YSTT2015 : Richard Rosen's Workshop at Yoga Shanti NYC Feb. 15th, 2015

Forgotten Hatha

Mark Singleton's book, Yoga Body, the Origins of Modern Posture Practice, traces the evolution of yoga from the ancient texts to its newer, "contemporary" form. A lot of asanas were derived from Indian wrestling and gymnastics. Singleton sheds light on how yoga has changed into its new incarnation in the west. In ancient times, asana was not the main emphasis of yoga.

"Hatha" once was really just pranayama

Richard Rosen has been attempting to uncover what is missing in modern yoga; namely the practices of mudra, meditation, and pranayama. He worked with the Encyclopedia of Traditional Asanas, which contained 900 asanas in alphabetical order. Richard's interest was in condensing and classifying these ancient asanas into categories. The Encyclopedia contained a lot of squats, but very few standing postures and backbends.

Richard's discovery was that a lot of modern interpretations of ancient asanas have been "jazzed up".

(Sidenote-- He intended to name his book "Homage to the Source" but for publishing appeal it was called "Original Yoga") Original Yoga

He sees 2 streams of yoga:

1). Yoga as Exercise: Nothing wrong with yoga as exercise to improve vitality and physical health. There is a precedent within traditional yoga that totes the practice as an antidote to physical ailments. Asana can indeed, promote longevity, health, cure disease, etc.

2). Yoga as More than Exercise: Richard notes that practitioners are starting to realize that there is more to yoga than physical exercise. "Our whole lives are embodied in our bodies" and we can hold our past experiences in the body-- the practice sparks our consciousness, awareness of being aware.

Currently there's a strong undercurrent that we are moving to a more spiritual way of life. It was thought that Vivakananda brought meditation to the West. In actuality, Indra Devi (Sri T. Krishnamacharya's first female disciple) was credited with being the pioneer of bringing meditation to the west.

"Atta" means "now". Now we do yoga. Classic yoga was NOT therapy. It was a means of being present, working in the "now."

Yamas and niyamas are actually trying to isolate us, to take us OUT of relationships and worldly attachments. We have westernized and moralized the Yamas and Niyamas here in the west.

For example:

Brahmacharya ~ Currently interpretted as "Nonexcess" and being mindful in sexual relationships, was originally (in ancient texts) intended to mean abstaining from sex altogether

Yes, YOGA means "Union" but it also means methods or techniques= UNION TECHNIQUES

Classic yoga is about non-dualism, or starting with union. Union is not the goal, as we are already in union. Union is merely revealed by the yoga practice. Yoga is not a journey or a path but a state of being.

Classical criteria of asana:

* Sitting still, comfortably. A balance between rigidity and plasticity.

Criteria of pranyama:

* Working towards quieting the breath, to lead to meditation

Watch the breath. Slow it down and smooth it out to calm the vritti/brain. Create a witness that will accompany you throughout the day, well AFTER your pranayama practice

Watch over what you do, in a noncritical way. Observation leads to changes. "Be aware of being an idiot"

The pause is the essence of the practice,

The pause between the inhale and the exhale

Movie screen analogy:

The pause is akin to the screen that comes on in the movie theater. There is stillness, a white screen.

The stillness is the white screen in which the breath is being projected.

PRACTICE:

Assist:

We practiced an awareness assist in Viransana-- teacher gives student of collar bones lifting, like Superman's cape-- give them the feeling of the circuitry of the spine. Slide your hands down your students back, in towards the scapula to open up shoulders, then slide your hands down back and spin fingers out to the sides to soften the muscles around the diaphragm. Pressing the muscles away from spine, slide your hands down to sacrum so back of the pelvis widens, and pubis stretches towards the floor (*not tucking the tailbone, but sharpening the tailbone).

Hold base of student's skull and lift away from back of neck so there is space in the "3rd eye" at the base of the cervical spine and occipital ridge. Tongue softens into its own shavasana, the soft palette domes upwards

This creates an openess from the chest and base of skull. Take Jalandara Bandhaby drawing chest up and swiveling the chin over the crook of the neck.

The goal is to make MORE space in asana

Making space is essential to Richard's practice, as he has Parkinson's disease. Groins and Shoulders are the main areas to make space.

We aren't working with bodies, but with souls. See what your students are all about. Never force things they don't want to do. Start with 1). verbal cues, then 2) body intellence cues, then 3) physical assists

"Give as much as you can to as many people as possible. The world is included in the practice." Teaching is a social responsibility. Give when you can.

Suggested Book-- The Book Of Knowledge, Vijnana Bharadvja contains 112 different meditations which use the world as meaning as a basis of meditations. Uses examples from everyday outer world to find the inner landscape.

Hatha (Hat.ta)

Out of 8.4 million asanas Richard defines 4 as the most important:

* LOTUS

* SIDDHASANA

* VAJASANA (really what we now call Baddhakonasana)

* SIMHASANA -- Lion's breath

Every pose begins with its own opposite. Backbend before forward bend.

We practiced Paschimottanasana-- backbend and lengthening before "folding" forward.

Paschimottanasana is an example of one of the poses that has been repurposed here in the West. Now considered a pose in which the west side of the body is stretching, the purpose is to forces pranyama into the shushumna nadi