Lizzie for Free : a yogi's blog
The Free State of LizArchive for March, 2011
The benefits and challenges of outdoor asana practice
There is nothing like practicing yoga outside on a sunny day. Hearing the birds surrounded by green grass and flowers is one of the most luxurious ways to spend a morning while connecting with nature.
Of course, there are loads of distractions that aren’t present in a studio setting- passersby, sticks underfoot, squishy ground…we’re no longer in the confines of climate-controlled space- this is insect territory. There’s no better way to remind ourselves of our deep interconnections with all being than to share our mats with ladybirds, flies and bumblebees.
Balancing postures on soft grass make it easier to fall if we hold ourselves rigid, but are more forgiving when we allow the earth to envelop the natural curves of our feet; and we can throw caution to the wind with handstands knowing the natural padding will soften our fall.
For me, the outdoor practice space means letting go of time constraints and expectations of myself. I tap into the magic of the senses and marvel at the sunlight dancing on blades of grass and smells of green carried by fluttering wings.
I’m a part of the ecosystem. I’m here now.
Rendez-vous with Cathy Alison
A couple of years ago I was going to an Iyengar class regularly at Alaric’s home studio, and there was a lovely woman there whom I never got to know. She was quiet, and clearly dedicated to the Iyengar practice. A few years later I found myself sitting across from the same woman, able to call her by name and about to learn about her journey to yoga.
FL: Cathy, how long have you been practicing yoga?
CA: I’ve been practicing Iyengar yoga seriously for about seven years, but started practicing about one or two classes a week from around 1998. My first class was in the early 1990s.
FL: What was your first class like?
CA: I was introduced to yoga by a friend in her home. We practised in her living room with the sunlight pouring in; it gave me a very special feeling. I really enjoyed being in her company and learning something that gave me a sense of peace and wellbeing. I later started attending regular weekly classes at my local gym, mainly with Louise Grimes. I loved the way she taught so I kept coming back.
FL: From those days at the gym with Louise, how did you “get hooked”?
CA: I guess I was hooked immediately, but when I started attending classes at the Iyengar Institue in Maida Vale with Alaric Newcombe and Marco Cannavo I started to practice with much more frequency. I felt invigorated, energised and relaxed after classes and enjoyed learning ways of working with props to help me learn the asanas according to my needs. I also liked the discipline of the practice.
FL: What’s your daily practice like right now?
CA: I attend 4 – 5 classes a week and practice on my own alongside that. It works out that I practice for around 2 hours a day every day. My self practice depends what I am working on at the time – for example last year I was studying for an assessment, so my practice mainly focused on that. I practice restorative postures when I am feeling tired or when I’m on my cycle, or I might follow a sequence from a book or practice what I have learned in class.
FL: Has this changed over the years, and if so, how?
CA: The frequency of practice and intensity has changed. I ‘m now exploring the poses deeper and have a better understanding of the alignment and how to activate the body in different asanas. On the other hand, the more I am learning the subject, the more I realise there is much more to learn. As I have become more aware of my self, the more I have started to learn to attune my practice to my own needs and capabilities.
FL: Are there any methods of yoga that you have tried that ‘weren’t for you’ and why?
CA: I’ve tried various methods before finding Iyengar yoga and got something out of all of them at the time. I can’t say there’s anything I’ve tried that I have a big aversion to.
FL: How long do you think someone should practice yoga before they become a teacher?
CA: In the Iyengar system, you need to have practiced with a registered Iyengar teacher for a minimum of 3 years and your practice has to be judged to be of sufficient standard to apply. Teaching is a big responsibility and I think there needs to be an understanding of the practice before it can be imparted to others. Like with any subject or art, you wouldn’t be able to just go out and teach it without having some knowledge of it.
FL: Who is your most influential teacher?
CA: Alaric Newcombe has been my main teacher and teacher trainer now for the past 7 years and has been a major influcence for me. I learn from him all the time. He’s very creative and helps give me the courage to push further when I can’t see this for myself. I also have been taught by Marco Cannavo for a number of years and have a lot of respect for him and the way he teaches. I went to Geeta Iyengar’s convention in 2009 which was inspiring and I hope to get to The Ramamani Iyengar Institute in Pune in the next couple of years. In the last 3 years I have also studied with Christian and June Pisano in France and the U.K.who again are very inspiring and interesting teachers.
FL: Do you incorporate spirituality into your teaching?
CA: Spirituality is a personal thing for people and has different meanings for individuals. I don’t feel that you can teach spirituality as such but I do feel that yoga encourages you to look within for the answers.
FL: Have you had any major injuries and how has that affected your approach to teaching asana?
CA: I haven’t had any acute injuries as such, but I am working with chronically stiff/round shoulders that I have had ever since I can remember. I’m not naturally flexible so I think this can help me assist others who may have similar issues.
FL: Do you have a meditation practice apart from asana?
CA: I might sit for a period of time observing my breathing after a practice. I also find the asanas can be a form of meditation in action. Because the practice focuses in so much on what areas of the body are being activated or what needs to be activated, I am not thinking about other things. This I find really appealing about Iyengar Yoga as for the duration of time I am in a class or practicing, I am in the moment.
