Follow this link for details of Online 121 eModule Āsana Study options

The Viniyoga of Āsana Modular Workshops and Courses
– Empower your Body Exploring how to Customise your Personal Āsana Practice

This Page introduces the Viniyoga of Āsana Practice and Theory Modular Workshop and Courses Student Study Programme as taught by T Krishnamacharya to TKV Desikachar.

Together they offer deep and profound training in the application of Āsana and how it inspires and guides our personal Yoga practice and study Sādhana, either for personal development or, if relevant, professional skills.

As the student progresses through the interlinked and developmental Modules in the programme they will experience in-depth learning in all areas of Āsana practice and Āsana study theory.

“Another important aspect is that the masters
taught us to move from a deeper source,
not just from muscles and joints.”
– TKV Desikachar

The Art of Application of Āsana Modules Framework

The Art of Application of Āsana Modules reflects the teachings of TKV Desikachar and his father and teacher T Krishnamacharya as taught to Paul Harvey over 25 years through:

Guidance in emphasising a personal Āsana Practice to support your everyday life Understanding the principles in Āsana which inspire and shape Yoga practice An overview of Yoga teachings around Āsana practice Familiarisation with Yoga Āsana terminology and practice techniques Appreciating how your body can work more effectively in Āsana Deepening our work with and the importance of Āsana in practice

To present a view of the Application of Āsana to help develop our practice and deepen our relationship with Yoga Sādhana. It is offered with respect for the vital source from which these Yoga teachings originated and their place in our age and culture. Its role is not to train students as Yoga teachers.

They are offered as a:

Module One two-day Workshop on Āsana Practice Techniques and Theory Study Modules Two to Eight follow-on two-day Modules.

Together these Modules will initiate and empower the student in the arts of learning to skilfully work with the principles that underpin creating and sustaining a personalised Āsana practice. The outcome will be the ability to independently and intelligently choose, adapt and ultimately self-develop and self-refine our personal Āsana Sādhana.

Yoga is a process to train a student,
not a training to process a teacher.

The Viniyoga of Āsana Workshop Module One

offers 10 hours over two days for a maximum of five students from any Yoga background or style to have an in-depth grounding in the primary principles and teachings on the Application of Āsana practice and Āsana study theory and how they inspire and guide our personal Yoga practice and study Sādhana, either for personal development or, if relevant, professional skills.

As well as being complete in itself it offers a necessary foundation for those interested in further study through the two-day Module Courses Two to Eight on Āsana practice and Āsana study theory.

Follow the link for further details of the Live Small Group Art of Application of Āsana Module One Workshop.

 

The Viniyoga of Āsana Workshop Modules Two to Eight

are a series of two-day course modules, totalling over 70 hours on Āsana Practice techniques and Personal Practice planning theory.

Follow the link for further details of the Live Small Group Art of Application of Āsana Modules Two to Eight.

The Link between the practice limbs of Āsana, Mudrā, Prāṇāyāma and Dhyānam

One of the hallmarks of Krishnamacaharya’s and Desikachar’s teaching focused on the developmental and progressive integration of the different aspects of Āsana, Mudrā, Prāṇāyāma and Dhyānam into a single constantly evolving organism. Thus in honouring the Paramparā it is not possible for me to separate these four practice components into four completely disconnected study topics to be learnt in any random order.

The way I was taught was that a knowledge of the practice and planning principles within Āsana are necessary to appreciate the practice and planning principles within Mudrā. From there a knowledge of the practice and planning principles within Āsana and Mudrā are necessary to appreciate the practice and planning principles within Prāṇāyāma, and so with Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma regarding Dhyānam.

So to summarise, we need to be grounded in the practice and theory of Āsana in order to develop our study of the practice and theory of Mudrā. The same goes for the study of Prāṇāyāma being an extension of the practice and study of  Āsana and Mudrā. Finally, the practice of Dhyānam is an extension of the practice of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma.

This was the message of Krishnamacaharya’s and Desikachar’s teaching in that we are learning to practice Yoga as a developmental, progressive, holistic process, rather than the more compartmentalised, learnt in any order, boxes of postures, breathing and meditation so prevalent in today’s Yoga market place.

“What good is the sword of wisdom 
to cut away the chains of illusion
if the holder is too weak to bear it.”
– T Krishnamacharya

This same message is seen within the teachings and texts of Haṭha and Rāja Yoga in that we need to develop step by step the practice tools of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma in order to be prepared for the demands of Dhyānam.