More than the time factor, it is important to repeat the action on the joints everyday. Like in Surya namaskar, the same actions are done quite a few times. The connective tissue around the joints learn to give in by repetition. Intensity is fine too, but repetition is more important. I have understood this after I started practicing the KYM style. In a week, I practice many styles that appeal to me. KYM, Vinyasa flow, Aṣtanga and my own style. When I practice the KYM style, I notice that my joints relax way more and I can go deeper into all the poses. KYM style is where a simple sequence is repeated about 6 times, coordinating the movements with the breath. The breath is never hurried, it is really slow long deep breaths. And, the bonus is that I always want to meditate at the end of the session, which does not happen with any other style. Meditating even for a  few minutes was always a challenge for me, it was an alien concept. But nowadays I am getting the hang of it.

It is not just the joints and the muscles that learn by repetition. Even the mind is supposed to learn only by repetition. The Surya namaskar mantra, gayatri and many other prayers associated with the Sun are chanted every day to greet the Sun and to purge the mistakes of the previous day. The yamas (Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha) and niyamas (Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Swadhyaya, Ishvarapranidhana) of Yoga are also to be practiced all the time and one can get to this only by repetition.

Shampoo. Rinse. Repeat. Good advice.

So many poses in the Aṣtanga primary series, so little time to do. So, I practice my own Aṣtanga inspired home practice. I move the headstand before shoulder stand sequence and change a few others. At KYM, I was taught that shoulder stand is the counter pose for headstand and I understand how it works on the neck. I do mellow vinyasas with knees on floor as the practice goes beyond an hour. I cannot do too many chaturangas. Of course, PJ (Pattabhi Jois) wouldn’t approve if he saw me doing this sequence. But, I don’t approve of him either, having changed all the important Sanskrit yoga terminology. So, it is ok.

Now that my knee is slightly better, I try to practice Aṣtanga in the weekends. It takes more than 2 hours to get this done. How can anyone manage doing all this, every single day?

I was also inspired by the Ramana Maharshi Ashram in Tiruvannamalai. It is the only ashram that I enjoyed going to. I find the main hall there so peaceful. It is just an empty room with the shrine of Ramana Maharshi.  I have been copying the style of being in an almost empty room since then. I enjoy it a  lot. Every time, I move out a few things from the house, I notice that I breathe better. Things just affect my breathing. Open empty spaces are so beautiful.

Chapter 4

Walden

I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those
who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the
theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and never
ceased to be novel.  It was a drama of many scenes and without an
end.  If we were always, indeed, getting our living, and regulating
our lives according to the last and best mode we had learned, we
should never be troubled with ennui.  Follow your genius closely
enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh prospect every
hour.  Housework was a pleasant pastime.  When my floor was dirty, I
rose early, and, setting all my furniture out of doors on the grass,
bed and bedstead making but one budget, dashed water on the floor,
and sprinkled white sand from the pond on it, and then with a broom
scrubbed it clean and white; and by the time the villagers had
broken their fast the morning sun had dried my house sufficiently to
allow me to move in again, and my meditations were almost
uninterrupted.  It was pleasant to see my whole household effects out
on the grass, making a little pile like a gypsy’s pack, and my
three-legged table, from which I did not remove the books and pen
and ink, standing amid the pines and hickories.  They seemed glad to
get out themselves, and as if unwilling to be brought in.  I was
sometimes tempted to stretch an awning over them and take my seat
there.  It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these things,
and hear the free wind blow on them; so much more interesting most
familiar objects look out of doors than in the house.  A bird sits
on the next bough, life-everlasting grows under the table, and
blackberry vines run round its legs; pine cones, chestnut burs, and
strawberry leaves are strewn about.  It looked as if this was the
way these forms came to be transferred to our furniture, to tables,
chairs, and bedsteads — because they once stood in their midst.

I was at a “vinyasa” class last week. Music was Jazz. Sade and others were taking turns to provide the vocals.  The instructor told us to press on the golden egg between the root chakra and the genitals. Some more chakra talk continued. My golden rule of thumb had always been to avoid a class where the teacher talks about chakras. I normally draw the line at bandhas. Most instructors understand bandhas. Chakra talk is so DC (Deepak Chopra) and is what I classify as saccharine sweet. It is mostly mumbo jumbo to me. I understand chakras in the real yogic sense, but not in a yoga class where the instructor is trying to sound cool.

In my home practice, I follow the KYM and astanga style. The breath is super long, the asanas look like it is done in slow motion. There is no hurry to jump through things in milliseconds. The “Vinyasa power” uses a lot of movements so quickly, that my knees buckle. Moving from a mostly hyper extended trikonasana to warrior 2 to ardha chandrasana to standing splits. What does it all mean to the knee? Is it okay to put your knee through all these movements one after the other? This style is torture to my knees and my breath. My knee screams violence. Especially the ardha chandrasana, the standing splits and the lunges. The darling poses of western vinyasa power.

