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| Sharath |
Rather than focus on the advanced series postures themselves I wonted to focus instead on how an 'advanced' practitioner approaches their standing, the same postures we practice everyday whichever series we happen to practice.
But that's still not it, not really what I was after. What I would really like are videos of those who have been practicing for thirty, forty years rather than (merely) ten or twenty, even if they are now only practicing Primary again or even better have only ever practiced Primary. Would love to get my hands on a video of Tim Miller's current Sury or Standing or Nancy's, David Williams, Chucks"s say, or how about Richard freeman's current, day in day out, meat n potato Standing sequence, those would be nice to see. It's hard to find a video that doesn't stress/feature the floaty Matrix jump back to standing, seems to appear in our sury's around the ten year spot (guilty as charged) my guess is that after twenty years or so you drop that again and go back to the most efficient sury you've ever practiced.
There's sharath of course, never one to worry about the fancy flourishes nor seemingly distracted by an obsession with alignment, his videos are for me are about efficiency ( and any alignment arising naturally from the breath).
Anyway here's the post as I wrote it last night
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| Pattabhi Jois |
Jessica Walden and what she does with the breath almost makes me want to reconsider my position on the Ashtanga Advanced series, almost but not quite. I very much doubt I'll bother practicing it again (never say never), come to think of it I barely bother with the second half of Intermediate anymore.... or much of Primary for that matter, around ten postures a practice taken long and slow seems plenty at the moment (except for Fridays obviously). This isn't so much because I'm getting older but more because of my interest in slowing the breath, introducing kumbhaka and longer stays, there's just less time if I want to follow my practice with pranayama, pratyahara and a sit. There's precedent it seems, so perhaps not so strange....
Manju Jois: Well for us it was fun to see my father doing yoga, putting himself in all these postures. You know it was really amazing. He used to pick a posture sometimes and he would like to stay in that posture for a long time. And that’s how he used to practice. And that’s how he started telling us to do that. There’s no need to do millions of postures, just try to master one at a time then you can go to the next one. I really enjoyed watching my father doing yoga. Sometimes we all used do it together too: me and my sister and my father. LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW HERE
Above Krishnamacharya teaching Standing postures
Supposedly Pattabhi Jois said
"Primary series is for everybody, 2nd series for teachers and Advanced series for demonstration."
It's probably the only saying of his that doesn't cause me to inwardly groan when I hear it repeated, usually to justify a lazy position or lack of argument. Still, those who end up practicing Advanced A or 3rd series have usually been practicing for quite some time, I might not be that interested in the series proper but how they approach their Standing, now there's something I like to see. I'm not talking about the floaty Marix bits but the approach to standing of somebody who has been getting on the mat day in day out for years, whichever series they end up practicing. Nice then of Purple valley to divide their videos up so we can settle down and focus on standing, here practiced by David Robson (with commentary), Tim Feldmann and Joey Mills.
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| krishnamacharya from Yogasanagalu |
The music in the latter two though, really, was that necessary? Call me a purist but what was wrong with the breath, it's a breathing practice after all.
First up David Robson
Tim.
And here's Joey
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| Krishnamacharya, some Standing postures |
4 comments:
Thank you so much for doing this kind of research. It is so interesting. To me, it is very telling that Krishnamacharya never does that head thrown back thing. Personally, I would never ask anyone to do that who is over the age of 12. I wish it would disappear from this lineage altogether - it is just a bad idea! It is quite fascinating to look at everyone's spines in the various postures. Note Krishnamacharya's spine in trikonasana....then look at Joey Miles. Hmmm....they are doing two very different things! The function is quite different in each one.
I am glad that you are honest about what you are doing personally. Those so-called advanced postures are impressive in a certain way but I always ask - why does one NEED them? Surely life offers enough challenges in the course of a day without requiring some extreme physical contortion to get to know your limits. Heck - just take a walk in Times Square during morning rush hour! See what comes up.
I think you are on the right track, emphasizing the role of the breath. After all, when our joints and ligaments finally give out (long may they live!), it's what we will have let to work with. Thanks again - really enjoy what you share.
About head "thrown back" - my teacher, a long-time student of Iyengar, says that being able to take the head back in Virabhadrasana 1 is a prerequisite for other backbending. If the neck is jammed in this movement, the thoracic spine isn't moving in, and the bend will only happen in the lumbar, with pain, either now or later. A good teacher will teach how to take the head back without jamming, or if this isn't possible, not insist on it. From my understanding, Krishnamacharya is doing this differently because he is engaging Jalandhara Bandha - not because it is dangerous.
I read your blog frequently too. I'm an Iyengar student but practice primary or intermediate on my own around once a week. I've always felt it's a shame that our disciplines are so antagonistic as I find the pros and cons of each method can find balance with a bit of the other. We know that Iyengar practiced Vinyasa Krama for a long time and from the quote below, it sounds like Jois practiced like Iyengar!
"He used to pick a posture sometimes and he would like to stay in that posture for a long time. And that’s how he used to practice. And that’s how he started telling us to do that. There’s no need to do millions of postures, just try to master one at a time then you can go to the next one."
Hi Robyn, I noticed that about Krishnamacharya's head position too - perhaps a change of drishti?
May I ask why the 'head thrown back thing' is a bad idea? Granted, I'm no biomechanical expert, though my neck is one of the most sensitive areas and the 'head back' thing actually makes me feel like I'm finding more space. Could be a mental thing, though I'm curious to hear what you think.
I echo you very much in that I greatly enjoy Anthony's research.
Shaz
My understanding comes from training in the Desikachar tradition, where we rarely use that kind of extension of the cervical spine. Indeed, usually go for a flexion (like the picture of Krishnamacharya). I was taught that, for most people, it can cause pain if done over a long period of time. And it has been my own experience too. Of course there are individual reasons why someone might find a benefit from it, so nothing is exclusive. (Guess I am retracting my earlier insistence that it be banished!)
I wonder about the comment below about it being a prerequisite for back bending. I find almost the opposite to be true from what is described in the comment - extending my cervical spine causes me to lose my attention in the upper back and lets the whole thing fall to my lumbar. But putting a slight flexion in the cervical spine reminds me to use my upper back and relieves the low back. I guess it is further proof that there are no "shoulds" in yoga asana practice. It is partly why I wonder at some of the Ashtanga....how shall I say....details that come out of Mysore. What is safe for one person might be a disaster for another.
But, hey, we Desikachar types love our individualized practices.
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