Receive in abundance

January 2017 Life Positive Magazine
By Saraswathi Vasudevan (www.yogavahini.com)

In the third of her series on right breathing, Saraswathi Vasudevan imparts the secrets of good inhalation

In normal breathing inhalation is an active process. When we are stressed out, we almost always breathe in from the upper chest, and the breath is shallow and sharp. You might even be holding your breath a lot when you are stressed. Neck and shoulder muscles are overstrained because we use these accessory muscles to breathe instead of chest and abdomen. This can also account for a lot of tension and fatigue in the neck, shoulder area, even poor sleep.

The first step in learning how to inhale more efficiently is to actively engage the chest and the abdomen in breathing in. Initiating inhalation from chest to abdomen is always far more efficient. Chest  to abdomen inhalation helps to maximise the intake of air for exchange, it helps the diaphragm movement to the extent required to fill the lower lobes of the lungs, and straightens your upper back to counter a stooping posture.

When you breathe in from chest to abdomen rather than abdomen to chest, it prevents the lower abdomen from bulging out and lower back from being hyper-arched (which is already deep for most women, causing much strain and stiffness).

When you learn to inhale better, your energy level improves dramatically, you feel more active and productive. It enhances self-confidence and helps counter feelings of depression. It improves your posture, inter-vertebral space in the upper spine and neck thereby countering and preventing neck problems precipitated from tight and stooping upper back with neck thrust forward.

Also breathing in from chest to abdomen helps open up your heart centre which is also the centre for emotions thereby helping us clear pent-up emotions!

When you learn to integrate the technique of deep inhalaltion and exhalation, you can breathe in and out almost 9-10 times the volume of air you are normally breathing in. Longer breath means longer life span and good health.

So, do you want to inhale more efficiently?

Try this, even as you read this article:

Sit up (on a cushion/chair) with back straight (not leaning on to a back support).  Place one hand on your upper chest and the other hand above your navel.

Take a few breaths slowly deepening the exhalation and inhalation. Exhalation to be initiated from lower abdomen as discussed in the last issue. As you draw the lower abdomen in and up relax your chest. After extending exhalation to a comfortable extent, deepen your inhalation.

Start breathing in from the upper chest downwards and outwards (also opening the sides of the chest). The upper abdomen is extended automatically as the diaphragm is pushed down, no need to push the stomach out. And ensure that you don’t push the lower abdomen out (portion below the navel).  When you inhale from upper chest downwards, upper back automatically straightens improving your profile with every deep inhalation.

Exhale as usual by gently drawing lower abdomen in and up, relaxing chest.

Slowly begin to extend the inhalation from 3 seconds to 4 to 5 until you reach your maximum inhalation capacity. Stay with each step for 2-3 breaths with extended exhalation. Stay with the maximum inhalation and exhalation for 10-20 breaths with gentle hissing sound in the throat. You have now started doing pranayama! We will start looking at pranayama techniques from the nest issue.

NB: It is best to take the help of a trained yoga teacher or therapist to guide you through this process.

About the author: Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga therapist trainer in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She specialises in adapting yoga to the individual.  (www.yogavahini.com).

Exhale fully to receive fully

December 2016 Life Positive
By Saraswathi Vasudevan (www.yogavahini.com)

Long and deep exhalation can lower your blood pressure, reduce pain, improve sleep, and facilitate healing of the body quite effortlessly, says Saraswathi Vasudevan

Breathing is the fundamental cleansing process of the system. When we breathe efficiently, we release a lot of impurities and end products of metabolism allowing all organs, systems and cells to receive fresh nourishment through the blood. When breathing is inefficient, we accumulate the waste products that toxify the system and prevent fresh intake of nutrients.

Exhale first!

Yoga Sutra says one of the ways to calm the mind is to focus on exhalation, and retention after exhalation (YS 1.34). Good exhalation reactivates the parasympathetic response, shifting the system from sympathetic domination (stress mode). When the mind calms down and becomes quiet, we begin to conserve prana that is wastefully dispersed through incessant thinking and strong emotional reactions.

