s.
ca lled A ntahkumbhaka.C onPr e ya tn aSa ith ilya An a n ta tr o ll ed exhal ati on i s cal l ed
Re chaka and hol di ng the
sa m a p a th ib h ya m| !
breath out-as it were-is BahBy Prayatna is meant effort ya kumbhaka.
o f li{ e ( Jiva n a F .r a ya tn a )
All the movementsi n yogawh ich is b r e a th . L o n g a n d
fine breathing is therefore bhyasa are done deliberately
P.a ya tn aSa ith ilya . T e xts like and with a specified aspect
Yoga Kurantam, Vriddha Va- of breathing. There are some
sish ta m e tc. e m p h a sise th is movements which are done
aspect. Further, Patanjali also a lways w hi l e i nhal i ng and
suggsts fixing of the mind there ars others which are
on Ananta. The word Ananta done only while breathing

out . T hen o n e c o u l d s t a y i n a
pos t ure wh i l e h o l d i n g t h e
breath-in or out-or could do
controlled cycle of yogic
breathing in the posture. But
there are some movements
wh ic h c an b e d o n e e i t h e r
doing breathing in or breathi n g out , de p e n d i n g u p o n t h e
condition of the abhyasi, and
the desired results from the
pfactice. Making the movement s , duri n g i n h a l a t i o n a n d
holding t he b r e a t h i n w i l l
co m e unde r B r a h m a n a k r i y a
and doing lhe movemonts
w hile breath i n go u t a n d h o l d i n g t he bre a t h o u t i s l a n g a n a
kriya.
While in ,Ayurveda, Brahmana kriya refers to nourishing diet for growth and langana kriya to {asting, they
are not as revelant in yogabhy as a.T he k r i y a s i n S a t t v i c
yo ga pract i c e i s t h e u s e o f
natural air in clearing the
nadis and n o t t h e u s o f
cloth or water and other
external aids.

YOGA IS AN ART
Breat hin g i n a s a n a s h e l p s
to relax and reach the final
posture. lt helps to reach out
and work on ths deeper
muscles, which rnay not be
possible otherwise. Further,
it has been found that with
deliberate breathing, one's
mind is not allowed to wander but forced to tollow the
breath. Yoga practice becom.

es much morE Purposbful. In

fact the author of Yoga Rahasya has 16 chapters, each
called a kala and as such
Yo g a is a n a r t, a s we ll. L ike
in m u sic, o n e h a s to d e ve lo p
a snsitivily with deliberate
prsctice and intense concentration. Short yoga courses
for a lortnight or so, done
with o u t th e d iscip lin e s o f
yama niyamas and without
vin ya sa s,co u n te tp o se s o r
pratikriyas, Bandhas, Mudras
and specific concentration
excrcises and conscious breathing will leave little imprssion on an earnest yogabhya si a n d le t h im g o d ish e a r te ned.

abtnas, as on dvanceS in
ths assna practice, the use ol
Eandhas or contracting I
specific group of muscles is
recommended for the higher
benefits of yoga. Of the many
b a ndhas,three are i mportani ,
T h e Mul abandha requi resthe
drawing in of the rectum, the
p e l vi c di aphragm and ths
lo w er abdomenas i f to touch
the backbone. This has to be
d o ne after exhal ati on.l t coul d
be observed that at least rn
th e i ni ti al stages, one has ro
p r acti ce'B rahmacharya' ro
attain a mastery over Mulab a ndha.

