Yoga teaches itself, or should.

Sit on the edge of your chair, 

breath in, 

breathe out twice as slowly, 

follow the breath with your mind.

That is surely all you ever REALLY need to teach/suggest, everything else follows from this, it's practice teaches itself.


After a time the breath will slow further, you will notice the breath more as you move about your day, movements align with the breath and you might try some other simple, more formal, movements... with the breath. You might find ways to sit more comfortably, for longer, practice for longer, you might try breathing through one nostril and out of the other.... or not. You might notice the natural pause between the inhalation and exhalation and attend to that as much as to the inhalation and the exhalation, you might sit and focus on that stillness, the infinite between inhalation and exhalation, or you might focus on one point that feels natural, comfortable to you, you might forget about the breath altogether and focus more on that one point. The feeling of peace and calm, of contentment perhaps, that comes from this, from just sitting, might allow you realise that this is perhaps sufficient, and as attachments drop away compassion might arise for those who are as wrapped up in their attachments as you were. Samadhi might arise within you, a profound contentment and experience of sufficiency. As your samadhi becomes stable, consistent, it might naturally direct itself at the objects of the senses, at the senses themselves, at the mind, all dropping away until all that remains is awareness itself.

It's Euclid, everything follows.

The Vitruvian Man  by Leonardo da Vinci around 1490
inspired by the architect Vitruvius

A pretty a picture than the first page of Euclid

On question from the comments on the previous post

Anonymous 

"Grim, if you don't teach, why the meticulous syllabus above (the previous post on teaching Vinyasa krama to an Ashtangi)? Bit ironic. Is it just that you don't have the time to teach physically?"

*

My Reply (edited)

I'm not sure where sharing practice ends and teaching begins Anon. I don't teach yoga, not regularly, not currently. The blog has always been about sharing my own practice, experience(s).

My inclination is always towards solitary home practice. As a teacher I would be kicking everyone out of the shala after a couple of weeks and suggesting they check-in perhaps in a year or so, the shala would be bankrupt in a week.... or my thinking would change which perhaps worries me the most and perhaps why I resist teaching.

Money/livelihood and yoga don't/shouldn't mix, in my mind.

That said, I understand that not everyone can practice at home (circumstance, kids, space etc.), or that some may require the little extra motivation that the company of others can bring..., in the beginning.

The problem I feel is that many (most?) 'teachers', whether intending (realising? ) it or not, tend to try to hold on to their students, suppress the awareness that one could and perhaps should be practicing yoga alone and at home.

Even right at the 'top', the inclination/motivation is to preserve a system of asana.

Ashtanga Vinyasa, by accident perhaps, is almost designed to keep students coming back for asana practice...., deepen the asana, improve alignment, the next asana, the next series ( and the next for those whose bodies are flexible enough). Support the community, don't miss a practice, go to Mysore, go again... and again.

Then we have the 'international yoga teachers' who promote themselves and their workshops/merchandise, through asana, maintaining the focus on asana, the next asana, the next series.

And of course, if one IS interested in pranayama, feels ready for pranayama (despite being told more and more asana first), then the one pranayama is not enough for a teacher, you need pranayama workshops, intensives, books, dvds to teach all these other marketable Hatha pranayama's. To make it worthwhile, you need a pranayama series.

What did those Raja yogi's do/practice before Hatha came along.

Yoga?

It can take ten years to learn

 that what we really need to do

 is unlearn 99% of what we learned 

in those ten years.

If the class was half a series worth of asana followed by twenty minutes of simple, straight forward, pranayama, forty minutes of Sitting..., and given that the asana are always the same in ashtanga, would students keep coming back six days a week or would the system collapse, would they just practice at home, come once a week say, once a month, would that support a shala, a teacher?

I would be/am tempted to teach such a class once a week, once a month and encourage home practice the rest of the time, success for me would be marked by a mostly empty class.

I've never understood the pride in having the BIGGEST Ashtanga program in...wherever.

I have great affection for those who merely provide a space, almost taking a vow of poverty to do so, for those who require one for practice.

The 'meticulous syllabus' you mention that  I share above (on the previous post teaching Vinyasa krama to an Ashtangi) is so one can practice at home without me teaching because I don't believe you need a teacher, practicing this teaches itself, deepens itself.



Sit on the edge of your chair, breath in, breathe out twice as slowly, follow the breath with your mind.

That is surely all you ever REALLY need to teach/suggest, everything else follows from this, it's practice teaches itself.

After a time the breath will slow further, you will notice the breath more as you move about your day, movements align with the breath and you might try some other simple, more formal, movements... with the breath. You might find ways to sit more comfortably, for longer, practice for longer, you might try breathing through one nostril and out of the other.... or not. You might notice the natural pause between the inhalation and exhalation and attend to that as much as to the inhalation and the exhalation, you might sit and focus on that stillness, the infinite between inhalation and exhalation, or you might focus on one point that feels natural, comfortable to you, you might forget about the breath altogether and focus more on that one point. The feeling of peace and calm, of contentment perhaps, that comes from this, from just sitting, might allow you realise that this is perhaps sufficient, and as attachments drop away compassion might arise for those who are as wrapped up in their attachments as you were. Samadhi might arise within you, a profound contentment and experience of sufficiency. As your samadhi becomes stable, consistent, it might naturally direct itself at the objects of the senses, at the senses themselves, at the mind, all dropping away until all that remains is awareness itself.