One aspect of my issue is the knee injury, for sure. What matters is also the yoga instructor. I believe any style of yoga can be good if the instructor is good. I have attended amazing Bikram, Vinyasa, Hatha, Astanga classes. Each one of them can turn bad if the instructor is just so so. The yoga education, practice of a teacher matters a lot and how they translate their knowledge to guide the class. It is a combination of things.

For now, I have decided to take a break from vinyasa power in Vancouver. It is quite possible the teachers are not as good as in San Francisco. Or it may be that I am attached to my experiences of San Francisco. I have also been studying a lot about Yoga and I have changed a lot too since I went to India and KYM. My understanding of Yoga has gained a lot of depth as well.

Vinyasa power feels like Bollywood yoga and Disney combined in one. Everything is perfect, color coordinated, sweet, cute, lots of songs, nice outfits and so predictable. I have decided to go Indie and try other styles. “Hatha” seems to make sense to me as the asanas are done at a much slower pace and does not feel too scripted. I keep reading about Yin. I will try that as well. Ultimately, I will be happy in a yoga class which does not use music. Silence must be encouraged and that is the style what I enjoy the most. Astanga fits the bill for most part, but just a little too aggressive for me.

I am looking for a style that has no music and a little mild. I hope this is not too much to ask. No offense to Sade, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Reggae, Rock, Trance and others.

Using music is alright, if the music used is good. I am aware of the reggae, rock, trance and all the variations.  In San Francisco, the music choice was quite decent. Even though the Sanskrit was butchered in all the new age lounge music, it still had a rhythm. Om Man-ee pad-meh hooooom. During my teacher training in San Francisco, I was even taught how important music is and how it must be used to build a tempo. Personally, I do not want to use music as it is a distraction to go to Apple music and buy the songs. It costs extra and it is unnecessary nuisance. If I do use music in my class, I make sure it is interesting.

I go to “Vinyasa” and “hatha” yoga classes in Vancouver just to mix up my home practice and a led class. There is no special importance placed on the music. It would be better without music, but they play some kind of elevator music. Same constant thing with no rhythm. Sun Salutations or Savasana, it is the same.

What do my readers think of using music in a yoga class?

One of the interesting points is that either weak quads lead to poor knees or that the poor knees lead to weak quads. The author says, no matter what is causing the other one to perform badly, the solution is simple. Start strengthening the quads which eventually improves the knees. Most of the time, an injury or an issue with the knee starts to waste or weaken the quads.

The author says there are four key things that a good knee must have- strength, flexibility, proprioception and endurance. He suggests simple and effective exercises for each one of them. My favorite one is proprioception, by which you should be able to feel the muscles by closing your eyes. Close the eyes and balance on just one leg. I enjoy this exercise a lot.

Lack of flexibility in the hips and knee make one walk slower. I found this an interesting fact. Flexibility of the knee can be tremendously improved by stretches. Hamstring stretches and quad stretches. A lot of yoga asanas can help in this. Strangely, the author does not mention yoga here. Instead, he uses “body-mind technique”.

This is my grouse with the author. He also recommends “relaxation response” which is nothing but Pranayama and meditation. He refrains from using these words. He says a technique of repeating a word or short phrase like “One” or “Our Father who art in heaven” is known to help solve the knee injury. There is also a section which says knee issues can be caused by psychological variables. Depression and anxiety are known to aggravate knee issue. May be these variables are the blocks in the mind which the yoga teacher used.

My own self analysis of my injury after reading the book is that there may be a tear in the ligament. This is a serious problem which might need surgery in bad cases. I am not sure how effective the medical insurance plan is in Canada. Pretty sure, it is better than the US if I believe Roger Moore’s Sicko. I plan to check out my knee thoroughly next time I go to India.

I am in a new country, new space. I usually like to get atleast a few surya namaskars. But, no. There is absolutely no space at the hostel that I am staying at. This being Canada, there are no rooftops. I guess snow makes it harder to have flat rooftoops. And, I do not want to go to a public class. Besides being a cheapskate, I am in no mood to shell out $$ to listen to someone saying all the unwanted sugar coated chakra bliss talk nor am I ready for a power sweaty class. I want to get back to my own practice. But, that will have to wait for now. Without my yoga practice, I almost forget to breathe. Time to get started on my pranayama practice. No reason that cannot be done for lack of space.