FL: How important is diet for your yoga practice and in general?
CA: This is work in progress. I’m still exploring what is best to eat for me. I think what I eat can have an impact on how I feel mentally and physically in the practice but I don’t have any hard and fast rules.
FL: What was the last workshop you attended?
CA: I went to a very interesting New Year workshop with Alaric over 5 days this year.
FL: If you had only one book on yoga, what would it be?
CA: I regularly revisit Light on Life by BKS Iyengar.
Cathy’s quiet, friendly and empathetic demeanor will be welcomed at Indaba Yoga in Marylebone, where she’ll be teaching the Iyengar Foundation Course.
Meeting Mark Kan
FL: Hi Mark, it’s great to finally put a face with a name. I understand you’re a Dharma Mittra yoga teacher. Can you tell me a little about how long you’ve been practicing and how you became a teacher?
MK: I’ve been practising eleven years, and in 2006 I became a teacher. After practising for six years I felt the practice had given me so much, it was time to give something back, and I also wanted to deepen my knowledge. I first certified as a Sivananda teacher in India . I went to Uttarkashi for my first 200 hour training, and to Vrindavan for my 500 hour training the following year. I first saw Sri Dharma in London in 2006. I had his book of 608 yoga postures and was fascinated to see him and experience Dharma yoga for myself. That really became the turning point of my practice.
I never intended to become a teacher – I simply wanted to deepen my practice and knowledge. After my first training, I came back to London and started teaching at the Sivananda Centre in London and covering classes in gyms, and I found I was enjoying the experience. So the following year I returned to India and did an advanced training. Nevertheless, I was still fascinated with Dharma Mittra and what was going on in New York. I found that I wasn’t really following my ‘dream’ or what I felt my real path should be, so I signed up for the trainings with Dharma. There were four training weekends over a four-month period. I went back and forth to New York each month, one week in New York, three weeks at home practicing, teaching and reflecting. It was a nice balance in an intensive period. That was 2008. Since then I’ve been teaching only Dharma Yoga.
FL: What were you doing before all that?
MK: Before that I was graphic designer, and I still do it as a side job. I teach ten yoga classes a week and I manage, but there are no luxuries. Teaching more than that cuts into my practice time – if I teach more than two to three classes a day then I feel like I’m giving less.
I teach a master classes every other Sunday and the people that come are so dedicated. It’s a great privilege to be in their company.
FL: Is London ‘home’ to you?
MK: London is where I found my practice. I was born in Liverpool and came to London to go to art school back in the 80s
FL: Do you remember anything about your first yoga class?
MK: My first yoga class I didn’t take very seriously. I went along about thirteen years ago and it didn’t really do it for me. Then a couple of years later I felt a need to reconnect to it. I went to a hatha class in Balham and then Victoria and that’s when I started to practice more regularly. I also practiced Bikram yoga for a couple of years and Ashtanga yoga with Leela Miller and a combination of Sivananda and Tripsichore yoga with Martin McDougall. The classes I went to came down to the teacher. I first tried Bikram in New York, and I was quite was fascinated by the physical and mental challenges it presented, but that’s as far as it went, and for me it was lacking any spiritual intention.
FL: What is your self practice like now?
MK: I practice about 2 hours a day. It’s a time commitment and I’m lucky to have that time, but I make decisions about my life which enable me to keep a practice like this going. The masterclass that I teach every fortnight is basically my daily practice.
FL: Are there any styles or methods of yoga, or studios that you’ve tried that you don’t like?
MK: In all these branded ‘styles’ of yoga, sometimes the intention behind the practice can get lost. There are teachers out there who are creating their own brand of yoga and it becomes a melting pot of different styles they have picked up from different teachers, so for me, it lacks integrity. Some day Dharma Yoga will have a school in London but it won’t be a tightly franchised model. I’m really delighted to be asked to teach at Indaba and there is work to be done in terms of generating awareness for Dharma Yoga. Indaba will be a great platform to do that and help create a bigger Dharma yoga community.
FL: How long do you think someone should practice before teaching?
MK: A good few years. I see it all of the time when people start practising and want to become a teacher. Or they’ve never done Dharma and they want to become a Dharma teacher – you can do the teacher training in ten days, so they view it as a fast track way to certify. This is the wrong approach. Ten days does not make a yoga teacher. The course is intended as an immersion into the lIfe of a yogi, which does give certification only after another 50 hours of spiritual and physical practice, karma yoga and free yoga classes in order to build up experience, and the classes are monitored by a mentor. Teaching yoga is an honour and a priviledge but also a responsibility.
FL: Are you enjoying being a part of the training process?
MK: I’m happy to help in any way that I can, but I can only advise on what knowledge I have. Real knowledge comes from the guru. He’s a very humble man.
FL: Have you suffered from any injuries with yoga, and if so, how do you manage?
