Tadaa! - Svaroopa · 2016-02-09 · “Tadaa!” June 2008 Page 2 of 21 1. HATHA YOGA – GHATA...

“Tadaa!” June 2008 of 21

Tadaa! June 2008 Volume 11, Issue # 6

Published by SATYA (Svaroopa® Association of Teachers & Yogis)

© Copyright 2008, S.T.C. Inc., All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy without written permission.

SVAROOPA, EMBODYMENT, YOGABODY and AMAYA are registered service marks of S.T.C. Inc. and are used by permission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. HATHA YOGA – GHATA YOGA, by Rama 2. YOGA BUSINESS: Teaching Yoga Full-Time, Kris Montigny

CSYT & Marlene Gast 3. MASTER YOGA NEWS

Professional Liability Insurance Assisting in Programs & Trainings Catering Survey

4. THIS STUFF WORKS! It All Begins at the Tailbone – Mari

Mulitsch He Got Ujjayi! – Claire Oravec, CSYT Hip Replacement Just Keeps Going – By

Wendy Putterman, CSYT 5. TEACHER UPDATES

Just Married! MAHA Studies Seva Report Mantra Music in Class Equanimity in Action Geo Center – Baton Rouge

6. Certificates Awarded 7. Thank You for Your Support

Sevites Donations Received In Honor Of… Birthday Donations Received

8. Teaching Tips Vary Your Tone of Voice

9. New Music 10. Pose Pointers

Jathara Parivrttanasana (Rotated Stomach Pose)

Magic 4 Pose #1 – Prasarita Padottanasana (Slow Motion Dive) in the chair

10. Addendum for Grads Pose Pointers – Jathara Parivrttanasana

variation from Level 4


1. HATHA YOGA – GHATA YOGA By Rama Berch

Two different Sanskrit terms are used to describe the physical practices of yoga, hatha yoga and ghata yoga. Technically, Svaroopa® yoga is a form of ghata yoga, not a form of hatha yoga. This is why our asanas differ so dramatically from the other styles of yoga, and even are very different than the classical hatha yoga practice in which I was certified in India.

Hatha yoga – the physical practices include asana (poses), as well as shatkarmas (6 cleansings), pranayama (breathing practices), mudra (energy seals), etc. The earliest text is only 800 years old, and begin with the explanation that these are practices you can impel yourself to do. Even when your body or mind is resistant, you can persevere and ‘just do it.’ Of course, you’ll feel better once your practice session is completed – you have proved that to yourself many times.

The Sanskrit dictionary offers a long paragraph of definitions, including:

Violence, force; by force, forcibly; obstinacy, pertinacity, obstinately, persistently; necessarily, inevitably, by all means.

The word hatha is used in many other Sanskrit writings than yogic archives – it is used in annals of war, historical records, court cases decided by a king, tax records, plays, poems, etc. The yogic tradition emphasizes the definitions of persistency, obstinacy, and forcibly. This is because you can force yourself to do the poses, but you cannot force your mind to be still. Quieting your mind is a yogic surrender – not something you can make happen.

Many modern translators render the term hatha yoga as “forceful yoga.” Many popular styles of asana practice emphasize the physical challenge. Even “Yoga Journal” describes itself as a sports magazine. All of this fits under the term hatha yoga.

The purpose of all this forceful endeavor is to make your body able to sit for long periods of time, so you can focus your mind without it wandering away. In other words, hatha yoga practices are the kindergarten of yoga – a preparatory discipline that makes you ready to

meditate. You graduate from hatha yoga to meditation. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika makes this clear in sutra 1.2, “Yogin Swatmaaraama (the author), after bowing to his Guru, explains hatha yoga which prepares you for raja yoga (the meditative practices).”

The term hatha is also analyzed by syllable, an important branch of yogic inquiry. Ha refers to the nadi (energy channel) on the right of the spine; tha refers to the one on the left side of the spine. The classical hatha yoga practice is for the purpose of balancing the prana (energy) flowing along both of these nadis, because that opens up the current in the central channel, which is through your spine. Then Kundalini can be awakened, which is the purpose for the classical hatha yoga practices.

Ghata yoga – the list of physical practices is the same, but the purpose is different, so the methodology is also different. There is no force in ghata yoga. You don’t force yourself to do the practices, and the practices are not forceful. It is more of an inner inquiry, a process of bringing forth what is hidden within.

Very little is written about ghata yoga, as is usually true of the more powerful teachings. The ancient texts document only a small portion of the oral tradition; many teachings are never given in words but conveyed by a look, a breath, a lift of the eyebrow, etc. I know that my 11 years living with my Guru taught me more than all the books I could ever read – osmosis is very real! Technically, it is called “reciprocal adaptation.”

