'Traditional' Ashtanga Vinyasa (Krama ) practice?

Krishnamacharya Mysore 1934
At the time Krishnamacharya was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois.

This niralumba sarvangasana variation never made it into Jois' Ashtanga Vinyasa presentation of his teachers teaching, except perhaps while passing through to Urdhva Padmasana but we see it in the 1938 Mysore demonstration footage by Krishnamacharya ( see below), and he continued to teach niralumba sarvangasana variations to his long standing student Ramaswami in Chennai from the 1950s onwards.  

Is this all.... 'traditional'?  Sharath and indeed Manju are wrong I suspect to argue that Ashtanga Vinyasa is 'traditional practice' as would Krishnamacharya were he to suggest that what he was teaching was 'traditional' ( I don't remember Ramaswami ever suggesting he indicated such a thing). 'Tradition' has no meaning here unless it's perhaps asana (most likely a seated asana)  followed by pranayama and a sit of/for self enquiry all on a foundation of appropriate yama/niyama. 

Ultimately there is just sincere, committed ( and appropriate for you) practice with intention.

Words like 'tradition' are mostly promotion.

*

I was reminded of this post from 2010 by my friend Sharon Hascall and realised that how I'm practicing today really isn't that much different from how I was practicing back then..., the more it changes the more it stays the same. Sharath of course reminds us of late, that Ashtanga Vinyasa too is a Vinyasa Krama.

Here's the post from 2010 followed by my  fb post from a couple of days ago, more of a Simon Borg-Olivier approach to tadasana/Standing perhaps but otherwise.....

2010
As mentioned in yesterdays post, I seem to have settled down into a Vinyasa Krama in the morning and Ashtanga in the evening routine.

Ashtanga we know righ,t but perhaps a closer look at what I mean by a 'simple' and 'core' VK practice is called for.

There seem to be recommendations and suggestions (I'm taking recommendations as stronger here).

Following his teacher Krishnamacharya, Ramaswami recommends practicing daily
A long, five to ten minute Paschimotansana
A five minute Shoulderstand, the first three minutes of which are done with the legs relaxed.
A five to ten minute Headstand.
Another shoulderstand for five minutes and a counter posture.
Maha Mudra ( like janu sirsasna A without the forward bend )

also in a suitable posture for meditation
Kapalabhati 108
Pranayama
Meditation

He also suggests
A short Tadasana sequence
Some preparation postures preceding the first shoulderstand
Backbend counter poses following the shoulderstands
Baddha Konasana

I tend to throw in a chanted Sury namaskara as well as a short Asymmetric subroutine

Put both the recommendations and suggestions and my additions together and you have my Simple core Vinyasa krama practice

A short Tadasana sequence
A short Asymmetric routine
A long Paschimottanasana
Some preparation postures preceding the first shoulderstand
A five minute shoulderstand, the first three minutes of which are with the legs relaxed
Backbend counter posture
10 Minute headstand
Another Shoulderstand
followed by another backbend counter pose
Maha Mudra
Baddha Konasana
In Padmasana
Kapalabhati 108
Pranayama ( nadi shodana )
Japa ( mantra) meditation

Vinyasa Krama is a naturally flexible approach

I tend to do a basic ten minute tadasana routine but there are several other options within the full On your feet 'tadasana' sequence. You may wish, as I did earlier in the week, to substitute in a few more twisting movements or squats.

I tend to rotate daily the Asymmetric subroutine, one day maha mudra, another, the marichi or half lotus subroutine. Find them all the options here.

I tend to stay in straight paschimottanasana and work on my breath and bandhas but there are some options while in the pose.

Backbend counterpose options are here

Following Ramaswami's advice I keep the first shoulderstand simple, relaxed legs for the first three minutes, just working on breath and bandhas but for the second Shoulderstand there are all kinds of options (the link includes the shoulderstand prep). I tend to do standard ashtanga finishing, halasana etc out of habit.

