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Pratyahara: Withdrawing the senses and truly enjoying your Yoga

Pratyahara is situated directly in the middle of the eight limbs, its central position indicates that it is the point where the outer can become inner (and also the reverse). Pratyahara is the bridge limb that shows you how to use asana and pranayama to find dhyana and samadhi, how to use your postures for concentrating your mind, for accurately tuning in, for reading, and responding to your mental states. Thus you can cultivate a more intimate relationship to your experience of sensation as a way inward towards concentration, towards buddhi, mental clarity, and thus towards self or individuation.

Ashtanga's Dynamic Dimension

During the discussion there was an interval of cross talk and commotion, and during this time Guruji looked at me, and for a moment it was as if it was only he and I in the room. He let me know that the method was to be done swiftly, that tempo, rhythm, and dynamism were essential to learning the practice properly. He said 'quickly you do, that is the method'. Without too many words he let me know that he was was trusting me to understand what he was telling me and that I was somehow responsible for remembering and sharing this aspect of the practice.

Ask David G your question.–Turn out or lift the heels in drop backs? Feeling sore, should I take a day off? Stop practicing Ashtanga because of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Scoliosis?

That's great you've taken to yoga. It's natural you're feeling so sore because it's all so new. Practice as often as you can, but don't be too hard on your body or your self. You can do a smaller practice on those days when you feel you can't do the asana's right. But it is good to try to do a little bit each day, it's only if you get really, really sore and tired that you should take an extra day off when you need it.

Summary notes on Pasasana (The Noose Posture)

Balancing in a full squatting position is one of the most important and challenging aspects to this posture. The feet are your foundation, they are directly in contact with the earth. Organize your posture directly over this foundation noticing when/if you are either too far behind or in front of your foundation.

From David's Journal: Perfect that Single Sacred Asana

You have to be sure you are not sacrificing your body to your ego. That you are not going too far in order to compensate for unconscious feelings of unworthiness— you don't need to use your asana practice to 'prove' you are good and worthy. And yet don't underestimate the amount of shakti, energy, both physical and mental, that it takes to strike a pose and remain utterly centered in dynamic absorption.

Yoga is Youthfulness Interview

At that time my knees did not come to the floor in Baddhakonasana so he put one hand on one knee and one foot on the other and one hand on my head. He pushed down on my knees and then he started to push my head outwards. It felt like I was looking down from above on to the ground and it all felt big, like a wide expanse for me. My orientation was shifted and there was this opening! I got terrified. Guruji pulled me back up and he said, "no fearing you go."

Six Days a Week since 93'

As we all age we see how challenging it is to continue to practice in such a way that our bodies and minds stay truly strong, fit and supple. Other priorites come along to replace the fire, zeal, and devotion we have for practice. It is tempting to let ourselves off the hook thinking that asana is for youth. That somehow being intensely physical has a cut off point-perhaps it does for some of us. But for many of us, the discoveries we make as we flow though our sequences continue to feed our body's, minds, and souls.

Ashtanga Yoga and the Secret of Mula Bandha

Guruji insisted on the importance of practicing and performing Mula Bandha. He said that mula bandha is a contraction of the anus, gives mind control and must be practiced 24/7. In a recent conference with Sharath Jois (Guruji's grandson), Sharath related a story about how he asked Guruji about the difficulties he was having with a challenging section of an advanced series postures.

Doubt of Faith

Wow!! Revelation—-Faith does not mean blind faith, easy faith. This caused me to really look within, to see the small ways that I lack faith, to see how frequently and largely I doubt both Spirituality in a collective sense and my own personal relationship to my faith. When I really dig down inside I see that faith is something I have wrestled out of my doubt–one practice at a time–something I've agonized over and continue to agonize over especially when it's time to apply my faith.

From David's Journal: Yoga is Discovered Alone

Stepping on your mat each day is walking into the forest, practice is sitting down in the middle of that scary place and undertaking to meet the source within-a time of fasting, of vision questing, a time apart–something between you and the sacredness inside you, a forging within, opening yourself to encounter the wildness, magic and perils of your mind–and eventually to meet your teacher, your wisdom, the wellspring source of knowledge.