One of my teachers had mentioned that upward facing dog was like Golden Gate bridge.  You balance only with your hands and the tops of the feet. The rest of your body is suspended between this strong support of the hands and the feet. What a great visual! This image stuck with me forever, for there are not too many things more beautiful than GG bridge.

It expands the chest, strengthens the spine, helps blood circulate in the pelvic region.

Cobra has no drama or elegance. If upward facing dog can help the spine get stronger, I would like to avoid Cobra. I look up Yoga bible (Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar) to shed more light on these two poses. I see they are listed one after the other. Lie on the floor, lift the body up from the trunk and throw the head back like a serpent about to strike. I like the description. Embody the spirit of the animal, like in Kalari.

Bhujangasan is listed as a pose that can help the spine, even an injured spine with slightly displaced discs. This pose helps replace the discs in their original position. How powerful is that! I am beginning to like Bhujangasan already. It is also a milder pose than upward facing dog, in terms of strength required to execute.

As I have tight hamstrings, I have to be very careful when I do the forward bends, as it puts tremendous pressure on these delicate joints of the spine. I do keep my knees slightly bent and am careful in forward bends. Now, I know Cobra can help me sort out the damage that I might have caused to the spine. So, I get the answer to my question. Even though the upward dog and cobra strengthen the spine, they do a few more things differently. Cobra and Dog are related, yet different in where the energy is initiated. Cobra starts at the pelvis and the lower spine. Upward dog’s energy lies in the chest, support of hands and feet.

Here’s a nice video that explains Cobra and Up dog.

Then I ended up at KYM, where one can find the real explanation to all things Yoga. One of my teachers at KYM mentioned that Surya namaskar is a complete exercise. The namaskars have built in counter poses, forward bends and backward bends, flexions and extensions. When you do the Surya namaskars, you will work out the shoulders, spine, the hip joints, hamstrings, hands, chest, neck, ankles, toes and more. Downward facing dog is similar to an inversion in its benefits. If you just add in a few parivrtta trikonasana (revolved triangle) at the end, you have worked out most of your body. Pranayama is built into this sequence. Of course, it is a prayer to the Sun, who is the sustainer of life to enhance good health. This is a way to take in the radiance of the Sun inside you to energize and begin the day.

In the Vedic times, people used to recite mantras during the hold between an inhale and exhale, which would make the practice very deep. At KYM, I have practiced Surya namaskars having outsourced the mantra recitation to the teacher and it was a very beautiful experience. Namaskar itself is not done in a hurry; every inhale and exhale is long to go with the mantra. Each inhale could be 7 seconds or more in length. Just slowing down and concentrating on the powers of the Sun was a new way to practice.

The gayatri mantra is also a mantra of the Sun, among others. Strangely, Sun is portrayed as a woman. Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati are the three names of the Sun. The morning sun is Gayatri, Savitri is the noon sun and and Saraswati is the setting sun.

Surya namaskars with or without mantras is a great sequence to practice when there is just 30 minutes of yoga time in a day. I can say for sure, practicing this in the morning is way better, as the body tends to remember for a few hours to breathe slow as you carry on with your daily life.

Now that I am not working, I have all the time at my disposal. I am not sure if that  is  such a good thing. Having so much free unstructured time does not mean that I am ‘doing’ more yoga. I think I am doing just as much when I was working full time.

Sometimes, when I get on the mat in the mornings, I get this feeling that I should read Sri Krishnamcharya’s books for the thousandth time to see how his practice was in Tibet. I need to figure out the specifics of a Kalari pose, was it 75 degrees or 90 degrees between the spine and the legs? Or how can I get the special powers as described by Patañjali. I think I should learn to levitate.

I hear myself thinking that I can anyway practice at 4 in the afternoon. Then at 4 in the afternoon, I have this big dilemma. Actually, in India nobody practices yoga in the afternoon, it has to be only in the morning. I think this is what I have read. I must skip now and get back to my morning practice. Then I have this strange amnesia in the morning, sort of like the ground hog day. I have missed practicing yoga many days, just getting in this kind of talk with too much time on hand. I finally exit the ground hog day realizing that this break time is so precious and make up for the lost time.

My conclusion is that if I work full time or not, I practice just the same amount. May be I practice just a little less, when I have all the time on earth. Then I hear a few of my yogi friends saying that they are skipping yoga as they are so busy with work. It will be easy to practice when they have a lot of free time. As far as I can see, this really is not an issue of time. If something is important enough, it will be done. This is most likely one of the obstacles, my man Patañjali talks about in his work. Fatigue or lack of time usually is a projection of the confused mind. That is when I get to Patañjali’s work and be so impressed with his thought process and always imbibe clarity.

Can the self guide itself out of its self created misery? To answer that comes Ground hog day. Enjoy!