Beginner’s mind and a response to the current state of Vinyasa yoga.
The bulk of these writings has for its purpose to share about the careful integration of basic principles within the context of the Ashtanga Vinyasa form and the implication of this in one’s personal journey as well as in a unified tradition.
It is in the beginning that we must address certain tendencies, create good habits, and establish certain foundational skills. Unaddressed, these things have consequences, namely the overwhelming amount of Injuries that occur from this tradition, a vast majority of which have remained unspoken, misunderstood, and could have been avoided.
These tendencies we bring to our practice manifest a general quality to our actions. To address these directly will be difficult due to the fact it often takes many years to even become aware of them, and by then, so much will have been invested it may be difficult to accept and address the situation accordingly. Therefore certain universally applicable principles are at the core of this process, and they are entirely simple and accessible from the very beginning.
When I meet someone or a group with the intention of sharing about the Vinyasa practice, after introducing myself, I usually have them show a little of what they do. This, more than anything they may say, reveals where they are at and 99 times out of a hundred, I need to ask them to simply repeat what they did, with more emphasis on maintaining their breath in simple accordance with their personal understanding. No need for complications, simply do it.
“Yes, I know” they say with a little smile and the sudden shift in the quality of the practice is drastic. I notice it, they feel it… maybe they needed a little reminder here and there but a child can do the same; it’s that simple… but is it enough? Does it stick? Afraid not in most instances… For one, it implies much more than simply to know and say that breath is at the center of the practice. Also, once we see what it implies, to actually do it with consistency, we may come to realize, consciously or not, that it is a process more involved then our initial impressions led us to believe. Something more is indeed needed in these times, to stimulate the understanding needed to create motivation to accept this discipline.
Briefly…
It deals with a tendency towards distraction…
It deals with daily stresses, and possibly deeper emotional traumas…
It deals with poor movement patterns, especially concerning the spine…
It deals with how we approach all the poses, imposing a specific dynamic other than our preference…
It deals with more than that…
And this is just from day one! It develops into much more and I feel that if we can understand the potential, and understand its simplicity, more people would make the choice to approach their practice in this way.
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And it’s a choice! Don’t entertain the thought that from practicing with poor quality breathing, a good breath will begin to develop, as the opposite is often the case. The practice develops around your breath, the quality of which dictating how everything else develops. One must choose it, place it at the forefront and allow any other strivings to become secondary. Where those strivings are incompatible with breath, simply drop them. Easier said than done but… good luck!
The initial focus on breathing establishes an inner environment where it becomes possible to to address the other aspects of the practice. It imposes a pace… sometimes slower than some would like… but it is simply taking the time it takes to respect your own breathing. In this, it is truly the initial protection offered by the tradition; we are to become aware of any disturbance in the basic rhythm of the breath and address the situation accordingly.
Posture (Asana), supports Breath (Pranayama) which in turn supports the state of mind needed for the more refined application of the Gaze (Pratyahara). The three together become a deeply concentrated effort (Dharana). Developing one’s process to this point, and working to remain in this quality (Dhyana) is what I understand as Practice. As I share very briefly on this here, my intention is to create a body of writings where I describe each of these things in detail.
The wonder and amazement I feel when I witness, that from diligent, disciplined application of this method, the transformation in the quality of action implies being more closely established in the Yama principles.
For example:
Aggressive pushing is incompatible
One must remain within his/her truth physically
One cannot do more than their current capacity allows for
One leaves the practice energized
One usually feels entirely satisfied, both during and at the end of the practice
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Obviously much more than this also, but wow, we have a way to, over time, develop harmony with these things in our relationship to our own practice, body, mind and energies. Practiced consistently, this will over time allow these ways, this quality of action, to naturally permeate into all our relations. In this learning process, be careful not to take on too much, putting the emphasis on the quality of what you do rather than how much you do. Already established in doing many postures and suddenly doing much less, but also, suddenly doing more with respects to the method is clearly not a step backwards.
Whether the sequencing in Ashtanga is this or that old is of less consequence here… From my understanding, the principles of Vinyasa, Posture, Breath, Gaze and Trishana, as well as the 8 Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga has a much longer history. The process of trial and error and the good intentions of the teachers of the past make it worthwhile enough to put aside our egos, and as beginners, go through the motions of learning this art in a good way.