Krishnamacharya’s early Ashtanga Vinyasa Krama Yoga...at home : May 2017

Monday, 29 May 2017

Why do we always seem to look to the most extreme version of an asana?

Why do we always seem to look to the most extreme version of an asana, an ever more complicated, more intricate version?

I've asked this question before here

Convince me Krishnamacharya are there any serious benefits to Leg behind head postures (Advanced asana)

I like Simon Borg-Olivier's preparation/'beginners' version of Bharadvajrasana from his new 84 key asana course (See THIS post concerning the course).

This 'preparatory' version ( bottom left) has a wider, more stable base than the regular half lotus version (bottom centre), or the tighter, knees almost together, Krishnamacharya Yoga Makaranda version (bottom left). The 'beginner' version is more comfortable, more stable, should one wish to explore lengthening and retaining the breath in or out as Pattabhi Jois' teacher Krishnamacharya instructed.

"Take deep inhalations and exhalations with holding in of breath and holding out of

breath. Both types of kumbhakam are necessary. The total rounds of deep breaths may be slowly increased as practice advances, from 12 to 48". see Appendix below

Are we compromising the possibilities of the breath merely for aesthetics?

Pattabhi Jois either wasn't taught or rejected the breathing possibilities his teacher Krishnamacharya presented in his Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934), written at the time the young Pattabhi Jois was his student. With lengthening the breath abandoned, retentions ignored it doesn't perhaps matter which version of an asana one practices, we may as well practice durvasana....

as kapilasana and/or buddhasana....

or any of the other leg behind head variations as good olde eka pada sirsasana

But then why bother with the leg behind head postures at all, why not stick with Janu Sirsasana

and rather than seek ever more challenging versions of the same asana, perhaps explore a variation of the asana that works on the body in a completely different way, basically a different asana altogether as Krishnamacharya taught to Ramaswami.

parsva janu sirsasana

....or better still perhaps just stick with Maha Mudra and explore the full possibilities of the breath.

The main elements of janu sirsasana and the more advanced leg behind head variations are perhaps all there there, isn't it sufficient?

See my proficient primary post perhaps, practicing asana as mudra

http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/p/proficient-primary-project.html

Are we chasing ever more advanced asana and series when we could perhaps instead, simplify our asana and explore the breath.

But then why not explore pranayama in siddhasana and be done with it, forget about exploring the possibilities of the breath in asana altogether.

or on a chair..... or even just standing up

Krishnamacharya - Nadi Shodhana

Perhaps that was Pattabhi Jois' argument if he had one, keep asana and pranayama separate, for beginners at least. We know Pattabhi Jois he talked of a so called rishi series, with long stays and that, according to Manju, his father practiced long stays with slow breathing himself.

Is there really any more benefit in the most extreme version of a posture than in its simplest, less sexy, expression?

Admittedly the tighter Bharadvajrasana is a joy to practice, it's quite intense,

but to explore the breath give me this, simpler, more stable version

....especially as Krishnamacharya talks about staying in the posture for up to 48 long slow breaths.

"The total rounds of deep breaths may be slowly increased as practice advances, from 12 to 48".

see Appendix below

Is there a point where a posture is at it's most beneficial, a too easy version having no benefit at all, a more challenging version having no more benefit than the more standard version.

Krishnamacharya wrote that we don't need to learn all of the asana, although a few teachers should, so as to preserve them. He did talk however about exploring a wide range of asana and their variations to enable us to access all areas of our body as he continued to do into his eighties ( see this post, Krishnamacharya practicing at 84).

Do we practice so called 'advanced' asana merely for the sake of it, for the challenge, for Instagram, for promotion, is it all ego and aesthetics.

There are many reasons why we practice as we do at different times of course, for fun, for the challenge, just as we might try and swim butterfly or dive from a higher board or climb ever more challenging climbing walls but also perhaps because it seems to have become the norm. Just as models get skinnier on the cover of magazines, asana get more intricate on our Instagram and fb feeds. Those who should perhaps know better, promoting themselves and their workshops through ever more fancy asana, shot in beautiful locations ( and employing circus trainers for heaven's sake to outdo each other).

Eka pada sirsasana in Santorini

The more flexible of us try those asana ourselves and share our experiments with our friends or at least those we can do, those fancy arm balances from third while our kapotasana from intermediate might be uninstagramable, a bit of fun and why not but what is the knock on effect.

Others of course practice these asana, these series because it is thought to be the tradition forgetting conveniently that Pattabhi Jois himself stressed that advanced series asana were for demonstration only (demonstrations to promote yoga rather than our own businesses).

Such an industry has built up around how to practice those asana we perhaps have no need to practice as well as around the most basic asana. All we should perhaps be concerned with is whether we are practicing a posture safely and not concern ourselves too much about imperfect alignment or how deeply we can enter a posture or that if only we could practice this asana to the industry standard we could get the next. Alternatively we could close our eyes and ears, turn inward and just practice the asana, inhabit the asana, and let it take care of itself.

I'm just as guilty myself of course, sharing those fancy leg behind head variations here on the blog, arguing that we could practice advanced asana at home without buying into trips to Mysore or a shala membership, that such asana could be practiced in middle age, not just in our twenties.