Exhalation helps relax the muscles that may be held tight because of inherent stress response. When muscles relax, flexibility improves, general aches and pains come down and the breath expels waste products from muscles and joints to be eliminated through the breath!

If you can extend your exhalation long and deep, you can lower your blood pressure, reduce pain, improve sleep and facilitate healing of the body quite effortlessly. All you have to do is breathe out long and deep!

How to exhale efficiently?

Lie down in a comfortable position with your legs bent so that your lower back and abdomen are relaxed. Pay attention to your natural breathing. When you begin to observe your breath, it is no more natural, it becomes slightly longer and deeper. Observe where you are able to feel the movement. With natural breathing – like a baby asleep – abdomen goes up on inhalation and relaxes on exhalation.

Exhalation is a passive process in normal breathing but in yogic deep breathing, we make exhalation more active! To facilitate good exhalation and emptying of air from the lower lobes of the lungs where 75-80 per cent of gaseous exchange takes place, we actively but gently draw the lower abdomen in and up, simultaneously relaxing the chest. The diaphragm gets pushed up and the lungs are emptied more efficiently. Make sure you are not holding up the chest while drawing the abdomen in.

Once you get the technique right, begin to extend the exhalation by gently slowing down the movement of the lower abdomen and chest. You can begin with 3 seconds exhalation and extend up to 6 or 8 seconds, to the extent you are comfortable and there is no strain in the body. Do this practice in seated position (on a mat/chair), extending exhalation.

 As you draw the lower abdomen in and up, the often overarched (lordosis) and strained lower back flattens and relaxes. The organs in the abdomen are squeezed out so that they can receive fresh oxygenated blood with the next inhalation. The floor of the perineum is lifted up, toning the lower abdominal muscles and reinstating the organs that are pulled down with gravity. The technique helps to pull the lower chakras up, thereby allowing the circulation of prana, and removal of impurities that are accumulated in the lower abdominal area. You start feeling lighter in your body and mind as the breath is trained to flow out slowly, smoothly, unimpeded.

Try this technique every night before you go to bed, to prepare for a beautiful day ahead!

About the author : Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga therapist trainer in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She specialises in adapting yoga to the individual.  (www.yogavahini.com).

Befriend Your Breath

November 2016 (Life Positive Magazine)
by Saraswathi Vasudevan (www.yogavahini.com)

When you give your breath your loving attention you will have earned a friend who will come to your aid in all situations, assures Saraswathi Vasudevan.

“One can only understand the things one tames, the Fox tells the Little Prince. If you want a friend, tame me. You must be very patient. First you will sit down at a little distance from me, like that, in the grass. I shall watch you out of the corner of my eye and you will say nothing. … But everyday, you can sit a little closer to me” (From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

The fox here presents a very important pre-condition for developing a friendship: the time you invest and the loving attention you give.

This is the kind of relationship one seeks to establish with one’s own breath through practices such as pranayama.

It might sound strange when I say pranayama is about befriending your breath. For most of us, pranayama practice means inhaling through one nostril and exhaling through the other, or breathing like a bellows! We have been conditioned to focus on these aspects so much that the real purpose of pranayama the mind being an active witness to the breath has been lost! This article is about reconnecting with the real purpose of pranayama.
Before we even try to understand how to befriend the breath, we need to know why this is important.

Do you have any friend in your life you can call for help anytime, in any situation? And also reach that friend in a moment? Yes, we know technology has advanced so much today that you can reach a friend in a moment but ironically, the same technology has also caused so much separation and isolation, has it not? But you do have one companion who will come to your aid anytime you want unconditionally (well, almost)! Your breath perhaps your only companion who comes with you from birth to death. Breath is our sole connection to life and to all life forms around us. To the extent we have nurtured this friendship with our breath, we can be assured that this friend will come to our aid in any emergency. And if you want to learn how to use your breathing to deal with stress, observe your breath in a stressful situation.