It's Euclid, everything follows.


That said, I know there are wonderful Ashtanga vinyasa teachers out there who aren't really teachers at all perhaps but service providers, maintaining a space, giving a little guidance where necessary and letting the practice teach itself, deepen itself.

Some wonderful teachers in Yoga therapy, who have studied the body deeply and can give relief. Yoga culture teachers, chanting teacher, sanskrit teachers.

There are 'teachers' (enablers, facilitators?) who encourage, give guidance and support in meditation, who make moving on to meditation as natural an option as the next asana/series.

Teachers who preserve the the system of practice they love, just as they learned it themselves, passing it along to others in the belief it might benefit others as they feel it has benefitted them.

And I'm grateful to the teachers who did and do the above, that I was able to encounter a practice in the way that I did, through a book in a library... and later through DVDs and Youtube, through other practitioners, occasionally teachers and teachers of teachers, grateful to all who have done and continue to inspire me to practice and reflect on my practice.

"He (Krishnamacharya) divided the practice of yoga into three parts.When one wants to develop muscular power, power to concentrate, power to do more difficult postures etc, it was called sakti krama in the sense of power. The second type of practice that he taught was called adhyatmika krama, that is, to go beyond the physical and to understand, say god or oneself. The third type was called cikitsa krama, yoga for therapy. For this he would modify the asana and the breathing so the problem was reduced." The Purnacarya.


Each morning before practice I say..

Thank you to all teachers and practitioners, past and present, 

for bringing me to and maintaining me in this practice.

We can learn asana from teachers, hundreds of asana, asana systems, asana tricks and flourishes, ever more alignment in asana, visualisation in asana, safer practice in asana. We can learn pranayama from a teacher, lots of different pranayamas, all kinds of ratios. Some teach yoga history, yoga philosophy, yoga therapy, chanting, sacred texts. We can learn to chant the yoga sutras from a teacher, the meaning of the yoga sutras.... teachers seem to teach everything about yoga, around yoga, everything EXCEPT yoga...., perhaps because yoga isn't taught, isn't learned, it's just experienced.

Sit and focus your attention, don't be distracted by all these teaching ABOUT yoga, on the whole they are likely yet more hindrances to pass through, just sit and watch the breath, do yoga rather than learn about yoga.

Trying to stretch the above sentence into a class, a program, workshop, intensive, teacher training, book and DVD would be one more hinderance.

I remember thinking, during the few workshops I presented, that everybody would be better off staying home and doing their own practice. Rather than attend a workshop for the day or weekend, stay home and practice, at dawn, at midday, at dusk and at midnight.

If I ever do offer a retreat again it will be this, a slow, Krishnamacharya ashtanga practice followed by pranayama and a Sit at dawn, a little asana, pranayama and a sit at midday and again at dusk and at midnight.

Don't read about yoga, blog about yoga (myself included obviously), just get on and do yoga.

That said I feel an obligation to pass along the approach to practice that Ramaswami generously shared with me from his teacher Krishnamacharya, as well as my own research into Krishnamacharya's life (that continues to fascinate me) and of my practice of his Yoga Makaranda instruction. I hope I fulfil that obligation here on the blog to some degree.

I  also see people around me, the elderly especially, who might benefit from what little I do know about moving the body and am considering sharing some of that knowledge, teaching some movements.... if I can learn enough not to do more harm than good.

On being asked to teach Vinyasa Krama to an 'Ashtangi'

I received a letter last night asking if I would be prepared to teach some Vinyasa Krama, over a month or two, here in Japan, to a visiting Ashtanga practitioner (who practices Ashtanga Primary series). Below is my response, I thought it might be useful for others interested in Vinyasa Krama as I (currently) understand/view it.

Mtyresponse in Courier font, additions in Times.


Dear  XXXX

Thank you for your mail and your interest but I'm really not a yoga teacher, though I may have taught a few workshops in the past.

Given that you live in the States I believe it would be so much more beneficial to spend a week or ten days with Ramaswami on one of his workshop/intensives (Ramaswami's schedule). You are so lucky to have him there in the US.

Perhaps if he was no longer with us I might consider teaching more.

I don't live in Osaka but in a small country village and travel into Osaka to my job as an English teacher.


'VINYASA KRAMA ASANA'

Note: In Vinyasa Krama we don't tend to practice the Ashtanga Suryanamaskar so much, perhaps the mantra version, or possibly with the 2 hour surya namaskar chant on Sundays. 

I though, still practice my Ashtanga sun salutations out of habit and for general fitness given the fewer jump back and throughs in Viyasa Krama

We generally begin practice with some simple movements in tadasana. I tend to include a few of these before my sun salutations. Below a video of a ten minute version, I may do a few less movements, five minutes worth say. On my Youtube channel there is the full fifty minute Vinyasa Krama Tadasana sequence https://youtu.be/EEHx32PUfdY.

One of the things I've tried to communicate in my book and on my blog is that if you are practicing Ashtanga then you are already practicing Vinyasa Krama. The Ashtanga Primary series is made up of Vinyasa Krama subroutines. 

Example of subroutines in Ashtanga primary Series.