I have this idea of somebody out there (who won't of course be reading this), or another me perhaps (parallel universe theory) who picked up an Ashtanga Primary series book from the library ten years ago and never googled Ashtanga yoga or got on board social media but just learned the series or enough of it and merely practiced alone for these last ten years. Wouldn't the discipline have come just the same, wouldn't the breath have slowed, the pause between the stages of inhalation and exhalation been noted and lengthened, such breathing explored away from the series as well as just sitting. Yoga is our birth right, we find it everywhere in one form of another, not the asana perhaps (although often) but the quietening, the simplifying of our lives, the turn inwards and contemplation of self or what is beyond or behind the self.

The joy of home practice of course is that there is no one else around (except perhaps that with social media there is always someone around), nobody to tell you what you can or can't or should or shouldn't practice, nobody to lead you to feel you ought, by now, to be practicing more advanced asana or going ever deeper into a posture or that we need to practice a whole series rather than half.. or even less. At home we can practice a handful of asana and stay in them for as long as we wish, explore the breath as we wish, or practice as many as we like, as quickly as we like. Once we have built discipline we can trust to our own discernment as to what we experience as most beneficial to us that morning.

Manju Jois stresses that yoga is freedom and that nobody should be telling us what we should and shouldn't be practicing, certainly on account of questionable ideas of tradition and lineage. The guru, they say, is within.

That said, practice safely, those are the workshops and intensives we should make an effort to attend.

Bharadvajrasana variations from my photo essay post http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2017/05/photo-essay-ashtanga-vinyasa-krama.html

Appendix

See this post on Krishnamacharya's instruction for a long stay of up to 48 breaths

http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2014/10/krishnamacharyas-bharadvajrasana-named.html

BHARADVAJASANA

from Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda Part II

Technique:

1. Sit on a piece of soft folded cloth, with one leg stretched straight in front, and the other leg folded back at the knee, so that the foot is close and by the side of the buttocks, the sole of the foot upturned, toes stretched and the back of the foot touching the cloth. The knees should be as close as possible. The foot of the leg, stretched in front, should be upright, to the ground and not inclined sideways. The body should be erect and the spinal column stretched-chin lock.

2. Bend the stretched leg (say the right) at the knees and bring the right heel very near the umbilicus. The right knee should touch the ground. Both the knees should be as near to each other as possible.

3. The right hand is taken round the back to catch hold of the toes of the right leg. The palm to touch the back of the foot.

4. The palm of the left hand is placed on the cloth below the right thigh. The hand should be stretched and not bent at the elbow. The left wrist should touch the outside of the thigh.

5. Twist trunk to face front. Turn the head, so that the chin is over the left shoulder.

6. Take deep inhalations and exhalations with holding in of breath and holding out of

breath. Both types of kumbhakam are necessary. The total rounds of deep breaths may be slowly increased as practice advances, from 12 to 48.

7. Repeat with the other leg.

Note: This is contra indicated to those who have had abdominal operation.

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NEWS: Yoga with HD

My dear friend HuiDar (HD) a graduate of the excellent ( and thorough) 2 year Triyoga Teacher training course is now offering classes in Banstead, London and Carshalton, London.

I remember years ago having to text HD at 5am every morning to make sure she was up for practice, also her complaining that I didn't offer a single Loo break in my four hour workshop and am reminded that half my blog posts over the last few years began with a question from her.

She is one of the most sincere people I know and have no doubt that she will make an excellent teacher I wish her all the best

http://yogawithhd.blogspot.jp/p/home_5.html

Friday, 26 May 2017

Photo essay: Ashtanga? Vinyasa Krama? Krishnamacharya's early Mysore blah blah blah? or Practice, just practice

I was asked if I'm still practicing Ashtanga.

I have no idea anymore what I practice, is it Ashtanga, early Krishnamacharya, late Krishnamacharya.... or just practice.

I tend to start my practice with a little tadasana hand and arm movements as taught by Ramaswami followed by some of Simon Borg-Oliver's nerve stretching movements.

Sun salutations, A and B and a little extra time spent in each stage, five slow breaths.

Standing is pretty standard up to Ardha badha Padmottanasana (although I occasionally cut different variations on different days to allow for more time in for longer stays elsewhere), then on to seated and the photos below.

Note: Between sides and asana variations I tend to just stretch my legs out in dandasana for a few breaths and save full vinyasa between asana

Dandasana, some time spent here exploring natural breathing and relaxation techniques

Long stay in Paschimattanasana, Krishnamacharya's yoga Makaranda instruction.

Tirang Mukha pada paschimattanasana and krouchasana

Maha Mudra followed by Janu Sirsasana

Parsva janu Sirsasana

Currently enjoying exploring Simon Borg-Olivier's Baharadvajrasana variation, long stays with long slow inhalations and exhalations

See this post on Krishnamacharya's instruction for a long stay of up to 48 breaths

http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2014/10/krishnamacharyas-bharadvajrasana-named.html

BHARADVAJASANA

from Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda Part II

Technique:

from two years ago with the knees closer together as per

Krishnamacharya's instruction.