From David's Journal: Physical and Mental Edge

A significant part of asana practice is to encounter physical hardship, it is by challenging yourself physically that the body becomes firm, strong, and healthy–the strong body enables you to work with your mind. As you develop the capacity to extend your physical edge you become ready to work with more mental aspects of practice.

Sharath's Conference January 16th, 2011

Sharath spoke about each of the **6 classic yogic cleansing practices (Kriya's-Neti, Nauli, Dhauti, Vasti, Trataka, Kapalabhati see below) and concluded that Ashtanga practice achieves the same benefits and thus largely replaces these practices. However because Sharath took the time to discuss these practices, I conclude that knowledge of these can give you new and valuable ideas for how to think and approach your ashtanga practice.

Great Courage, Mighty Enthusiasm, and Full Strength

When I do seated postures in this cosmically designated, exclusive spot, my gaze naturally falls along the back wall of a vintage piece of recording gear that sits there. Down near the base of this large wooden box is an old bumper sticker that reads: When All We Ever Wanted Was To Learn, Love, and Grow. My attention has been rather forced on this little sticker, and my mind has begun to ponder it, to puzzle through it, and chew on it with zen 'koan' like curiosity.

Interview on Prescribing Yoga

I'm biased but I think that Ashtanga is the best practice. And the way to learn Ashtanga is to find a teacher who teaches Mysore. Sign up for the month and follow their instruction. If you can't get access to a teacher then a dvd can do it. Also, make an intention within yourself to honor your body. If you want to start a Yoga practice you need to realize that Yoga is a large path.

Action in Practice

At first cultivating action in asana may seem like something small, tedious or doing a lot of work for little or no results. But the effort you put forth to activate certain opposing muscle groups or to properly align your skeleton in each posture serves as a foundational pillar of your health, progress and growth. That effort helps you to better cleanse and work your body safely and sustainably, it sharpens the mind, gives extraordinary powers of concentration, and opens you to the interior limbs of ashtanga yoga.

Intensity: Finding the Balance

So how can I be realistic about the effort I do put forth? How do I accurately assess whether I practice too intensely or too mildly and in either case effectively? And what level of mildness or intensity is right for me at this time? How do I know the difference between being too hard on myself and fooling my self?

Developing Practice with Yogic Images

Depth in asana work requires you to tune into this kind of subtle motion of the ground under you. The image of riding a fish is a perfect analogy for how to tune into the 'fluidity of rootedness'. The earth is constantly in motion under your feet or seat and this will effect how you do your asana work.

Puzzle of Pain

Resisting pain can frustrate you and challenge your resolve to practice and thus it is essential to see that the obstructions that appear in your path, whether physical or mental, are meant to be there for your learning and growth. Somehow you have to trust the process, let go and see the potential openings, the advantages and new directions within the hardship. This is how you find your way deeper into your practice.

Agni: God of Creative Fire

Because fire is THE most important element in practice, you must work consciously with your fieriness or lack of. It can require tremendous energy to get to a place where fire presides over your practice, where tapas leads you– where action, will, effort, concentration, perseverance, care, love, and enthusiasm all lead you. These are the qualities that spark and ignite your creative fire. You utilize the basic techniques in practice to bring forth your benevolent fire, to generate the right kind of heat in the right proportions.

Trusting Earth

During practice, allow the parts of the body in contact with earth to widen, sink, and increase their connection to the ground. And see how in return, the ground increases her connection to you by supporting you more. By this awareness you create a powerful magnetic affinity between you and the earth. Your posture becomes immovable, super grounded, and energetically alive much more than when when you try with your will or when you try to apply intense physical effort to achieve a posture.

Befriending Hanuman

You learn to gauge the value of where your energy goes and to direct it more at will to whatever you choose. An acceleration of feeling, thought and awareness takes place and your capacity for intimacy and love increases as well as the ability to tolerate loneliness and being alone. These small steps of inward turning can lead to a deep flowing towards center, to spiritual knowing, to the creative expression that you are meant to bring forth to share.

The Sage Agastya

My teacher, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, taught that Yoga teaches mind control. Daily practice helps develop a strong and fit body, but even more important is the mental strength that can be cultivated. His message is simple, as is the message behind this story of Agastya; disregard appearances, don’t feed yourself or others that which is not sown from a place of _____________.