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 At home tools - CD & VideoModerators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Yoga -> General Yoga | Message format |
toddacollins |
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442      | You have great books. If you want to go more into Iyengar style, look for Patricia Walden tapes. And of course, keep going to class   | ||
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| Thushara |
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| Tourist, I have a question for you., I have been practicing Hatha yoga for about 3 years now.(There was a break in between) So far I have learnt under 2 teachers (My new teacher is very very good. but I have spent only few months at his classes yet ) and both teachers were teaching Hatha yoga. Here where I live, Hatha yoga is the most famous and most of the studios conduct Hatha style. To tell you the truth, Still I cannot do Headstand without wall support,(May be I can but I’m scared) Cannot do Hanumasana., Cannot even think of Hand stand. But I know I can pose even Pigen, Wheel, Fish with lotus, shoulder stand, good front bends and back bends and many other poses nicely (I say this based on my teachers comments.. Coz for most of these Asana he takes me to the front of the class for demonstrating the pose to other students, while he takes other students for some other poses.) That’s the background.. Now.. My question is… I see that Iyenger style is very famous among you all. As what I understood… What Mr. Iyenger has developed is that he has mastered Hatha yoga and he had come up with his own Style called Iyenger Yoga., But when you compare all the Asana, they are same as Hatha yoga., But he has added the “alignment part” to it. Do you think after practicing Hatha yoga for some time, if I find a teacher who teaches Iyenger style, will it be beneficial for me? I mean is there lot to learn when compared to Hatha yoga? I would like to know becase my studio will be re open in February, and this may be the ideal time if Im to change the style if I need to. Im asking you coz I see you have experience on this.  Edited by Thushara 2005-01-12 5:07 AM | |||
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| Bay Guy |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 2479 Location: A Blue State | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Thushara - Iyengar style is interesting because when Krishnamacharya sent BKS Iyengar to Pune to teach, he really didn't have years of experience with his guru, no longer had his guru to teach him nearby and he did NOT have a "yoga body" since he had been very ill as a child. He had to find ways to teach his own body how to do the poses without injury. So he "discovered" that by making sure his alignment was absolutely correct and by using props he could work toward the poses safely. So he didn't really invent his own style - he was just working the poses in the best way he could with the tools and knowledge available to him at the time. His method became so famous because it was so effective and safe and I think because of the inspiration of his own practice and the way he conducts his own life. I am getting a bit off track here but originally he did not want his name used on his method. He says yoga is yoga and that sincere practitioners are all working toward the same goal of union with the Divine. Anyway, personally, of course I think you would benefit from this style because I think the work with alignment allows deeper and more focused work in each pose. We don't push toward advanced poses because after you have worked this way for awhile you see how much work there is to find a decent tadasana  You can think of it as simply getting your muscles well lined up or you can go deeper and see how lining up the muscles and bones allows the freest flow of energy through the nadis and chakras. We may have a lovely looking lotus but if we slouch, the prana can not flow and pranayama or meditation will be compromised. One thing that happens in Iyengar yoga at the higher levels is that the "adept" students are not considered necessarily more "advanced". Our teacher often shows us how someone with a tighter body is doing a pose that has more integrity than a student who is very flexible. Our top level class is filled with people who are adept and people like me who consider lotus and hanumanasana to be projects for another lifetime   An Iyengar teacher would encourage you and show you ways to begin working headstand away from the wall if you are physically ready. Not so that you will be doing a "perfect" pose but to challenge your fears and help you feel stronger within yourself. It is nice to do, but there are many days when I still work against a wall if I am shakey or tired. The integrity of the pose comes first. It took me at least 3 years before I could do headstand and I have teachers who took even more - lots of standing poses (the Iyengar prescription for almost everything!) will help you become strong and courageous enough to one day be ready | ||
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| afroyogi |
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| Thushara |
