MahaMondo

Sayanasana : Elbow Balance

  Dice broke down Sayanasana at his Saturday class this morning. I've been practicing Pincha Mayurasana with a strap at Jorgen's led class , and I find that using it has accelerated the sense of  lift & balance versus that of a block between the hands.

Starting with the strap shoulder's width around the upper arms , I launched myself into Pincha Mayaurasana. The key was to raise the right hand first and place it under the chin , then follow with the left hand.  Drishti : Nasagrai ( tip of the nose ) . And as my French associates or Jerome would phrase it , " Et voila, Sayanasana ! "

The other factor to bear in mind is to keep the feet extended in order to maintain the counter balance ; and breathe through it.

Using the strap created one of those "breakthrough " moments for an advanced asana. And even if I didn't pull it of today , there will always be as one of my favorite teachers puts it , " Next week ..... ". Practice, practice , practice.

Image via Light on Ashtanga Yoga .

Samadhi Pada : Patanjali

Joel B. also gave me a copy of the Samadhi Pada after class last Sunday. It is the 1st section of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , consisting of 51 sutras. Samadhi can be interpreted as a trance like state or as an altered state of consciousness.In the Samadhi Pada , Patanjali gives us the aim of yoga in theoretical terms, explaining it as the restraint of the chitta vrttis , the restraint of the mind. We got around to the 27th sutra at class today ; what a feat ,so much to think about. Thanks to DylanisHappy from Thailand for the vdo.

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois : Opening Invocation London

This vdo was shot in London , 2003. It shows Sri K. Pattabhi Jois leading a class through the Primary Series.

Om Namo Narayanaya : 54 Repetitions

" He who reads this in the morning destroys the sin he has committed at night. He who reads this in the evening destroys the sins he has committed during day time. He, who reads this at noon addressing the Sun, gets rid of the five great sins as well as subsidiary sins. He also gets the holy effect of reading all Vedas. He becomes one with Lord Narayana at the end. This is the knowledge of Veda . " This mantra ensures material sufficiency & spiritual health. Beautiful meditation.

Ganga Aarti : Aksari Mantra

Once new practitioners get past the Lowest Common Denominator signifiers & hurdles of current day US yoga , e.g. lycra yoga wear , slogan Ts , doga , down-doggie , etc. , they will be able to open up to the source ; India & its tradition of bhakti ( devotion ).It's not about religion . It is all about opening your heart , mind & spirit. A copy of the Aksari Mantra ," Om Namo Narayanaya " was given to me by a teacher on Sunday ; and another of my teachers played the same version of the mantra after class last night. ( The same teacher who says," I don't have hybrids in my class." ) Hari OM . How incredible & powerful is that !

John S. : Three Circle Flow

" The sun is shining ." That is how it felt like after practicing @ John Sahakian's Three Circle Flow noon class ; Yogis Anonymous .

After being in Denver with its roller coaster weather , the vibe at his class was like surfing , flowing like H2O. The class is based on aligning pranayam ( breath control ) and movement which results in total relaxation. John's passion for surfing translates into that  yogic "ritam " , a quality all of my principal teachers possess . I've been attending his classes for almost 3 years now in order to tweak & connect with my breathing , a useful thing to have along with "drishti" during stressful meetings and situations.

Three Circle Flow was coined by John as a description for the 3 circles of breath around the waist , chest & ribs. It can also be utilized as a  decription for a triple system of management via yoga , hypno-therapy & breathing.

Fall & winter may be coming to Santa Monica , but at this noon class , it will always be summer ; carving through the air & breathing freely.

Denver : Baddha Konasana & Viparita Karani

Denver is known as the mile high city , and because of this , it experiences extreme swings in climate. Last Monday was 80 degrees; which made me question why I was initially wearing  a jacket over a sweater , which was subsequently peeled off to the T-shirt underneath. Tuesday was raining & the image on the left is of the snow that hit Wednesday. And regardless of rain, snow or sunshine , Denver traffic builds up at 4 pm ; its North & South freeways almost as jammed as the 405 in LA.