In the Bharadvajrasana below I explore a broader base,

looking to be more relaxed allowing the breath to slow.

3. The right hand is taken round the back to catch hold of the toes of the right leg. The palm to touch the back of the foot.

4. The palm of the left hand is placed on the cloth below the right thigh. The hand should be stretched and not bent at the elbow. The left wrist should touch the outside of the thigh.

5. Twist trunk to face front. Turn the head, so that the chin is over the left shoulder.

6. Take deep inhalations and exhalations with holding in of breath and holding out of

breath. Both types of kumbhakam are necessary. The total rounds of deep breaths may be slowly increased as practice advances, from 12 to 48.

7. Repeat with the other leg.

Note: This is contra indicated to those who have had abdominal operation.

As well as a wider, more stable seat in regular Bharadvajrasana, again to explore longer slower inhalations and exhalations.

I'd cut out Marichiyasana variations when I trimmed my practice to allow for long stays. When I put on some weight after moving back to japan I noticed that I had lost marichiyasana D altogether, curious to see that having lost the gained weight Marichi D was still there waiting for me, I'm enjoying it again.

Likewise leg behind head postures, thought I had lost them altogether but they too seem to be available again although not as deep as they once were (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GElM4OrUgnI&spfreload=10). I've started to include them again of late to explore breathing options.

Supta kurmasana was another posture I lost/let go and has only come back after getting back to my regular practice weight. These days I follow Manju's suggestion and have the feet above the head rather than behind the neck.

After some prep and a five minute sarvangasana without variations I like to explore some of the variations krishnamacharya shared with us on the 1938 film footage that Ramaswami also teaches.

Following a five minute sirsasana with slow inhalation emphasis, some more of Krishnamacharya's 1938 film footage variations.

See posts:

Krishnamacharya 32 Sirsasana (headstand) variations

Krishnamacharya's 1938 Shoulderstand variations.

Long stay in baddha konasana and variations, exploring Simon Borg-Olivier's different breathing emphasis exercises

Nadi Shodhana with mantra

Saturday, 20 May 2017

Krishnamacharya's one minute Uttihita Padangustasa

I'm currently exploring a longer Recaka kumbhaka (holding the breath out after the exhalation) in Krishnamacharya's one minute Uttihita Padangustasa, the description in Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934) is fascinating.

We have Krishnamacharya mentioning alignment,

"...While standing this way, make sure that the head, neck, back, hips, arms and legs are aligned properly..."

the gaze,

"...and gaze at the tip of the nose".

clear instruction for the breath,

"..Inhalation and exhalation of the breath must be slow and of equal duration". (for the first photo)

and kumbhaka (retaining the breath in or out) instruction, here the kumbhaka is after the exhalation in the second photograph.

"...Recaka kumbhaka must be done in this sthiti. That is, expel the breath completely from the body, maintain this position and then without allowing any breath into the body, bend the upper body. Now carefully pull in the stomach as much as one’s strength allows and hold it in. Stay in this sthiti for at least one minute..."

Krishnamacharya also mentions his interest in blood circulation,

"...Because of this asana, our body’s important areas — the arms, legs, knees, hips, bones of the back, the buttocks, stomach, neck — these will be cleaned. Not only this, it will facilitate proper clean blood circulation in the nerves."

an interesting reference to Nadi as nerve bundles,

"Those who practise this can, even on the first day, recognize the changes in the location and movements of the nadi (that is, what are the regions where our nerve bundles are not in the correct state or proper position)."

he even mentions props...

"Those who cannot do the asana properly on the first day may stand using the support of the wall, place the raised leg on top of a table and then follow the instructions described above. But if done this way, the benefits are much fewer. After practising this way following the krama for 5 or 6 days, learn to do this asana without any aids."

and includes a practice 'tip',

"...Initially, when you first practise this without any support, you might fall down. In that case, after slowly exhaling the breath out, firmly hold the breath. This will prevent a fall. "

Note too that while Krishnamacharya takes the big toe in the first sthiti he holds either side of the foot in the second sthiti, (less strain on the hamstring and sciatic nerve than pulling back on the toe).

***

This posture can be challenging, slow breathing to the abdomen, firmed by the posture' can help as well as perhaps employing some of the other relaxation techniques Simon Borg-Olivier mentions in his new Introduction to breath control (pranayama) course (see THIS post) I.E. The Twelve Bridges Between the Conscious and the Unconscious Mind to Assist in Relaxation and Breath- control. Staying relaxed in the posture helpsin making the kumbhaka following the exhalation more comfortable.

Below, from Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda (available on my free downloads page).

Utthitahasta Padangushtasana

First, push the chest forward and stand erect with equal balance. While standing this way, make sure that the head, neck, back, hips, arms and legs are aligned properly and gaze at the tip of the nose. The feet must be kept together. Now, raise one leg up slowly and maintain this position with the extended leg kept straight out in front at the height of the navel. The knee should not bend and the leg must be kept straight for the entire time that it is being raised. After the leg has been raised about 3/4 of the way without any assistance, take the first three fingers of the corresponding hand (the same as whichever leg was raised) and tightly clasp the big toe of the raised foot. Remain in this position for some time. Keep the other hand on the hip. Inhalation and exhalation of the breath must be slow and of equal duration. One says the sthiti is correct if there is the same measure of distance between the standing leg and the raised leg. In this there are many other forms.