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| Thanks bay guy, Tourist, Afroyogi, I appreciate your advice. Like Afroyogi said some times I really think whether I need to change to Iyenger style as I don’t see a lot difference in Asana sequence. But Tourist’s and BG’s replies encouraged me to explore it as well. Best is I should use this time gap, to find whether I can find a good Iyenger teacher. When I think back., Some times I feel my 1st teacher was teaching some sort of a mix of Iyenger and Hatha.. The change I need is Im getting bit bored at my Hatha class now as there are new students joining every day and I have to stick with my same old schedule. Most of the time I had to demonstrate to them than me getting in to more variations of base poses. I like when teacher ask me to do variations and new things like tortoise pose.(that’s the last new one I did) Is this happening to you guys as well? Do you get disturbed by new people joining to your classes? Finding a good teacher is the most difficult thing., My current teacher is really good., (Other than getting new students every day.. But I cant blame him on that though) He has practiced yoga more than 40 years., His pranayama lessons are absolutely good. and he has mastered the philosophy too.(Like kulkarnn  ) As Im a “Philosophical girl “ (Not a Practical person as my friends say )I need a teacher who has mastered both sides of Yoga. I’m keener to learn the spiritual aspects. The other problem is we do not have much choice of yoga studios here.  any way I will try to search for few in this long weekend. My problem is, lately, I’m not motivated to do any practice at home and some how I just have got a “stupid give up and fed up attitude” which I never had., Naturally I’m a fighter and do not give up easily., But I feel like its no more with me. Some times I wonder whether this is due to me stopping the practice at once. Does this happen when you are used to practice yoga daily and stop it suddenly?? Edited by Thushara 2005-01-13 12:03 AM | |||
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| LoraB |
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| That definitely happens to me to, when I'm forced to take a break from yoga (classes) due to circumstances out of my control. It seems like everything goes kind of pear-shaped, and I start eating junk food and lazing around the apartment. But it comes back after the first class and I'm Little Miss Motivated again. Sometimes I think we need the break to remind ourselves why we practice - sort of the whole Joni Mitchell "don't know what you got til it's gone" idea. As for headstand. Man, it's driving me nuts. My teacher teaches it without the wall - at all. Her theory on this is that it will take us longer to get away from the wall than it will to just learn the pose. I, on the other hand, am finding this not to be the case! Everyone else in my class pops right up and hangs out - most times I can barely get my feet off the floor. An interesting thing that I've noted though is that the more courageous I am in my daily life off the mat the easier it is to get started in headstand - and vice versa. I made a bunch of bold moves one week, and when I went to that teacher's class I was all of a sudden able to get up - didn't stay - but made it up! Now that I've been retreating a little bit however it's difficult again. | |||
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| Thushara |
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| Thanks a lot Lora.. This is sort of same situation that Im facing too.. Im a person who was very choosy when it comes to food., But like you said, last few days I was not that.. Actually when I do yoga I’m in a very good control even about food. Any way I tried to get back to yoga in this weekend by practicing alone at home., But it made me cry. I felt like my flexibility is just lot. (I’m surprised how that happened in few weeks), Its quite surprising., Now I thought of doing it some way or other without waiting for my studio to reopen., believe me its so scary @*#$&#&$ I like that quote: Don’t know what you got till its gone. It’s absolutely true in all the ways. Lora I think your teacher must be correct., Its so difficult to get out of the wall ., More than anything its fear., Once my teacher said., If you cant get out of this fear , you will never be a yogi. Next time when I start the class I will try my best to do without a wall. Any way I didn’t have any luck with an Iyenger class. I just have a silly question. Some times I feel being tall is a disadvantage in inversions. I feel like if you are short its easy to balance your body., Have you ever felt that when you are doing it ? I really feel this even when doing the shoulder stand and look up..  Edited by Thushara 2005-01-16 10:56 PM | |||
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| bomberpig |
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| Thushara |
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Thushara - 2005-01-17 9:54 AM Any way I tried to get back to yoga in this weekend by practicing alone at home., But it made me cry. I felt like my flexibility is just lot. (I’m surprised how that happened in few weeks), Its quite surprising., Now I thought of doing it some way or other without waiting for my studio to reopen., believe me its so scary @*#$&#&$ Correction I said my Flexibility is just lost., Not lot | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | One way to work away from the wall is to place your mat so that when you go up, your knees are bent at a right angle and the feet are flat on the wall. Then lift one leg at a time and you are up! I've been stable inthe full pose for years, it is going up that is my issue so I do it this way frequently just to have a little reassurance It is also helpful to spend some time doing somersaults and purposely falling out of headstand with lots of padding. It does increase your confidence. | ||
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| afroyogi |
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