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.

The Gift of Yoga Therapy

Working in the amazing field of yoga therapy, we come across not only miraculous recovery stories but also witness profound transformation of the human spirit. A gift and a privilege to stand at the threshold of somebody’s healing experience, to feel their joy and gratitude, once again affirming, “Yes, yoga works!”

Krishnamacharya said, “if you can breathe, you can do yoga” and that is the scope of yoga therapy. A field that is emerging and gaining prominence around the world as more and more people begin to see how yoga can impact our health and life in such powerful ways and provide sustainable solutions to the problems of mankind.

This article summarises the basic principles and process of yoga therapy for maintaining a healthy body and mind, preventing illness and imbalance and supporting healing when illness takes over.

The Yogi and healer

The healing science of yoga must be as old as yoga itself. All great yogis were themselves healers. In an ancient prayer to Patanjali (the author of Yoga Sutra, the earliest and most authoritative text on yoga), he is venerated for three important contributions to mankind: yoga for the mind, grammar for speech and vaidya sastra (Ayurveda) for the body.

While yoga is very popular around the world, there is a lot of confusion around the various application modalities of yoga. In ancient times, all these practices were well streamlined with a clear purpose, specific tools and means of application. Children were taught active, dynamic practices (Srsti krama) taking into account their needs and potentials, progressing to young, healthy adulthood where practices were designed to be very intense and challenging (Siksana krama). When the person becomes a householder with less time and more commitments, practices were designed to protect and sustain what they have already achieved earlier (Raksana krama) and slowly one progresses towards higher spiritual pursuits (Adhyatmika krama).

According to Patanjali, vyadhi (illness) is considered an obstacle for spiritual progress and hence one of the main goals of yoga practice is to remove these obstacles that impede spiritual growth. Yoga therapy (Cikitsa krama) is therefore an important application of yoga where specific therapeutic needs are addressed so that one can overcome obstacles to spiritual progress. It is hence a very highly evolved system of healing with a very strong spiritual component that cannot be separated from it.

 Personalised Yoga Therapy

Since each individual is special and unique, his/her therapeutic needs are also specific and unique. Yoga therapy addresses these unique and changing needs of each individual at all levels – physical, physiological, mental, emotional and the deeper spiritual. The complex canvas of a person’s life begins to unfold only when we learn to step beyond the conventional scientific paradigm that is disease-centric. Yoga therapy offers a 360-degree perspective of the person, inside-out – figuratively and literally.

Being a complimentary system of health, it works very well in tandem with main-stream medical system or any alternative healing modality.  Unlike conventional medicine, it provides the person an opportunity to take responsibility and participate actively in their healing and recovery. The main focus in yoga therapy is to influence the mind – even the smallest shift in the state of mind of an individual opens up immense possibilities for healing and inner growth.

The Therapeutic Process

         How does a yoga therapist work with a student ?

1. An initial consultation will help the therapist to understand the individual at all levels – physical, physiological, mental, emotional, their personality and life circumstances and also the impact of the illness at all these levels.
2. In consultation with the student, set clear goals to be achieved in the process – both short term and long term.
3. Select appropriate tools and techniques and suitably adapt them to address the individual’s abilities, requirements and circumstances.
4. Design effective practices for the person that can be integrated into their daily routine
5. Suggest appropriate lifestyle and dietary changes to support healing
6. Check progression, making appropriate changes over time to address higher goals
7. Guide the person to a state of better health and well-being
8. Empower the individual to take responsibility for their own health
9. Instill confidence and strength to deal with road-blocks and obstacles of any nature that might stall or delay the healing process.

A minimum of 3 to 4 sessions per month spread over a period of 6 months can take care of setting off the person on the healing journey. Following this period, a periodical review (once a months) and progression with practice is of course essential to incorporate changing needs and movement towards higher goals. Depending on the condition, how severe or chronic it is, frequency of sessions may vary. It is important to understand that the steps can vary from person to person, condition to condition and life circumstances.

When somebody comes with, let us say, back pain:

•         the first goal is to relax the person physically and mentally and reduce pain
•         next step will be to improve mobility and flexibility,
•         then to strengthen the back and associated structures,
•         then maintain that strength and flexibility

This might progress from a few weeks to months. Once the person has achieved so much, then regular practice can help him maintain what he has achieved. Ideally, the student becomes less and less dependent on the therapist. With regular practice, they develop better awareness and understanding of their system, their strengths and challenges and are able to use their strengths to overcome potential challenges with a little guidance from the therapist.

