PART 2 Practice
Chapter 8
Reaping the Benefits of the Intermediate Series
A large amount of information has been presented in this book to help create for the practitioner a broad context in which to place his or her practice of the Intermediate Series of postures. All the many elements of this context, from appreciation of the ancient roots of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga to the specifics of the gross anatomy of the sacroiliac joint, are, I believe, essential — not only for enriching one’s practice but also for getting the most out of what the Intermediate Series has to offer. As these elements are both numerous and diverse, I offer in this chapter an easily digestible summary of what in my opinion are the most important points presented in the foregoing chapters, couched in terms of practical guidelines.
General Guidelines
REMEMBER THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF YOGA
While practicing postures, remain aware of the fact that yoga was created to support you in the process of realizing that you are the infinite consciousness (sometimes called the soul or the spirit) and not the body. Although you are practicing the methods of one of the many schools of Karma Yoga, you are working toward the same objective as that of the ancient Jnana Yoga. Follow “instant enlightenment” approaches if you are attracted to them. If they do not prove successful, you can always return to structured Karma/Ashtanga Yoga practice.
Practice the postures with a devotional and respectful attitude. Do not look at the Intermediate Series as a whimsical combination of stretches. Look at it as a sacred dance that existed in its eternal perfection long before the ancient seer Vamana saw it in samadhi. Practice it with what Patanjali called a “good attitude,” an attitude of devotion.1 This means expressing gratitude to the Supreme Being for having taught yoga; it means practicing with an attitude of giving and of service rather than of personal gain. Move your body in a way that extols the glory of the aspect of the Divine that you worship. To practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is to pray in movement.
If you do not have a form of worship but are open to the idea, then use the mythological descriptions of the posture names combined with further study of shastras (scriptures) to find your ishtadevata, your own private communication frequency to the Supreme Being (see chapter 2). Remember that the Indian scriptures agree on this point: There is only one God. Different cultures and individuals have described the One in various ways due to different constitutions. All ways to the Divine are equally valid.
To find your ishtadevata and deepen your practice, study shastra. If you have a mystical constitution, study the Upanishads. If yours is an intellectual-philosophical mind-set, the Sutras are the most appropriate set of scriptures. If you have a devotional-emotional tendency, the Puranas will best fit your constitution. If you have more of a physical-athletic attitude, study the Tantras. If you are a teacher of yoga, study all these scriptures so that you can cater to the various dispositions of your students.
Do not feel superior because you believe the mode of Karma Yoga that you practice is better than the others. Each form of yoga is suited to a different group of practitioners. Further, different stages (bhumika) of practice accommodate different levels of fitness (adhikara) in practitioners.
If you practice with devotion and dedication, be open to and ready for the descent of grace.
EMBRACE THE EIGHT LIMBS
Always be aware that asana is but one limb of eight. Integrate your practice of asana with the fourth, fifth, and sixth limbs, and think of this as preparation for limb seven (meditation) and, ultimately, limb eight (samadhi). The integrated practice of limbs 3 through 6 begins with proper execution of Ujjayi pranayama (a technique of the fourth limb; see chapter 7) during asana practice. It continues with withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara, the fifth limb). Withdraw the visual sense by following the prescribed drishtis (focal points). Withdraw the aural sense by listening to the sound of your own breath. Withdraw the tactile and kinesthetic senses by focusing on proprioception, your intuitive awareness of the proper placement of your limbs. Withdraw the olfactory sense by engaging Mula Bandha,2 and the gustatory sense by engaging Uddiyana Bandha.3
When you willfully engage your mind in all of these without letting it escape into the future or the past, your mind becomes concentrated, and you achieve dharana (the sixth limb). When, after due practice, all takes place uninterruptedly and spontaneously, you reach the stage of dhyana (meditation, the seventh limb).
Remember that samadhi, the eighth limb, is of two kinds. If the mind is so pure, powerful, and concentrated that the meditation object becomes identical with the mind’s representation thereof, the state is called objective samadhi. It is in this state that Patanjali conceived the Yoga Sutra and Rishi Vamana, the Yoga Korunta. When, through all of the above, one recognizes oneself in a moment of grace as eternally abiding in the true self, the infinite consciousness, the state is called objectless samadhi.