The U ddi yanabandhai s the

drawing in of the naval region
again as il to touch the back
THE COUNTERPOSES
a nd rai si ng the di aphragm,so
Yo g a sa n a s like m e d icin e . that the abdomenal region
have good effects but some b ecomesscaphoi d.l t i sobvralso have side effects, which ous that people who are
a r e r n a in ly p h ysica l.T o co u n - obese will not be able to oo
teract lhem every involved Uddiyanabandha satisfactoriasana hasa Pratikriyasanaor ly anil hence the need lor diet
a count.erpose, which helps control or Tapas.
to preserve the efforts of the
main asana and counteract
The Jalandhare Bandha is
the undesirable aspects. For stretching the neck and pressinstance,Sirasasanahas many ing the chin against the breatadvantages. But this has to bone, about three inches
be followed by sarvangasana, below the neck. This effectia s a Pr a tikr iya , a n d so o n . vely controls air passage
One has to see the effects of during breathing and is a
ths main asana and its coun- great aid in Pranayama.These
terpos to leel the dilference three Bandhas (Bandha trayas compared to practising as) ar6 improtant in tho pracwithout the use of countet-- tice of asanas. lt may not be
poso.
possible for beginners to
prsctice at the start bur will
Apan from the emphasis have to do it along as they
on conscious breathing in progrss. lt should be notod.

however, that they are not to

be attempted without the
guidance of a comPetent
teacher who himsell has Practised and masterod them'

and mantra mditation. Thus' svgryonc,

it is apparnt that childrsn
Summingup,it rnsybe said
were practising yoga in olden
that Yogasanas should be
days.

practisedaccordingto samp-

Regarding tho controversy radaya or tradition,to attain

svatmarama, the author of of whether women are fit for the benefitsmentionedin tho
HathayogapradiPika menti- integral yoga, thsto is ample texts. Tho paddhathiof our
ons that irrespective of age evidence to show that inte- Acharya requires that ona
and phy s ic al c o n d i t i o n , a n Y rested women were initiated shouldpractise asanaswith
yoga.
YagnYavalkYa the necessary constraints
one can start on Yoga, but !o
as Prersquaregular prac t i c e a l o n e g i v e s and Siva Samhita, two of the (Yamariyamas)
and
authentic texts on Yog8, are sites,with Progressions
the benef it s ( s i d d h i ) .
actually the teachings of Ma- variations(vinyasa), corresharshi Yagnyavalkya to his ponding synchronousand
Yuva Vrudho athi vridho
va spous MaitreYi and Lord conscious breathing.inters'
Vyadhito DurlabhoPi va I Siva to Godness Parvati. persedwith stipulatedcoun'
Abhy as at h S i d d h i m a P n o t h i Further in Yoga RahasYa, terposes and countermoveSarvaYogeshaatandriNathamuni, the great teacher ments(Pratikriya),'imaqing'
t a h a ! I o f th e Na th a se ct o f Yo g is'
Anantaandwiththe Bandhas
so e cifie s a fe w a sa n a s like and Mudras.
Pa n ch a ko n a sa n a sa s a id in g
FOR CHI LD R E N T O O
ce ve lo p m e n t o f fo e tu s a n d
There are manY waYs of
ce r ta in a sa n a slike Pa sa sa n a
It s hould b e m e n t i o e n d
concep- classifyingasanas.Howevef,
to
said
are
Prevent
that y oga is u s e f u l t o c h i l d tio n ( g a r b h a n ir o d h a ) .F u r th e r for simplicity, theY could be
ren and wom e n a s w e l l . T r a there are a numbsr of asanas groupedinto standing,sitting
a
m
o
n
g
di tionally , in I n d i a , '
I
a n d p r a n a ya m a s th a t co u ld prone,supineor balancing.
Hi ndus , c hil d r e n a t t h e a g e o f
g Yn a e co lo g ica l proposeto take uP. standing
fo
r
u
se
fu
l
b
e
5 or 7 were initiated into Ved iso r d e r slike Pr o la p se ,Pcst- asanasin the next issuewith
dic karma after UPanayana,
n a ta l d iso r d e r s,m e n o r r h a g ia , the important vinYasasand
Sandhy a in c l u d e s , a s a n a s
etc. one can suggestedkriyas (breathing)
dysmenorrhoea
l i ke Ut k aias a n a , ' U t i a n a s a n a ,
is Yoga for and pratikriYas.
there
that
say
Padm as ana 6 t J . , P t a n a y . m a

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