So with the weather , traffic , multiple meetings  ( 6 on Tuesday, whew ) , plus dinners in the evening , truth be told I was finding it challenging to practice some Surya Namaskar A & Bs , along with asanas like Pincha M. , Urdhva D. , Adho Mukha V., Sirsasana , etc.

The next best thing then was to roll-out the 2 restorative poses which a couple of my principal teachers use frequently. I would start with an elevated version of Supta Baddha Konasana , with my fingers interlaced behind my neck . This would be done against the hotel room entry door . SBK would then segue into Viparita Karani , a matter of just extending the legs vertically and stretching the arms fully out to the sides.

The release of tension from the hip opener and the increased circulation from the leg extensions always resulted in relaxation. No problem performing these on a semi-digested bellyful of food from dinner either.

So relaxed finally that the best things to chill & tune out to on the hotel TV ( don't have one at home , hehe) were golf ( yup , my parents will be happy ) or Sam Walton's biography on the History channel.

Wayne " Hanuman " Krassner : Adho Mukha Vrksasana

I just found these recently uploaded videos by Miami based teacher Wayne "Hanuman" Krassner. He tagged them " Playtime after Ashtanga Mysore practice at the Standard Spa, Miami Beach. Come join us , it's great fun. " Wayne, the vdo is MAHA inspirational. I like the aquatic take on handstand ; talk about fluidity. My teachers have started to call this asana regulary in class , & it is a fun process to learn how to wean oneself gradually away from the wall; foot by foot. I'll be practicing regularly every AM & PM in my hotel room in Denver this week.

The Yoga Gurus : Empty Mind Films

The Yoga Gurus from Empty Mind Films on Vimeo.

Go beyond the physical asanas of yoga and deep into the mind and inner being of a yoga guru.Their words will guide you to become a better person in both mind and body. Developing perfect posture and and balance is just the 1st step for these yoga gurus. The physical yoga practice of the body is the beginning of the journey into the depths of the inner soul. We take you to the ancient source of yoga , where Himalayan yogis , saints and holy men spent a lifetime of meditation and austere yoga practice to find enlightenment or self-realization.Understanding who you are without any external gratification is the ultimate goal of a yogi and will lead to a lifetime of happiness. ( Hari OM ; in this current era of cheesy "superstar " instructors, yoga dorks, yoga dawgs, yoga mints & other "dumbed down / pop culture " manifestations, it is no ACCIDENT that there is a movement back towards a more classic , authentic & traditional form of practice. ) Filmed on location in India , in the lap of the Himalayas and in Mysore in the far south.

The Joy of Yoga : Dve

Here's the 2nd part of The Joy of Yoga's post  featuring a sequence inspired by an earlier blog entry on Svarga Djivasana :

" Today's sequence comes from MahaMondo , a fine blog which details itself as " Tales from Yogastania " , well I might have called it "Yogalandia " , but I think the point is well made.

He gives a quick  sequence detailing  how to get into his favorite pose . I won't give too much preamble here, but will encourage you to read the man's words themselves.

Don't think you're getting off easy though ; with a few steps and then you can watch the series the whole weekend; make sure you are good and warmed up for these postures and go through a cool down as well.

1. Samasthiti ( Stillness )

2. Virabhadrasana I ( Warrior I )

3. Open up to Virabhadrasana II ( Warrior II )

4. Parsva Konasana ( Side Angle Pose )

5. Bind the arms around the front leg , bring the weight onto the back leg.

6. Lift the front leg into Svarga Djivasana ( Bird of Paradise Pose )

7. Repeat on the other side.

Maha flow Emma ! Hari Om Tat Sat -

* I captured this  image of a Carioca in Parsva Konasana by Posto 10 , Ipanema ,on a rainy January afternoon.