For it to 'look' more like Vinyasa Krama all you need to do is cut out most of the jump backs and through ( perhaps just between each subroutine) and breathe much more slowly (around 8-10 seconds for both inhalation and exhalation, perhaps take three breaths if required to enter a posture rather than folding straight in. Stay for longer in certain key postures, paschimottanasana, maha mudra, sarvangasana, sirsasana. There are some movements/variations options in head and shoulder stand that are a little different from Primary but otherwise Primary series makes for an ideal Vinyasa Krama practice, except that breathing more slowly and occasionally staying longer in a posture will likely mean you will have to divide a Primary series over two or even three days. 

On another day you might practice those first few back stretching postures from Ashtanga 2nd series, Salambhasana,Urdhva dhanurasana, ustrasana, which is also a Vinyasa krama subroutine.

Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence subroutines, similar to the first half of Ashtanga Intermediate series

The sequences Ramaswami presents in his workshop and book are for teaching and training purpose only, once you have an idea of how the asana relate to each other, build up to, and then extend beyond the key asana you would then just choose the appropriate asana  and subroutines for you each morning. Pattabhi Jois (perhaps Krishnamacharya) has already done that for us with Primary and Second Ashtanga series. 

For me, with the occasional modifications, and perhaps partly due to familiarity and affection, I find the Ashtanga series appropriate. They of course closely match the order the asana as placed in Krishnamacharya table of asana in yogasanagalu (Mysore 1941).

Link to post on the asana tables

An integrated practice

Perhaps the biggest difference is that Vinyasa Krama is more of an integrated practice. 

Although some more experienced Ashtanga practitioners do include Pranyama, Sitting etc. Actually many beginner Ashtanga practitioners already have a Sitting practice from another tradition, Zen, vipassana etc. I have a  Zen monk friend Hyon Gak Sunim who has  only recently come to Ashtanga


Mirror of Zen /// A Day in the Moment of a Modern Zen Monk from Christine Schmitthenner on Vimeo.


So after your slower, modified, half Primary and perhaps 36 or 108 rounds of kapalabhati breathing, practice, 6, 12, 20 rounds of nadi shodhana with the pranayama mantra on the kumbhaka ( see my pranayma page for the mantra), sit for five minutes in Shanmukhi Mudra turning the senses inwards and then sit and meditated on a mantra, say Om hrim namashivaya, for 10, 20, 30, 40 minutes. 


Of course if you haven't practiced pranayama before you will need to build up to it, 3-6 months of nadi shodhana without kumbhaka just as Sharath suggests, then (perhaps after discussing it with your doctor)start to introduce a kumbhaka after the inhalation - checking your pulse for any dramatic increase in heart rate.


'VINYASA KRAMA' PRANAYAMA

So start with 

nadi shodhana

4s inhalation, 8s exhalation

 then 

5s, inhalation 10 exhalation

finally after a few months or when twelve rounds of that is comfortable, introduce kumbhaka

4s inhalation, 4s kumbhaka, 8s exhalation

5s, inhalation 5s kumbhaka, 10 exhalation

5s, inhalation 10s kumbhaka, 10 exhalation

at this point, if the pranayama mantra interests you you could split the mantra into three, spread over each stage

5s, inhalation 15s kumbhaka, 10 exhalation

mantra chanted quickly on the kumbhaka

finally

5s, inhalation 20s kumbhaka, 10 exhalation

which is the standard pranayama Ramaswami teaches.

6/12/20 rounds of that after asana each morning

or twenty rounds four times a day if committed and traditional.



'Vinyasa Krama' Pratyahara (5 to 10 minutes)

Shanmukhi Mudra is pretty much automatic, once you engage the mudra the mind automatically turns inwards, to internal sounds for example. 

I chose Shanmukhi Mudra for the cover of my book
rather than a fancy asana

'VINYASA KRAMA' MEDITATION


As for Sitting. Ramaswami teaches Japa, with the mantra 

Om hrim namashivaya

But you could use any Samatha (calm abiding) approach, sitting with the breath, Zen.... 

If and when Samadhi ever arises THEN, it gets tricky and you have to start applying your samadhi to different objects. See Patanjali.

That's basically Vinyasa Krama, it tends to be practiced at home rather than in a studio or with a teacher, no need to stress about fancy techniques to attain postures, visualisations, and/or be obsessed with alignment, just let the breath align you, choose an easier variation of an asana from Ramaswami ( or my) book if required.


YAMA/NIYAMA

Reflect on the yama/niyama as much as possible or the cultural moral/ethical codes of your own upbringing and perhaps each evening before falling asleep, with compassion, reflect on how far your day fell within them.

This is Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga, Hatha is something else altogether with different goals and objectives, hatha deals with bindu and/or kundalini and/or prana, Patanjali is concerned with developing focussed concentration that can then be applied to gain knowledge of the self.


VINYASA KRAMA RESOURCES

Hope that helps, I really hope you manage to make it to Ramaswami at some point, all of the above will make a little more sense but if you practice Primary, have seen my book, have read closely Ramaswami's book(s) and or seen some of my videos or those with Ramaswami teaching I would suggest you have all you need, the rest is practice.