Headstands too have many options ( the headstand comes up at 3:45 )

I manage to keep the practice down to an hour, nothing feels rushed, overall it has a highly meditative feel to it. For me, my morning asana practice is preparation for extended pranayama and meditation but, of course, if that's not your bag, you can add in another half hour of Subroutines, some Triangle or On one leg subroutines perhaps to bring it up to a 90 minute practice in line with a standard Ashtanga practice.
https://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2010/10/looking-at-my-morning-vinyasa-krama.html?m=0

2017
and here's my post from a couple of days ago

As much as I'm enjoying exploring Simon Borg Olivier's spinal sequence in Standing ( as well as in some seated postures) AND the longer stays with kumbhaka in my 'proficient' Primary ( http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/p/proficient-primary-project… ) AND the moving up and down from Sirsasana to gomukhasana and back and likewise with Buddha konaasana and padmasana.... IT'S Krishnamacharya's Mysore 1938 shoulderstand variations ( many of which a Ramaswami taught us on his Vinyasa Krama TT) that I perhaps ENJOY the most in my practice and look forward to each morning. I think you can tell from the video that perhaps Krishnamacharya enjoyed them
too.
Blog post with screenshots here http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/…/krishnamacharyas-1938-shou…

Note: Re the long stay in Pachimottanasana and maha mudra mentioned in the 2010 post.... I'm more interested in of late in moving in and out of variations of a posture, a one breath/one asana or variation of an asana approach. So I will enter one hand hold variations of paschimottanasana, perhaps a prep version with the knees bent and take a kumbhaka on the exhalation, raise out of the fold and then enter again to another hand variations and another kumbhaka and so on. Still a long stay in the key posture but more movement in and out of it via the variations. Ramaswami suggested I think at one point of our TT that one reason Krishnamacharya introduced variations was to to stop the boys of the palace getting bored, likewise having them chant a mantra during the kumbhaka. It's Simon Borg-Olivier's thoughts on active movements that is interesting me however rather than getting bored. This from Simon's recent share of my post
"Active movements are the traditional way to come into yoga postures. These are movements that are done by the muscles that would be used to enter a posture without the assistance of external forces such as gravity, momentum, or one limb pulling on another limb. Active movements can give you strength without stress, flexibility without painful stretching, and improved circulation without increasing your heart rate."

....and this on inversions from something I wrote  this morning

'... very interested in exploring transplanting what you're doing in standing into inversions, moving perhaps not as deeply into inverted postures/variations as I've tended to in the past but rather, more gentle movements of the spine, this way and that, waving my legs around as if they were my arms, rolling vertebrae by vertebrae into and then back up out of a posture. It seems to make sense but early days'.

Is this all.... 'traditional'?  Sharath and indeed Manju are wrong I suspect to argue that Ashtanga Vinyasa is 'traditional practice' as would Krishnamacharya were he to suggest that what he was teaching was 'traditional' ( i don't remember Ramaswami ever suggesting he indicated such a thing). 'Tradition' has no meaning here unless it's perhaps asana (most likely a seated asana)  followed by pranayama and a sit of/for self enquiry all on a foundation of appropriate yama/niyama.

Ultimately there is just sincere, committed ( and appropriate for you) practice with intention.

Appendix

Is this 'traditional'? 

Not in the slightest but then what is.....

and yet on the other hand.....

Above: One minute breath (give or take). 

Something I mentioned on my most recent blog post (link on profile).

Generally Simon Borg-Olivier recommends, when beginning physical yoga as well as perhaps a new sequence or approach, to employ natural breathing 'to the abdomen' a babies or sleeping breath. I've been employing relaxed abdominal breathing for a couple of years now but shifting from the Ashtanga one movement one inhalation or exhalation to letting the breath take care of itself has been challenging. But once you begin to get the hang of it other possibilities arise. In the video, I'm exploring breathing through the movements, so a long slow 30 second inhalation through the first stretches, of one arm and then the other above the head, one inhalation for both sides and then again a long slow, relaxed 30 second exhalation through the twists to the left and right. This is an aspect of practice I'm quite excited about exploring right now.

Note: The video is natural speed, it hasn't been slowed down.

Below, Qigong is it just me or is this Simon forty years from now.

