The Cakra are points of concentration for the mind.
“The Cakra are points of
concentration for the mind.”
– ‘Concerning the Cakra’ by TKV Desikachar
Posts archive: Krishnamacharya and Desikachar Haṭha Yoga Posts
If engaging therapeutically, firstly examine the gait of the breath……
Prāṇāyāma done along with Mantra yields fruits…..
You have to practice in such a way that day to day the breath gets longer and subtler.
“You have to practice in such a way that
day to day the breath gets longer and subtler.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
the Yoga Rahasya Chapter Two verse 30
Share this:
Owing to differences in the body structure, all Āsana are not meant for everybody.
“There are different body structures,
therefore not all Āsana are enjoined.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
the Yoga Rahasya Chapter One verse 31
Share this:
While it is used as a metaphor that the Kuṇḍalinī is going up, really, it does not make sense……
“While it is used as a metaphor that the Kuṇḍalinī
is going up, really, it does not make sense.
If we say that Kuṇḍalinī is an energy that gives us truth,
then we have to a accept the fact that we have
two energies in life, Prāṇa and Kuṇḍalinī.
Some also say that energy is sleeping.
What is meant by this?
Many of these ideas, Im sorry to say,
are based on incorrect translations.
Kuṇḍalinī represents Avidyā,
and the absence of Avidyā
represents absence of Kuṇḍalinī.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 248
Share this:
The terms Ha and Ṭha also represent two extreme sides of a wavering mind……
“The terms Ha and Ṭha also represent
two extreme sides of a wavering mind.
Ha often is meant to represent the sun, Ṭha the moon.
Suṣumṇā in the middle Nāḍī.
Prāṇa in the Ha and Ṭha represents
a confused and wavering mind.
Prāṇa in the Suṣumṇā represents a clear, steady mind.
Hence, Jñāni is one whose Prāṇa is in Suṣumṇā
and Ajñāni is one whose Prāṇa is still
in the opposite two Nāḍī, Ha and Ṭha.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 246-247
Share this:
The obstacle is also called Kuṇḍalinī because it looks like an earring……
“The obstacle is also called Kuṇḍalinī because it looks like an earring
worn by women in the olden days and Kuṇḍali means ‘earring’.
It is also called Śakti because its power is so great that
it is able to block the flow of Prāṇa into the Suṣumṇā.
We must note that it is Prāṇa that is eventually
supposed to go into the Suṣumṇā.
Many books describe that which goes up as Kuṇḍalinī.
Kuṇḍalinī does not go up.
Suṣumṇā is like a conductor through which energy flows.
This energy is the same energy that is always present, Prāṇa.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 243-244
Share this:
In the Sthiti Krama the most important Yoga Sādhana for the householder……
“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
Share this:
During the practice one must constantly use Ujjāyī……
“During the practice one must constantly engage
in regulating the exhale, inhale and retention.
Ujjāyī is to be smooth and slow,
according to the strength or capability of the student.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
the Yoga Rahasya Chapter One verse 33
Share this:
Without Āsana, Prāṇāyāma cannot become accomplished……
“Without Āsana,
Prāṇāyāma cannot become accomplished.
Without containing Prāna,
the mind cannot achieve steadiness.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
The Yoga Rahasya Chapter One verse 45
Share this:
When the body is disordered………….
Uḍḍīyāna Bandha is a pre-requisite for the other two Bandha…….
“Uḍḍīyāna Bandha is a pre-requisite for
the other two Bandha, Jālandhara and Mūla.
From the practice of Uḍḍīyāna Bandha
the Nāḍī and Cakra become purified and strengthened.”
– From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
the Yoga Rahasya Chapter One verse 67
Share this:
Śīrṣāsana as a Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā……
Śīrṣāsana as a Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā
This day, for so long TKV Desikachar‘s birthday, is the first since his death last August.
In memorium is the article below:
“In the scheme of Haṭha Yoga where the harnessing and channelising of one’s life energy is the goal, the Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā occupies a special place.
A person’s full potential is realised when this energy moves to the top of the head.
There are various techniques that the ancient seers had formalised to remove the obstacles in the path of this energy and to aid its movement.
All these techniques culminated the Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā, the principle of inversion,
one form of which is Śīrṣāsana.
TKV Desikachar explains this concept starting with the most basic requirements of the practice and moving step by step through the various techniques, all of which are used in Śīrṣāsana.”
– Originally published by the KYM Darśanam February 1994
Download or view this article as a PDF
Share this:
Introduction to the Yoga Makaranda by TKV Desikachar
Introduction to the Yoga Makaranda by TKV Desikachar
Extract from the issue of KYM Darśanam published in November 1993,
it was written by TKV Desikachar as an introduction to a serialisation of the Yoga Makaranda
which ran over 10 issues of the magazine until February 1996.
“I would like to bring to the notice some important aspects of this book to help understand the context in which it was written and to avoid misinterpretation.
Share this:
The force called Śakti or Kuṇḍalinī is indeed Prāṇa……
“Then he has certain ideas also about Kuṇḍalinī.
The force is Prāṇa,
the force called Śakti or Kuṇḍalinī is indeed Prāṇa.
The only means that can have any effect is the use of Prāṇāyāma,
with emphasis on exhalation and the Bandha,
aided by devotional chantings.
And the evolution of Kuṇḍalinī is very much linked to the person’s state of mind and Vairāgya.”
– TKV Desikachar from lectures on ‘The Yoga of T Krishnamacharya’,
given at Zinal, Switzerland 1981.
Share this:
There is nothing better than Prāṇāyāma for this preparation…..
Religiousness in Yoga Study Guide: Chapter Ten Theory
‘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 10 Theory: Prāṇāyāma – Pages 133-144
Share this:
It is beyond our conscious effort to move the Prāṇa.
“It is beyond our conscious effort to move the Prāṇa.
What is within our conscious effort is the breath,
so we use the breath to make this movement possible.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Ten Page 142
Share this:
Nobody can control the Prāṇa…..
“Nobody can control the Prāṇa,
it has its own movement.
We create a condition in which the Prāṇa returns.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Ten Page 141