After staying in this sthiti for some time, take either the face or the nose towards the knee of the raised leg and place it there. Recaka kumbhaka must be done in this sthiti. That is, expel the breath completely from the body, maintain this position and then without allowing any breath into the body, bend the upper body. Now carefully pull in the stomach as much as one’s strength allows and hold it in. Stay in this sthiti for at least one minute. At this time, the knee must be kept straight without bending. Remember this when you practise. In the beginning, it might not be possible to do this properly. But if one keeps practising following the given rules for 10 to 15 days, it will become possible to do it properly.

Because of this asana, our body’s important areas — the arms, legs, knees, hips, bones of the back, the buttocks, stomach, neck — these will be cleaned. Not only this, it will facilitate proper clean blood circulation in the nerves.

Those who practise this can, even on the first day, recognize the changes in the location and movements of the nadi (that is, what are the regions where our nerve bundles are not in the correct state or proper position).

Those who cannot do the asana properly on the first day may stand using the support of the wall, place the raised leg on top of a table and then follow the instructions described above. But if done this way, the benefits are much fewer. After practising this way following the krama for 5 or 6 days, learn to do this asana without any aids. Initially, when you first practise this without any support, you might fall down. In that case, after slowly exhaling the breath out, firmly hold the breath. This will prevent a fall.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Integrating Simon Borg-Olivier's pranayama course with Krishnamacharya's Early Mysore asana instruction.

Following the path that my guru has recommended for me, I am writing down the secrets of yoga.

Krishnamacharya - Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934)

T. Krishnamacharya

"When practicing asanas, we need to maintain deep inhalation and exhalation to normalise the uneven respiration through nasal passages.

In yoga positions where eyes, head and foreheadn are raised, inhalation must be performed slowly through the nostrils until the lungs are filled. Then the chest is pushed forward and puffed up, abdomen tightly tucked in, focusing the eyes on the tip of the nose, and straighten the back bones tightly as much as possible. This type of inhalation which fills the lungs signifies Puraka.

In yoga positions where eyes, head, forehead, chest and the hip are lowered,we have to slowly exhale the filled air. Tucking in tightly the upper abdomen,the eyes must be closed. This type of exhalation is called Rechaka.

Holding the breath is called Kumbhaka".

Krishnamacharya Yogasanagalu (Mysore 1941).

*

What if the 'secret of yoga' is the breath...., and we're rushing it?

This is very much a work in progress, provisional findings if you will.

Note: One might prefer to explore these techniques/this approach in only the finishing sequence of a regular, 'by the book' Ashtanga vinyasa practice where longer stays are indicated and slower breathing more commonly practiced.

Simon's Introduction to breath control (pranayama) course
http://simonborgolivier.com/breath-training-for-health-and-longevity/

Simon Borg-Olivier

This is very much a work in progress, provisional findings if you will.

Introduction

One element of Ramaswami's Teacher training at LMU back in 2010 was a close, line by line, reading and discussion of Krishnamacharya's texts (Krishnamacharya had been Ramaswami's teacher for thirty plus years). We would go around the room, taking turns reading one paragraph or page after another which Ramaswami would more often than not discuss with us. In the practice room after our regular Vinyasa Krama class we would explore the asana instruction in Krishnamacharyas Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934).

Note: At the time there was no English translation of Yogasanagalu, I had only just received from India, while on the course, photos of each page of the text written in the Kanada language. Satya Murthey has just completed the translation of Yogasanagalu and it's freely available on the Free Download page.

After returning from that month with Ramaswami I continued to explore Yoga Makaranda while we worked on the translation of Yogasanagalu (Mysore 1941) and sought to bring my Vinyasa Krama and Ashtanga practices more and more in line with Krishnamacharya's early instruction.

Pattabhi Jois was Krishnamacharya's student in Mysore during the period Yoga Makaranda and Yogasanagalu were written. We can see Pattabhi Jois' debt to Krishnamacharya's teaching in the Yogasanagalu table of asana (groups) on which Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Vinyasa presentation was clearly based. We can see the debt too in the vinyasa presented in Yoga Makaranda, starting and finishing each asana at Samastithi (later Pattabhi Jois switched from full Vinyasa to Half Vinyasa).

But what happened to the long slow breathing '.... like the pouring of oil', the kumbhaka (holding the breath in or out) instruction found in almost every asana instruction in Yoga Makaranda and Yogasanagalu?

Pattabhi Jois talked of long slow breathing as an ideal in interviews, he even talked about it in a demonstration in Switzerland in the 90s, extolling the benefits of fifteen, twenty, second inhalations and equal exhalations before then leading his demonstrators ( including Lino Miele who included full vinyasa in his book) at a break neck speed through their practice, inhalation and exhalation of two or three seconds at most, a stay in an asana of one to two minutes.