Ramaswami's Yoga Beneath the Surface answers any questions you might possibly have,

his book

Yoga for the three stages of Life is an absolute treasure,


his Complete book of Vinyasa Yoga is excellent as a reference for choosing modified postures to Primary.


Best wishes for you practice and travels


Sincerely

Anthony


PS. As this reply has become longer and more detailed than I expected when I started, I think I might turn it into a blog post. Hope that's OK

New Mysore Traditions Movie Trailer and why go to Mysore

Great new look at the Mysore Yoga Traditions movie currently in production, looking beautiful, and a whole bag full of quotes in this trailer alone. I'm going to need a bigger notebook when it finally comes out.

Perhaps I'm inclined to go to Mysore after all, do my practice in my room then go around and try to hear more about yoga from some of these fascinating Mysore Yoga teachers.

Mysore Yoga Traditions Official Trailer from Dallos Paz on Vimeo.

Website for Mysore Yoga Traditions

"Mysore Yoga Traditions is an inquiry into the cultural background of yoga in Mysore, how it has evolved, and the philosophy upon which this global practice rests. The film will be an intimate glimpse into the yoga of Mysore as the elders, scholars, philosophers, yogis and spiritual leaders of the community express their views on what yoga is, its original intention, and how they feel about the way it is being taught and practiced around the world. Much has been said about yoga in Mysore by western scholars. Now it is time for the people who are the keepers of this vibrant yoga tradition to speak about how they see their own legacy." from the webite

It would be great if somebody organised a Mysore 'confluence' or 'festival', two weeks or better still a month where you could just turn up and attend public talks by some of the teachers and practitioners we see here. A two tier pass perhaps so you could include asana or pranayama or just attend lectures/talks. We focus on asana but really, it has so little to do with yoga (or does it), breathe through your asana practice, include some straight forward pranayama (nadi sodhana), then go learn (seek to better understand) some (your) yoga. 

BNS Iyengar

I'm happy enough with my asana practice, with my pranayama...., I'm sure an Iyengar teacher could make my asana better aligned, that Simon (Borg-Olivier), could make my asana choices and approach more beneficial anatomically and physiologically but it'll....do, an ongoing work in practice. I have no desire to learn more asana ( I've let go of plenty in preference to a slower practice), no wish for strong adjustments, to go deeper into a posture ( why for heaven sake), no need of promotional, tricks, floats and/or flourishes, my steady, comfortable, familiar physical practice feels quite sufficient.

But yoga, what it is and why it is and what/where it's directed and why that should be relevant/desirable to me? That strikes me as worth traveling to Mysore to reflect upon. To reflect more deeply on Yama/niyama, on how to live and practice in this world. Are the responsibilities of the householder also to concern oneself with the location of that household, to make it, safe and good and just... for all, not merely those within the household, your household..., before one retires to the metaphorical forest and pass the task along? How does one work with withdrawing the senses, how do we support that hardest perhaps of practices? Is Hatha really of any relevance or did Krishnamacharya ultimately distract us, do I, should I, want to be free (kaivalya)? What is the experience of progressing through the sheaths and are they a model that's still of value, are the yoga body, subtle body models of any benefit to us today or should we just abandon it and go back before the 8th century or so and the models construction, go back before kundalini, before shushumna, before bindi, before bandhas and mudras? What was Mysore yoga then? And is Mysore yoga really any different from the yoga of my own culture, traditions and world view? where are the similarities, the resources I already have within me, the amrita/ambrosia in the marrow of my own bones and being? Is there any reason to leave this lake, my own Manasarova and what it can teach me?

Is there any reason to leave this lake, my own Manasarova and what it can teach me of yoga?

How Krishnamacharya taught Ramaswami pranayama plus Why Patanjali's Yoga?

"My one-to-one studies with my guru usually lasted one hour. One day, at the beginning of the class, he asked me to do this pranayama for the entire duration of the session and left the room. At the end of one hour he walked in to the room, asked me to join the end-of-the-session peace invocation, and left the room. He did not say anything, but looked pleased. There were many other occasions when he asked me to devote the entire session to pranayama". 
Srivatsa Ramaswami - Yoga Beneath the Surface P145

We finally know who the woman in this photo is. Her name is Libbie Mathes and she studied asana and pranayama with Krishnamacharya for four years in the 1960s, this photo was taken in 1963, see her article here

http://pureinspirations.com/pure-stories/my-path-to-yoga/

Below (from Yoga Beneath the Surface) is how Ramaswami would have us practice the approach to pranayama he learned from Krishnamacharya. Ramaswami however, would stay in the room and practice alongside us.

''" 1 :4:2 "'"

"DAVID: In YR (Yoga Rahasya ) II, 59, the pranayama ratio of 1:4:2 is spoken of as special. Is this ratio risky? Who can do it?

RAMASWAMI: In fact, almost all yoga texts mention or detail this particular pranayma. Because of the preponderance of antah kumbhak far a disproportionately long period, many people shy away  om this pranayama. The ratio you refer to is one time unit of inhalation, four time units of holding the breath, and two time units of exhalation. Normally, we breathe at the rate of about  fifteen times per minute. Our inhalation and exalations are usually are about 2 sec­onds each. So if you introduce this ratio, keeping the inhalation at about 2 seconds, you will have to hold the breath for about 8 sec­onds, and take 4 seconds  for exhalation. In this manner,you will do just about four breaths per minute as opposed to fifteen breaths per minute. Of course, one who is uninitiated can do it once or twice, but if required to do it for a number times in succession, he/she may find it difficult to maintain the ratio.