Try to observe the reactions in your body, breath, thoughts and emotions as they arise.
How comfortable are you in your body?
How is your breath? Where can you feel/hear your breath? What is the quality of your breathing?
Are you in control of your thoughts and emotions?
Just observe the complex dynamics of a stress response as you stay with your breath.
At other times, work on lengthening your exhalation systematically. Start with three seconds exhalation, and then go to four seconds, then five seconds till you reach your maximum comfortable exhalation, and maintain it for some time. Practise this as often as possible (not immediately after a meal) so that you develop a stronger relationship with your exhalation.

Try this practice at bedtime:

Sit on the bed with your back straight and eyes closed. Rewind the whole day in your mind’s eye from the present moment backward and look at everything that comes up in your memory. Exhale deeply and let everything drop clearing your mind of all residues from the day. When your exhalation is long and complete, it induces a deep relaxation response in the body and mind. Lie down and have a wonderful sleep!

Wake up feeling fresh and rejuvenated, ready to welcome a new day with a smile!

About the author: Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga therapist trainer in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She specialises in adapting yoga to the individual. (www.yogavahini.com).

Exhale!

October 2016 (Life Positive Magazine)

Saraswathi Vasudevan reiterates the importance of breath in asana

Somehow, breathing in asana practice has been relegated to the background because of the excessive focus on the body and movements! How to breathe is very important in order to make the practice more efficient and effective! And when we learn how to breathe deeper and fuller, we can also make our pranayama practice more efficient!

We begin with learning how to exhale. Exhalation allows for efficient emptying of the lungs, preparing for a more efficient in-breath. It is said that through good exhalation, we remove more than 70 per cent waste products from the system. In normal unconscious breathing, exhalation is passive but in yogic breathing, we make exhalation more active than inhalation.

Start with a comfortable lying position – preferably with legs bent. Focus on normal breathing for a few minutes, checking if we are breathing naturally – like a baby breathing – abdomen pushed out on inhalation, relaxing on exhalation. Next, initiate a conscious exhalation by drawing the lower abdomen in and up, simultaneously relaxing the chest. It will take some training to gently contract the abdomen muscles inward and upward (without creating any tension in the lower-abdomen-back area), while dropping and relaxing the chest at the same time.

Thirdly, extend the exhalation step by step while keeping inhalation free. This will give us an opportunity to refine the exhalation technique and have better control over it.  Start with 2 seconds  or 3 seconds and slowly extend till you reach your maximum comfortable exhalation. Once you reach your maximum comfortable exhalation – maybe 5-6 seconds – stay with that ratio for 6-10 breaths, further refining your technique of exhalation. You will also observe that your inhalation has also considerably improved in depth, length and smoothness.

Ensure you are not pushing out the lower abdomen during inhalation – which counters your exhalation movement. 

For people with heaviness in the lower abdomen, this technique may be difficult initially as we hardly ever use the lower abdomen muscles to breathe! Also with the constant downward pull of gravity on the abdominal organs and weight gain in that area, this technique does not come so naturally. However, it is a great way to counter the effect of gravity, and prevent or address mild prolapse of bladder, or uterus. It also helps to flatten and relax the lower back with every conscious exhalation – especially for women with deep lordosis (lower back curvature). This technique helps with efficient movement of the diaphragm and provides parasympathetic activation, relaxing the body and mind. Each exhalation is also a detoxifying process.

Tataaka mudra 

Lie down on the mat with your legs stretched, feet close together, arms by the side of the body, chin down, eyes closed. Lock your fingers together and turn your palms out – hands on the abdomen. As you inhale, raise your arms up, fingers locked and stretched, bring the hands to the floor above, palms facing out. Stay in this position and slowly begin to extend exhalation with each breath, drawing the lower abdomen in and up and flattening the lower back. Hold the breath after exhalation for 4-5 seconds with the abdomen in, lower back flat and legs stretched, neck, arms, shoulders relaxed. Stay in this posture for 5-10 breaths before lowering the arms on exhalation. Relax with legs bent.

It helps with better circulation, massaging and detoxifying organs in the abdominal area.

Originally published in Life Positive Magazine.