It should be remembered that Pattabhi Jois was an assistant of Krishnamacharya's in the classes for the young boys of the Mysore Palace, these classes lasted only an hour. Krishnamacharya would perhaps lead the boys quickly through their asana due to the time constraint and perhaps their limited attention span. Pattabhi Jois was little more than a boy himself when he first began to teach a slightly modified version of Krishnamacharya's Yogasanagalu table in his own classes at the Sanskrit college and this speeded up version of Krishnamachrya's Yoga Makaranda has proved highly popular with western practitioners, perhaps partly due to our own push button society attention span. Manju Jois however mentions that while growing up he would see his father practicing long stays in asana and Pattabhi Jois mentioned in an interview how Krishnamacharya would keep him in kapotasana for a long period while standing on him to deliver a lecture, perhaps the long stays formed part of Pattabhi Jois' personal instruction or smaller group lessons with his teacher and it is not too late to reclaim or a least investigate this aspect of the lineage.

When seeking to return to Krishnamacharya's original Mysore 'Ashatanga' instruction in Yoga Makaranda and yogasanagalu to inform our own practice we are struck by the long stays mentioned, the long slow breathing indicated and the employment of kumbhaka (holding the breath in or out).

Longer stays in asana

Pattabhi Jois saw a slower practice as an ideal but realised the problem with time given that the householder tends to work for a living and raise a family. Pattabhi Jois' response was to practice faster and mostly drop kumbhaka altogether.

An alternative response, Ramaswami's and the one I employ, is to practice less asana.

See my Proficient Primary page where I practice half a series giving particular attention to ten key asana.

My proficient primary page http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/p/proficient-primary-project.html

If we are going to stay longer in an asana then we need to make sure that we are practicing our asana safely, not just for this mornings practice but we want to be sure that practicing our approach to an asana doesn't cause damage in the long term.

See my post on Simon Borg-Olivier's new 84 Key asana course. Simon is a physiotherapist and looks at practicing asana more safely for the long as well as short term.

Simon's 84 key asana course link. http://simonborgolivier.com/84-key-postures/

Simon's webpage http://simonborgolivier.com/

Slower breathing

It's one thing to slow the breathing in a static posture, while practicing pranayama for example, something else altogether while practicing vinyasa. It's a key element of Ramaswami's Vinyasa Krama presentation of his teacher's approach. The movements are long and slow in Vinyasa krama but even here I found it challenging to go beyond a ten second inhalation or exhalation, Pattabhi Jois talked in interviews of twenty second inhalations, even longer perhaps.

In this I have found Simon Borg-Olivier's new course 'A Introduction to Breath Control (Pranayama)' highly beneficial.

Video Above from 2013- See blog post http://tinyurl.com/p3p8s5m

Oscar and I practicing alone in his studio on my recent Krishnamacharya workshop. Oscar is on the left practicing Vinyasa krama as taught to Ramaswami in the 1950's-80's. I'm on the right practicing very slowly with kumbhaka's (breath retention) following the asana in striations found for the primary group of asana in Krishnamacharya's 1934-38 'Mysore book' yoga makaranda, written while Krishnamacharya was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois. Video is of part of the seated section of our practice.

Speeded up x4 version here http://youtu.be/LFSnqW1o6bU

Simon's father was a free diver, he's been attending to his breath since before he could walk. he has a Bachelor of Science in human biology, a research based Master of Science in molecular biology and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy and has been teaching yoga for thirty plus years, he is perhaps the only person I trust fully with regards to pranayama. There may be teachers who have taught traditional methods of pranayama for upwards of fifty years but Simon I know understands what is happening to the body on a molecular level. If I had the choice of studying pranayama with Simon or Krishnamacharya himself I would choose Simon, besides, Simon is a lot less scarier than Krishnamacharya.

Krishnamacharya talks of building up to a thirty second inhalation and thirty second exhalation for Sama vritti pranayama, this I found challenging. I built up to twenty seconds for each but settled at that, it felt sufficient for my needs.

One of the exercises on Simon's Pranayama course looks at Inhalation emphasis and has a led video where the inhalation is a long slow thirty seconds, followed by a short kumbhaka of a few seconds and an exhalation and perhaps ten seconds, a forty-five second breath in a six breath cycle.

Simon's approach will be familiar to free divers as it's based on relaxation of the body and breathing into different areas of the body or at least shifting the attention such that the inhalation appears to begin at the perineum, move to the lower abdomen, the lower back, mid abdomen, mid back and so on up the body, the instruction punctuated with reminders to relax different 'key' areas of the body.

The first thirty second inhalation became quite comfortable, the fifth less so but with practice it's become easier and using Simon's approach, away from the course I've been able to inhale, with some comfort, for ninety seconds. This is more than my needs, thirty or forty seconds feels quite sufficient, but as an experiment, a test if you like of the approach I found it remarkable.

Kumbhaka (holding the breath in or out)

Likewise for the exercises in inhalation retention, the exhalation emphasis and exhalation retention emphasis, all employ either the inhaling/exhaling to different areas of the body and/or key areas of the body relaxation techniques.