Many people  find the exhala­tion swift  and uncontrollable after the long breath-holding.
This ratio is used in mantra pranayama. There are a few well­ known mantras, such as the Vedic pranayama mantra and the "siva-siva" mantra. The Vedic pranayama mantra, consisting of sixty-four syllables (mantras), takes about 20 seconds to chant mentally. According to several texts, including Manu Smriti (clas­sic on Hindu way of life), the mantra is to be chanted while hold­ing in the breath. So one should be able to hold the breath for 20 seconds, during which time the mantra is chanted. If so, with the 1:4:2 ratio, the inhalation has to be 5 seconds and the exhalation 10 seconds. It will thus take about 35 seconds, and if you take a 5- second bahya kumbhaka, then it couid be about 40 to 45 seconds. It is the normal practice in Vedic pranayama to do at least ten rounds in one sitting, which would mean that the practitioner should be able to sit in a yogic posture steadily for this duration and do the pranayamas without losing control. If you go by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one can go up to eighty pranayamas at a stretch. This would mean that one has to sit in a posture for about an hour and do pranayama and  follow the ratios correctly, without panicking or without discomfort. So the texts suggest holding out the breath for 20 seconds, especially texts of Hatha yogis and Kundalini yogis.

My one-to-one studies with my guru usually lasted one hour. One day, at the beginning of the class, he asked me to do this pranayama for the entire duration of the session and left the room. At the end of one hour he walked in to the room, asked me to join the end-of-the-session peace invocation, and left the room. He did not say anything, but looked pleased. There were many other occasions when he asked me to devote the entire session to pranayama.

lt is sad that yoga students seldom practice pranayama and that contemporary teachers appear to have disdain far pranayama. It is a very important and a very useful aspect of yoga. Pranayama reduces tamas or darkness  and increases satva or clarity". p.143-145

*

And here on p193, where Ramaswami discusses the (different?) objectives of Hatha and Raja yoga.

"My teacher used to say that one should do pranayama  for twice the amount of time one practices asana. Dharana should be  forr twice that time, and dhyana twice longer. Only then will one be able to stay in samadhi  for a  fleeting moment. With continuous practice, one will be able to stay in samadhi for longer and longer periods until, like the yogis of Himalaya, one can remain in samadhi for days.
But are the two goals, kaivalya of the Raja yogi and the posi­tioning of prana in Brahmarandhra (a chakra) of the Hatha yogi, the same? Well, one leads to kaivalya or total release and the snapping of the cycle of samsara, but what of the other? One is not sure if the Hatha yogi's goal will give total release  from samsara. What do you think?" p193 Yoga beneath the Surface.

Amazon link

NOTE on learning the mantra and building up the kumbhaka

One way to build up to the above pranayama is, at first, to skip the kumbhaka (holding the breath out) after the exhalation. 

Also, divide the pranayama mantra into three and learn each section on a shorter kumbhaka (breath retention) after the inhalation, five seconds perhaps while chanting

Om bhUh . Om bhuvaha . Ogm suvaha . 

Om mahaha . Om janaha . Om tapaha . Ogm satyam ।

Then chant the first part of the mantra above on the inhalation and learn the second part of the mantra on the kumbhaka.

Om tat savitur varENiyam bhargO dEvasya dhImahi .

dhiyO yO nah pracOdayAte ..

Build up to ten seconds kumbhaka perhaps chanting the first two parts above and then learn the third part while exhaling

OmApO jyOti rasO’amRutam brahma bhUrbhuvassuvarOm

Build up to a fifteen second kumbhaka chanting the full mantra quickly and then gradually slow the mantra down to twenty seconds.

Finally, reintroduce the  short five second  kumbhakla after the exhalation

*

Why Patanjali's Yoga?

Hatha yogi's have developed seemingly endless approaches to pranayama, likewise, countless postures and techniques to 'force' the prana into the sushumna channel, raise kundalini, conserve bindu etc.

Perhaps proficiency in some basic (Primary) key asana and a few variations, a straight forward traditional nadi sodhana pranayama practice, a simple pratyahara method of sense withdrawal and samatha, (calm abiding) Sitting, is quite sufficient...., until at least samadhi is attained. If Samadhi is attained , in this lifetime, then we can start to worry about how to apply, Pattanjali has a whole chapter on this.

Kaivalya (liberation) may not necessarily be our objective ( for now at least), we may not even believe in the concept/metaphysics/philosophy on which Patanjali's Yoga sutras are based, and yet the methodology outlined in the sutras may still lead to a more orderly life, greater compassion, improved discipline, emotional stability, and perhaps some insight into the formation and workings of who or what we believe we are as well as providing us with the tools to put 'that' under question on an experiential rather than purely intellectual level.