The role of the Therapist

The role of the therapist in healing is very important. While a yoga teacher works with individuals or groups teaching suitable practices for health & wellbeing or spiritual progress, a yoga therapist uses yoga as a tool to aid in recovery from ill health. When somebody comes to a therapist, they are not coming to learn yoga; they are coming for relief from pain and suffering. The technique or tool is not important here, the individual is. The therapist should hence be equipped with a sound knowledge base in therapeutic application, be able to assess and understand the individual and also know how to apply the tools of yoga and guide the person through the path of recovery. A strong desire to help some one in pain is of course, the basic prerequisite.

But know that the therapist is not the healer. He/she is only a guide, a catalyst in the healing process, and a very privileged witness to the transformation. His/her strength does not lie in knowledge of postures and techniques alone. That is like giving a layperson a set of surgical tools and asking her to perform a complicated surgery.  The skill of the surgeon (here, the therapist), lies in how intelligently he/she uses the tools. Krishnamacharya called Yoga Cikitsa  “Asastra sastra cikitsa” meaning “surgery without instruments”. More important than the tools is the ability of the therapist to understand and utilize the unique strengths hidden within each individual for the healing process. The therapist also holds a safe and loving space for the healing to happen. A non-judgmental attitude, patience, humility and an immense faith in the strength of the student to heal herself is the skill-set of the therapist.

Becoming a Yoga Therapist

 Training to become a yoga therapist is a very intensive process involving:

• basic training in the fundamentals of yoga philosophy and practice
• study of human anatomy & physiology
• study of principles of Ayurveda, Ayurvedic understanding of the human system, diagnosis and approach for maintenance of good health and therapy
• learn how to observe and understand an individual at physical, physiological, mental, emotional and the deeper spiritual levels,
• study pathology of all common illnesses and how they impact at different levels
• how to modify/adapt the tools and techniques of yoga to address the needs of a specific individual with a particular combination of problems. 
• how to design effective practices and teach them
• how to guide the student progressively through the process of recovery.

Healing is never complete if it does not pervade and impact the entire human structure – that includes physical, physiological, intellectual, emotional, behavioral and spiritual dimensions. At every level, you see the challenges and also discover the hidden strengths - valuable inner resources that can be deployed appropriately to heal. Illness is hence both an obstacle and an opportunity to transform our lives. Healing itself is the process of transformation, where you not only learn to reduce the symptoms, and deal with the cause but also discover a whole range of thought/emotional/belief/behavioral patterns that have been holding the illness and its many ramifications in place. You then learn to systematically disentangle yourself from these binding forces.

The process of healing in yoga is therefore not just rewarding in the sense of getting rid of a problem, it is an interesting and most exciting exploration of your life, so that you can slowly peel off those unwholesome, unhealthy layers that have hidden your inner light from yourself.

Just like a skilled surgeon or master craftsman, a yoga therapist can bring alive the most simple tools and techniques with such ingenuity and care that inner healing and transformation happens almost effortlessly.

The making of a Yoga Acharya: process and milestones

There is a myth that a yoga teacher has to be a symbol of perfection, we have to “look” like a yoga teacher, be always happy and smiling, peaceful and grounded and very “wise” (certainly not in the worldly way of course). I had no idea of all this when I got into learning and teaching yoga. It was a sheer accident and still remains an interesting mystery of how it all happened. I was a good student in school and college, and did well with the yoga studies too… the intellectual kind who could effortlessly pick up threads from the sutras and make beautiful yoga stick figures on paper (still far from doing them on the mat). It was not until years later that I actually understood what being a teacher actually means!

To know what makes you a good yoga teacher, we don’t have to look beyond the first word of the first sutra of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: Atha.

Are you ready to take up this study?

It is not the readiness in terms of the time and resources you have in hand, that is only a small part of it. It is not the intellectual curiosity you maybe holding, “let me see what is in it for me…” It is not even the desire to learn yoga and “walk the path”, which is of course important.

