Continued from Part 2 & Part 1..
[From a talk Saraswathi Vasudevan gave at Hyderabad. Part 3 of 3. Thanks to Suchitra Shenoy for transcribing it thoroughly.
Originally published in full on Suchitra Shenoy's page. ]
Q & A
What are the number of asanas?
…This whole idea of exploring many asanas…Yes, you need to take care of the body. But if we begin to identify with the body then that becomes an end by itself. You cannot get out of it. So when people come and ask, “How many asanas can you teach?” We say, “we will teach what is appropriate for you.” It is not a super-market where you pick and choose. We think if we can do so many asanas then that means I am fit and healthy. But doing too much of asanas can also cause problems.
On an average out of 50-60 postures, we pull about 10 or so to do per day…In our texts out of the 195 sutras only 3 pertain to asanas. So it is important to distinguish between yoga and asanas. Yoga is the large umbrella under which asanas reside.
How to cultivate shraddha?
Study, practice, reflect.
Studying the scriptures, the sutras.
My own practice will help me stay healthy so I can have a clear mind so that I can understand myself better. And that will show me the way.
Reflection, in a community. Because what I can’t see, you can show me. We can be mirrors for each other. That’s why community is such an important part of spiritual growth. Listening is a powerful medium of awakening the shraddha. We need to accept that we have our weak moments. A community is very important. One that is consciously coming together to move forward on this path (not just to have fun). Can we come together to do something meaningful?
Everyday we should do a bit of all three.
On yoga vs. running or walking
Yoga works all your muscles and systems. Other than swimming and wrestling all other forms exercise specific parts. So running is good for your heart and lower body. But what about your spine? Your neck? Your shoulders?
Yoga itself will show you the goal. Yoga will guide me and show me how to get there. 20 minutes to stay healthy and then work with a teacher. You need to do different kinds of asanas. Suryanamaskars alone is not a sarvangasaddhana (full body exercise).
If you are at the gym or running or playing a competitive sport, your blood is going to the extremities. Your sense organs have to on alert. You are in stress mode. So you can run or perform. In yoga asana practice there is circulation all through. Your internal organs are getting more blood. You can’t compare one with the other. That may give some benefits but you can’t substitute.
How did you create a community? What were the challenges?
Initially I really wanted to create a community and worked towards it. At some point I realized that I am not doing anything. If something is happening through grace then I just have to step out of the way, not get in the way. So can I deepen my practice and support the group, so that what will happen, will happen? I need to do it consciously -- to step back.
When we have a space for self-disclosure, and that space is held with compassion and a non-judgmental attitude, then the community can grow. We need to create such spaces. They don’t happen by default. We need to create a context to share. We should be able to listen and offer support. To be who we are. That gives us strength and purpose.
On individual practice
In the Krishnamacharya tradition it is not the same practice for everybody. We take into consideration who is this person, what is it that they need, what is it that they can do, what is their flexibility, what is their strength, what is their lifestyle, what is their health condition, what is their state of mind? We go into a thorough assessment of everything and we offer something that is appropriate for that individual which over a period of time is progressively changed.
It is changed to suit their changing needs. We are constantly changing – our minds, bodies, our life-context… So your practice should change.
And it is always one-on-one. For each person -- what can I offer?
When can I start yoga for my child?
The ideal age, Krishnamacharya has said, is when a child can say, “I am hungry, give me food.” Is that 4? 5?
Don’t give children rigourous practice. Expose them to yoga. Let them be there when you are doing it. It does not matter if they crawl under or over you. They will imitate you. If you have not fed it at that young age, and then if you try and get a teenager into a yoga class… :)
The seed has to be sown early. Parents have to practice. [lots of laughter]. We find yoga works when the parents practice. Taking kids to yoga class once a week is not enough. There needs to be a home environment. And even if they stop doing, they will come back to it.
We have a group in Chennai for children with special needs. We insist that parents and siblings have to come to it [as well]. The whole family practises together. Whether the children are getting anything out of it, parents are getting a lot…
What is a good time to start yoga?
Today.
Every day is a new beginning. Abhyasa means ‘today I have to start’. Tomorrow, again I have to start.
What was it like to learn from Desikachar?
From the beginning to the end of class he would throw questions. We would have to find the answers.
He would say, “Ok, come and do paschimutanasana.” The person has to do it. He would ask us, “How would you do it? how would you prepare her to do it?” Each one of us has to answer. Sometimes he would say, “No” or just be quiet. If I think another posture will work, I need to teach that person. In one week we would learn so much. Because if you have to teach it, you have to go home and practise.
