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The Case For Stillness: Part 1

7/30/2019

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As human beings we tend to avoid being still. Our minds are designed to create thought and they do it very well. We create identities, ideas of who we are and what we want. Then we create problems for those identities and solutions to those problems, repeating this cycle countless number of times each day. These turnings of our mind are so powerful that we then take physical action to solve the problems our minds have created. We actually create the structure of our day to act out and support what our mind tells us is important! However our senses have created our desires, our desires have created our thoughts and our thoughts have in turn created our action! 

This may seem obvious and perfectly acceptable, except that what our mind is telling us is reality may or may not be real. Regardless, the mind is so powerful that we have accepted the reality it has created as absolute reality. We become so used to the movement of our minds that stillness feels foreign. We fear that if we are still, we will miss opportunities, not be enough, or not show up for our responsibilities. This is scary, so naturally we avoid it. We perceive comfort in the familiar.

Even though we know our minds are spinning, we let our thoughts take the reins of our life. 

In the path toward stillness, we begin to realize and understand that the mind is designed to create thought.

In yoga these thoughts are called
vritis. Some of our thoughts are based in reality, but some are not. When we act upon any thoughts, whether they are true or not, they get reinforced. Over time we can build an entire thought empire based upon a single thought that we had ages ago. This is how we can wake up one day to realize that our lives are not at all what we intended them to be. Worse yet, we may never realize why this happened in the first place.

It is only in stillness that we can start to sort though the constructions of the mind to realize the fluctuating nature of our reality and our relationship to it.

Without stillness, our mind continues to cycle from one thought to the next. We are just passengers on the train of our mind. When reality appears to be outside of us, it is very difficult to grasp the concept that it is constantly being created in our mind. In actuality, we are in control of our perception of reality. On the path of yoga, this realization is the goal. 
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How To Get Started With Pranayama

7/29/2019

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Most yoga practitioners know pranayama is the skill and art of breath control. But the breath can be a difficult animal to tame.

When we start to do breathing exercises, it can make us feel claustrophobic or anxious. Our breath is largely governed by the autonomic nervous system, and when we control it consciously we can run head-on into the body's habits and patterns. ​The Hathapradipika says, "like elephants and tigers, the breath must be controlled slowly." (II.15)

When practicing pranayama, sit on the ground so that your legs are crossed and your torso is upright. Sit up nice and tall. If it's impossible to sit on the ground, you can sit in a chair. Make the body still so that the breath becomes the center of your focus. Always stay relaxed. If the breathing makes you anxious or panicky, stop immediately.

Here are two simple and safe practices to start: 1) Even Counting, and 2) Alternate Nostril.

EVEN COUNTING
This technique is so simple that you may do it already in some yoga classes. It involves making the inhale and the exhale even in length. A great length to start with is 3 or 4 seconds each. So inhale for 3 or 4 seconds, then exhale for 3 or 4 seconds. Stay very relaxed and continue this for a few minutes. This technique has the effect of synchronizing the breath with the nervous system and the heart rate. After a minute or so you will feel quite calm, peaceful and centered.

ALTERNATE NOSTRIL
​When starting with this technique there is no need to control or count your inhales and exhales. You can let the breath come in and out naturally and relaxed. Use your right thumb to close your right nostril. Inhale calmly through the left nostril. Then use the ring and pinky fingers to close the left nostril, open the right, and 
calmly exhale out of the right nostril. Then inhale through the right nostril. Then close the right nostril, open the left, and calmly exhale out of the left nostril. Continue in this fashion for about 5 minutes, staying as relaxed as you can.

As mentioned above, controlling the breath can bring up anxiety or a sense of panic. If you feel this, stop immediately. The goal of these beginning breath practices is to stay absolutely calm throughout. They should give you a growing sense of well-being and peace, not anxiety. Once you can do these exercises with control, ease and calmness, you are ready to move on to more difficult practices.
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Bending The Spine Sideways, A History

7/15/2019

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"Cakrasana" from Yoga Mimamsa, 1970
Side-bending exercises are pretty new to the yoga world. There are none in the pre-modern texts of hathayoga. They seem to have entered the canon in the early years of the 20th century.

In the early 1900s, Danish calisthenics leader JP Muller described the side bend, pictured to the right. Muller wrote several popular books that circulated widely, including in India. His publications and instruction had a profound impact on what has become modern yoga.

About two decades later, in the 1920s, the ground breaking Indian teacher Yogendra included the side-bend in his first book Yoga Asanas Simplified. He called the exercise Konasana, Angle Pose, and instructed one breath to accompany each movement. Like Muller, Yogendra instructed the spinal bend with both arms down by the sides. 

After another ten or so years, in 1938, Buddha Bose photographed and instructed the side-bending Ardha-chandrasana, Half Moon Pose, with his arms stretched overhead. This undoubtedly makes the position more difficult and photogenic. Bose was a student of Bishnu Charan Ghosh, a physical culture teacher who specialized in spectacular displays and demonstrations.

By the 1970s, the posture had become integrated into the greater culture. The central yoga publication Yoga Mimamsa published a version of the exercise, pictured above. They called it Cakrasana, Wheel Posture, and instructed it with one arm overhead and the other down by the side.

Kaivalyadhama, the research center that publishes Yoga Mimamsa, claims that their founder Swami Kuvalayananda invented the position "in order to provide lateral bending to the spine." (1) 

The claim doesn't seem to be true, as evidenced by the earlier instructions of Muller and Yogendra. Swami Kuvalayananda did write a popular book Yoga Asanas in 1931 which did not include a standing, side-bending posture. Swami K was more of a traditionalist, often insisting on older hathayoga postures over newer calisthenic additions. It seems that after his death in 1966, Kaivalyadhama took a notable turn toward the modern and popular.

​This posture seems to have come to yoga from calisthenics in the early 1900s via JP Muller and Yogendra. Over the following decades, it became more integrated into the culture, developing at least 3 distinct variations in the arms. 


​1. Sahay, G.S. and Tiwari, Subidh (ed.). Yoga Modules for Institutions of Higher Learning. Kaivalyadhama, 2009, p21
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JP Muller, side bending
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Yogendra, Konasana (Angle Pose), 1928
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Buddha Bose, Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose) 1938
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"Side Bending Chakrasana," from Kaivalyadhama publication in 2009.
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WOMEN OF YOGA UPDATE

7/10/2019

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The Women of Yoga Kickstarter ended yesterday, July 9th. A special day in the Ghosh world. There were so many of you who showed your support and enthusiasm for the project. Thank you so much! Sadly though, the funding goal wasn't met. Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform, so we begin again. 

All along I knew it was a large goal to try and reach. That was the point. This isn't a small project, and it shouldn't be treated that way. So while this first step of fundraising wasn't successful, this project is certainly not over! It will continue on, one way or another! If you'd like to follow along, here is a page with information and a mailing list sign up. 

You can still donate to the project if you'd like to. We still plan to find a way to publish Labanya Palit's book and research all of the women we can, to put out a larger project. All the funds raised will go toward making this project come to life. 

I hope you will join me for this ride. Please reach out with any questions, comments, ideas, etc. And most importantly, stay tuned for what happens next. This is just the beginning. 
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    Scott & Ida are Yoga Acharyas (Masters of Yoga). They are scholars as well as practitioners of yogic postures, breath control and meditation. They are the head teachers of Ghosh Yoga.

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