Personal Practice of the Ashtanga Primary Series

2 Comments / patanjali, Pattabhi Jois, yoga, yoga practice

I practice Ashtanga by myself sometimes. It can be liberating in ways that a studio can’t fulfill. Every time I complete the primary series, I feel so empowered and at peace. I learned the primary series from an instructor in Boston that I forget, but ever since then have felt like I have permission to practice it by myself. Here is what I practice:

Start with the chant to Patanjali:

“vande gurunam caranaravinde sandarsitasvatma sukhava bodhe nih sreyase jangalikayamane samsara halahala mohasantyai abahu purusakaram sankhacakrasi dharinam sahasra sirasam svetam pranamami patanjalim”

Patanjali

Then begin sun salutation A, completing 5 times with 3-5 resting breathes in Adho Mukha Svanasana each time

Samastitihi > raise hands to sun > Uttanasana > Arda-Uttanasana > jumpt to Chataranga > Urdhva Mukha Svanasana > Adho Mukha Svanasana > jump to Uttanasana > Arda-Uttanasana > raise hands to the sun > Samastitihi

Begin Sun Salutation B for 5 reps, this time taking 5 breathes in Adho Mukha Svanasana

Samastitihi > Utkatasana > Uttanasana > Arda-Uttanasana > jump to Chataranga > Urdhva Mukha Svanasana > Adho Mukha Svanasana > Virabhadrasana A (right) > Chataranga > Urdhva Mukha Svanasana > Adho Mukha Svanasana > Virabhadrasana A (left) > Chataranga > Urdhva Muhka Svanasana > Adho Mukha Svanasana > Arda-Uttanasana > Uttanasana > Utkatasana > Samastitihi

Then we begin the standing postures, doing salutations into mountain pose between each posture

Padagustasana (ragdoll) > Pada Hastasana (palms under feet) > Uttitha-Trikonasana (both sides) > Parivrtta-Uttitha-Trikonasana (both sides) > Uttitha-Parsvokonasana (both sides) > Parivrtta-Uttitha-Trikonasana (both sides) > Prasaritta-Padottanasana > Prasaritta Padottanasana B (hands to hips) > Prasaritta-Padottanasana C (hands in fist behind back) > Prasaritta-Padottanasana D (pointer and middle finger to big toe) > Parsvottanasana (both sides) > Uttitha-Hasta-Padagustasana A, B, C (hand to foot in front, rotate to side, remove hand and extend leg forward) (both sides) > Arda Baddha Padmottanasana (both sides) > Utkatasana > Virabhadrasana A (both sides) > Virabhadrasana B (both sides)

After Warrior 2, then we move into seated postures, continuing sun salutation A between each posture

Adorned Krishna at Patanjali Temple-Bellur India
Adorned Krishna at Patanjali Temple-Bellur India (Photo credit: Keith “Captain Photo” Cuddeback)

Dandasana > Paschimottanasana A, B (fingers to big toes, bound hands outside feet) > Purvattanasana > Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana (half bound lotus with hand outside of foot) > Triang Mukhaekapada Paschimottanasana (resting foot behind, hands bound outside feet) > Janu Sirsanana A, B, C (foot inside thigh, foot under thigh, foot facing down below thigh) > Marichyasana A, B, C, D (hands bound behind bent knee, stretched foot into thigh, rebind outside in, bend knee into bound grip) > Navasana > Bujapidasana > Kurmasana > Supta Kurmasana > Garbha Pindasana > Kukkutasana > Baddha Konasana A, B > Upavista Konasana A, B > Supta Konasana > Supta Padagustasana A, Supta Padagustasana > Ubhaya Padagusthasana > Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana > Setu Bandhasana > Urdhva Danurasana

By now you should be ready to cool down, this is an enormous amount of postures and the full sequence can take over 2 hours. Finish with:

Salamba Sarvangasana > Halasana > Karnapidasana > Urdhva Padmasana > Pindasana > Mathsyasana > Uttana Padasana > Sirsanana A > Sirsanana B > Yoga Mudra (double bound lotus) > Padmasana > Utpluthih > Savasana

Now you can take a closing chant, which tend to be very powerful:

svasti prajabhyah paripalayantam nyayena margena mahim mahisah go brahmanebhyah subhamastu nityam lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

And the practice is concluded.

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Samsara and the Laws of Thermodynamics

1 Comment / yoga philosophy

Samsara is the idea of past lives, of reincarnation. This idea comes from the earliest spiritual traditions: Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, and Hinduism all share in the belief of past lives that are influenced by Karma, or actions one takes during the course of a lifetime. Even the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, one of the first creators of the idea of celestial archetypes or form, believed in the infinite quality of the soul which can achieve liberation through unity with the divine.

These traditions are most likely influenced by the Upanishads, which were written around 600 BC. The ideas of Moksha, liberation/salvation of the soul; Brahman, the nature of the ultimate reality; and Sruti, truths were all passed down in oral tradition from teacher to student. Upanishad is Sanskrit for “sitting down near” which refers to the spread of the ancient knowledge and they were initially kept secret, though they had multiple authors.