Farewell to Sir

September 2016 (Life Positive Magazine)
Saraswathi Vasudevan pays rich tribute to her yoga teacher, Sri TKV Desikachar, who passed away recently

On August 8, 2016, at 2.45 am our teacher, Sri TKV Desikachar, “Sir” to all of us, breathed his last. Son of Sri T Krishnamacharya, acclaimed yoga guru of the 20th century, he had been ailing for sometime and we knew that the end was near. Despite this, the pain of losing him is immense and difficult to deal with. As we grieve the loss and try to cope, using all the ways he equipped us with, we also realise that he has left a big part of himself in each one of us to cherish, nurture, preserve and share!

Our teacher was not out in the world, proclaiming great knowledge or demonstrating extraordinary yogic powers. What was most inspiring and endearing about him was his quiet, unassuming nature, clarity of mind, and subtle strength that anybody in his presence could draw from. Over the 17 years I studied with him, he has been available for all of us anytime we wanted his help and support. For a teacher who had students spread across the world, with a busy schedule and strict personal discipline, how he managed to give everybody quality time – one-on-one – is still a great mystery!

Yoga is a “relationship”

What Desikachar lived and taught was a simple, yet profound philosophy. He defined yoga as a “relationship”. “When you establish a heart-to-heart connection with a person, and offer what is appropriate, from that space, healing happens,” he would explain. And we saw this happening all the time.
Whether we went to him with our own problems or witnessed him working with people who came for healing, he always held unwavering attention, reverence and compassion for the person in front of him. It did not matter if it was a playful child, a rebellious teenager, or a sceptic; the person walking out of the consultation room was not the person who entered.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about faith healing or magic here. My teacher knew how to calm the person and awaken his healing force within most effortlessly. With an almost clairvoyant intuition and absolute precision, he brought in a rare kind of beauty and freshness to the yoga practices he offered each person. Even a simple asana-pranayama routine helped in healing the most complex problems people came in with.

Yoga is resourcefulness

All that he taught, he said, was what he had learnt from his father, quoting his “Appa” often. But we know that the very precise method of course planning in asana, or building ratios in pranayama, or creating highly specific meditative practices for each individual that were creative and quite unconventional, were perhaps his own innovations. He prescribed special diets that he also taught us to cook. He drew from a rich repertoire of tools of yoga, offered with great thoughtfulness, even negotiating with the student rather than imposing. “Yoga is yukti” he would say, “we have to be resourceful!” He taught us to keep this creative spark alive in us so that we could develop the most appropriate practice for a student.

Our teacher could hold so many of us together, inspire us to continue to study, practice and offer only the best of ourselves to our students.

Even when he was ailing and lost to the world, he was, and continues to be, very much alive in our life and work each day. When I receive a student into my class, I remember how he would greet and make somebody meeting him for the first time feel so much at ease! When he walked with them to the gate after the session and said goodbye, he left people feeling they had already overcome most of their hurdles!

About the author : Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga therapist trainer in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She specialises in adapting yoga to the individual. (www.yogavahini.com).

Originally published in Life Positive Magazine.

Temper the 'pause'

August 2016 (Life Positive Magazine)

By Saraswathi Vasudevan

Saraswathi Vasudevan draws up a yogic regimen to ease the pain of menopause

I wonder if yoga teachers/therapists two generations ago had to deal with menopause-related issues! Today, if you are lucky, you glide through these years quietly and uneventfully, but most women struggle through various levels of physical, physiological and psychological disturbances. From hot flushes, sleep disturbances, stiffness in joints, exacerbation of pain, migraines, mood swings, anxiety, depression, weight gain, each person's experience of perimenopause/menopause can be very different, and sometimes highly disruptive, affecting one's quality of life.

Thankfully through a regular and intense asana-pranayama practice with attention to diet and lifestyle, we can possibly get through menopause with minimal discomfort. When I say intense, please don't assume it is about doing several rounds of surya namaskar! In fact, during peri menopause/menopause, excessive physical movements will aggravate vata (imbalance in the wind element).

Here are a few guidelines for practice:

Start with some breathing practice like sitali (inhaling through the tongue with sides rolled like a tube/through the mouth like drawing through a straw while raising the head, exhaling through nostrils while lowering chin to the chest). Sitali helps with hot flushes by cooling the system.