It is the readiness and willingness to now move inward, exploring the uncharted territories of the mind-body complex; taking responsibility for all our actions and experiences. Letting go of blaming and complaining about how the world is treating you. Letting go of also self-reproach and guilt, rather being willing to transform these negative energies into productive action, ready to be in the “here and now” and taking responsibility to create a better future.

So, the question is, are you really ready?

And if you are, the very first commitment we need to make is time for yourself: for your personal practice. I never understood the value of it when I started studying yoga, except for the excitement of learning new postures and techniques. Since I was not the very flexible kind, it often frustrated me to see, in comparison, how well others can do it.

In this tradition, each trainee works with a mentor who will assess and design a very unique and special practice for the person taking into account his/her physical constitution, flexibility, strength, mental-emotional patterns, time availability and when they can practice during the day.

After each session with the mentor, I remember the joy and excitement of carrying home a fresh, new practice that will now take me a step ahead, progressively getting better and deeper into the experience of yoga. The integration of body-breath- mind slowly begin to play to secret magic into your being. The energy levels got better, aches and pains diminish, self-awareness improves, reactivity reduces and you can actually experience more peace and joy.

Today, when I look back, I wish I had been more serious about my personal practice then. The study of the Yoga Sutra is perhaps the most fascinating part of the study quenching and creating more intellectual curiosity. After dabbling for years in Sanskrit definitions and concepts that made me “appear” very intelligent, I finally got down into the actual essence of the teachings which was and still is mind-boggling. I can’t have enough of it.

Layer after layer opens up deeper meanings and possibilities… so much lies beneath, waiting to be discovered! Learning classical postures and techniques helped to understand meanings from which the function of a posture is derived and how to intelligently adapt or modify a posture or pranayama technique to address a very specific and unique need of the student and achieve a desired function. The skill of a surgeon and creativity of an artist comes into play here.

Yoga borrows heavily from Ayurveda the understanding of the human constitution, how to create individualized diet and life style changes that will help harmonize the energies within. It becomes exciting to study the basis of Sankhya philosophy that underpins yoga and Ayurveda and discover that the mind and body share a unified field of existence, cannot be addressed in isolation, and how every aspect of the universe is connected and striving to progress in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The question of personal and universal dharma and the quest for an integral balance arises.

Meditation as a process of refining and concentrating the mind, methods and techniques and beyond these methods and techniques, touching and experiencing glimpses of insight – from that part of the mind which is beyond thought is exciting!

Course planning helps to integrate the tools and techniques into a meaningful structure for practice that can be progressively adapted to changing needs and goals. It is in deed very exciting to see the progress in the student at all levels.

Understanding the Yama, Niyama and learning to apply the understanding in daily life often brought up great excitement and resistance and as a community working with these attitudes and boundaries has been quite intensive and also fun!

Exploring the connection with God, presented as the highest teacher, Ishvara, by Patanjali and toying with the “idea” of surrender has been frustrating and frightening. When we let go of the “ideas”, perhaps the real surrender can happen?

The entire repertoire of tools and techniques yoga offers and playing around with them and remembering to reconnect with the breath, our life line and learning to listen to its wisdom and knowing that this is more important than “doing” something right… a reality check.

The training is a life long process though the course comes to an end in 12 months. The desire to learn and grow keeps our practice and teaching alive.

The milestones are:

Am I now more connected with my body, can I understand and respect my body more?

Is my conscious breath long, deep and subtle? Can I allow my breath to guide me into the present moment, and help me understand my current reality?

Do I have the necessary skills to teach, observe, adapt practices to the changing needs of the student?

Am I willing to learn from the students, accept and work on my apparent limitations?

Can my mind be open to learning and unlearning? Can I hold my thoughts, my “borrowed” knowledge and beliefs lightly?

Has my threshold for reactivity gone up? Am I now aware of my judgments?

Can I go beyond my self and touch another person’s pain? Can I feel true love and compassion?

Am a ready to continue to learn and evolve my skills and my practice knowing that this is just the beginning?

Dealing with Stress through Yoga

Stress reduction through yoga is not just about relaxation practices as it is commonly understood. In one of my consultations, I was listening to a student who was suffering from so much stress. The source of her stress was her great aunt who seemed to have such a strong control over this girl.

