We promise the second editions of the Beginning and Intermediate manuals are on their way! We know they have been out of stock for quite some time now, but we made the decision months ago that we would only re-release them once they were updated. We are excited about what will be the finished product.
This process has meant that we are completely rethinking how the manuals are structured. We are questioning everything: the order, the postures, the instructions. When we first made them in 2015 (around the time of the above photo), we were basing them on what we had learned and practiced. This is no surprise. Since then we have continued to learn and practice of course, but we also have taught extensively around the world. With this tremendous opportunity, comes insight into what questions come up no matter the city. What do people struggle with? Where does the confusion lie? What is working? The original manuals have strengths and things we think are still useful. This will all remain. Though we have refined how we conceive of the practice. This will be reflected in the second editions. The Beginning manual is turning into the "Foundations". The Intermediate will still contain those bridge practices that lie somewhere between accessible and very challenging. We are excited about this process of regrouping and refining. We often hear that it's scary to do better, or to learn a better way. We think it's exciting. As one of our teachers used to say, "This is called progress!" If you'd like to be contacted when the manuals are available, sign up here. Release dates: March/April 2023
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Beware of the Backward Leaning Forward Bend! This position can and will deceive. We may think this is a backbend, but it is not. Here's why. What is the Backward Leaning Forward Bend The Backward Leaning Forward Bend (top photo) is when we lean back, push the hips forward for counter balance, and the spine stays straight. This can feel like we are backward bending, because we are leaning back. But in this position, the abdominal muscles are engaging to prevent us from falling backward. The abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis primarily) are the muscles of forward bending. These are opposite to the spinal erectors, which are muscles of backward bending. Meaning, when we lean back and the abdominal muscles engage as in the BLFB, this is functionally a forward bend. If you examine the second photo however, you can see that the back muscles have shortened (engaged) and the spine itself is extending, or bending backward. Compare this to the top photo, and you can see the spine is in a completely different position. Photo 2 is a functionally a backward bend. Why Should We Avoid the Backward Leaning Forward Bend (BLFB) There are several reasons why we should not do the BLFB: 1) This position will not strengthen our back muscles. This is because the back muscles are not engaging. 2) This is the cause of the "low back" pain/discomfort people often feel in standing backbends. When the spine doesn't bend, all of the pressure transfers at the low back instead of evenly across the spine. This isn't healthy for the spine. 3) It will probably feel awful. In the BLFB position, we are asking our body to go back by leaning back and to go forward with the engagement of the abdomen. This feels exactly as it reads: confusing and conflicting. 4) It won't improve our backbends, posture or back health because effort is not in the right place. Therefore we won't actually progress in the direction we are trying to. To recap, always use your back muscles if you are trying to bend your spine backward. This is easiest done from the floor in postures such as Cobra or Full Locust. If you are doing a Standing Backbend, just make sure you are actually bending your spine backward. Avoid the Backward Leaning Forward Bend! O Dattatreyayogashastra, Discurso de Dattatreya sobre Yoga, é o primeiro texto conhecido a explicar um sistema de hathayoga. Existem outras descrições de muitas das suas práticas em textos anteriores, mas essa é a primeira vez recebem o título de hathayoga. Hathayoga é descrita junto com três outras formas de yoga: mantrayoga, layayoga e rajayoga. Dattatreya disse: “Yoga tem muitas formas, ó brahmin. Devo explicar tudo isso a você: o Yoga dos Mantras (mantrayoga), o Yoga da Dissolução (layayoga) e o Yoga da Força (hathayoga). O quarto é o Yoga Real (rajayoga), é o melhor dos yogas”. Versos 8-11 As seções sobre as outras três formas são breves, mas Dattatreya escreve em profundidade sobre as práticas de hathayoha, o yoga da força. Não apenas isso, mas o texto descreve duas formas separadas de hathayoga: “o yoga dos oito elementos conhecido por Yājñavalkya e outros” (29), e “a doutrina dos adeptos como Kapila” (131). O YOGA DOS OITO ELEMENTOS O yoga dos oito elementos de Yājñavalkya é muito parecido com o reconhecido sistema de oito partes de Patanjali. Ele inicia com Regras (yama) e Restrições (niyama) e segue para Posturas (asana), Controle Respiratório (pranayama), Fixação (dharana) Meditação (dhyana) e Absorção (samadhi). É interessante que Dattatreya referencie Yājñavalkya mas não Patanjali. Das regras (yamas), “uma dieta moderada é a coisa mais importante, não nenhuma das outras. Das restrições, não-violência é a mais importante, não nenhuma das outras”. (33). Às posturas (asana) são garantidos dois bons parágrafos, mencionando o sagrado “84 lakh de posturas” (34) mas descrevendo apenas uma: a Postura de Lótus. Controle Respiratório recebe a maior atenção com mais de 30 versos. A seção descreve respiração com narinas alternadas, aconselhando 20 retenções de respiração pela manhã, 20 ao meio-dia, 20 à noite e 20 à meia-noite. Os três elementos finais recebem relativamente breve tratamento antes do texto partir para a segunda forma de hathayoga. O CAMINHO DE KAPILA Separado dos métodos acima estão os métodos de Kapila, também chamados hathayoga. “Adeptos como Kapila, por outro lado, praticaram Força [hatha] de uma maneira diferente” (29). “A diferença é uma diferença em prática, mas a recompensa é uma e única” (131). Os métodos de Kapila incluem diversos mudras e bandhas, o que envolve a combinação de posição física – “Ele deve esticar seu pé direito e segurá-lo firme com ambas as mãos” (133) – com controle respiratório – “ele deve segurar [sua respiração] pelo tempo que conseguir antes de expirar” (134). O propósito dessas práticas é mover os ventos e fluidos sagrados pelo corpo. PRÁTICA Não é afirmado explicitamente se as duas formas de hathayoga podem ser praticadas juntas ou se devem ser mantidas separadas. Nos séculos subsequentes hathayoga tornou-se consolidada, combinando as práticas dos oito elementos com as práticas de mudra de Kapila. Nas décadas modernas, hathayoga evoluiu para um termo não específico significando “as práticas físicas de yoga”. Deixaremos você com um pensamento final de Dattatreya: “[Se] diligente, todos, mesmo o jovem ou o idoso ou o doente, gradualmente obtém sucesso no yoga através da prática...o homem sábio dotado de fé que é constantemente devotado a sua prática obtém completo sucesso. Sucesso acontece para aquele que performa suas práticas – como poderia acontecer para aquele que não performa?” (40-42). - Todas citações são de: James Mallinson, Dattatreya's Discourse on Yoga, 2013.
Ghosh's Yoga College was founded in 1923. This year we celebrate yoga, as it has evolved and reached so many people around the world in the last 100 years.
We have a handful of special things planned for this year. The first up is the release of the second editions of the Beginning and Intermediate Ghosh Yoga Practice Manuals. These will be ready in March. We have spent years teaching and refining methods of practice and have a lot to update. It is often humbling to look back at what we were teaching years ago. It is always a good reminder that progress and humility go hand in hand. The Beginning Manual will now be called "Foundations" and will cover range of motion and basic movements that a healthy human body should be able to do. We are excited to reformat this in a way that we think will be more useful to both practitioners and teachers. Later in the year Strong Woman will be released. This is a biography of yogi and circus star Reba Rakshit, a star student of Bishnu Ghosh. This year, we are working hard to dive into history even further, while moving forward with as much care and intention as we can. We look forward to connecting this year and celebrating 100 years! It has been a great year of reading. More than once was my mind blown by something I read, either a far-out science fiction idea, a new scientific study that brought clarity, or a brilliant scholarly way of thinking about a complex issue. These books include fiction, scholarship, autobiography and even a book of sayings. It is remarkable how great things can come from so many different directions. These books are not all new releases. But I read them this year, and they all impacted me significantly. I recommend them all highly. If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal by Justin Gregg This book was one of my favorites. It combines surprising and fascinating information with a light touch and a sense of humor, so it is a delight to read. Each chapter focuses on one of humanity's troubling tendencies — like our constant search for meaning — looks at why we have it, and then looks at ways that other animals have solved similar problems. It is clarifying about both what it is to be human and the sheer power of the minds of animals and insects. In the middle of the book, Gregg relays the Cambridge definition of consciousness — the qualities that are needed to call a being 'conscious'. And it turns out that just about every animal and insect qualifies as 'conscious' just as much as humans do. I feel like a bit of a fool to be surprised by that, but so much of human history revolves around the idea that we are the special ones who bear the gift of consciousness; no other creatures do. The concept that every animal on the planet is as conscious as me is profound and humbling. How beautiful! White Utopias by Amanda Lucia I heard Amanda Lucia speak at a conference in May and was surprised by how clearly she spoke about complex concepts like cultural appropriation. The same lucidity is in her book, an ethnographic study of many different festivals like Burning Man, Bhakti Fest and Wanderlust. She explores the reasons why Yoga festivals are mostly populated by white people, interweaving philosophical and sociological scholarship. When I started the book, I expected a one-sided criticism of broad concepts like cultural appropriation and spiritual tourism. But this book is thoughtful, open and relatively even-handed. It examines the complexity of different cultures, how certain populations are drawn to yoga festivals, and whether or not they can have authentically transformative experiences there. Spoiler alert: Lucia insists that just about anyone can have a mind-opening, transformative experience at a festival. I loved this book. It showed me new ways of thinking about culture, race, colonialism, transcendence and yoga. Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie Earlier this year, when Salman Rushdie was attacked and seriously injured, he and his work often became the topic of conversation. I heard about his memoir Joseph Anton, named after the pseudonym he used during the years he was in hiding. The book is an account of that time, a period of more than a decade, when he could not move around freely or safely, travel, go for a walk in the park, visit his friends, or even use his own name. Rushdie, with his usual keen observation and melodic use of language, describes the period with increasing claustrophobia and frustration, trapped as he was in his own life. He could not escape, and his fight for free expression and artistic liberty are inspiring, especially with so much at stake, including his career, family, marriage and even his own life. This book is a reminder of what is important in life, what we choose to fight for and what we compromise. A beautiful interweaving art, politics and humanity. The Little Book of Zen by David Schiller This little book — it is actually little, meant to fit in your pocket — is deceptively profound. I picked it up because it reminded me of the books of Zen sayings that we used to have around the house when I was younger. It is structured simply, with one quotation or saying on each page, either from monks or well-known figures, about topics relating to Zen. Over the course of the year, I found myself flipping through it almost daily, marking the pages that speak to me and revisiting them often. I have come to think that this unassuming little volume is brilliant. Here are the two sayings that are sticking in my mind today. “If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?” And “I hear the wind blow and I feel that it was worth being born just to hear the wind blow.” Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism by Karen O'Brien-Kop This is a book of scholarship about the Yoga Sutra, where it comes from and what it means. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Yoga Sutra is a text with substantial Buddhist influences. In many ways it seems closer to a Buddhist text than one of Samkhya or Vedanta. This volume by O'Brien-Kop summarizes the known scholarship about the Sutras in a tour de force opening chapter before moving onto examinations of the use of metaphors like rice production, and comparisons with other texts. It is dense and requires a lot of knowledge of the history and philosophy of yoga, but if that is your area, this book will reward you with its rigor and creativity. (Full disclosure: O'Brien-Kop was one of my professors at SOAS in London. She is as hard-working and clear-headed as anyone I've met. A true scholar.) Klara and the Sun by Kazoo Ishiguro This book was one of the hits of last year. It is the story of a family who purchases a semi-sentient robot to befriend their daughter. What ensues is a story that questions our instincts about what makes us real, what makes us human. What do we love in others, and what will we do to hold onto them? Seeing the different perspectives of the humans and robots is confounding in a beautiful way. There's not much more I can say about this book. It is well written, well constructed and deeply thought provoking. Sometimes the robots seem more human than the humans, which only begs the question: What does it mean to be human? She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey I have often thought that journalists are the cousins of scholars, applying exhaustive research and loads of time in the search for truth or clarity. But journalists do it in real time, which makes it harder, I think. They have to figure out what is important today, rather than sift through libraries of old ideas and figures. This book is written by two journalists about journalism, and one story in particular. I loved it for its meticulous nature, its attention to detail, its tireless pursuit of a conclusion that was right there at the tips of their fingers, just out of reach. It makes me happy that people exist in the world who are willing to put in the time and effort to make sense of things; that no amount of work is too much if it is in service of the right cause. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk I am late to the party with this book. It has been on the bestseller list for years, and I have been hearing great things about it for almost as long. Finally this year I read it, and it is just as good as people said. Van Der Kolk clearly explains what happens to the body and mind when we experience trauma — how the mind and body often disconnect from one another. In that way, this book is a tool for empathy in the world, helping us understand a little better what our traumatized brothers and sisters go through every day. As a yoga and breathing teacher, this book was also useful in a practical sense. It turns out that one of the best ways to begin to heal trauma is through the body and breath, bringing the mind's awareness back into connection with a body that feels, and using the breath to synchronize the nervous system and heartbeat. This is a book that should be read by everyone, regardless of age or profession. But I think that's already happening, and I was one of the few stragglers. Reconstructing Early Buddhism by Roderick Bucknell
