Friday, 28 September 2012

Srivatsa Ramaswami VinyasaKrama Yoga TV Slot (1980) also details of Ramaswami's UK trip next month

Wonderful surprise this morning to come across this old Video of a TV slot Ramaswami presented back in the 1980's. The caption says it's the first of a series, so hoping for more of these.

UPDATE" Ramaswami has just added three more, all included below

So nice to hear my teachers calm gentle voice again, guiding you through the movements with a minimum of fuss.

If your style is Ashtanga you might like to look at these as an option for a short evening practice, perhaps pre pranayama or meditation. Something for Saturdays or moon days perhaps or if you have an injury.  Vinyasa Krama is also excellent for exploring the postures and variations around the asana we do daily in Ashtanga which could help as preparation, teaching aids etc. Richard Freeman on the recent workshop I attended employed several variations of our regular asana that reminded me of Vinyasa Krama.

Looks look Ramaswami is doing a voiceover here, no doubt because of the poor quality of the video recording, no doubt he will mention these videos in his October Newsletter and tell us more about them.

The video starts of with some standing tadasana variations followed by twisting and forward bending, paschassana is five minutes in. Next up are some triangle postures (looks like a different video). Another video change ten minutes in and the sweetest little jump through, knees bent but without the ankles crossed. They then move into some seated postures followed by another video change and a virasana/vajrasana sequence including backbends and a very nice kapo after fifteen minutes.

Of course in your own practice of this sequence you can take it even slowly, lengthening the breath further, stay for longer in the postures as Ramaswami indicates and perhaps do more repeats etc.

Looking forward to downloading these and practicing along this evening.

A series of TV programs of Srivatsa Ramaswami on Vinyasa Krama Yoga in 1980

"During the early 1980s I gave a(n)  8 part series of asanas following
the vinyasakrama with my students from Kalakshetra. Each program was
about 20 mts aired every week under the youth program. Part of it was
asanas and the other part an interview with me which I have deleted in
these videos as they were in Tamil.. My son Badri, 8 or 9 at that time
had recorded it. During my visit to Chennai in Feb, my friends
Srimathy and Ravi of Ashtanga Yoga Chennai and former teachers at KYM
helped to edit it and get portions of the audio replaced with my
Indglish descriptions. The video quality is poor and the audio blank
in the later parts. It was interesting even for me to see how I was
teaching 30 years back. Have a look (at all the 4 videos) if you have
the time and maybe you would like to forward it to a friend or two.
Here are the links
Vinyasa Krama asanas 1980 I      http://youtu.be/vEM_QbH2fdo
VinyasaKrama asanas 1980 II  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKbmT8Ssuho&feature=plcp
VinyasaKrama asanas 1980  III http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjMrVq6HuOw&feature=plcp
VinyasaKrama asanas 1980  IV http://youtu.be/olAhZEBWTr0
For a more complete treatment of Vinyasakrama asanas, maybe you would
like to look at my book “The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga”. Here is
the Amazon link
Find this book on amazon.com"
Srivatsa Ramaswami Oct 2012 Newsletter

I Standing, triangle and some of the meditative series built on virasana and vajrasana


II Supine postures inc. Shoulderstand and some lotus postures


III mostly Bow postures


IV Some Seated and Asymmetric postures

 
Ramaswami is coming to The UK early next month, here's a link to the Harmony yoga website and to the appropriate page, has to be said that i find the web page for this really confusing and you may feel the need to email or call to actually check if there are still places.

Here's the link
http://www.harmonyyoga.co.uk/srivatsa-ramaswami-2012-uk-workshop-details/

And below all the details from Steve's harmony Yoga website.



Srivatsa Ramaswami 2012 UK Visit

October 5th-14th, 2012

Update: 
Just heard the course is full except for the Wednesday 10th Mantra yoga in the afternoon.
Which is a shame as I suddenly had the opportunity to attend the first day.

Programme summary

October 5th: The Essentials of Vinyasa Krama Yoga.  (1day. 6 hours.)
October 6th-9th: The Yoga of Sri T. Krishnamacharya (4 days. 24 hours.)
October 10th: Mantra Yoga. (Afternoon. 3 hours.)
October 10th: Vinyasa Krama Yoga Practice. (Evening. 1h 45 mins.)
October 11th-14th: Hatha and Raja Yoga Practicum. (4 days. 24 hours.)
All workshops will be held at: Wells Museum Conference Room, 8 Cathedral Green, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2UE, UK
The venue is located on the historic Cathedral Green in the medieval city of Wells. The Conference Room is a pleasant, spacious room overlooking a walled garden.
Scroll down for workshop details, course fees and booking procedure.

