yoga Archives - Seattle Iyengar Yoga

Yogasana – A Path of Self-Transformation

May 6, 2015 By Shaw-Jiun Wang

“Transformation literally means going beyond your form.” – Wayne Dyer

Some people practice yoga postures (yogasana) to improve their balance and flexibility. Some add yoga to their exercise regimen as a different supplement to running or weigh-lifting. Some find the premise that “yoga calms the mind” attractive and chanting OM could possibly help them relax and wind down. Regardless the motive, many yoga enthusiasts and practitioners probably agree on the “feeling of well-being” that cannot easily be put into words. After all, yoga is mostly experiential.

Iyengar Yoga is well known for its creative and therapeutic sequencing. For example, if I want to improve upon my back-bending postures, I would progressively open my shoulders and hips by practicing standing poses and perhaps inverted poses in a skillful sequence. It would not be prudent to practice a forward-bending pose to prepare for a back-bending poses. After a back-bending practice, I would neutralize my spine by adding some gentle lateral twisting poses to conclude the sequence.

Moreover, Iyengar Yoga helps deal with symptoms of different ailments. Headache, for example, may be alleviated when the practitioner, under the guidance of Iyengar Yoga Certified teachers, adopt an individualized sequence of supported supine and forward-bending poses. The outcome is often a pleasant surprise.

A pleasant surprise when you discover a new path while hiking in a forest. A pleasant surprise when you watch your first hand-knitted sweater being worn. A pleasant surprise when you watch the Sun breaking through dark clouds for even just a second.

When we practice yogasanas, we are transforming our perceptions and understanding of our very existence. Matthew Remski, a modern author of Ayurveda and yoga, most recently posted this comprehensive definition of asana on his Facebook page:

The descriptors such as “mindfully,” “expression,” “interoceptive” and “aspirational” resonate with the students’ experiences at Mary Reilly’s weekend workshop at Seattle Iyengar Yoga Studio last month. In the workshop, Mary Reilly artfully sequenced the yogasanas of different categories for an experience of self-transformation. She beautifully shared the theoretical underpinnings by citing the concepts in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali I.33:

maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhkha punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam ||33||

(Through cultivation of friendliness, compassion, joy, and indifference to pleasure and pain, virtue and vice respectively, the consciousness becomes favorably disposed, serene and benevolent) – Translation from Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar.

Mary Reilly emphasized on the notion of “upekṣana,” or “impartiality” as she preferred as an English translation during our practice of yogasana. In coming out of a deep standing forward-bending pose (Ardha Baddha Padmottasana), Mary asked us to resume in Mountain pose, Tadasana to observe and absorb the “new things inside” about ourselves after the previous pose. Throughout the weekend, she guided us through the realization how “asmita,” the I-ego tended to revisit the habits of the past or the fears of the future. To neutralize asmita, we need to develop upekṣana during our practice of yogasana. When we are in a difficult pose, we stay open to possibilities rather than rely on the habits or fears to take over. Bound in this body and its worldly existence, we need to remain impartial in our self-perception to allow changes to take place from inside.

B.K.S. Iyengar’s quote here sums up what Iyengar Yoga practice of yogasana is not just physical yoga, but an accessible path for self-transformation: “Transformation is sustained change, and it is achieved through practice.” One pose at a time.

Rope Wall at Seattle Iyengar Yoga Studio

January 26, 2015 By Shaw-Jiun Wang

January 2015

Seattle Iyengar Yoga Studio strives to provide a fully equipped Iyengar Yoga studio, so it means one with a yoga rope wall. The rope wall was first developed by the late yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, who used it as a prop to deepen and support his asana practice. He called the rope work “yoga karunta,” meaning “yoga puppetry.” The most common to use the ropes is to utilize gravity as a natural form of resistance, releasing normal tension and pressure on the joints. This can be especially beneficial for the spine as well as the organic body, allowing them to open much further than they would in a regular yoga practice. A wide range of poses can be done and deepened on the rope wall: standing, inverted, backbending poses, and more.