Ever so often I get really lucky in a bookstore. Accidentally I stumble across a book I’ve never heard of and don’t know to look for. Out of curiosity I pick it up, and upon reading it my mind is blown. I had that experience with this brand new book by Roderick S Bucknell. (Actually it was Ida who saw it and picked it up.) Bucknell is a veteran scholar of Buddhism. Here he makes an attempt to reconstruct the earliest teachings of the Buddha through the comparison of texts in several different languages. The concept is bold, and the task is enormous, which is why nothing like this has been attempted at such a large scale. We really are benefiting from Bucknell’s decades as a meditator and scholar. There are two stunning revelations inside. One is a reconstruction of a different 8-fold path. Yes, you read that correctly! A different 8-fold path! Even more shocking is that his evidence and explanation are convincing; that the 8-fold path as it has been passed down through tradition has some serious problems, and his ‘original 8-fold path’ is more coherent with virtually all the other teachings of Buddhism. The second revelation is Bucknell’s exploration of the final stages of the Buddhist path, which he describes as containing ‘insight’, not to be confused with ‘mindfulness’. The examination of the ‘the knowledges’ is clarifying about the ultimate trajectory of the Buddha’s teachings. Perhaps most surprising of all is the precision of Bucknell’s writing and argument. I expect works like this to be exhausting and difficult to read. But this book is lucidly argued and presented. A real revelation for me, and a wonderful surprise of a book! We are thrilled to be back in Tucson, AZ for the first half of Advanced Teacher Training. We were just here in March for Practice & Teaching Week, so in some ways it feels like we never left.
For the Advanced training, we will spend 2 1/2 weeks together in person. Then we will go our separate ways. Next April, the same group will meet again for the second 2 1/2 week session. The purpose for the break is to give the trainees the opportunity to integrate what they've learned from the first session. They will each have a plan for their personal practice, homework assignments and a reading assignment. They will each have a meditation or pranayama practice which they commit to practicing daily. This training is meant to develop teaching techniques but with a strong emphasis on personal practice and development. We examine texts, philosophies, critical thinking and fallacies, in order to examine how we relate to our idea of the self and the outside world. Over the five weeks of training, we will practice and study several meditation techniques in order to become familiar with different methods of working with the mind. We will practice teaching exercises to better understand how we use our voice and how we are energetically perceived by our students or those with whom we interact. The days are long and full! We are humbled to be with such an advanced group of yogis. We look forward to this process and what unfolds as we unpack it day by day. After several years of very slow progress, the Women of Yoga project is taking a few big steps forward! There are currently two parts to this project. The first is a biography of Reba Rakshit. Reba was a Bengali circus performer and yogi with a truly miraculous life story. She moved from Comilla (in present day Bangladesh) to Kolkata around the time of the partition of India. She trained with Bishnu Charan Ghosh and became a sought after circus performer, doing stunts like taking motorcycles and elephants on her chest. She became incredibly famous during her time, and was wooed by celebrities and royalty. A publisher has just signed on to release Strong Woman, a book about her life. It is scheduled to be released in 2023! In the coming months I (Ida) will finish researching and writing this book. It's amazing how history will keep surfacing if you keep looking for it. Just recently, I was able to find record of Reba Rakshit attending school in North Kolkata. (Thanks to the current principal of Peary Charan Girls school who sifted through years of records!) The second part of the project is a formal research project into women in yoga. I'll be heading to Cambridge University shortly to start this project. This project will look at how women were not included in the practices of hathayoga prior to the twentieth century. Then in the last 100 years, women began both practicing and teaching yoga. This project will aim to shed light on this transition and illuminate the cultural forces that initiated this shift. I also hope to bring awareness to early female yoga teachers and the roles they played in charting this new territory. More to come. We have not been back to Kolkata for more than two years. Not since before COVID. I was worried that the place would feel strange or distant, or that I would struggle in an attempt to recreate a feeling that I had in the past.