This aunt was over 90 years, recovering from a broken hip, completely dependent on my friend, always “complaining, clinging and trying to control me”. She was visiting her aunt everyday (while holding a full-time job, taking care of her family) and every visit was getting more and more unbearable for her. She said, “when I am with my aunt, my skin starts to burn all over and I am full of anger and negative thoughts”. She was aware that this is not something she can put up with longer considering her health history of just having recovered from cancer a few years ago. 

“How can I deal with this situation? What practices can help me cope with this burning of skin and stress?” For her it is her great aunt, for somebody else it could be a mother-in-law, partner, boss, teacher, parental conflict or illness, financial problems or just any issues in life that impose enormous strain on the psyche that gets reflected on the body through myriad range of illnesses. Most often, we need a diagnosis even to recognize that the body has been ravaged by the stress.

But is the source of stress really only outside? Can it be countered just with relaxation practices? While we continue to fight in our mind with whatever is happening in our life at the same time try to fix issues with our health that are cropping up from time to time, we are just allowing the wound to fester within and attempt to heal the pain.

Yoga addresses stress through a multi-pronged approach. Becoming aware of the problem and its impact on the body, breath and mind and how it creates a ripple effect into our immediate environment affecting life style, relationships, work etc.,

Acceptance of the reality, coming to terms with it is an important step towards resolution of the problem. For example, this student struggling with her aunt’s behavior had to first understand that her aunt cannot be expected to change her ways, not at 90, not with all the issues she has and the insecurity she must be experiencing that has led to the clinging-controlling behaviour.

The next step would to learn how to clear the conflict ridden mind and relax the body through actions that are positive and most appropriate. For this person, it is about reclaiming her personal space and time, moderating her energy expenditure and knowing and communicating clearly what is beneficial for herself and her aunt. 

Practices to help release the tension accumulated in the body and clearing the mind so that it can perceive with better clarity and enjoy some peace. It will involve working with asana (again addressing the specific needs of the body and personality, not any practice). Using the breath actively in asana is imperative to achieve any substantial change at the physical, physiological and especially mental- emotional level. 

Pranayama practices help us connect more deeply with the breath, our most intimate friend and ally in healing.

In asana and pranayama, varying the breath ratio has different effects, whether you want to be energized or want relaxation for body and mind. Body being the receptacle for all our experiences in life, we need to pay special attention to those parts which tend to accumulate a lot of tension like the neck, shoulders & upper back, also precipitated by a sedentary desk job.

Those who don’t have time for an active practice in the morning (being very stressed out also means “I am running against time” right?) will benefit from a 20-30 min. evening practice before dinner or bedtime (at least 2 hours after dinner, which means you have an early dinner). The evening practice comprises of seated and lying postures with focus on extending the exhalation. Relaxing the eyes, and gentle movements for the shoulders, elbows, wrists, finger joints, neck, spine and legs help release the accumulated tension especially for computer professionals people on the move most of the day. 

Long exhalation activates the parasympathetic nervous system countering the sympathetic domination that happens in stress response. Through exhalation we can intend and choose to release all the negative thoughts, emotions & judgments from the system, clear your body and mind and drift off into a blissful state of sleep. Wake up feeling fresh, rejuvenated and looking forward to a new day. Each day, this way can be a gift.

Yes, stress can be a great source of wisdom, and a motivation for change. It teaches you what is most important in life. But the question is, are you ready? Are you ready to take charge of your life? Take responsibility for your state of health, quality of life? Or do you want to continue to blame the outside circumstances for your suffering?

Yoga is a state of mind, a mind that is calm, unperturbed and clear. A mind that can perceive with clarity, take right decisions and direct the most appropriate actions. The usual monkey mind requires training, practice has to be regular (daily) and uninterrupted. A free mind has free will, it can make choices. It means, in any moment, I can choose peace instead of conflict or argument. Good health is more than fitness, it is this state of mind that is peaceful and clear. 

Yoga philosophy and practice urges us to grow in this inner strength and resilience so that we can deal with any eventuality in life, develop immunity to stress-inducing situations.