T. Krishnamacharya

I've never been that interested in Hatha Yoga pranayama techniques, I learned pranayama from Ramnaswami who learned it from Krishnamacharya, mostly Ramaswami would focus on nadi shodhana with a five second inhalation, twenty second inhalation retention with mantra, a ten second exhalation and short five second exhalation retention practiced for anywhere up to eighty rounds, it's an ancient practice, more raja yoga than hatha yoga perhaps.

I've explored some of the different methods, practiced for a time the Ashtanga pranayama sequence that Manju taught us but have always tended to go back to the straight forward, relatively simple nadi Shodhana that Ramaswami taught me.

That said I couldn't resist an experiment.

I tried holding my breath, managed a two minute inhalation retention then tried again employing Simon's relaxation of key areas of the body approach and managed three minutes. With training/practice, if I could see a point to it or was tempted to explore free diving ( or fin swimming, hmmmm) I could no doubt increase it to five minutes.

For my needs, exploring longer slow breathing in asana and introducing comfortable kumbhaka into the practice of certain asana, a thirty to forty second inhalation or exhalation, or kumbhaka is sufficient. The only benefit of practicing longer than that, away from asana, is that it might allow me to be more comfortable in shorter retention during a more challenging asana. More challenging asana however no longer interest me, more proficiency in key primary asana and perhaps some simple variations does.

Below, in Appendix 1, then is one of the ways I've explored introducing Simon's approach into my regular practice, the proficient primary that has it's own page at the top of the blog.

I should note here that Simon only recommends natural breathing in asana in the beginning, once proficiency is gained in asana and also in introductory breathing control then on might consider introducing alternative approaches to the breath in asana for example his fascinating circular approach to the breath.

Generally I tend to practice a half Ashtanga Primary series with particular attention given to around tne key asana, staying in these asana longer, exploring kumbhaka where appropriate.

On the course however, Simon has a led breathing practice where he will practice six breaths each of...

Inhalation emphasis

Inhalation retention emphasis

Exhalation emphasis

Exhalation retention emphasis

Update

One minute inhalation.
I've been exploring longer inhalations, exhalations and kumbhaka with Simon Borg-Olivier's Introduction to breath control (pranayama), I suspected I might have been deceiving myself with the inhalation, was it a constant inhalation or did I keep stopping and starting, so hard to hear/tell. Here then I have my phone's microphone held just below my nose and it is indeed constant. It could be steadier, you can tell I think where I shift the mental focus of the inhalation from perineum to the frount then back of my abdomen and so on up to the chest, shoulders and even my neck. Lengthening the inhalation to a minute and even ninety seconds is to aim at more steadiness with a thirty second inhalation and exhalation Sama vritti, which feels sufficient.
The trick, if there is one is remaining relaxed, which is kind of the point of Pranayama, steadying the breath to steady the emotions.
Note: Pattabhi Jois mentioned twenty second inhalations and twenty second exhalations in asana as an ideal but unfortunately we wouldn't have time for the ironing.
http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/…/inte...
Note: On the course Simon works on 30 seconds duration for the different exercises emphasising the different stages of the breath with each breath being 45 seconds. So a 30 second inhalation followed by a five second kumbhaka and ten second exhalation before the next inhalation, six rounds in each exercise.

I've been practicing six rounds of samavritti, 30 second inhalation/30 second exhalation. On twists Krishnamacharya talks of samavritti rather than kumbhaka's

My own interest here is not so much pranayama but increasing the length and steadiness of the appropriate stage of the breath for a given asana. So where Krishnamacharya might indicate an exhalation focus in one asana or inhalation kumbhaka in a different asana I'm looking to develop my comfort and steadiness while lengthening a little that particular stage of the breath.

What I've done below is switch the order of my proficient primary asana somewhat, such that I can play the led video presentation three times and explore the different emphasis in appropriate asana with only occasionally pausing the presentation/video.

Since writing out the practice in Appendix 1 below I've stopped using the recording and gone back to the order of my regular Proficient Primary while employing Simon's techniques on my own. I'm able to enjoy longer, slower, more comfortable inhalations and exhalations in appropriate asana as well as more comfortable kumbhaka's, again, in appropriate asana.

Note: Krishnamachary tends not to include kumbhaka in twists but will indicate long slow inhalations and exhalation often of equal duration. If the body is folded then Krishnamacharya will tend to indicate a retention after the exhalation, if the body is up then the retention would tend to be after the inhalation.

Different emphasis could be applied to different asana. I tend to try to keep a balance likewise, following Simon, I see no benefit in endless forward bends and hamstring stretches so I might perhaps leave out the fold forward in an asana and emphasise the inhalation retention instead in Tiryan-Mukha Eka-Pada Paschimottanasana for example (although I've followed the order of the recording in the Appendix below.

In a future post I'll outline my practice as it's settles indicating with quotes Krishnamacharya's recommended emphasis of the breath.

In Appendix 2, I give Simon's course outline.

I should mention here that the course is made up of led videos of exercises in

Relaxation/natural breathing

Inhalation emphasis

Inhalation retention emphasis

Exhalation emphasis

Exhalation retention emphasis

It is an introductory course, however these exercises actually form part of Simon's own regular 'intermediate' pranayama practice (see Simon's blog post below) and the inhalation retention emphasis could easily be followed in nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing).

