Yoga is Not to be Practiced...
"Yoga is to be lived," says Purna yoga founder Aadil Palkhivala.
Aadil Palkhivala's class on Freeing the Heart in Standing Poses was one of the most inspiring classes of the conference for me. Other than editing his expert questions for My Yoga Mentor, this was my first experience of Aadil. The man is far more heart-centered and inspiring in person than I could have imagined from our email interactions.
A student of B.K.S. Iyengar for 30 years, Aadil started the school of Purna Yoga to address the bigger picture of yoga. Rather than practicing asana for the sake of perfecting asana, Aadil encourages his students to find their dharma, or life's purpose, through the study of asana, spirituality, philosophy, and lifestyle.
While asana is important, it is also insignificant, Aadil says. The purpose of asana is "to help the body be a better vehicle for the spirit's command. Why do we practice? We practice for the exploration, discovery and fulfillment of dharma."
After working on some standing poses, Aadil paused the class. We were all missing the point, trying to be perfect students. "The asana must serve your bigger picture; it's not a performance. What's your intention?," he asked. Rather than practcing to be the best in class, we should considering practicing for the enlightenment of all beings, he suggested. I could feel my classmates relaxing around me.
Some juicy nuggets and good reminders I took away from Aadil's class:
1. To learn if your practice is serving you, look at your life -- what is the state of your relationships? --That is, your relationship with family, with the earth, with food, etc.
2. To choose your teacher, don't look at the person's practice, look at the person's life.
3. Don't knit the ribs together during practice under any circumstances -- we want to expand the heart center, not contract it.
4. Never practice Uddiyana bandha while actively breathing -- it strains the heart. (During pranayama, it is done while holding the breath out.)
5. The best way to cultivate the rasa, or juice, in standing poses is by using the quadriceps. Bring the earth energy up into your legs using the quads, then into the pelvis, then knead that energy into your heart.
6. Don't send all of your prana, or lifeforce energy, out around you, tilt the pelvis up and send the prana into your heart.
Finally, some food for thought from Aadil: "It's a magnificent cosmic evolution which we are a part of, usually dragged kicking and screaming; but if we choose to participate, the suffering will end."
photos by Susan Slattery
Comments
Thanks for this article. My english is limited, but I think Mr. Palkhivala is the best master in this side of the world. For me is constant inspiration, in my yoga practice, and in my life.
Thanks.
Posted by: charo diaz-barberᎢ /> | April 12, 2006 07:22 PM
good, its nice to go through the yoga journel and learnt a lot and sincerely appreciate the efforts taken
Posted by: neeru | April 12, 2006 08:57 PM
Can you clarify this instruction about NEVER engaging Uddiyana Bandha when breathing in asana? That strongly contradicts what I have learned from the Asthangi's who recommend engaging uddiyana while working ujjayi breath. Perhaps Aadil means to avoid the Kriya of Uddiyana but is okay with the more gentle performance of Uddiyana? Thanks.
Posted by: john mcwhorter | April 12, 2006 11:25 PM
A lovely article. Perhaps some of the yoga 'performers' would do well to heed it
Posted by: Amanda | April 13, 2006 01:30 AM
Thank you for telling us what is yoga really,a way of living,as you transform yourself you transform the world,we all have this power within,we all need to wake up and yoga is one of the way.
Posted by: Bindu | April 13, 2006 07:47 PM
Thanks for the sentence that a yoga teacher has to live yoga in his or her life. I once had a yoga teacher who said that she had never done yoga outside of her class. Whithout teaching a class she hadn't the time to do yoga. How could she be a teacher I've asked myself?
Posted by: Iris | April 16, 2006 08:20 AM
i have the same confusion as john. (above) in ashtanga yoga holding the lower two bandhas is said to support the spine and facilitate deep diaphragmatic breathing into the lower lungs.
Posted by: Meredith | April 23, 2006 11:03 AM
Relative to Uddiyana bandha in the threads above...
Obviously this question is best answered by Aadil. The source is the best place and you can pose such a question on Aadil's web site.
As a student of Aadil's in the college of Purna Yoga I'll offer my underling perspective.
First and foremost is that Aadil often speaks of "over engineering safety" and he embodies this as a teacher. I feel perfectly safe with him both in the moment and over the long haul as it relates to my well being around yoga practice. The comment in this article mentions straining the heart and while that might be fine for some it might be fatal for others.
The bandha is not inherently wrong. It's potential for harm is increased when actively breathing, as mentioned in the post.
Certain pranayam techniques should be imparted to students by a master, only after years of student practice and only after said student has learned to properly align the spine.
I personally think there's some careless teaching of advanced pranayama and it discounts the power of these practices to teach them to students not properly prepared for it.
In my three years studying with Aadil I cannot recall a time when we practiced Uddiyana bandha.
Posted by: Gordon Kaplan | April 23, 2006 10:10 PM
Here is the answer to the uddiyana question.
Let me clarify what I meant by not doing uddiyana bandha while doing deep breathing.
Uddiyana bandha as a Kriya is the lifting and sucking in of the entire abdominal cavity from the pubis at the bottom to the zyphoid process at the top. When this bandha is done, the organs of the abdomen are lifted upwards and are pressed into the diaphragm. Also, the diaphragm itself is drawn upwards and presses into the lungs and heart. This stimulates the element of fire and develops a very strong support for the spine and back.
However, when deep breathing is done during this bandha the breath fights the flow of the bandha and this fight creates a very strong agitation in the nervous system.
What senior and advanced Ashtanga teachers may mean is that the bottom edge of the belly should be drawn up to support the back, this is what I call, "lifting the pit of the abdomen," and is the bottom portion of uddiyana bandha. This is not only safe, but stabilizing for the sacro-iliac joint and strengthening for the spine.
Therefore, I recommend not doing the upper portion of uddiyana bandha while doing deep breathing except while practicing the Kriya itself.
May your practice be filled with joy and peace.
Aadil
Posted by: Aadil Palkhivala | May 16, 2006 12:34 PM