MahaMondo

Bhakti Fest 2010 : Ayush Attri Sharma

12 year old Ayush at Bhakti Fest 2010 shows us how to practice Bhakti Yoga. From the Bhagavad Gita : " Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. (B-Gita 9.34)[5] " Bhakti Yoga : No drama , no fuss , no hatha yoga injuries -

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Primary Series : R. Sharath Jois

This looks like a brand new video that was uploaded by alvinmstarks on YouTube. It shows Sharath demonstrating the complete Primary Series with his voice-over instructions accompanying it. Great quality & audio. Samasthiti -

Practicing All 8 Limbs : Mission Ashtanga Yoga

I've been following several teacher's blogs , especially those who I have been able to practice with in the past year. Visitors to this blog have read posts from Eddie Stern of AYNY & Kino's Miami Life Center.

Here is a MAHA post from Chad Herst of Mission Ashtanga Yoga in SFO on practicing all the 8 limbs of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga , at the same time. It is pretty erudite & well thought out :

" Ashtanga Yoga is not an Indian form of calisthenics or gymnastics.  It is an eight-limbed path. The word Ashtanga comes from a text dating somewhere between the 4th and 1st centuries, B.C.E., called The Yoga Sutras.  The Sutras–as they are affectionately known by yogis– are arguably the most important ‘how-to’ compilation of terse statements about yoga for yogis.  The word Ashtanga  means eight limbs (ashto- eight; anga- limb).  Ashtanga yogis don’t just practice the second two limbs of this eight limbed path, asana and pranayama. They practice all of them…at the same time.  They practice the first two limbs, yamas and niyamas, which are basically ‘do’s and don’ts.’  They’re the yogis version of the Ten Commandments.  The fifth limb, pratyahara, is translated as ‘the withdrawal of the senses.’  The last three limbs, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, are gradations of the various levels of absorption or concentration that can occur when we practice.

The tradition my co-teacher, Devorah Sacks, and I come from has a unique spin on this eight-limbed path.  As students of the renowned yoga master from Mysore, India, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, we’ve been taught that all we need to do is to work on asana and pranayama, and the rest of the limbs naturally and spontaneously will follow.  But that’s not to say we are to ignore the other six-limbs.  Rather, the other limbs are to be considered benchmarks that give us direct feedback on the quality of intention we bring to our practice.

Getting Fit and Chilling Out

As a long-term teacher of Ashtanga Yoga, I’ve come to recognize that most people don’t come to practice in order to have a deeper connection with the yamas and niyamas. They come either to get fit or to ‘chill out.’ This is usually the first aspiration that shows up on the mat. If the new student is persistent and continues to practice through the initial phase of soreness, stiffness, and the difficulty of waking up in the early morning to get on her mat, she will more often than not begin to wonder about the philosophical aspects of the practice.

I cannot say for certain what it is about practicing breath and posture that elicits this curiosity, but I do know for certain that at least 80% of the students I have taught make it past the initial stage of just wanting to get strong and flexible. That initial aspiration doesn’t go away altogether. It just becomes obvious that the goal of yoga is much wider and broader than originally perceived.

How the Eight Limbs Work Together

Within the yoga that Jois taught, the eight limbs do not follow a linear sequence. In other words, we’re not taught to master the first limb before moving on to the next limbs. ¹ In this tradition, the first two limbs, yamas and niyamas spontaneously arise out of the steady and continuous practice of asana and pranayama. Jois used to say that when the body and mind were cleansed of impurities, that following these rules was easy, natural, and obvious. And when the mind and body were gummed up with negativity and illness, to follow yamas and niyamas put the yogi at odds with herself and only created more tension.

And according to Jois, the last four limbs—which are, essentially, deeper levels of introspection, attention, and meditation—cannot be practiced. They arise spontaneously from the steady practice of the first four limbs. In other words, meditation cannot be practiced, according to this tradition. It just naturally grows from the continuous practice of breath work, posture, and the observance of certain morals and mores.

Focus on Asana and Pranayama And All Is Coming

Here’s the bottom line: essentially, Jois is saying is that all we need to do is to just practice asana and pranayama and the rest of the limbs follow spontaneously and naturally.  By the way, his teacher, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who is really the grandfather of modern yoga, said the same thing. So this isn’t idiosyncratic to Jois’ tradition. This is what all Krishnamacharya’s well-known students, including B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar, Indra Devi, A.G. Mohan, and Srivatsa Ramaswami, basically teach and taught.

Meditation Happens

If you look at this closely, it’s a pretty far-out idea.  The tradition is saying that you cannot do meditation. Meditation cannot be done. Meditation just comes. It’s like that William Blake quote, “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is – infinite.”  So, as yogis, it is our job to cleanse the doors of perception through the continuous, steady practice of asana and pranayama. In fact, that is all we really have the power to do anything about. And so at the heart of the practice of yoga, we’re just cleansing and clearing away what’s in the way. Once cleared, the goal of yoga naturally and spontaneously occurs."

Looking back on 2011 , I was able to practice at the following yogashalas ( the appropriate term as per Maharaja , a Sanskrit scholar , as shala on its own means " room " or "space " ) : AYNY NYC , Miami Life Center , Mission Ashtanga SFO , Ashtanga Yoga Vancouver & the Ashtanga Yoga Center of Austin.

I am hoping to practice with Troy Lucero in Seattle next week & Patrick of Miami Life Center the following week.

My trip to Toronto is scheduled for the 1st week of March & I am going to endeavor to practice with David Robson of Ashtanga Yoga Toronto  then. And back to NYC in April which means checking out the newly retro-fitted AYNY / Broome Street Temple.

 

Maha Mantra : Amala Kirtan Prabhu

There aren't any videos posted as of this morning from the epic NYE & New Year's Day kirtanas at New Dwarka Dham. In the interim , this one of Amala Kirtan Das taken in Alachua earlier this year will have to suffice. He is an incredible devotee . I managed to participate in 7 hours of the New Year's day kirtana yesterday. What a transcendental experience. Seeing the faces of everyone there transformed by chanting & devotion , little boys & girls sitting calmly in the front row , so sublime. If Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is an eight step process to Samadhi , Bhakti Yoga is the elevator, the fast track to bliss . Hari Hari !

AYNY : New Years Rulins

Thank you Eddie Stern for the New Year's greetings from Ashtanga Yoga New York :

" In case your New Years resolutions need some inspirin', take some hints from Woody Guthrie     ( on left ).

& # 34. Do lots of yoga.

All the best to you & yours in the New Year !

Yours , Eddie "

See you in April Eddie -

Reveillon 2012 : Rio de Janeiro

Feliz Ano Novo from the Happiest & most positive place on earth , Rio de Janeiro. I'm feeling "saudade " as it has been over 3 years ago that I spent New Year's in Ipanema. As I walked in Palisades Park at noon today to celebrate the end of my 36 hour liquid fast , I wished for an opportunity to return to Brazil soon. I also bumped into one of my favorite Vinyasa teachers from back in the day, Vytas B. He has just returned from his annual Vipassana meditation retreat up North. I mentioned my fast & how he had asked me to go on a 3 day one several years ago. And yes, V, I'm still doing Primary. Thanks for agreeing that Ashtanga compared to Vinyasa is HARD , hehe . Jai !