Calm down

March 2016

By Saraswathi Vasudevan

Slow, deep, long exhalation and retention after exhalation is the secret to a calm mind, says Saraswathi Vasudevan

Have you ever noticed that when your mind is preoccupied or disturbed, your breath will invariably be short, shallow and disturbed? Even otherwise, we generally breathe from the upper chest or, worse still, by using our neck and shoulder muscles primarily, causing fatigue, pain and stiffness in this area. This kind of breathing does not allow us to take in oxygen or remove waste products from the metabolism optimally.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces a powerful method to calm the disturbed mind by focussing on exhalation, and holding the breath after exhalation (Yoga Sutra 1.34). You can try this when you experience a mild disturbance, not intense. Try to breathe out slowly and deliberately, focusing on the exhalation and suspend the breath for a few seconds after a complete exhalation to experience the stillness within.

Through regular pranayama practise we can detoxify the system, calm and clear the mind and prepare for meditation, while also training our system to develop complete mastery over every component of the breath: exhalation, inhalation, retention after exhalation and inhalation. Through this mastery, we are able to deploy the breath more efficiently and effortlessly. The mind, of course, calms down quickly as we shift the system from sympathetic to parasympathetic domination.

This Sutra also suggests that discriminating between what to retain of our experiences and what to throw out of our system will calm the mind too. Often, we hold on to what is disturbing, and create greater turmoil. While letting go is easier said than done, a systematic practice of working with long exhalation through pranayama practice is the key. The breath has to be trained to be long (dirgha) and subtle (sukshma). Controlling the breath at the throat/nostrils or tip of the tongue are techniques employed to lengthen the breath and make it more and more subtle.

Mrgi mudra:

Mrgi mudra is useful for nostril control in pranayama. If you are right-handed, use the right hand for mrgi mudra (left hand can count the number of breath cycles). Fold the index finger and middle finger (of the right hand) and hold them at the base of the thumb. Bend the ring finger slightly to bring the tip to match the length of the little finger. Place the fingers on the nose (thumb on right side and ring and little finger on left side exactly where the bone ends and cartilage begins so that it is possible to block the nostrils partially to narrow the passage for air flow.)

Do Nadi Shodhana (Anuloma Viloma) pranayama, using mrgi mudra to close the right nostril fully and partially close the left nostril. Inhale through the partially closed left nostril. Exhale through the partially closed right nostril with the left nostril fully blocked. Then inhale through partially closed right nostril and exhale through partially closed left nostril. This will constitute one breath cycle. A minimum of 20 breath cycles (40 breaths) at least is required to complete a good pranayama practice.

When the breath is drawn in and exhaled through partially closed nostrils, the breath is very long and subtle, the velocity of air flowing in through the partially closed nostril is higher and therefore through its penetrative power facilitates greater reach into the bronchi and air sacs for better exchange of gases. Similarly exhalation through partially closed nostril helps better emptying of the lungs and removal of waste creating a powerful detoxifying effect.

Source: Life Positive

Total workout

February 2016

By Saraswathi Vasudevan

A good yoga practice must work out every part of your being, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, says Saraswathi Vasudevan

Yoga is called a Sarvaangasadhana – a practice that impacts every part of the individual. Therefore, a sound asana practice should essentially address all the needs of the body: move all joints, progressively improve flexibility and strength in different parts of the body, improve breath and state of mind, and calm the mind of its distractive tendencies.

If you are a regular yogasana practitioner, it will be good to have a checklist of indications to see if you are moving in the right direction:

Flexibility: neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, hips, legs, knees, ankles.

Strength: lower back, abdomen, upper back, shoulders, neck, legs, knees.

Is my sleep getting better?

Is my energy level at an optimal level?

Is my mind less distracted after an asana practice?

Is my breath flowing comfortably?

Am I getting less reactive in general?

Has my tolerance improved?

Am I more conscious of choosing what food to eat, when and how much?

Is my biological rhythm – sleep-wake cycle, clearing bowels, hunger, thirst, menstrual cycle – improving?

Make sure your practice has movements to address all joints and parts of the body. Have a healthy balance of forward bending postures, back arches, twists and lateral stretches. Ensure a good combination of standing, seated and lying positions. Inversions, done with good preparation, are highly beneficial to counter the negative effects of gravity on the body, and improve the circulation and health of all the organs in the body.

