Ashtanga Brighton Blog

After practice this morning we said goodbye to Laura who’s off to India for… mmm… who knows eh?

So goodbye Laura have a great time in Mysore and we’ll see you in few months, and hopefully read about your adventures on the blog!

It was nice to hang out with a few more people from practice and both David and Josetta had been away so it was good to have them both back too! I’m still waiting to hear how the Nancy Gilgoff workshop in Berlin went as Brighton was well-represented with 3 of our local Ashtangis in attendance.

Shari also mailed me about Nancy’s workshop in Wiltshire on September 26-28, 2008. Check out

Nancy Gilgoff’s website or contact: virabadrasana@hotmail.com.

I’m a bit behind the curve this week and there’s been so much going on.

The week started with Manju’s workshop here in Brighton. The workshop included a led primary pratice in the morning, a led 2nd series practice in the afternoon followed by pranayama, chanting and a Q&A session.

In the break there was also a demo by the London AcroYoga crew which was awesome. I did some AcroYoga at a recent yoga festival near Glastonbury, so I was keen to do a bit more “flying” which was pretty cool. AcroYoga is so much fun and is actually easier than it looks. There’s a workshop at BNHC in early September so be sure to check it out!

On Sunday I only did the afternoon sessions so if anyone has any comment on how they found the led primary lets hear it! Judging from the damp patches on the ceiling I’ll bet it was a good one!

The most interesting bit for me was the Q&A session and hearing Manju talk about Yoga and practice in general. He spoke about the need to relax, breathe and enjoy practice. He also said that if you don’t want to practice then don’t, saying that forcing yourself to practice asana is not yoga. My interpretation of this is that forcing yourself to practice can be regarded as himsa (harm) and we’re supposed to be practicing ahimsa (non-violence). Bringing awareness of how we are in the moment will determine what action would be harmful or not. Basically, chill out!

Manju also spoke about it being acceptable to mix asana from different series and have a more varied practice. Again my interpretation on this is that you need a sufficiently developed practice and relationship with your teacher to gain the most benefit.

Manju didn’t learn asana in any set series but started out copying his father when he was about 7 or 8 years old. His father then gave personal tuition to him and his sister. Most of us don’t have the advantage of learning yoga in this way. To me it really points again to the importance of the relationship between student and teacher which in Manju’s case was father and son too.

Manju also emphasised a balanced approach to practice. Asana is only one of the limbs of yoga. He said pranayama, chanting and scriptures should also be practiced these would then naturally lead to the development of the other limbs of yoga: Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana leading ultimately to Samadhi.

Another interesting statement was “mantra is more powerful than asana.”

The question: “What should I eat after practice” which was met with the rather sensible “Your body will tell you”.

There was lots more that I can’t recall at the moment but in the interest of getting this blog up I’m going ot post now and add comment later as stuff comes to mind.

I also interviewed Manju this week and part of the interview will be available for download next week some time.

In the meantime here’s a couple of links to interviews that I read before I interviewed Manju:

Guy Donahaye interviewed Manju in NYC, March 2008

And another excellent interview by Richard Clark, Australia 2005 available as a PDF.

Namaste

I went with some friends to the Santosha Yoga festival near Glastonbury over the bank holiday. At one of the classes the teacher asked before we stated to bring to mind someone who we wanted to devote our practice to. This was a lovely way of setting the intention and focus of the practice and one I’d not considered before. So each day when we do the opening mantra I’m going to take a moment to devote my practice to someone. Hoping that they share the benefits of my practice.

It also seems like a nice way to shift my attention away from myself and what I’m trying to achieve.

Namaste

In a recent post practice coffee I noticed that I actually find it easier going to practice every day than to practice on set days. It’s like the debate: “Shall I get up, or practice tomorrow, is it raining etc…” is over. I’ll have to practice tomorrow anyway unless it’s a moon day.

So it all takes up less mental space now, there’s no ambiguity or negotiation which is a nice small freedom.

Hello Brighton Ashtangis,

Here are some comments on Sharath’s conference this weekend:

Sundays conference was insightful as always. Sharath spoke a lot about asana and reviewed many things he has gone over before - but with so many new people in the shala, the transience of people makes it necessary to reiterate certain points often.

- When you do asanas, it is VERY Important to know the names of the asanas you perform and also how many vinyasas are in each asana.
- This is why we do led class, to understand vinyasa and when to inhale and when to exhale
-Breathing is extremely important…It doesn’t come automatically, but over time. You must concentrate - your mind should be with your practice
- Alignment is important…It comes properly through PRACTICE - no need to use props for alignment

- Practice makes man perfect
- Sharath stated that Guruji used to say, “Do an asana 1,000 times and then the asana becomes perfect.” Thus, the key is in doing the practice…
- If you are able to do all the asanas it doesn’t mean you are a perfect yogi. Yoga means to get enlightened - the mind, sense organs - you should control the sense organs
- Asana is the foundation, we start here. It will transform your minds, your thoughts will change; you will start yearning to learn more, what is yoga? Only possible through practice and reading books.

- This is a lifetime study, you MUST keep on studying.

- 1st with asanas we have to purify our body and mind.

- Yoga is Universal, anyone can do regardless of race or religion

- When you leave AYRI often people get distracted if doing self practice - Sharath offered this advice to those of us without teachers at home: “Think that Guruji is behind you, think I am there!”

On Bandhas:
- Jalandhara Bandha is only used when doing pranayama
- Uddiyana and Mula Bandha very important in the practice. Uddiyana bandha is located four inches below the navel; mula bandha is anus control.
- Bandhas will come slowly, after many years of practice
- Utpluthih is a very good asana to practice - helps tremendously in gaining mula bandha control
- Always breathe through your chest - do not breathe through your stomach
- Practice mula bandha even when you are not doing asana