WATCH: Geeta S. Iyengar on Yoga Kurunta: the use of ropes for the practice of yoga

The rope wall project at Seattle Iyengar Yoga Studio was in conception way before the actual installation began on January 2, 2015. However, selecting a layout and a competent contractor took longer than originally anticipated. There are a small variety of types: eye screw set up, premade rope panel, and a modified version by John Obendorfer and Eddy Marks. We decided to opt for this modified version because of its multi-tier layout allowing for more applications as well as the recess cut-out for ropes. After a thorough discussion with the contractor, I decided to replace the recess cut-out with an industrial-strength recess rings. They achieve the same effects: even wall surface with a lot less of labor costs. We also modified (widen) the spacing between pairs to fit six sets of ropes in our studio. The installation took 1.5 days. Thank you, Gaspars Construction.

We had to wait for almost three weeks for the ropes as these brown ropes were custom-made and dyed by a supplier in Florida. They are nylon double-braid at 7/16” in diameter. Many Iyengar Yoga studios in the United States ordered ropes from this supplier and we were able to order less than a full spool (600 fts) and still received a discount. They are soft and easy on the hands. After almost an hour of measuring by creating a “test” yoga rope, we went to a local business in Ballard called Second Ascent and they cut the ropes for us to our specifications, FOR FREE. One of our teachers, Susan, helped teach knotting the ropes. The knot is a combination of two triple-fisherman knot. Here is a video of Susan instructing on the knotting.

Finally, we had to make sure that the upper ropes were leveled as the ropes tend to increase in length when tightened by weight. The morning class on January 25, 2015 officially inaugurated the yoga rope wall with a part of the Rope Series I (a combination of the upward-facing dog pose and a forwardbending pose in quick succession). We are very pleased with the wall and the ropes and looking forward to work with our students!

See you on the ropes!

Yoga Is Not Just for the Body; It is for the Consciousness.

November 18, 2014 By Shaw-Jiun Wang

Often when people think of yoga, they talk about being (not) flexible or having horrible balance. In other words, yoga has become, at least for the majority of people, a physical regimen that incorporates poses to stretch muscles, tendons and build strength. On the other hand, yoga is also often recommended to reduce stress and calm the nerves. Without getting into the neurological benefits from a number of research projects, the “mental release” from practicing yoga poses is immediately felt even by a first-time beginner.

It is important to trace the root of yoga in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali (400CE), a compilation by a mystical sage named Patañjali. He consolidated materials about yoga from ancient traditions and lineages and added his own explanatory commentaries to create this unified treatise that has been considered one of the most authoritative works on yoga.

In the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, yoga is defined as follows:

yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ ||2||

(Yoga is a method of silencing/ regulating the fluctuations of the consciousness.)

While there are many paths to reach yoga as defined above, B.K.S. Iyengar carved out a path on which practitioners learn to use yoga poses (yoga asana, the third limb in the Astanga yoga) to penetrate the deeper layers of the consciousness. The hallmark of Iyengar Yoga is alignment. By aligning the parts of the body with the fragments of our mind, we gradually understand the practice of yoga (i.e. Sādhanā). Geeta Iyengar, the daughter of the late B.K.S. Iyengar, explained on point in an interview in May of 2007:

“In the beginning, (Iyengar teachers and practitioners) have to help people understand that the practice of yoga has learning and re-learning, correcting and re-correcting, adjusting and re-adjusting process throughout. We have to educate further, go to the various layers that yoga has to offer.”

For instance, in a typical Iyengar Yoga class, students are encouraged to watch the alignment of their feet in standing poses. In Extended Triangle pose, if a student does not pay attention to the front foot that is out of alignment with the back foot, the legs and pelvis are out of alignment as a result. The consciousness begins to accumulate these wave-like fluctuations (“vrtti”) either from discomfort or lack of awareness. By staying open to the moment and staying aware of our body in a yoga pose, we learn and re-learn to control and regulate these fluctuations. In other words, we learn and re-learn how to see in a pose to gain physical stability as well as mental and spiritual stability. We learn to see our tendencies, our imbalances and what really cause the disturbances in our sense of self. This is indeed a yoga path for our consciousness.

“The material body has a practical reality that is accessible. It is here and now, and we can do something with it. However, we must not forget that the innermost part of our being is also trying to help us. It wants to come out to the surface and express itself,”
— B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life.