WHY DO IT?

"While practicing yoga with reverence, one can offer their essence to God during exhalation and during inhalation, imagine/suppose that God is entering your heart. During kumbhaka, we can practice dharana and dhyana. Such practices will improve mental concentration and strengthen silence/stillness. Eliminates agitation and restlessness".
T. Krishnamacharya - Yogasanagalu (1941)

Above- see this blog post for a transcript of the above interview I conducted with Simon a couple of years back. http://grimmly2007.blogspot.jp/2014/05/interview-with-simon-borg-olivier.html

Apart from the fact that this was Krishnamacharya's earliest written presentation of his approach to asana and how he was himself possibly practicing at the time he was teaching the young Pattabhi Jois as well as somewhat how he may have learned form his teacher there are good physiological justifications. The fabled health benefits of practicing asana may well be a result of increased and directed Co2 (prana anybody?).

from Simon's blog post..

Holding your breath for increased strength, flexibility, healthier digestion and to eat less food

Although there are many benefits to learning how to use all the muscles of breathing, and to learn to breathe in many ways, in the more advanced stages of yoga it is the art of breathing less than normal (hypoventilation) that gives the most physiological benefits.

The less you breathe in and out the more you will build up carbon dioxide inside your body. Contrary to popular belief, carbonic dioxide and the carbonic acid it becomes in your blood, has many benefits inside the body.

THE EFFECTS OF INCREASING CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE BODY:

Carbon dioxide and carbonic acid build up inside you

from breathing less than normal (mild hypoventilation):

*** brings more blood to your brain and heart (vasodilation)

*** allows more air to enter your lungs (bronchdilitation)

*** calms your nervous system

*** reduces your need and craving for heavy, processed and acid food

Below is Simon's introduction to this approach that forms part of one of his excellent blog post/articles

Breathing (Part 2): Passive Seated Pranayama: Generate Internal Energy by Doing Less than Nothing

SEATED BREATH-CONTROL EXERCISES (PRANAYAMA): Simple practice for most people:

I recommend that most people sit in a chair for these relatively simple and accessible breath-control exercises. It is only wise to put your legs cross legged, or in lotus posture (padmasana) if it is as easy to put your legs into the lotus posture as it is for you to cross your arms by placing each hand on the opposite shoulder. You must be able to sit comfortably enough

to focus on becoming lengthened in all directions while remaining as relaxed as possible.

The four simplest breathing exercises (apart from relaxed natural breathing) are as follows:

Inhalation emphasis breathing: make a really long slow inhale and then a short natural breath out.
Inhalation retention emphasis breathing: Make a gentle full breath in, and then hold your breath in as long as you comfortably can, and then a short natural breath out.
Exhalation emphasis breathing: Make a gentle full breath in, and then breathe out as slowly as possible for as long as it is comfortably possible.
Exhalation retention emphasis breathing: Make a gentle full breath in over 3-5 seconds, then a short full breath out about the same length, and then hold your breath out as long as you comfortably can.

Ideally these four main types of pranayama (numbered 2 – 6 below) are done from between 4 – 6 breaths each, with each breath ideally lasting between 30 – 60 seconds each.

A good amount of time for your first attempt is 45 seconds per breath. If you can only do one breath cycle for up to 45 seconds and for every other breath you need to ‘sneak in’ a few extra gentle breaths then 45 second cycles are a good start.

If that is too hard for even one breath then reduce that amount to 30 seconds.

If your full breath cycles are less than 30 seconds per breath, it is is possible that none of the real physiological benefits of breathing (such as increased blood flow and increased delivery of oxygen to the cells) will occur. This is because of the Bohr effect, which essentially states that oxyhaemoglobin (the oxygen carrying red pigment in red blood cells) will not release its oxygen unless there are sufficient levels of carbon dioxide.

A book by the adept scholar of yoga NC Paul, written in about 1850, even goes so far as to suggest that it is carbon dioxide that is the essence of prana (the internal energy, that is referred to as chi in china). For that reason, I recommend that you work towards gradually increasing the length of each breath cycle and ideally beginning the practice with up to 45 seconds per breath cycle as described in more detail below.

KEVALA KUMBHAKA: 2 – 5 minutes silent meditation (invisible, inaudible breathing resulting from focusing on lengthening and relaxing your body)
PURAKA UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 4 – 6 breaths long inhalation (up to 40 seconds inhale: up to 5 seconds exhale)
ANTARA KUMBHAKA PRANAYAMA: 4 – 6 breaths inhalation retention (up to 5 seconds inhale: up to 35 seconds inhale retention: up to 5 seconds exhale)
RECAKA UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 4 – 6 breaths long exhalation (up to 5 seconds inhale: up to 40 seconds exhale)
BHAYA KUMBHAKA PRANAYAMA: 4 – 6 breaths exhalation retention (up to 5 seconds inhale: up to 5 seconds exhale: up to

35 seconds exhale retention)
KEVALA KUMBHAKA: 5 – 30 minutes silent meditation (invisible inaudible breathing resulting from focusing on lengthening and relaxing your body, which eventually leads to the feeling of contentment and loving-kindness)
SAVASANA: 5 – 10 minutes supine relaxation

I really recommend these breath-control exercises to everyone to increase health and longevity and a lust for life. You can obtain an online and downloadable version of these simple breath-control exercises, including even more simple and accessible versions than are described above, in our online shop. and also explained in this video just below.