Spend 20 minutes with an active standing practice including back arches, twists, lateral stretches, forward bends, sequences like surya namaskar ? always moving into and out of postures with regulated breathing. Keep inhalation at least 4-5 seconds and exhalation longer than inhalation. Movements have to be coordinated with the breath.

A short lying rest to relax the spine and legs can be followed by lying postures with extended exhalation and hold after exhalation. If accompanied with active contraction of lower abdomen, it will help regulate functions of the apanavayu and keep the lower abdominal area light and toned. Inversions like viparitakarani or sarvangasana will also help. After lying postures and inversions, back arches in prone position will help strengthen the back and legs and compensate for inversions. Spend at least 20 minutes with forward bends, back arches, twists and lateral stretches in seated/kneeling positions to keep the spine, hips and lower abdomen supple and strong. Again, extended exhalation and holding the breath after exhalation will help improve the functions of the postures.

Eat warm, cooked food that is less spicy and sour and only when hungry. Avoid snacking or binging. Salads and dry foods which have a tendency to increase vata (wind element) will increase many of the symptoms. Walking or swimming can also help with improving your sleep, and keeping a check on weight gain. Avoid any intense physical activity after 8 pm at night.

Janu Sirsasana

This is considered important for many menstrual issues as well as during menopause. Sit with your back straight, legs stretched forward. Fold one leg placing the foot against the opposite thigh. Raise both arms from front on inhalation, extending the spine up. On exhalation, bend forward towards the stretched leg and hold the foot, slowing with extended inhalation and exhalation. Try to reach the forehead to the knees. Spine is stretched, abdomen contracted, leg stretched, especially calves and ankle. Stay for 10-16 breaths on each side. This posture helps regulate the apanavayu in the lower abdomen, keeps the organs in the abdomen healthy, and keeps the spine and hips supple. It also stretches the ankles, which will prevent/address heel pain, a common menopause symptom. This posture also checks weight gain around the abdominal area.

About the author : Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga therapist trainer in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She specialises in adapting yoga to the individual. (www.yogavahini.com).

Published: Life Positive 

The sacred circle

Life Positive 

June 2016

By Saraswathi Vasudevan

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, Saraswathi Vasudevan advocates an immersion in the foundational yama-niyama through the formation of supportive sanghas, before moving full throttle into asanas.

Now that the whole world is going gaga over yoga, and yoga practitioners often sport a halo over their heads, it will be good to revisit the question of why we are doing what we are doing with yoga. As a yoga teacher and practitioner, this is something I have to ask myself everyday so that I don’t get swept off my feet with the frenzy of “yogic” activities we seem to be consumed with all the time!

What is our goal in yoga?

At the highest level, yoga is about being established in our true nature: to understand that we are in essence the imperishable, pure Self. This appears to be a distant dream, even beyond our imagination. So we have to begin with realistic goals that are tangible at some level. It may be that we want to improve our health and well-being, reduce stress, or acquire peace of mind and clarity. And these actually unfold quite effortlessly, if we practice regularly. However, if we were to stop there, we would stagnate or even regress. For many of us, despite our search for happiness and the avoidance of pain, our yoga journey can often taper off inconclusively.

A more diligent practitioner is no better off! In doing my asana practice with great zeal, I could get obsessed and indulgent with my body. In practising meditation, I could get attached to the identity of a “meditator” and build barriers around me, separating the very “special” me from the “ordinary” world! We could get so strongly identified with our “practices”, “mantra”,  “tradition”, “guru”, even with the accessories of yoga, that what is meant to liberate us actually traps us!

So it is absolutely important for any serious seeker to know if she is on the right track…

Am I moving in the right direction? What are the signposts on the path of yoga?

Patanjali, the author of Yoga Sutra, expounds the fundamental principles of right action through the concept of yama and niyama. Yamas are boundaries of right action and engagement with the world. Non-violence, honesty, non-stealing, seeking the highest truth, non-grasping are the five yamas. Niyamas are personal observances that, when practised constantly and consistently, will facilitate the yamas. Purity of body and mind, contentment, austerity, study and self-reflection and surrendering to Divinity are the five niyamas.

