Category: Getting Started
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Three Keys to Starting a Pranayama Practice
Please note: Though I intend to show you that you can start a basic Pranayama practice on your own please keep in mind that that is pretty much all you can and should do on your own. There is a lot of superficial disinformation about what Pranayama is and how it should be practiced. Breath…
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Pratikriyasana: Counter Postures
Physical postures used in asana practices usually involve placing the body in unusual (compared to the day-to-day demands) positions. Though much attention is placed on the physical aspects, asana and practice sequences can (be designed) to have physical, mental, emotional and energetic effects. Counter postures are in some ways “resting postures” – they are practiced…
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Wanting to Practice
Not Practicing Almost all of the people I’ve taught Yoga one-on-one encountered difficulties when it came to taking up a regular practice. They all had personalized (tailored to their needs and abilities) and short (20 minutes at most) practices. I suggested they try to find a regular time in the day for their practices and…
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Reading Asana – Alternating
Let’s have a look a sequence that includes alternation between two sides – a simple upper raised leg posture: This illustration says: on inhale raise your arms on exhale bring your arms forward and raise one leg up on inhale bring raise your arms again and return the leg to the floor repeat this 8…
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Reading Asana – Sequences
A slightly more elaborate illustation of a sequence for Parsva Uttanasana – Flank Forward Bend: This illustration says: on inhale raise your arms on exhale bend forward on inhale come back up on the exhale lower the arms back down alongside the body. repeat this 4 times on one side and then 4 times on…
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Reading Asana – Breath & Repetition
A post I hope to publish soon will include a sample practice. I just realized, as I am working on a repository of posture illustrations, that I have taken for granted that everybody knows how to relate to these illustrations. So I paused to write something about reading of yoga asana illustrations. I feel it’s…
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Teaching Yoga One on One
My preferred setting to teach Yoga is one-on-one. In my first years practicing yoga I attended weekly group-classes. Later, soon after I met my teacher, I began studying one-on-one, practicing on a daily basis and left the weekly classes behind. I believe that one-on-one creates opportunities for deeper and more personalized teachings. A core idea…
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A Yoga Sequence for Everyone
The following images/animations depict a short sequence anyone can do. Repeat each posture 4 times – which should take a few minutes (over time you may want to increase this to 6 or even 8 repetitions of each posture). The postures are accessible and yet each one has much depth to explore. It is a…
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How to recognize a Yoga teacher?
Following is a paraphrasing of text from “What are we seeking?” By TKV Desikachar: If you are seeking for help from a Yoga teacher then they should meet you on your own ground, as you are. A teacher should adapt the teachings so they reach you. There are no preconditions No preconditions means that a…
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Student & Teacher
The following is an excerpt from “What are we Seeking” by TKV Desikachar & Martyn Neal. What are the qualities of a good student? A good student is one who is inquisitive and is searching…. A good student will have pertinent questions… and this will bring out the best in the teacher… It is up…
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Paul Harvey Interview – What is Yoga
A 1986 radio interview with Paul Harvey (one of my two Yoga teachers) that does a great service to Yoga. Click here for the full transcript. It took some years to come across a teacher to whom I could relate and a teacher I felt could relate not only to me as a person but…
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Sitting in Yoga
Having a good seated posture is very useful in Yoga. As your practice develops you may find yourself sitting for breathing and meditation practices. In this article we will work our way through a series of sitting variations – starting from a classic seated pose and then progress through more accessible variations. You may use…
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First Steps in Yoga
The idea for this post started with a specific question: “How to find a good Yoga teacher?”. I almost fell into the trap of trying to answer it. It’s an impossible and irrelevant question. It carried a false sense of importance, it is almost an impossible task and has the potential to completely turn you…
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Flavors of Yoga
I intend this post to be a first in a series which hopefully deals with the question “How to find a yoga teacher?”. To do this I believe some background is required. I believe a good place to start is with the different flavors of Yoga that are “on the market” – in this case…
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What Shines Through?
The Murky Mind post left an open idea I wanted to address. When mind is still what is it that shines through? To answer this I will call upon two Sanskrit terms Cit (pronounced Chit) and Citta (pronounced Chitta). Citta can be interpreted as mind (though that does warrant an extended debate). Cit can’t be…
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Energy – Quality instead of Quantity
Starting a new Yoga series of posts. This time the topic of energy is shimmering for me. As always the ideas I bring here are my take on teachings I have received from my teachers. I have made them mine and you are welcome to make them yours. So I’ll start by shattering a myth…
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Yoga & Breath – Ujjayi Breathing
Now that you have some familiarity with your natural breathing we can take another step forward into Ujjayi (u-jay-ee) breathing. The core idea with Ujjayi basic is to create a mechanism by which you can control and manipulate the structure of your own breathing. You can think of Ujjayi technique as a valve in the…
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Yoga & Breath – Natural Breathing
“A change in breath can diminish the experience of limits. A breathing pattern is usually committed to memory and the limits are associated with it. When the breathing is altered, the memory of the limit disappears and we can explore beyond.” Though I intended to explain why you should breathe systemically in your Yoga practice…