MK: When I first went to India I wasn’t used to sitting for hours and hours and hours and I tore my knee. When I finished training with Dharma the second knee was injured, so I had meniscal surgery on both knees and they are great. Right now I have a shoulder injury which can be debilitating. The best way to deal with it is sometimes to not practice asana. You can still do your pranayama and meditate or read the scriptures. I practice for the sake of the students. If I don’t practice and I go and teach I feel like I’m betraying them in some way. A teacher has to be an example. That’s why there is so much practice. To keep giving a little more back. Through constant practice I can understand better and I can teach it better. But as Dharma says, without observing the yamas and nyamas, there is no yoga. Simple.
In the west everyone gets caught up with the asanas. Just 5 minutes of meditation and some pranayama everyday is so important. I sit most days for 20-30 minutes after my asana practice. And then there’s the diet. I’m a vegetarian. Since I’ve been vegetarian I’ve not suffered from cold flu or a sore throat for several years now.
FL: Who are the teachers who have inspired you?
MK: Of course, Sri Dharma Mittra Leela Miller and Martin McDougall. I used to go to Leela’s and Martin’s classes regularly and I’ve been very inspired by them both as teachers.
FL: Tell me about connecting with Sri Dharma.
MK: It was Dharma who switched the light on. I grew up with God in my life and was raised in a religious family, but became became disenchanted in my 20s and lost any belief or interest in God or religion. I would go to yoga classes but there wouldn’t be any mention of God or Brahman or Supreme Consciousness. And then Dharma came along. He talked so openly about God and I felt at home. He transformed the perspective I had on yoga. That was the turning point. I have him to thank for that rebirth of my faith in God – or Supreme Consciousness. There is so much strength in that and I’ve learned to deal with situations in a much healthier way. That’s a very special thing.
Jivamukti Focus of the Month: What is Yoga?
Yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah -PYS 1.2
This sutra is how Patanjali defines Yoga: when you cease to identify with your thoughts, fluctuations of mind, then there is Yoga-identity with Self, which is samadhi, happiness, bliss and ecstasy.
Wow, what a concept! And it is from this simply stated concept, this simply stated idea, that the philosophy, paths, methods and practices of yoga have emerged and developed. But if we take into consideration the thousands, maybe millions, of books which have been written about yoga since Patanjali made this statement, then we have to conclude that the question What is Yoga? has and continues to challenge and confound scholars, practitioners and devotees alike, even though Patanjali has given us the answer in four straightforward words. But can words themselves ever answer our deepest questions?
Well we can at least look at the words and contemplate what they might mean: yogash: “then there is Yoga”; chitta: “the content of the mind”; vritti: “the fluctuations, whirling or movement of the chitta”; nirodhah: “the cessation or letting go of identification with the movements of the mind”. By means of nirodhah, the revelation as well as the simultaneous merger with the Absolute comes about. This magical occurrence is a shift in one’s perception or a shift of identification of ones self/Self.
Nirodhah is what the practice of yoga aims to bring about. Nirodhah generally means to stop or to cease. Nirodhah here means ceasing to identify with your personality or limited self, which is composed of thoughts: thoughts about oneself create the reality of oneself. Yoga means union with the Self: not the self in the limited sense of mortal self-body/mind/ego/personality-but the higher Self-the Divine/eternal/limitless Self. The practices of Yoga are concerned with freeing the atman, the Sanskrit term for the inner divine Self, from avidya, or misidentification-that is, identifying with the “lower case” self instead of the “upper case” Self. By means of these practices, nirodhah is achieved, and the practitioner comes to know the Self-the atman, the Divine soul within-and this is Yoga.
Yoga arises magically. You can’t make it happen and you can’t go and get it-you can’t do yoga. All you can do is to let go and it will reveal itself because it was always there. This it-the atman-it is who you really are.
When you cease to identify with your thoughts-to see yourself as defined by your thoughts, to mistake your self for your thoughts, or to see yourself as the sum total of your thoughts–automatically Yoga will come; automatic identity with the Divine atman will be the result, because there is nothing left after you have dropped everything that can be thought about-or felt. This is why Patanjali’s answer to the question What is Yoga? is paradoxical. He does not give the answer, because the answer cannot be explained, it must be experienced, and so it is with continuous practice that the revelation arises…and arises and arises.
The yoga mat is a good place to cultivate this experience. When your body is in an asana, what goes through your mind?-This is too hard? This is too long? This is not for me? I don’t do this asana because of my hamstrings? Oh, this is MY asana? Finally, an asana I can do? Why is the teacher doing so many backbends?-or are you able to simply sit with the asana and allow whatever thoughts and feelings arise without mental commentary or judgment? In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali provides us with many practices, including asana, which can facilitate the realization of who we really are and with it resolve all of our questions-and this all happens by means of letting go which is nirodhah.
“All the greatest and most important problems are fundamentally unsolvable. They can never be solved, but only outgrown. This out growing proves on further investigation to be a new level of consciousness. Some higher or wider interest appears on the horizon, and the unsolvable problem loses its urgency, fades out when confronted with a new and stronger life urge.” -Carl Jung
-Sharon Gannon