*

NOTE: Krishnamacharya/Ramaswami have written about 'Yoga for the Three Stages of Life', being completely fixated on asana for a time may be considered..... appropriate but at some point we may wish to introduce a steady pranayama and sitting practice. These are practices that will take decades to master, we may as well begin now as later, even six rounds of pranayama once or twice a day may be beneficial and a ten minute 'Sit' may well feed back into our asana practice. Many traditional teachers from Yoga to Zen to Vipassana, seem to feel that in the west we are... unsuited to meditation practice. There is often a cultural snobbery involved and is clearly nonsense as we too have several thousand years of contemplative traditions, we called it prayer.

This is a quite superb book on Yoga
Link to Amazon

*

Appendix 
Pranayama Mantra

Note: Ramaswami and indeed Krishnamacharya have stated that we should maintain own religious tradition. If for example you are of the Christian faith you might prefer to mentally recite The Lord's Prayer ( which also takes 20 seconds).... in latin perhaps which is rather wonderful on the tongue.

Pater noster, qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum,
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in caelo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
et ne inducas nos in tentationem;

sed libera nos a Malo


or why not a version of Loving Kindness


“May all beings be well and safe, may they be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be, whether moving or standing still, without exception, whether large, great, middling, or small, whether tiny or substantial,
Whether seen or unseen, whether living near or far,
Born or unborn; may all beings be happy.
Let none deceive or despise another anywhere. Let none wish harm to another, in anger or in hate.”



Or even the first four of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras which are considered a summary of the whole text, again, 20 seconds if chanted slowly.

atha yoga-anuśāsanam ॥1॥
yogaś-citta-vr̥tti-nirodhaḥ ॥2॥
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe-'vasthānam ॥3॥
vr̥tti sārūpyam-itaratra ॥4॥

Here it is again so you can format it as you wish

Pranayama Mantrah

प्राणायाम मन्त्रः 

ओं भूः । ओं भुवः । ओं सुवः 

ओं महः । ओं जनः । ओं तपः । ओ ँ् सत्यं ।

Om bhUh . Om bhuvaha . Ogm suvaha . 

Om mahaha . Om janaha . Om tapaha . Ogm satyam ।

ओं तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि 

धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् 

Om tat savitur varENiyam bhargO dEvasya dhImahi .

dhiyO yO nah pracOdayAte ..

ओमापो ज्योती-रसोऽमृतं-ब्रह्म भूर्भुवस्सुवरोम् 

OmApO jyOti rasO’amRutam brahma bhUrbhuvassuvarOm

Learn more chants by Srivatsa Ramaswami HERE

A TRANSLATION OF  THE PRANAYAMA MANTRA

And here's a link to a page that translates (below) and explains the mantra

AUM bhUH, AUM bhuvaH, AUM svaH, AUM mahaH

AUM janaH, AUM tapaH, AUM satyam

AUM, the primordial sound, resides in all elements of the universe. It permeates the earth (-bhUH), water (-bhuvaH), fire (-svaH), air (-mahaH), ether (-janaH), intelligence (-tapaH) and consciousness (-satyam).

AUM tatsaviturvarenyM bhargo devasya dhImahi

dhIyo yo nH prachodayAt.h.

We pay homage to Gayatri, the one who shines like the sun (tat savitur), the one who destroys all our sins through her everlasting and effulgent light. Dear Goddess Gayatri, please illuminate our path towards our higher consciousness and lead us to our true purpose in life

AUM Apo jyotiH rasomRRitaM

brahma bhUR bhuvaH svar AUM..

Please shine your light (-jyotiH) in our path so we may partake of the everlasting nectar (rasomRRitaM) of brahman while chanting the primordial sound, AUM'!

*

Appendix 2. 

Ramaswami's Mantra meditation Newsletter February 2012

MANTRA PRANAYAMA

Considerable amount of literature is now available on Pranayama (from

ancient and contemporary yogis), an important anga of Yoga, even

though a smaller and smaller number of Hatha yogis do a smaller and

smaller number of pranayamas. In fact according to Brahmananda who

wrote an important commentary of Hathayogapradeepika, Hatha yoga is

indeed Pranayama. Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras succinctly gives the

parameters of pranayama along with the benefits. Hathayoga pradeepika

and several other hatha yohga texts talk about a variety of pranayamas

with different ratios in considerable detail and as I said enough

literature is available on pranayama. However since it is also the

anga prior to the antaranga or meditation, parts of yoga pranayama has

been used to prepare oneself for meditation. If in pranayama you can

introduce some noble thoughts for meditation like an uplifting mantra,

bhava thought or an image such pranayamas are called sagarbha

pranayama or pranayama pregnant with lofty ideas. Sri Krishnamacharya

in his “Nathamini's Yoga Rahasya” says that sagarbha pranayama is

several times more beneficial; more than the mechanical pranayama done

generally by hatha yogis.

Sagarbha pranayama done with pranayama mantra from the vedas, which

also includes the potent gayatri as a part of it, has been in vogue

since the vedic times. Sri Krishnamacharya in his yoga work

“Nathamuni's Yoga Rahasya” gives a number of instructions for doing

pranayama towards the end of the first chapter. He commends the use of

Pranava and the pranayama mantra with gayatri while doing pranayama

practice. Usually pranava (OM), the most potent mantra and the mother

of all mantras, as a stand alone mantra is used by renunciates like

consummate yogis and advaitins. And the gayatri impregnated vedic

pranayama mantra is used by householders and others in all pranayama.