OPEN YOURSELF TO SANSKRIT
Whatever your native language is, remember that it is vaikharic (based on the gross, fourth phase of sound). Give Sanskrit the respect it deserves as a madhyamic (based on the subtle, third phase of sound) and mantric language. Try not to balk at the idea of learning Sanskrit, but rather assemble, ever so slowly if necessary, a toolbox of Sanskrit terms. Meditate on the sacred syllable Om, the origin of all mantras, the only pashyantic (manifest, second phase of sound) syllable, the sound into which all sounds return.
Learn to properly pronounce the names of the postures and all Sanskrit terms directly related to yoga. Remember that all matter, all knowledge, and all sound are in essence vibrational patterns (shabda). Proper intonation in speaking the posture names and Sanskrit words will alter your brain and produce knowledge (see chapter 3).
STUDY ANATOMY
Know and understand in detail the applied yogic anatomy and kinesiology of the human body and how they relate to each posture that you are performing. It is helpful to know which muscle ends where and what it does. When you are about to perform a posture, ask yourself, What main actions make up the posture? Which muscles do I need to use concentrically or eccentrically and isotonically or isometrically when performing it? What is the range of movement of the joints and ligaments involved?
Most of the postures are counterintuitive (based on what’s left of intuition in modern humankind). This means that if you do not use refined method and analysis, you will probably perform them incorrectly. The human mind has the tendency to simplify things and will likely tell you to do such things as contract your back during backbending when in fact the opposite needs to be done. Keep in mind the two constitutional laws of posture practice: (1) Expand simultaneously into all opposing directions; and (2) after entering a posture, annul or negate each action that moved you into the posture by performing its opposite. Following these two rules constitutes the way of moving through the world without causing disharmony.
BREATHE MINDFULLY
Stay conscious of the fact that your respiration is nothing but a manifestation of the mantra Soham, meaning, “I am verily nothing but the infinite consciousness.” Create a solid foundation for your breathing during asana practice by using Uddiyana Bandha correctly: contract only the lower abdominal wall but stay soft above the navel. This allows the diaphragm to move up and down freely. Restricting the movement of the diaphragm may lead to aggressive, egotistical, ambitious, and anxious character traits.4 Breathe neither in the chest alone nor exclusively in the abdomen; use the correct method of thoraco-diaphragmatic breathing.
Use the waves of the breath to move deeper into the postures; that is, utilize thoracic flexion and lumbar extension on the inhalation and thoracic extension and lumbar flexion on the exhalation. Breathe through your entire torso, as if your breath was a liquid, filling even the most hidden recesses of an empty cavern. Let all movement be borne from the waves of the breath rather than allowing the movement to precede, dictate, or arrest the breath.
As you practice, remain aware that the purpose of applying Ujjayi pranayama in conjunction with the Intermediate postures is twofold: to calm the mind and become deeply centered by drawing prana from the surface of the body to its core; and to become balanced and harmonious by evenly distributing prana between the lunar (ida) and solar (pingala) parts of the nadi system.
Remember that the ultimate purpose of all breathing exercises is to move the prana into the central channel (sushumna). If prana is made to rise through the chakras up to sahasrara (crown chakra), then Deep Reality (Brahman) and Ishvara (Supreme Being) will automatically be realized and “seen.” If you cannot master the Intermediate Series, then alternative methods are available.
Let each posture grow out of the root of Mula Bandha (root lock). As you become proficient in contracting the pubococcygeus during practice, make Mula Bandha more subtle; that is, shift from a muscular contraction to an energetic and eventually mental contraction.
