108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 37 – According to the Paramparā of  Krishnamacharya and Desikachar…

According to the Paramparā of
Krishnamacharya and Desikachar,
Āsana begets Mudrā,
Mudrā begets Prāṇāyāma,
Prāṇāyāma begets Pratyāhāra,
Pratyāhāra begets Dhāraṇā,
Dhāraṇā begets Dhyāna.
Of these five Upāya, only
Dhyāna is Meditation.

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

Observation must have a direction and be complete…

TKV Desikachar teaching at Gaunts House

“Observation must have a direction and be complete.
We always have a tendency to tell more than what we see,
which is a mistake.
If we tell somebody that they have a problem,
yet we know that we will not be able to give them a solution
because of a lack of time or any other reason,
maybe we are going to hurt them.
Therefore,
we should first make sure that we have a solution to offer.”
– TKV Desikachar 1981

108 Mudrā Practice Pointers – 28 – As with Pranayama, the role and practice of Mudra needs to be considered…

As with Prāṇāyāma, the role and practice of Mudrā
needs to be considered from two distinct, but
complementary and developmental viewpoints.
In other words, there are Mudrā that are primarily
utilised within the context of Haṭha Yoga and there are
Mudrā that are utilised within the context of Rāja Yoga.
Within these two viewpoints, there are also those Mudrā
that can be applied in either context, depending on the
Saṃkalpa and Bhāvana employed by the practitioner.

Link to Series: 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 157 – Dhyanam is both a Sadhana and a Siddhi…

Dhyānam is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Dhāraṇā,
as well as a Sādhana for Samādhi.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

Then what is required is the clarity…

srimad_bhagavad_gita

“Then what is required is
the clarity that is stable in
the midst of provocation and
the ability to do ones duty
with complete dedication,
without insisting on results.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Six
(Yāmunācārya commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two)

View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated

108 Yoga Planning Pointers – 47 – There is also a third factor besides voluntary efforts and involuntary effects…

A third factor, that of Respect for Responses

1. There is also a third factor besides the relationship
between voluntary efforts and involuntary effects,
namely a person’s response to the notion of effort and effect.
In the travel from our everyday postures to Yoga postures
we need to consider respect for the idea of responses.
We can often ignore the body’s response to our efforts
within our aims and intentions for ideals, such as in Āsana.
Voluntary efforts and involuntary effects are the variables.

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Viniyoga of Practice Planning Principles

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Practice Planning and Practice Theory Questions

Yoga is that which enables us to sustain what is required…

“Yoga is that which enables us
to sustain what is required and
reduce that which is not required.”
(Here Yoga is Avasthā)
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 13

When I do something is it because I want to do it or……

“When I do something is it
because I want to do it,
or am I being led to
do it by the mind?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 9

The Bhagavad Gītā is addressed to those seekers…

srimad_bhagavad_gita

“The Bhagavad Gītā is addressed to those seekers
who are suffering because of lack of clarity with
regard to friendship, compassion and Dharma.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Five
(Yāmunācārya’s commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter One)

View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated

108 Gītā Study Pointers – 9 – The Yoga of dejection, rejection and projection.

“The Yoga of dejection, rejection and projection.”
– Paul Harvey Introduction to Bhagavad Gītā Chapter One

Link to Series 108 Gītā Study Pointers

View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated

108 Gītā Study Pointers – 8 – The journey with and through the Bhagavad Gītā is one of a Vinyāsa Krama…

“The journey with and through the Bhagavad Gītā
is one of a Vinyāsa Krama with three distinct stages.
Firstly, the Pūrva Aṅga aspect of our journey in the ascension
from confusion to clarity, as epitomised in the first hexad.
Here we start from being disturbingly yoked to Viṣāda
as in the first Chapter, and through a chapter by chapter
process, we deepen our self-inquiry into the nature of who.
In other words, this hexad is an exploration of our relationship
with what we perceive and identify with as if our perennial self.
Through chapters two to five, we learn how to approach and
refine the practice of Dhyāna as in Chapter six, through which
clarity arises in our efforts to cultivate a sense of an inner guide.”
Paul Harvey on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Two

Link to Series 108 Gītā Study Pointers

View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes as Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated

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Design and Experiment with a Practice around Baddha Koṇāsana and Mahā Mudrā…

Design and Experiment with a Practice around Baddha Koṇāsana and Mahā Mudrā

– Staying in Baddha Koṇāsana for a minimum of 8 breaths and Mahā Mudrā for a minimum of 8 breaths each side

The Vinyāsa Krama or planning steps in the practice will be for a total of 90 working breaths.