Born in 1918, Master Chou now 92 years old and can move much better than most young people. Here is a a preview from a documentary currently in production titled Mentors and Proteges. This segment features the amazing 91 year old Master Chou who was mentored by PU RU of the Imperial Palace, cousin 

Qigong/Yoga

"About 1122 B.C., The Book of Change (I Ching) first recorded the concept of qi or vital energy.  Studying the relationship of three powers—heaven, earth, and man---was an early step in the development of qigong.  Around 450 B.C., Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, described breathing techniques in his book Dao De Jing, recommending that the breath be collected and allowed to descend in the body.  Interest in breath and life force (qi) was heightened during this period and became one of the roots of Chinese Medicine, along with the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements".

"Although there is archeological evidence that dao-yin was sometimes coupled with military drills at an earlier time, it was around 500 A.D. that a Buddhist monk, Bodhidarma, came from India to the Shao Lin Temple in China (where he was called Ta Mo).  He is credited with unifying the spiritual and martial branches of qigong, by teaching ailing sedentary monks to strengthen their bodies through movements, while also teaching pugilistic martial artists how to softly empower their fighting through internal and spiritual practices.  After his death, qigong-like trainings for martial arts continued to develop as it became evident that much advantage could be gained through these methods.  These, too, were kept secret so that enemies couldn’t use them to also gain advantage".

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Underwater Yoga on Bhaya kumbhaka and Krishnamacharya's one kumbhaka vinyasa.

Part 1 Yoga asana underwater

Part 2  Krishnamacharya's one kumbhaka vinyasa.
Part 3. Splashtanga 200hr TT

On fb this week I saw a video of my friend Simon Borg-Olivier (http://simonborgolivier.com/) practicing his Spinal movements sequence underwater....

The video isn't on youtube but you should be able to see it on this post.

https://www.facebook.com/simon.borgolivier/posts/10155465349716095?pnref=story

So I have this Lake.......,

Living as I do on the shore of Japan's four million year old Lake Biwa, I couldn't resist trying it myself.

The trick here is exhale fully, which allows you to sink to the bottom where you can then attempt the sequence on bahya kumbhaka (ceasing of breath when the exhalation/Rechak is complete). This ties in nicely with the work I've been doing recently on Simon's Introduction to breath control (pranayama) course See THIS LINK to my review of  course ( and this to the course itself http://simonborgolivier.com/breath-training-for-health-and-longevity/).

In the course Simon has you emphasise different aspects of the breath, so in one exercise you are inhaling for thirty seconds or longer

Above a one minute inhalation, the trick is to visualise the inhalation back and forth up the body while trying to stay as relaxed as possible.

...., in another, exhaling for thirty seconds, in a third, Antar Kumbhaka (ceasing of breath when the inhalation/Puraka is complete) for thirty seconds and in a fourth, bahya kumbhaka (ceasing of breath when the exhalation/Rechak is complete).

In Simon's underwater spinal sequence video he is practicing the sequence on a minutes bahya kumbhaka, it's challenging. I can manage a three minutes Antar Kumbhaka at a push but ceasing to breathe for a minute after exhaling is at my limit, let alone trying move through a sequence and stay sitting on the bottom of the lake in padmasana.

Simon takes this further and has a wonderful video and post on underwater yoga on his blog. Simon's father was a free diver, he could swim a length below the surface before he could swim the same on the surface, probably before he could walk.

https://yogasynergy.com/blog/what-i-learnt-from-doing-yoga-underwater/

Below a couple of shots from the video, Simon in Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimattanasana

I've just been down to the lake to try this out and had the best time. It's a beautiful day here in Shiga, the rainy season is yet to start and I have the beach to myself as usual, the lake is a little cold though, I'm looking forward to July.

Simon talks of practicing thirty asana in thirty minutes underwater...

"In my late teens my Tibetan Lama told me that traditionally (in the system he learnt) that postures where help for a long as one breath retention. So progressively I developed my underwater yoga practice know finding it the easiest place to hold the breath and be in a pose.