Specific Guidelines
ADD THE POSTURES ONE BY ONE
The safest and most effective way to begin practicing the Intermediate Series is to slowly add Intermediate Series postures one by one while you continue practicing the Primary Series every day. The postures of the Intermediate Series are very powerful, especially when done in the traditional sequence. You should practice each posture individually until you gain proficiency in that posture. Only then should you undertake the next posture. Practicing in this way enables you to allocate enough energy to working on each new posture. Only when you add on the postures in this traditional method can you harvest the many benefits of the Intermediate Series. If you were to switch one day to practicing a full Intermediate Series, you would not be able to focus and allocate enough energy to the individual postures to perform them proficiently. I have seen many students who abruptly switched from Primary to Intermediate in a follow-the-leader or talk-through type of class. Their practices remained insipid despite all my attempts to change them.
The Primary Series acts as your foundation, your launching pad for progress, and as such you shouldn’t abandon it prematurely. During the adding-on process (or even once you have completed the Intermediate Series) you may be confronted by certain issues that force you to go back to practicing the Primary Series. This will be much less disruptive if you have continued practicing the Primary Series all along.
Once you begin practicing the Intermediate Series in its entirety, practice it on days one through five of your practice week, and then practice the Primary Series on the sixth day. Devoting the last day of your practice week (the sixth day) exclusively to the Primary Series energetically seals the body before rest is taken on the seventh day. If you ever reach a point when nothing feels right in your Intermediate practice, then return to practicing the Primary Series for a few weeks. In that situation, your body may be like an electronic device that has lost its default settings; returning to the Primary Series for a while is like pressing the button that restores those settings.
CONSULT OR WORK WITH A QUALIFIED TEACHER
You should let a qualified teacher decide when you are ready to take on the next posture. It is difficult to judge your own progress, and ambition can easily cloud your judgment. An impartial and knowledgeable teacher is in a better position to make the right decision. Undertaking a new posture before you have mastered the previous one may lead to injury or exhaustion. In most cases, mastering the series and reaping its full benefits will end up taking longer (or never occur at all!) if you take on new postures too early. As with those who try to learn a language without a teacher, most people who teach themselves the Intermediate Series will not realize their full potential. Likewise, those who limit their input to dead media such as books (including this one) and DVDs usually end up with a shallow, superficial practice.
MAINTAIN A STEADY PACE AND STAY WITH THE FLOW
When beginning to practice the Intermediate Series, some students tend to slow down, as the postures have more dimensions than do most of the Primary Series postures. You may warm up to do the postures, become too analytical, and generally fidget and fiddle while attempting the postures. Although it may be good to do this once a week as an experimental tool, it is detrimental to let this approach creep in permanently.
The Intermediate Series is still Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which means there needs to be flow rather than stop-and-go. Once the postures have become familiar, try to practice them in the same rhythm as you do the Primary Series postures. If you slow down too much, you will not build up enough heat and you won’t tax yourself enough cardiovascularly. Even a technically refined practice won’t be as beneficial if it is too slow. Also, slow practice allows your mind to control you too much. Keep surrendering to the rhythm of the practice and make sure that you do not succumb to any extremes of the mind, such as an obsession with performing postures perfectly.
Of course, you shouldn’t practice at too quick a pace either. At a fast pace, you cannot give enough attention to detail, and the quality of the postures suffers as a result; the postures can even become dangerous. Practicing too fast will also drain the life force out of the body, especially when it is hot and humid. If you practice these more difficult postures while cultivating a medium pace — not too fast, not too slow — you will find that you are mobilizing much more energy, which you can use creatively in your practice. To learn the right pace you will need a teacher. Only a teacher can see from the outside whether your practice is too slow or too fast.
The Intermediate Series of postures is difficult to master. However, if you combine the advice given in this and the preceding chapters with dedication to your practice and the guidance of an experienced teacher, your journey through the Intermediate Series will be highly rewarding.
1 Yoga Sutra I.14.
2 According to Samkhya, the philosophy on which yoga is based, the sense of smell is located in muladhara chakra, the earth chakra. Looking toward the tip of the nose activates Mula Bandha and Mula Bandha withdraws the olfactory sense.
3 Uddiyana Bandha, the lower abdominal lock, is related to svadhishthana chakra, the lower abdominal chakra. According to Samkhya, the sense of taste is located in svadhishthana, the water chakra.
4 The first three are usually a result of deep-seated anxiety.