These simple breath-control exercises (and many of the more complex exercises listed below) are taught daily in our live Teacher Training Courses and form an integral part of the training. Please visit for the latest schedule of training courses.

Intermediate Level Practice:

Here is one of my usual daily seated pranayama practice (I will explain easy options at the end). For me, this practice feels like I am getting free energy from the universe and it makes me feel energised and totally calm on a physiological level, while on an anatomical level it eases any joint pain and seems to increase strength and flexibility.

For this pranayama I practice with 40 one-minute cycles (about 40 breaths), which makes a seated practice that last for about 40 minutes

1. KEVALA KUMBHAKA: 4 minutes meditation (invisible inaudible breathing resulting from focusing on lengthening and relaxing your body)

2. PURAKA UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 4 minutes (4 breaths) long inhalation (55 seconds inhale: 5 seconds exhale)

3. ANTARA KUMBHAKA PRANAYAMA: 4 minutes (4 breaths) inhalation retention (5 seconds inhale: 50 seconds inhale retention: 5 seconds exhale)

4. RECAKA UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 4 minutes (4 breaths) long exhalation (5 seconds inhale: 55 seconds exhale)

5. BHAYA KUMBHAKA PRANAYAMA: 4 minutes (4 breaths) exhalation retention (5 seconds inhale: 5 seconds exhale: 50 seconds exhale retention)

6a. SAMA VRTTI UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 2 minutes (2 breaths long inhalation and long exhalation (30 seconds inhale: 30 seconds exhale)

6b. VISAMA VRTTI UJJAJI PRANAYAMA: 2 minutes (2 breaths)1:4:2:1 breathing (7.5 seconds inhale: 30 seconds inhale retention: 15 seconds exhale: 7.5 seconds exhale retention)

7a. NADI SODHANA PRANAYAMA: 2 minutes (2 breaths) alternate nostril breathing (nadi sodhana pranayama) (30 seconds inhale left nostril: 30 seconds exhale right nostril: 30 seconds inhale right nostril: 30 seconds exhale left nostril)

7b. SURYA BHEDHANA PRANAYAMA: 2 minutes (2 breaths) visualised alternate nostril breathing (citta surya bhedana pranayama)

8. SHAKTI CALANI PRANAYAMA: 8 minutes (2 cycles of 4 minutes each cycle) of fast then slow breathing (30 seconds (10 breaths) of ‘rolling up’ breathing: 30 seconds of ‘rolling down’ breathing: 60 seconds exhale

retention with bandhas: 30 seconds inhalation: 60 seconds inhalation retention with bandhas: 30 seconds exhalation) [the ‘Rolling up’ and ‘rolling down’ breathing is described in my previous post].

9. KEVALA KUMBHAKA: 4 – 40 minutes meditation (invisible inaudible breathing resulting from focusing on lengthening and relaxing your body) (alway good to finish as you began and then compare the feeling)

10. SAVASANA: 5 – 10 minutes supine relaxation

* Easier versions include sitting in any comfortable posture (even on a chair) and doing less length for each cycle of pranayama.

* If you are new to this you may choose to only do the first 4 types of pranayama with maybe only 1-3 cycles. Depending on your capacity you can do 45 seconds for each cycle or maybe even only 30 seconds for each cycle.

* The timings do not have to be precise, e.g for the inhalation pranayama (2) you can just inhale as long as you can then exhale some time before the end of your timed cycle for as long as you need to.

* The last pranayama (8) is the most advanced and so I recommend that you skip it completely if you are prone to dizziness or nausea, or if you have any medical condition (unless supervised by an experienced health practitioner), or if you can’t do at least 45 second cycles.

* In any of these cycles you can also make it easier when ever you need to by taking a few natural breaths.

* This type of pranayama is done very passively (except for the last one (8), in which you can make it more active if you wish using bandhas kriyas and movement).

* Never force this pranayama. You are on the right track if you end up feeling hot, clear in mind and completely calm after. You are probably forcing and or over-breathing if you stay cold, or get dizzy or nauseous.

* The main idea of this type of pranayama is to build up carbon dioxide, which will enhance the Bohr Effect. This will allow the uptake of oxygen into your body cells and allow to make 20 times as much energy from the food you eat and the air you breathe.

* If 60 second cycles are easy for you (or if you are experiencing dizziness or nausea) then try 70-90 second cycles instead but make sure you can do at least 6 breaths of a particular cycle length before increasing it.

* Once this is learnt to a satisfactory level you can begin to use the breath for more physical means as discussed below and in previous articles linked at bottom of this article.

To get a deeper understanding of these intermediate level types of pranayama and especially the more advanced types of pranayama described below please see our article entitled ‘Secrets of Advanced Breath- control (Pranayama) with Internal locks (Bandha), Energy-control Gestures (Mudra) and Internal Cleansing (Kriya)‘.

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