When we take to yoga later in life, we come with a body that is already stiff, with its unique disposition and physical patterns (stooping back, twisted spine, stiff legs and limited flexibility in most joints) not to mention the breathing and mental/emotional patterns. It is, therefore, not possible for us to do many postures the classical way. Adapt instead!

Uttanasana:

Let us take Uttanasana (standing forward bend), for example. If you can do this posture perfectly, it means your spine is flexible, especially the lower back; your hips and legs are flexible and you are not carrying extra weight around the mid-section! If you have a sedentary lifestyle, your back and legs are bound to be stiff. Follow this modification of Uttanasana:

Stand with feet slightly apart in front of a stool/chair about 2 feet high. If your back is too stiff and you are tall, use a table instead. Take 4-5 seconds to slowly inhale, raise both your arms from the sides expanding your chest and extending your whole spine upward all the way from your waist. Pause for 2 seconds in this position. As you exhale (take 6-8 seconds to slowly exhale by drawing lower abdomen in and up, relaxing chest) bend forward from the hip (not stooping your shoulders), keeping the legs and body straight until you reach half-way down. Beyond this point you can bend your knees to the extent required and extend your arms on the stool/chair seat. Stay for a breath and ease into this position with a long exhalation which relaxes your neck, back and legs. As you inhale, raise your arms to ear level, arch your back and come up, arms extended up, shoulders relaxed, body extended all the way from the waist. As you exhale, lower your arms from the front/sides. Repeat a few times and stay for longer in the posture. Gradually, reduce the height of the support and bend your legs less.

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).

Source: Life Positive

Awakening the Spine

January 2016

By Saraswathi Vasudevan

Through diligent practice of asanas one gets into the habit of keeping the spine straight and erect which is the cornerstone of attaining optimum fitness, says Saraswathi Vasudevan

Classically, all asanas were conceived for a specific set of functions that the usual body positions and movements do not address. The most important structure asanas influence is the spine. It helps if our spine is flexible, strong and aligned.

Today, we have a crying need for asana practice. We are couch potatoes in front of the television, or slouch potatoes in front of the computer screen. We eat mindlessly and  have no time to exercise. For the physically active, or sports persons, often there is an imbalance or over-extension of some parts, or a side of the body, more than the other.

Therefore asana practice should be an indispensable part of our daily routine if we want to reverse the impact of poor posture and imbalance. Slowly, we will learn to sit with the back straight, keeping the head in line with the spine, neck and shoulders relaxed, eyes unstrained, chest forward, and the diaphragm  free to move for good breathing. When the back is relatively straight, there is less pressure on the lower back and hips,  better circulation to the digestive system,  and better vagal tone that promotes parasympathetic activity to counter stress. Asanas to straighten the spine are not just back arches. In fact, for somebody who slouches, back arches may be very uncomfortable. So different movements of the spine must be encouraged, and coordinated with conscious inhalation and exhalation. Start with mild back arches and forward bends. Do mild axial twists to relax and make the neck, shoulders and upper back more flexible. Do lateral stretches to open up the sides of the chest for good breathing and the waist for good circulation to the abdominal organs. Good deep breathing also facilitates extension of spine and improves posture. Start with standing asanas and progress towards seated and lying postures with adequate rest inbetween. Breathing has to be long – at least five seconds of inhalation and exhalation with breath retention to enhance the effect of the posture. We can stay in some opening postures and twists to improve flexibility and strength and help the posture to facilitate cleansing  of the body toxins.

At the end of a good 20-minute asana practice, once we have achieved a relatively straight spine and are able to breathe in and out smoothly for longer duration, we are ready to do pranayama. There are many postures for pranayama – siddhasana, padmasana, even sukhasana or sitting on a chair is good enough. Hold the spine erect and sit for at least 10 minutes to focus exclusively on the breath.

Vajrasana:

Sit on your heels with your legs folded at the knees, classically knees together, thighs together. Keep your spine erect, neck and shoulders relaxed and chin down. Place your palms on the thighs or knees. Eyes closed. Breathe in and out in this posture and slowly extend your exhalation and inhalation in that order. About 100 rounds of kapalabhati can help with clearing the upper respiratory tract and preparing the abdominal muscles to engage with conscious breathing (exhalation). Any technique of pranayama can be practised in this posture.  People with knee problems to avoid this posture if it is painful...

Source: Life Positive