– It will be based around Āsana and Mudrā especially Baddha Koṇāsana and Mahā Mudrā.
– In this instance, the practice will not include any Prāṇāyāma or Dhyāna.

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108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 156 – Dhāraṇā is both a Sadhana and a Siddhi…

Dhāraṇā is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Pratyāhāra,
as well as a Sādhana for Dhyāna.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

It is not the request but where it is coming from.

“It is not the request but where it is coming from.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two verse 7

View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated

Nāma, Rūpa, Lakṣana – The Name, Form and Characteristics of Āsana…

Āsana practice also implies as well as practicing,  we need to know something about the Āsana we are going to work with as we introduce, persevere and develop and especially personalise our practice. Hence we have to both practice but also have some theoretical background in order to context an Āsana in itself and in relationship to both other Āsana and to Yoga.

Thus, guided studies through all the aspects involved in Āsana practice and teaching within the field of Āsana involved firstly, as an adjunct to embracing a personal practice, getting to know one’s tools in terms of what. In other words, how to use them without any particular consideration of who, or even why.

This learning into what are the tools we use in Yoga practice and how we learn to apply them on a personal basis, as a novice musician might with regard to their art, were essential first steps. These steps into what and how also preceded learning on how to apply these tools as a Yoga teacher. Even here though, should we be interested in imparting Yoga to others, is it to a person or group wishing to explore and learn the principles as well as the practice?

In other words, being involved with a student wanting to learn Yoga for Yoga, rather than the more usual demand of coming to Yoga for X, Y or Z.  The first aspect within this approach to Yoga as Yoga is study around the definition, meaning and context of Āsana as a primary tool. This first step encompasses the concepts of Nāma, Rūpa and Lakṣaṇa or  what is the name, form and characteristics of the Āsana we wish to engage with.

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108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 155 – Pratyāhāra is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi…

Pratyāhāra is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Prāṇāyāma,
as well as a Sādhana for Dhāraṇā.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 55

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

Notes from a lecture by TKV Desikachar – ‘Is Veda a Religion?’

The Brahma Sūtra is the source of Hinduism or Hindu Philosophy or Vedānta.

It acknowledges the Veda as the source of its teachings,
hence the term Vedānta, within which there are three main streams:

1. People who believe in One
(Advaita or school of non-dualism advocated by Śaṅkara)

2. People who believe in One with certain characteristics
(Viśiṣṭādvaita or school of qualified non-dualism advocated by Rāmānuja)

3. People who believe in Two and they cannot be reconnected
(Dvaita or school of dualism advocated by Madhva)

So Vedānta is one product of the Veda but their are five more

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To practice Dhyānam there are two questions…

“To practice Dhyāna
there are two questions
we need to ask,
Can I hold an object?
Can I sustain that hold?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated

108 Postural Practice Pointers – 48 – In supporting the cultivation of the subtler aspects of…

In supporting a cultivation, within or through Āsana,
of the subtler aspects of Bāhya Aṅga Sādhana, such
as Pratyāhāra, it can be a more helpful marker to be on
the lookout for sensory incontinence, rather than say,
being more preoccupied with physical choreography.

Such as how we can unconsciously leak, through randomly
opening the eyes or vaguely keeping the eyes open, when
transiting into or changing sides around such as seated Āsana.

For example, arriving into or departing from a choreographically
demanding asymmetrical Āsana such as Ardha Matsyendrāsana.
In other words, remaining alert and using the space between the
breath when moving from or returning to its link Āsana, Daṇḍāsana.

Another example is the potential for sensory incontinence when
moving into or out of or especially when changing sides, with
more popular or familiar seated Āsana such as Janu Śīrṣāsana.

Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Āsana and Mudrā Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling,
Lying, Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting

The breath should be slow, smooth and powerful…

“The breath should be slow, smooth and powerful.
It should be held for 1”-2” after the inhale to prevent contraction.
Retention is also the extension of the hold after the exhale
and it is carried out to retain the state of contraction.
It is necessary to complete an exhale otherwise the inhale will get shorter.
Contraction of the stomach after the exhale will make it more effective.”
– TKV Desikachar England 1992