Everything was through questioning. For someone doing bhujangasana, he would say, “See can you see how he is tilting his head?” I couldn’t see it. So I would keep looking and looking and looking.
Questioning was mostly his style of teaching. If he is happy there will be a little smile. Otherwise go back, read, observe, ask someone to do a posture. There was a lot of compassion. Because we were so scared. Only the foreigners would ask questions :) So he treated us with a lot of compassion.
He always knew what you wanted in the moment. Like sometimes I would be very depressed and would just go sit in front of him and cry. He would say, “I will chant for you.” He’d choose a long passage and chant for 40 minutes. By then I would have calmed down. I’d say, “Thank you, sir” and come away. He would have said nothing J No discussion, no questioning, just unconditional love and offering.
(Of course there were also times of seeing the other side of the teacher :) )
He always motivated us to do the best we could be.
Do you only get unwell people or do healthy people come as well?
We get people who think they are healthy :)
The problem is not in the body. Most of the time the problem is in the mind. What the mind is thinking… everything will come in the way. So you come with a knee pain, but actually all the time you are angry and frustrated, not able to rest…
Yoga therapy is all about creating a harmony between the body and the mind. We really believe that the body has the potential to heal if the right conditions are created. We look at diet, lifestyle, appropriate asana practice with breathing. The breathing reduces the pain. Then the person feels more empowered that he can deal with it. The empowerment comes in the mind.
So what is health? It is not purely at the physical level, right? It is a balance, a harmony. Can I be in touch with reality at a level where I am not shaken by what is happening around me so quickly. That level of strength is what I think yoga can give. Yoga will never promise that you will never fall sick… If you stay long enough [with yoga], it helps strengthen the mind to deal with the realities of life better.
How do you work on listening?
We do a lot of work where we get into groups of three where one is sharing, one is listening, one is observing. So we build it consciously.
But listening is also something that comes naturally when your mind is quiet. So if I can do a good pranayama practice and I sit down to listen, I listen even better.
When you see the value of that listening, when I can listen without holding onto my thoughts or my judgments, just that act of listening, can be so healing to the person who is sharing and to me, who is listening. When you see that power, you want to do it better.
[From a talk Saraswathi Vasudevan gave at Hyderabad. Part 3 of 3. Thanks to Suchitra Shenoy for transcribing it thoroughly.
Originally published in full on Suchitra Shenoy's page. ]
Q & A
What are the number of asanas?
…This whole idea of exploring many asanas…Yes, you need to take care of the body. But if we begin to identify with the body then that becomes an end by itself. You cannot get out of it. So when people come and ask, “How many asanas can you teach?” We say, “we will teach what is appropriate for you.” It is not a super-market where you pick and choose. We think if we can do so many asanas then that means I am fit and healthy. But doing too much of asanas can also cause problems.
On an average out of 50-60 postures, we pull about 10 or so to do per day…In our texts out of the 195 sutras only 3 pertain to asanas. So it is important to distinguish between yoga and asanas. Yoga is the large umbrella under which asanas reside.
How to cultivate shraddha?
Study, practice, reflect.
Studying the scriptures, the sutras.
My own practice will help me stay healthy so I can have a clear mind so that I can understand myself better. And that will show me the way.
Reflection, in a community. Because what I can’t see, you can show me. We can be mirrors for each other. That’s why community is such an important part of spiritual growth. Listening is a powerful medium of awakening the shraddha. We need to accept that we have our weak moments. A community is very important. One that is consciously coming together to move forward on this path (not just to have fun). Can we come together to do something meaningful?
Everyday we should do a bit of all three.
On yoga vs. running or walking
Yoga works all your muscles and systems. Other than swimming and wrestling all other forms exercise specific parts. So running is good for your heart and lower body. But what about your spine? Your neck? Your shoulders?
Yoga itself will show you the goal. Yoga will guide me and show me how to get there. 20 minutes to stay healthy and then work with a teacher. You need to do different kinds of asanas. Suryanamaskars alone is not a sarvangasaddhana (full body exercise).
If you are at the gym or running or playing a competitive sport, your blood is going to the extremities. Your sense organs have to on alert. You are in stress mode. So you can run or perform. In yoga asana practice there is circulation all through. Your internal organs are getting more blood. You can’t compare one with the other. That may give some benefits but you can’t substitute.
How did you create a community? What were the challenges?