In this practice I take a breath in, hold my breath, go underwater and get into a posture, hold for some time floating just under the surface, then exhale fully and sink down underwater (to the bottom if it is not far!) and hold my breath out and perform uddiyana bandha, mula bandha, nauli and lauliki (rolling my abdomen with my chest expanded etc). Then, I swim to the surface (often still in pose such as the lotus as in the video here) and when I break the surface I inhale to begin the next posture. I regularly practice a 30 minute sequence of up to 30 postures in this manner".

This afternoon I just practiced, 

Dandasana

Paschimattanasana 

Ustrasana

Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimattanasana

Tiriangmukhaikapada Paschimattanasana

 Bharadvajrasana

Janu Shirshasana A

Baddha Konasana

Baddha padmasana

Padmasana

It was only really in dandasana, baddha konasana and padmasana that I stayed for around thirty seconds, the others were perhaps fifteen to twenty as I had the bind to worry about.

Why do this?

Well, I have this lake......

                                                                                                  

The Shala

The Shala
Practice this morning: a swim in place of sun salutations, standing sequence in the water, Primary series up to upavishta konasana (which doesn't seem to work) under the water - bhaya kumbhaka ( ceasing to breathe after the exhalation) while mentally chanting the pranayama mantra in every posture. (Note: peg on the nose for folding forward) Back to the tatami room for finishing - until I'm more used to the sun. This may well be my summer and make up for working nights.
Update: I was asked on Instagram how you can practice Ashtanga underwater....should you want to.
Exhale fully, allows you to bend over underwater in standing (with the help of a peg on the nose) . Again, exhale fully to drop to the bottom and fold into the pose or the bind. Hold it for 20-30 seconds ( I mentally Chant the pranayama mantra), come up to the surface between sides or postures. It works, was a nice practice this morning.

Also, Krishnamacharya indicated bhaya kumbhaka ( ceasing to breathe after the exhalation) in most primary asana in Yoga Makaranda ( Mysore 1934).

Observation: Richard Freeman talks about giving a little extra puff in his pranayama course, to push out the last of the air and automatically engage bandhas. Getting rid of that last puff of the air helps ground you on the surface of the lake. That puff is almost automatic in twists if you allow it. Re twists, mostly Krishnamacharya doesn't mention kumbhaka on twists, preferring instead to indicate long slow equal inhalation and exhalation, except for a clear mention of kumbhaka for Bharadvajrasana.

Also, the movement of the water raises challenges for the posture which are interesting to overcome, likewise challenges for the breath, the kumbhaka and Bandha work but mostly, it's just beautiful and serene there in the lake with the sun breaking through the surface.

Part 2  Krishnamacharya's one kumbhaka vinyasa.

Splashtanga™may be more 'traditional than you might think...., Krishnamacharya is said to have learned from his teacher on the shore of Lake Manasarovar 

Did you pick up on the line in the quote about Simon's Tibetan Lama....

"In my late teens my Tibetan Lama told me that traditionally (in the system he learnt) that postures where help for a long as one breath retention". 

This reminded me of something that's played on my mind for some time.

In Ashtanga we tend to stay in a posture for five breaths, it used to be eight or ten back in the day supposedly but now it tends to be five, these can be pretty speedy.... Sharath for instance takes about fifteen seconds for five breaths on his dvd's and led classes (just double checked on his Moscow led for paschimottanasana). That's three seconds a breath, one and a half seconds each for inhalation and exhalation. In interviews/talks Pattabhi Jois would speak of fifteen, even twenty seconds, each for inhalation and exhalation as an ideal ( but then lead his demonstrators though there asana just as fast as Sharath), he recognised that householders didn't have time for such a slow practice but perhaps he over compensated.

NOTE: If I follow a led Ashtanga DVD or class I tend to take one or two slower breaths to the count of five, works for me.

So these days in Ashtanga it tends to be five breaths (finishing asana tend to be longer). In Yoga Mala however, Jois would talk of breathing in an asana for as long as possible....

"(for paschimottanasana) Next, doing rechaka, grasp and hold the upper parts of the feet; this is the 8th vinyasa (as your practice becomes firm, you should be able to lock your hands behind your feet). Then, doing puraka slowly, then rechaka, straighten both legs, and place the head between the knees; this is the 9th vinyasa and the state of the asana. While in the state, do puraka and rechaka slowly and deeply, as much as possible". Yoga Mala -Pattabhi Jois.