I don’t think that the passing of energy is as simple as past lives. One needs to take into consideration the constant flow of conscious energy, rather than accumulation and release into a new life-form upon death. The laws of thermodynamics teaches us that energy is neither created or destroyed, it is simply transformed. Therefore the conscious energy that we receive, consume, and generate is neither created nor destroyed, only transferred between beings and forms. I think that this theory is far more likely than some idealistic view of heaven, rooted an old Norse idea exemplified in Beowulf. Many languages use the same word for sky and heaven.

Representation of samsara in Budism (detail).
Representation of samsara in Buddhism (detail). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I believe that a transfer of conscious energy is the key to understanding what the concept of Samsara truly means. Each day, the people we interact with, talk with, share space and time with are the people we spread our consciousness to. This is why we truly live on through our children and the people we influence on a daily basis, while we transfer our consciousness on a daily basis. Maybe we do, in fact, rebirth our energies over time and space in a fashion similar to the belief of Buddhists. Consider that each star has a gravitational effect on each person on the Earth, though slight. Maybe the system we are considering is too large for our minds to truly comprehend.

Basically, I am saying that we should not just jump to conclusions about having a past life, because we really don’t know. I have heard about children claiming to have been master painters in past lives, but honestly, if they can’t reproduce the work the point is moot. That would lead me to believe the “gifted” child’s beliefs are a result of parental influence rather than subjective conscious experience. But the key is the concept, that conscious energy spreads through each of our actions and thoughts and that our actions truly do echo throughout eternity.

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“The goal is ne…

Leave a Comment / detachment, patanjali, yoga, yoga philosophy, yoga practice

“The goal is near for those who are supremely vigorous and intense in practice”
Patanjali

Yogis who practice with enthusiasm, self-honesty, and high levels of energy are close to reaching Samadhi, or the supremely blissful state of existence. But sometimes, even the most intense and powerful of aspirants may become mild or average, slow and moderate in his practice.

This is part of the Sutras where Patanjali talks about the different categories of practitioners and their path on the yoga journey to enlightenment. I interpret this as attempting to give continued inspiration to people who take their practice seriously, and gives understanding that even the most powerful and steadfast of yogis will experience some turbulence on the journey. Bad days happen. Consistency is key with yoga, so detaching from the performance of a practice is key, especially for the impassioned yogi.

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Patanjali on partial understanding

Leave a Comment / patanjali, yoga, yoga philosophy

“Uncertain knowledge giving rise to violence, whether done directly or indirectly, or condoned, is caused by greed, anger, or delusion in mild, moderate, or intense degree. It results in endless pain and ignorance. Through introspection comes the end of pain and ignorance.”

Patanjali, Yoga Sutras

Patanjali (most believe this personification of the yoga guru to be a compilation of ancient Hindu philosophers, rather than an individual)

This quote refers to acting according to uncertain knowledge and how it leads towards painful experiences. Just knowing a part of the story is not enough to act or truly understand a situation; this is why detachment from the situation is important. Then you can examine which variables that are unknown as decide what is likely, while detaching from the conclusion as well. Then no matter the situation or outcome, the yogi is peaceful, calm, and happy. I think that partial knowledge is perfectly useful, but action should be carefully examined before acting on a partial understanding.

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Riding an edge

Leave a Comment / journal

It seems like no matter what you are doing, you are always trying to find a balance between two opposing forces. It happens in surfing, snowboarding, biking, running, swimming, football tackles, rugby, relationships, daily routines, and even yoga. And when you’re riding an edge, time seems to slow, I really think it can signify true growth.

In yoga, its that edge of discomfort that becomes relaxation at the end of a class or practice. Starting to stretch initially isn’t too fun for anyone. But once you get started, it just feels so good, spending an hour and a half doing becomes easy. Hot yoga also boasts some incredible health benefits, and one of the cool things that it allows for is riding edges within your body.

So similar to a surfer riding a wave, or a skier plowing down a mountain at full speed, yogis experience a deepening and fulfilling practice because they get to see what their body is capable of. It is a deepening practice with fulfilling rewards.

Riding edges also allows people to dissolve their limits. No one really knows what they are capable of, they just have ideas and expectations. Expectations can be dangerous, because you don’t react to what is presently before you, you react to what used to be.Image

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Green Smoothies are the best

Leave a Comment / health, journal, nutrition

About a week ago, my mom bought a vita-mix. That was when my life changed. I use the jetplane sounding motor to grind up smoothies like never before and today, I mixed up a solid raw green drink with maca, bananas, spinach, and strawberries, added almond milk then ice and slowly rolled it up to the 6 on the dial. So it was puree.

I took about half into a huge jar I’ve been using for green drinks lately and used that for breakfast. I threw some in the freezer, and ate it after dinner, it tasted like ice cream because of the almond milk.

It was probably the most inoffensive green drink I’ve made, probably because I used two bananas and a nice amount of maca and almond milk. Spinach is usually pretty hard to drink, but I swear the ice cream was pretty amazing. Next time, I’d use some blueberries, raspberries to sweeten it, maybe a leaf or two of kale to base it out (be careful of ruining it though).

Raw Foods and juices have been used for thousands of years to recover from illness and detoxify the body. Quite simply, it takes life to give life.

-Paul Chek

Home 2021

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