In fact Manu in his famous Manusmriti says that the pranayama mantra

which consists of prnava, the seven vyahritis, the gayatri and the

head or siras portion should be recited while holding the breath in

Kumbhaka three times to be called as pranayama. Sri Krishnamacharya

also emphasizes the need to meditate on the meaning of the mantras

like the suggestion of Patanjali in YS.

Most people who do ritualistic pranayama in India use the pranayama

mantra referred to earlier. Manusmiti says as follows

“sa vyahritim sa pranavaam

gayatriim sirasa saha

trifpateth ayataf pranah

pranayamassa uchyate”

Here is the translation“Pranayama is that in which the seven vyahritis

(bhuh bhuvaha...) each preceded by pranava (OM) then the gayatri, then

the siris are (silently) recited.”

It should be chanted (silently) while holding the breath (kumbhaka).

When it is done three times it is called panayama. The pranayama

mantra is 64 syllables and takes about 20 seconds to chant, more or

less. The verse quoted above says three times and some interpret it as

chanting the mantra three times while holding the breath, but

generally it is chanted once and three such pranayamas will make one

bundle of pranayama. If you try to do the chant thrice in one go it

would taken a minute and holding the breath for one minute could be a

real challenge to most and so most people stick to the earlier

option.

What about the duration for inhalation and exhalation? Sri

Krishnamacharya says in Yoga Rahasya that it should be vishamavritti

indicating that the time duration for inhalation exhalation and breath

holding would vary. So many go by the 1:4:2 ratio.

One may inhale for 5 seconds then chant the mantra during internal

holding for 20 seconds and then exhale for 10 seconds. The breath

holding after exhalation is considered a hathayoga practice and many

orthodox people who do pranayama as part of the Puja or Japa ritual

dispense with bahya kumbhaka and the bandhas. The quickie pranayama is

three times but it is recommended that on should do 10 times the

samantra pranayama.  (Contrast this with the hathayoga approach of

going up to 80 times mantraless pranayama).

Since children sometimes as young as 5 were initiated into vedic

studies, it becomes obligatory for them to do sandhya and hence mantra

pranayama and silent gayatri chant. But then because they are young

they may not be taught to do calibrated pranayama. Usually in course

of time they would learn to do long inhalation and exhalation say in

nadishodhana. Later they will be taught the whole vishamavritti

pranayama as explained earlier.

So the mantra is chanted silently in pranayama. But most people just

chant the mantra without the pranayama--they may merely touch the nose

but not do the pranayama. So we have one set of people who do

pranayama without mantras as most hatha yogis do and another group

especially in India who chant the mantra faithfully but do not do the

prnayama at all and thus both lose out. It even led the much revered

previous Sankaracharya of Kanchi to remark that if only Indians would

hold the breath (kumbhaka) rather than just touch/hold the nose they

would all become great yogis and spiritual persons.

My Guru also said that when doing any mantra in japa, in pranayama or

meditation, one should think of the meaning or import of the mantra.

That makes it lot more powerful and meaningful. What does this mantra

signify, many times we get initiated into a mantra routine without

knowing what it means. All yogis know that Patanjali insists on

contemplating on the meaning of pranava when doing pranava japa to get

the grace of Iswara.

“Om Bhuh, om bhuvah, om suvah, om mahah, om janah, om tapah, om

satyam; then the gayatri and then the siras which runs like this, ”om

apah jyoti rasah amrtam brahma bhurbhuvassuvarom” is the pranayama

mantra. This mantra appears in Mahanarayana Upanishad, the last

chapter of Yajur veda. This upanishad also contains several beautiful

mantras used on a daily basis like the offering to the five pranas

(before taking food), meditating within the heart etc. I got the whole

chapter (about 45 minutes of continuous chanting) recorded some 25

years back by “Sangeetha” and I believe it is available in some stores

in Chennai, India. You may learn the pranayama mantra—visit my website

www.vinyasakrama.com/chants and click on the “Learn Pranayama Mantra

chant” tab.

So what is the meaning of this wonderful pranayama mantra? Again there

are different interpretations. The conventional meaning for the seven

vyahritis is seven different worlds starting with the world we live in

to six other higher worlds. But the word loka is interpreted in a more

esoteric sense by a few scholars. They say that the words loka and

look are derived from the same root . And the seven lokas are the

seven perceptions of the ultimate reality which is Brahman the pure

non changing consciousness.

So this approach which gels with the advaita philosophy would be as

follows: According to the Upanishads, Brahman in its pristine state is

alone and there was no time or space (aksha and avakasha) in

contention. The Brahman once thought that it should become many

(bahusyam praja yeyeti). Then in the next stage It deeply contemplated

as to how it should create the universe and make many microcosmic

individual consciousness. This state was known as the stage of tapas

of the Brahman (sa tapo tapyata). Then after deep contemplation and

planning It created the entire Universe (idam sarvam asrujata). After

this creation the Brahman entered and permeated the entire Universe

(tat eva anupravisat) and every being as the individual Self.

The seven vyahrutis are considered as representing the seven states of

the same consciousness four at the microcosmic level and three at the

cosmic level. So when doing pranayama during breath holding

internally, one would say 'om bhuh', contemplate on the consciousness,

represented by pranava or 'om during the waking state. Then as the

second vyahriti 'om bhuvah ' is recited, one would think of the same

consciousness being aware of the individual dream state.