Initially I really wanted to create a community and worked towards it. At some point I realized that I am not doing anything. If something is happening through grace then I just have to step out of the way, not get in the way. So can I deepen my practice and support the group, so that what will happen, will happen? I need to do it consciously -- to step back.
When we have a space for self-disclosure, and that space is held with compassion and a non-judgmental attitude, then the community can grow. We need to create such spaces. They don’t happen by default. We need to create a context to share. We should be able to listen and offer support. To be who we are. That gives us strength and purpose.
On individual practice
In the Krishnamacharya tradition it is not the same practice for everybody. We take into consideration who is this person, what is it that they need, what is it that they can do, what is their flexibility, what is their strength, what is their lifestyle, what is their health condition, what is their state of mind? We go into a thorough assessment of everything and we offer something that is appropriate for that individual which over a period of time is progressively changed.
It is changed to suit their changing needs. We are constantly changing – our minds, bodies, our life-context… So your practice should change.
And it is always one-on-one. For each person -- what can I offer?
When can I start yoga for my child?
The ideal age, Krishnamacharya has said, is when a child can say, “I am hungry, give me food.” Is that 4? 5?
Don’t give children rigourous practice. Expose them to yoga. Let them be there when you are doing it. It does not matter if they crawl under or over you. They will imitate you. If you have not fed it at that young age, and then if you try and get a teenager into a yoga class… :)
The seed has to be sown early. Parents have to practice. [lots of laughter]. We find yoga works when the parents practice. Taking kids to yoga class once a week is not enough. There needs to be a home environment. And even if they stop doing, they will come back to it.
We have a group in Chennai for children with special needs. We insist that parents and siblings have to come to it [as well]. The whole family practises together. Whether the children are getting anything out of it, parents are getting a lot…
What is a good time to start yoga?
Today.
Every day is a new beginning. Abhyasa means ‘today I have to start’. Tomorrow, again I have to start.
What was it like to learn from Desikachar?
From the beginning to the end of class he would throw questions. We would have to find the answers.
He would say, “Ok, come and do paschimutanasana.” The person has to do it. He would ask us, “How would you do it? how would you prepare her to do it?” Each one of us has to answer. Sometimes he would say, “No” or just be quiet. If I think another posture will work, I need to teach that person. In one week we would learn so much. Because if you have to teach it, you have to go home and practise.
Everything was through questioning. For someone doing bhujangasana, he would say, “See can you see how he is tilting his head?” I couldn’t see it. So I would keep looking and looking and looking.
Questioning was mostly his style of teaching. If he is happy there will be a little smile. Otherwise go back, read, observe, ask someone to do a posture. There was a lot of compassion. Because we were so scared. Only the foreigners would ask questions :) So he treated us with a lot of compassion.
He always knew what you wanted in the moment. Like sometimes I would be very depressed and would just go sit in front of him and cry. He would say, “I will chant for you.” He’d choose a long passage and chant for 40 minutes. By then I would have calmed down. I’d say, “Thank you, sir” and come away. He would have said nothing J No discussion, no questioning, just unconditional love and offering.
(Of course there were also times of seeing the other side of the teacher :) )
He always motivated us to do the best we could be.
Do you only get unwell people or do healthy people come as well?
We get people who think they are healthy :)
The problem is not in the body. Most of the time the problem is in the mind. What the mind is thinking… everything will come in the way. So you come with a knee pain, but actually all the time you are angry and frustrated, not able to rest…
Yoga therapy is all about creating a harmony between the body and the mind. We really believe that the body has the potential to heal if the right conditions are created. We look at diet, lifestyle, appropriate asana practice with breathing. The breathing reduces the pain. Then the person feels more empowered that he can deal with it. The empowerment comes in the mind.
So what is health? It is not purely at the physical level, right? It is a balance, a harmony. Can I be in touch with reality at a level where I am not shaken by what is happening around me so quickly. That level of strength is what I think yoga can give. Yoga will never promise that you will never fall sick… If you stay long enough [with yoga], it helps strengthen the mind to deal with the realities of life better.
How do you work on listening?
We do a lot of work where we get into groups of three where one is sharing, one is listening, one is observing. So we build it consciously.
But listening is also something that comes naturally when your mind is quiet. So if I can do a good pranayama practice and I sit down to listen, I listen even better.
When you see the value of that listening, when I can listen without holding onto my thoughts or my judgments, just that act of listening, can be so healing to the person who is sharing and to me, who is listening. When you see that power, you want to do it better.
