Yoga is Not to be Practiced...
April 10, 2006 by Andrea Kowalski
"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
Cyndi led us through some vinyasa, encouraging us to re-evaluate the way we approach our asana. We paused in our down dog to observe how it felt -- and what it required -- before making the adjustments that had become habit for so many of us. A discussion followed on the origin of action in the body. When we lifted a leg in down dog, Cyndi urged us to reconsider where the movement was coming from. The answer? "Arms and legs are the origins of action -- no movements are initiated by your core," she advised.
