Posts archive: T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar’s Yoga Practice & Theory Posts

If you are using something more complex, say Gāyatrī Mantra……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

Gāyatrī

“The number of times you say OM on inhalation, holding the breath,
and exhalation is influenced by the length of the breath.
We cannot fix the number of recitations on the basis of the Praṇava itself.
We can only fix it on the basis of a person’s capacity of breath.
If you are simply using OM, it can go with almost any ratio.
If you are using something more complex, say Gāyatrī Mantra,
it is very long and has different structures so there are regulations on
how many times you say it when you inhale, hold the breath, and exhale,
and in what part of the Mantra you can break, etc.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238-239

Once you know how to recite the Praṇava orally you will be able to do it silently……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“I think once you know how to recite the Praṇava
orally you will be able to do it silently.
And perhaps each time you can add a little meaning
to it as well as find a little more meaning in it.
The best way is to begin orally and
then transfer it to a mental recitation.
Then you can easily use it in your Yoga practice.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238

Don’t go on doing a lot of postures……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Don’t go on doing a lot of postures; if you do,
I think the meaning in Yoga will be lost.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238

Many people have this problem of maintaining attention during practice……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Many people have this problem of maintaining attention during the practice.
You can place your attention on a particular part of the body
but there must be something happening, a movement.
Thats why the best movement is the breath.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 237

Before launching on Antar Aṅga Sādhana……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Before launching on Antar Aṅga Sādhana,
one should be a Niṣṭhāvān in Bāhya Aṅga Sādhana.
If this earlier stage is very well established,
then only a teacher may teach Dhyāna.”
– T Krishnamacharya 1984

Whenever we look at an Āsana we must look at two sides……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Whenever we look at an Āsana
we must look at two sides:
1. What is involved in the Āsana
2. Who is doing the Āsana”
– TKV Desikachar 1984

We cannot escape the need for adaptation……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“We cannot escape the need for adaptation.
Adaptation is the application of certain principles,
to achieve certain results.
It implies:
– Knowing where the person is now.
– Knowing where we want them to go.
Adaptation is the means used to bridge this gap.”
– TKV Desikachar 1981

Religiousness in Yoga Study Guide: Chapter Fourteen Practice

Posted on by Paul Harvey

TKV Desikachar teaching at Gaunts House

‘Religiousness in Yoga: Lectures on Theory and Practice’ by the University Press of America,
a transcript of recordings of a one month Yoga Programme in Colgate University in 1976, published in 1980.

Unlike the later redacted edition, re-published in 1995 as the ‘Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice’, it captures the evolution of the retreat with the days lectures and Q & A dialogues as they alternated between ‘lectures on the principles and purposes of Yoga and discussions related to the practice of Yoga with special reference to the postures and the breathing techniques’.

TKV Desikachar, in his forward to the original version wrote:

“These lectures and discussions, printed words put before persons I might never meet,
are but reflections of that deeper result that grew out of a living face-to-face encounter.
Coming to learn of Yoga only through reading leaves much to be desired.
Yet, something worthwhile about Yoga might be shared through the medium of the printed word.”

A chapter by chapter Study guide is offered below with added verse and word cross-references where possible to support a a deeper linking with the teachings within these lectures and Q & A sessions.

Chapter Fourteen Practice: The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha
– Pages 195-205

read more

Another simple posture for Bandha is Adho Mukha Śvanāsana……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Another simple posture is Adho Mukha Śvan Āsana.
The next step is to try them in some sitting postures such as Mahā Mudrā.
These Bandha can also be done in the headstand.
It is easy to do Bandha in this position because the lifting,
Uḍḍīyana Bandha, and holding up, Mūla Bandha,
of Apāna to the flame is almost automatic
because now the Apāna is above the flame.
If we can do the three Bandha in these postures,
we are ready to introduce them in our Prāṇāyāma.”
– TKV Desikachar ‘The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha’
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 197

We must begin to do these Bandha in some simple postures……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“We must begin to do these Bandha in some
simple postures so our bodies can get used to them.
The easiest posture is to lie flat on the back.
We call this Taḍāka Mudrā when we
do Uḍḍīyana Bandha in this position.”
– TKV Desikachar ‘The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha’
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 197

Some disturbances will respond to Āsana……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Some disturbances will respond to Āsana.
Some of the more resistant, to Prāṇāyāma.”
– T Krishnamacharya

One could say that I have taught Yoga to hundreds of people……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“One could say, of course,
that I have taught Yoga to hundreds of people,
of different ages, states, origins,
but by Yoga I mean only postures and breath control,
and do not count meditation or interpretation of the texts.

These I have only taught to a few people and
only to those I deemed worthy after several interviews,
designed to give me an idea of their personality
and the firmness of their intentions.

I discouraged those who appeared to have superficial reasons for learning Yoga,
but never those who came to find me because of health problems and
who had frequently been turned away by the medical profession.”

– From interviews with T Krishnamacharya by Sarah Dars,
published in Viniyoga Review no 24, December 1989

We should anticipate a great reduction in our ability to do long breathing……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“We should anticipate a great reduction in our ability to do
long breathing and holding the breath once we introduce the Bandha.
There is quite a lot of effort involved in doing them.
If a person can do 10.10.20.10, I have found
that with Bandha the breath is reduced to 6.6.12.6,”
– TKV Desikachar ‘The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha’
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 200

The best Āsana for doing Bandha are inverted, lying flat, or sitting……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“The best Āsana for doing Bandha are inverted, lying flat, or sitting with the back straight.
A classic posture is Mahā Mudrā, which is in fact, Mahā Mudrā only if the Bandha are used.”
– TKV Desikachar ‘The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha’
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 200

In the Sthiti Krama the most important Yoga Sādhana for the householder……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

nadi_sodana

“In the Sthiti Krama the most important Yoga Sādhana
for the householder, according to my view, is Prāṇāyāma.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
the Yoga Rahasya Chapter Two verse 45

Through observation in Āsana practice we can learn a lot about ourselves……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“Āsana practice is the beginning that will confirm the importance of observation.
Through observation in Āsana practice we can learn a lot about ourselves
and even probably meet ‘that‘ which is observing inside us.”
– TKV Desikachar 1981

Uḍḍīyāna Bandha is done on holding the breath after exhalation……

Posted on by Paul Harvey

“As Uḍḍīyāna Bandha is done on holding the breath after exhalation,
one of the most important requirements
is that we are able to do a long holding of the breath
without sacrificing the quality of the inhalation and exhalation.
If this is not possible we should forget about Bandha for the time being.”
– TKV Desikachar ‘The Concept, Preparation and Techniques of Bandha’
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 197

Vinyāsa Krama for Upaviṣṭa Koṇāsana from TKV Desikachar’s Notebooks

Posted on by Paul Harvey

An example of a Vinyāsa Krama for an Āsana,
this one for Upaviṣṭa Koṇāsana,
from TKV Desikachar’s personal notebooks.
View or Download this example as a PDF