'om suvah” would refer to the same consciousness witnessing the deep

sleep stage. Om mahah, the fourth vyahriti is the consciousness beyond

the three earlier mentioned known amongst the vedantins as the fourth

state of the mind (turiya) or the yogi's kaivalya state. The same

consciousness now is identified with the Brahmana that created the

Universe (Om Janah). Then the next mantra, the sixth “Om tapah” would

represent the Brahman as one deeply contemplating and finally the

pristine state of consciousness “Om satyam” the one and only Brahaman.

With this the abhyasi is able to identify and meditate upon the same

one Brahaman as seen in different states. The theory that there is

only one consciousness that exists both at the cosmic and at the

microcosmic level is the bedrock of the advaita (No two

conciousnesses) viewpoint. So an advaitin while doing pranayama is

able to reinforce the advaitic conviction.

Then the second part of the pranayama mantra is the gayatri mantra. It

again refers to the ultimate reality as the inner light. Just as the

sun with its lustrous orb lights the entire world, the Brahman/Self

lights the entire chitta or the internal world of the meditator, so

that the chitta vrittis are experienced or 'seen' in the mind's eye .

The last portion known as the siras or the head, is an encomium to the

ultimate Brahman. It refers to It as OM., pure consciousness, the

universal light, the essence of the entire Universe, immortal

(unchanging), the source of the universe, and is known to the

individual as the inner Self during the three states of waking, dream

and deep sleep.

This meaning of the pranayama mantra is vividly brought to the mind as

the pranayama mantra is recited silently during antah kumbhaka. Then

it is known as samantraka or sagarbha pranayama. According to Manu

this samantra pranayama is the greatest Tapas/meditation.

It is said that those who are well versed in the chakras are able to

identify the seven vyahritis with the seven chakras in the body using

the respective bijakshara or seed mantras. Some make an effort   to

visualize the cosmic Brahman  in the seven chakras in the microcosm

itself.

There are other types of mantras used. For instance saivaites tend to

chant the siva mantras as they hold the breath as mentioned in the

Tamil Saiva classic “Tirumandiram”. The mantra “sivasiva” of four

syllables is chanted 16 times during one breath hold corresponding to

64 syllables as in the pranayama mantra referred to earlier.

Here is a pranayama for renunciates:

While doing puraka or inhalation the thought would be that the entire

universe is ultimately drawn into the Brahman. Then while in

antahkumbhaka the contemplation would be that the outside Universe and

I are no different from the Brahman. Then while exhaling the ego “I'

with the entire Universe is discarded as nothing but an illusion, not

real, not significant. And in bahya kumbhaka one would contemplate

that pure Brahman alone is real, It alone exists.

Those who believe in the reality of world and the trinity (Brahma,

Vishnu and Siva), would use pranayama to reinforce their faith.

Inhaling through the left nostril one should think of the four faced

Brahma the creator aspect of the trinity and of blood red hue (rajas

guna) while chanting Om 16 times. Then closing both the nostrils  and

holding the breath in  kumbhaka one should think of the white colored

(satva guna) Hari, the protector/sustainer chanting pranava 64 times.

Then while exhaling through the right nostril one should meditate on

Siva of dark color (tamo guna) chanting pranava 32 times. Then one

should start inhaling through the right nostril for 16 matras chanting

pranava 16 times and continue the pranayama for a predetermined number

of times with both mantra and bhava.

Different smritis and very old yoga texts refer to a variety of

pranayamas with and without mantras. Almost all the puranas have a

section on yoga which describe different asanas and pranayamas. (I

think with all this evidence one may say with some conviction that

Yoga is more than 100 years old). For more information on pranayama

you may consider referring to my book “Yoga for the Three Stages of

Life” pages 189 to 211.

Sri Krsishnamacharya's Yoga teachings were unique and very rich. In

Vinyasakrama asana practice, breath synchronization with slow

movements is an essential element. One would start the movement with

the beginning of inhalation or exhalation and complete the movement

with the completion of that breathing phase. The time taken in actual

practice may be between 5 to 10 or 12 seconds depending on one's

capacity and control. If it goes below 5 seconds one would stop the

practice and rest to regain the vinyasa krama acceptable breath. My

Guru, Sri T Krishnamacharya would say 'breathe with hissing sound' (a

la cobra, refer to ananta samapatti in YS) or 'with a mild rubbing

sensation in the throat'.

In this way, with long deep inhalation and exhalation, the intercostal

muscles are stretched and toned up and by the time pranayama is

started the accessory muscles of breathing are well exercised so that

one has a well oiled breathing apparatus for a very productive

pranayama practice. And while doing pranayam introduction of mantras

and bhavas helps to bring the mind to a focus which will be of

considerable help when one starts the meditation process. Thus Sri

Krishnamacharya following the tradition of yoga described in old yoga

texts like the yoga sutras, the puranas, smritis and other ancient

texts helped to understand and achieve the best of an outstanding

ancient system called Yoga.

You may access the earlier Newsletter by visiting my website

www,vinyasakrama.com and clicking on the Newsletter tab. Any comments

or suggestions please e mail to

info@vinyasakrama.com

Best wishes

Sincerely

Srivatsa Ramaswami