In Ashtanga then we have mention of a number of breaths, whether, ten, eight, five or, as in Yoga mala, breathing as much as possible.

In Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934), written when Pattabhi Jois was Krishnamacharya's student, we don't find this at all. Krishnamacharya stresses kumbhaka in almost every asana except for twists. He talks of practicing the kumbhaka for as long as possible while in the asana and this ties in with Simon's Tibetan Lama

"....that postures where held for a long as one breath retention".

What Krishnamacharya does talk about is TIME with regards to certain key asana that are held for a longer. He recognises that one might not be able to stay in kumbhaka for five minutes ( thank you for that K.) so suggests coming out of the posture, taking puraka (inhalation) then re entering the asana.

"While holding the feet with the hands, pull and clasp the feet tightly. Keep the head or face or nose on top of the kneecap and remain in this sthiti from 5 minutes up to half an hour. If it is not possible to stay in recaka for that long, raise the head in between, do puraka kumbhaka and then, doing recaka, place the head back down on the knee. While keeping the head lowered onto the knee, puraka kumbhaka should not be done". Yoga Makaranda - Krishnamacharya

For Krishnamacharya there are a few key asana he would have you stay in for a significant period, ten minutes or so E.G. Paschimottanasana, Maha mudra ( of which janu sirsasana is it's asana), Sarvangasana, Sirsasana, also trikonasana, mayaurasana. baddha konasana. 

But in other asana, is Krishnamacharya suggestion we stay in the asana for one (extended) kumbhaka? 

If we remember that Krishnamacharya was supposedly in Tibet with his teacher, even if not for as long as legend suggests, might he have been influenced by this suggestion of one asana one Kumbhaka, that may or may not have characterised tibetan yoga?

We would need more evidence, does one asana/one kumbhaka really characterise Tibetan yoga, is this indeed what Krishnamacharya was suggesting back in Yoga Makaranda?

It was carried forward into Jois' Ashtanga vinyasa, perhaps Krishnamacharya never taught it to the young boys of the practice, perhaps it was only how he practiced himself.

In Ramaswami we see both time and count, stay for five breaths, or , in the same key asana, stay for ten minutes. Kumbhaka was retained in Krishnamacharya's later teaching but there doesn't seem to be the suggestion of one asana/one kumbhaka, did he consider it too challenging for most students ( at this time many of Krishnamacharya's students were patients) ?

Just as I lost interest in Advanced asana after briefly practicing Ashtanga Advanced A and B, I lost interest in all the different pranayamas teachers would offer, they seemed a distraction, better to settle on Ramaswami's presentation of nadi shodhana and do more rounds rather learn and practice these endless variations.

And yet I was impressed by Simon's post on free divers (https://yogasynergy.com/blog/pranayama-at-its-highest-level-in-the-practical-sense-william-truebridges-world-record-free-dive-to-124-metres-with-only-one-breath/), on how free diving is all about relaxing...., and isn't that (one of) the objective of pranayama, calming the emotions, overcoming the growing sense of panic in bhaya kumbhaka, the fear of death.

And so with Simon's introduction to breath control I've been working on increasing the length of my inhalation and exhalation, of my kumbhaka's, not to ridiculous levels but longer than I might have considered in the past. Not so much for my pranayama practice, I'm happy with the nadi shodhana I practice, but for the kumbhaka's Krishnamacharya mentions in his asana.

Besides, Krishnamacharya talks of seeing god in the kumbhaka, kumbhaka is the infinity between two points, the two stages of the breath. 

Do we find god or the absence of god, it seems more worthy of exploration than yet another handstand variation.

Part 3. SPLASHTANGA™ 200 hour Teacher Training

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Come to Shiga, Japan, enjoy the beach, the sushi and explore your shapes underwater.

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10hrs Breathing exercises

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5hrs Review of YouTube anatomy videos (home study)

25hrs Tanning and Toning techniques, both artificial and SUN SUN SUN.

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eg. babababababaran

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*includes, sunburn, chaffing, blisters, cardiac arrest.

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