Are my feelings, thoughts, actions and responses to the world in alignment to what I am seeking through yoga?

Do you know that while Patanjali has only allocated three sutras out of 195 for asana, he has talked about the yama-niyama in 18 sutras?! It is not that asana is irrelevant, but that yama-niyama are of paramount importance. Without cultivating these character-building qualities, there is no yoga (union with the Divine)! But how conveniently we have magnified the physical aspect, and allowed it to eclipse the yama-niyama!

How do we practise yama-niyama? Is it really possible to be established in them?

Yama-niyama are to be practised each day, but we are not expected to perfect them overnight. These are habits of the mind and character traits that will take lifetimes to perfect. Unfortunately, in our zeal to prove that we have “arrived”,  we suppress, or deflect feelings, thoughts or even actions that run counter to them. Our unwillingness to look at ourselves separates us from our deeper self and forces us to sport a façade of false piety! Even more deviously, we engage in intellectual discussions about yama-niyama, convert them into attractive slogans, or into instructions with which to terrorise others. We are very good at making others do what we ourselves cannot or will not.

The soft target is always the other! Even before I understand what non-violence is, I want the other to treat me with unconditional kindness. Even if I have only just set off on the road to truthfulness, I already expect others to be unconditionally honest and trustworthy towards me. One of my teachers once wrote in jest: “I fully believe in ahimsa, nobody should hurt me”.

Our incapacity to work on ourselves emerges from our desire for pleasure and aversion to pain. And that keeps us stuck!

What is the way out?

Patanjali uses the word swadhyaya – study and self-reflection. Unless yoga practices are coupled with self-reflection, they can spell danger not just to the practitioner, but to others too, who have to tolerate and live with the self-obsessed “more evolved beings”!

Self-reflection is not self-analysis or self-judgement! It is to learn to honestly look into ourselves, and maintain a non-judgmental awareness of everything that is happening in the moment. It also means becoming aware of our thoughts, intentions and feelings, listening to ourselves when we think and speak, taking responsibility for our actions and inactions.

And for this we require the support of a strong sangha – spiritual community.

And we also need to create contexts for this exploration that will help us cultivate the yama-niyama. We need to take time off from our frenzied activity, regularly and periodically. We need to create a quiet space within our sangha that we do not fill with mindless activity and chatter. We need to make this space safe and nourishing for each other.

In this sacred space:

Can we bring to this circle our experiences and insights from practice, our gifts as well as our struggles?

Can we practice equity and self-disclosure, without the fear of judgment and rejection?

Can we listen with compassion and learn to reflect for each other what we may be blind to within ourselves?

Can our sharing help to break illusions of being more or less evolved, and give hope and inspiration for all of us?

This deep work, of course, has to be actively supported by our daily practice. Right practice of asana is meant to reduce rajas and improve our tolerance. Pranayama reduces the heaviness of tamas, sensory and mental indulgence. Meditative practices help in sharpening the mind to stay with our enquiry. Such a mind can observe the inner and outer realities without much distortion. Such a mind is aware of our feelings, intentions, thoughts, actions and reactions, while assuming active responsibility. Only such a mind can practice yama-niyama and inspire others too!

Even if it is painful, it is important to stay with the yamas and niyamas. Through this work of shifting and changing our thoughts, feelings and behavior, we become the person we are meant to be; or rather, we let go of the person we are not. We slowly learn to recalibrate our aspirations and expectations. We see more and more that it is not about having the right answers, but staying with important questions. It is not so much about “doing the right thing” but enquiring into our compulsions for unwholesome actions. We slowly begin to understand what the yama-niyamas mean and this very understanding helps us to refine our thoughts, intentions and actions.

Together, we can work towards creating a more wholesome life that is reflected in all our thoughts, actions and responses to life situations. Such active, practising communities are the need of the hour. As a collective, when we shift our focus from result to quality of actions, from purpose to meaning, yoga comes alive… and a better world is born.