But it is not that way. Of course, this part of the world moves at a different tempo than where I am from. Its rhythms, sounds, food, smells and words are different. Even the light is different. But it is comfortable and friendly, and the people are generous once you get past the big-city anonymity and prickle. Above all, it has been profound to reconnect with friends whom I have not seen in years, separated by thousands of miles and closed borders. And new friends whom I am meeting face-to-face for the first time after countless hours staring at their likeness on a computer screen. Our Bengali is passable. It has been exciting, exhausting and humbling to stumble through interactions with the vocabulary and grammar of a child. I am in awe of all these people who function in three different languages everyday. The city is layered with proclamations in Bengali, Hindi and English. Finally, to paraphrase what I would say in Bengali: In leaving, sadness comes. When it comes to stretching in an asana, we feel all types of things. We may register this as good, or bad, or wonder if we have any idea at all what we're feeling. Here we hope to illuminate some concepts to help assess whether something is just a muscle relaxing, or whether what we're doing is risking an injury. Essentially, whether this is a good stretch or bad. Bear in mind, what is happening in the body can be very individual and no blog or general assessment can replace individual feedback from a qualified teacher. That being said, here are some things to consider. STRETCHING A MUSCLE SAFELY Muscle fibers have the ability to stretch. This means they can lengthen and relax. This is different from tendons or ligaments, which are not meant to stretch. When we stretch a muscle, we always want to feel the stretch in the middle of the muscle. This means that we feel it halfway between the muscle's two attachment points. This is generally where the muscle is safe to stretch. Let's take the example of the hamstrings. These are muscles that work to bend (flex) the knee. Generally speaking, the hamstrings attach by the sit bones and by the knees. Safe stretching is halfway between these two points. If we practice a position like Standing Separate Leg Stretching and we feel an intense sensation on the middle and back of our thighs, this is likely safe. As long as we're gentle, this is just the hamstrings lengthening. However, if we feel the stretch by the muscle attachment points, this is no longer safe. In the same example, this means a feeling up high by the sit bones, or down behind the knees. It's easy to feel anything and think "I'm tight" but this is not always the case. If the muscle attachment points are being pulled it will lead to over-stretching or even an injury over time. BASIC CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER While knowing how to safely stretch does mean we need to know a little bit about anatomy, don't be deterred by this. Think about what joints are being affected. In our example of the hamstrings, the two joints affected are the hips and knees. You can follow this general rule: If you feel a stretch right by a joint, this is not good. If you feel it halfway between two joints, this is likely safer. Remember, if you have any doubt whether what you're doing is safe, stop. Asana is a physical practice and the body can get injured from time to time. The 26+2 Modifications book is now available in Portuguese! Those who have seen the English version already know that this manual includes descriptions, purpose and modification for the 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises (known as Bikram Yoga). This book is designed for teachers, to deepen the understanding of the postures and practice. It will help teachers make the class more accessible to older, weaker or injured students. Our hope for offering this manual (and hopefully other manuals) in various languages is to help make yoga accessible, safe and beneficial for anyone who is eager to take up the practice. More on this manual and a sample page below: O propósito deste livro é tornar a sequência das 26-posturas, conhecida como Bikram Yoga, mais acessível a estudantes de mais idade e àqueles com lesões. Ao oferecer simples modificações, podemos frequentemente remover dores e prejuízo na execução de uma postura enquanto mantemos sua função primária e benefício. O mais importante elemento desta abordagem é simples: Identificar o propósito central de cada postura, de forma que quando necessitamos modificar nós possamos preservar o(s) principal(is) benefício(s). A primeira seção de cada postura neste livro é dedicada ao “Propósito”, onde descrevemos a função primária. Quando apropriado, propósitos secundários e terciários são descritos. |
AUTHORSScott & 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.
POPULAR- The 113 Postures of Ghosh Yoga
- Make the Hamstrings Strong, Not Long - Understanding Chair Posture - Lock the Knee History - It Doesn't Matter If Your Head Is On Your Knee - Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) - 5 Reasons To Backbend - Origins of Standing Bow - The Traditional Yoga In Bikram's Class - What About the Women?! - Through Bishnu's Eyes - Why Teaching Is Not a Personal Practice Categories
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