Workshop Details

Friday  5th

The Essentials of Vinyasa Krama Yoga

1 day (6 hours): 9.30am-12.30pm &  2.30pm-5.30pm
Vinyasa Krama is an art form of practising yogasanas, based on the parameters mentioned in the Yoga Sutras. Sri Krishnamacharya taught this method of asana practice in which several asana movements or vinyasas are practised in succession slowly and with synchronisation of breath. In this program, you will experience an introduction to Vinyasa Krama, pranayama and the basics of meditation based on the Yoga Sutras. There will be a Q&A session as well.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Recommended reading: Ramaswami, The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga.
Saturday 6th – Tuesday 9th

The Yoga of Sri T. Krishnamacharya

4 days (24 hours): 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30pm-5.30pm each day.   24 hours
Sri.T. Krishnamacharya taught not only yoga and the various aspects of yoga, but also several other related orthodox philosophies. He was a qualified teacher of nyaya, the powerful system of logic used for spiritual discussions in olden times. He was known as Nyayacharya. He taught Nyaya Sutras and Tarka Samgraha, two important ancient works related to this subject. He taught Vedic chanting extensively and was given a title Veda Kesaari (Lion of the Vedas). He not only chanted with a booming voice but also taught the Vedic philosophy related to the ritualistic portion, known as Mimamsa. He taught Samkhya as well, and obtained a diploma in this philosophy, for these achievements he was known by the title Samkhya Siromani (crest jewel of Samkhya).
Of course he was also known as Yogacharya. His unique Yoga teachings of Vinyasa Krama, therapeutic approach and the Yoga philosophy, made him an outstanding  Yoga Acharya. He taught the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras, the important three sets of texts for the Vedic philosophy known as Vedanta and earned the title Vedanta Vageesa, meaning the “master exponent of Vedanta.” He could teach with equal facility the Advaitic and Visishtadvaitic interpretation of Vedanta, even though he favoured Ramanuja’s Visishtadwaitic interpretation. Apart from these Vedic subjects and philosophies, he also was a scholar of the great epic Ramayana (story of Rama) and other religious/mythological works such as Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana (Story of Lord Krishna), as well as several other Vaishnavite religious texts.
He taught these subjects individually, depending upon the requirements of each student. Because of his vast studies and knowledge, he had a very comprehensive view of the whole range of Eastern philosophies and religious practices and guided his students according to what he thought was the appropriate path for each. Yogis who would like to enlarge their knowledge base of spirituality may wish to study more of these texts, slowly, one by one.
In this program an investigation  into his teachings will be made based on the studies of Srivatsa Ramaswami under Sri Krishnamacharya over decades.
Suitable for Yoga Teachers and experienced practitioners.
Recommended reading: Ramaswami, The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga, Yoga for the Three Stages of Life; Ramaswami and Hurwitz, Yoga Beneath the Surface.

Wednesday 10th  – Mantra Yoga

Afternoon (3 hours):  2.30pm-5.30pm
For every Raja Yogi there are 100 Hata Yogis and for every Hata Yogi there may be several hundred mantra yogis. Mantra yoga and Bhakti yoga form an important yoga that is easily accessible to millions. This programme will include a general discussion about mantras and the chanting of important mantras like Pranava, Gayatri and others like Sanskrit alphabet mantras (matrukas) will also be taught.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Wednesday 10th – Vinyasa Krama Yoga Practice
Evening Session (1 hour 45 minutes): 7pm-8.45pm.
Vinyasa Krama is an art form of practicing yogasanas, based on the parameters mentioned in the Yogasutras. Sri Krishnamacharya taught this method of asana practice in which several asana movements, or vinyasas, are practiced in succession slowly and with synchronization of breath. In this program you will experience an introduction to vinyasakrama, pranayama and the basics of meditation based on the Yogasutras. 1.5 hours practice and 15 minutes Q&A session.
All levels of experience are welcome.

Thursday 11th – Sunday 14th

Hatha and Raja Yoga Practicum

4 days (24 hours): 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30pm-5.30pm each day
Asana practice has caught the imagination of a number of enthusiasts—especially Vinyasa Krama, the sequencing art form of yoga practice. However, yoga has other important ingredients, all of which promote a positive transformation of the individual. A holistic approach would require the yogi to practice not only asana and pranayama (the Hatha yoga aspects) but also chanting, meditation, and contemplation of the philosophical and spiritual aspects (Raja yoga).
In this program, half of each session will be devoted to different asanas, following the Vinyasa Krama method. It will involve doing more than 300 vinyasas, or variations in classical yoga poses, in the course of the program. The other half of the time will be utilized for detailed and varied yogic breathing exercises and the other Raja yoga practices, like chanting, meditation, and philosophical and spiritual contemplation of the yoga sutras. The objective by the end of the program is for participants to have a well-rounded understanding and practice of yoga, as opposed to doing only asanas or meditation. Hatha yoga and Raja yoga are aspects of the integrated system of yogic progression.
Suitable for Yoga Teachers and experienced practitioners.
Recommended reading: Ramaswami, The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga, Yoga for the Three Stages of Life; Ramaswami and Hurwitz, Yoga Beneath the Surface.

1 comment:

Brianna Nash said...

If I lived in the UK I would sign up for this workshop. Sounds like it will be packed full lots of good information.

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