Ghata is translated in the dictionary with a wide range of seemingly unconnected words:

intently occupied or busy with; a jar, pitcher, jug, large earthen water-jar, watering-pot; the sign Aquarius; a measure; the head; a part of a column; a peculiar form of a temple; an elephant's frontal sinus; suspending the breath as a religious exercise; effort, endeavor; an assembly; a number, collection, assemblage; a kind of drum; a sweet citron; a period of time (= 24 minutes)


A sage from the South Indian Naatha tradition, Achyutaananda, speaks to the importance of the body:

Within your body there is infinite space, The cosmos itself is within your body. The person who has not understood the secret power of the body, His wisdom is of no avail. Those who do not see the divine in their own body How can they know me?

This is similar to sutra #4 from the Pratyabhijnahrdayam:

Chiti samkochaatmaa chetano’pi samkuchita vishvamayah.

Consciousness contracts to become the universe and the individuals, who have the universe as their bodies in a contracted form.

With this perspective in mine, the Sanskrit definitions that are most relevant are a jar, pitcher, jug, large earthen water-jar, watering-pot. For the body contains something within it. It’s not exactly like the jar that holds the water, because the water is separate and different from the jar. But the body holds consciousness within it, yet consciousness is not separate and different from the body – consciousness has become your own body.

Shankaracharya says it this way in the Vivekachudamani:

Just as a clay pot is understood to be nothing but clay, so this whole universe born of Brahman, essentially Brahman, is Brahman only. For there is nothing else but Brahman, nothing beyond That. That is the Reality. That is your own Self.

The tricky part of working with your body to experience consciousness is that you can get very caught up in your body. You must go beyond the perfection of your body to discover the expansive reality of consciousness – which is your own self. This is why I have been so concerned about the teachers who have gotten fixated on the healing power of Svaroopa® yoga – because they can lose sight of the real goal, which is to know your own self as consciousness-itself.

Baba Muktananda often told a story of a young man who decided to go on pilgrimage to the 12 jyoti-lingams in India. These 12 temples are

built over naturally occurring Shiva lingams, holy stones that hold the essence of consciousness within them. He got his parents’ permission for a journey that would take a decade or longer, even if it would be successful or if he could somehow survive.

As he walked out of his home village, he saw a holy man sitting under a shady tree. The boy approached the Guru to ask for blessings for his journey. The Guru stood up and said, “Walk around me 3 times.” The young man did so. The Guru said, “Now go home. You have been to all the holy sites and can return to your family and your life.”

You have ‘the universe as your body in a contracted form.’ This means all the holy shrines and all the realms of consciousness are present within your own physical form.

We work with your body differently in Svaroopa® yoga because we see the body as being a different thing. In the hatha yoga tradition, your body is like a suitcase or an old coat – you must take care of it for now, but your goal is to leave it behind. In Svaroopa® yoga, you must honor your own body as a tangible form of Shiva. Just like the murtis (statues) that we have on the altar at Master Yoga, your own body is divine.

The Svaroopa® yoga practices are not part of the hatha yoga tradition – they are ghata yoga. It’s like a gardener tending the rose bushes. She or he doesn’t force the roses to bloom. Instead she or he sets up the conditions for their beauty to blossom forth and their fragrance to fill the air. You are opening up the core of your body so that the core essence of your own divinity may blossom forth fully, both through your body and beyond your body.

We cultivate and finesse the poses. We don’t force.

We are not preparing to do the more powerful practices later. We are doing them now.

We don’t graduate from asanas to meditation. We cultivate the meditative state while we are opening the spine, to develop the ability to dive more deeply within in the seated pose, and ultimately to live from this core essence all the time.


2. YOGA BUSINESS This is a new feature in “Tadaa!” We are beginning a regular column on Yoga Business. The term “Yoga Business” is intentionally ambiguous – it can refer to the business of being a yoga teacher, or to how you approach your income-producing activities like a yogi. We invite submissions for this feature, especially your success stories! Contact [email protected] with your idea for an article – one you’d like to write or one you’d like to read.

TEACHING YOGA FULL-TIME From Kris Montigny, CSYT, interviewed by Marlene Gast

How do you make that transition? It all started for Kris Montigny in 2001. A dancer since the age of 3, Kris had practiced other yoga styles off and on for 20 years when she discovered Svaroopa® yoga. Within a few months, she took Experiential Anatomy and then Foundations four weeks later. Within a year Kris completed all four levels of YTT, continuing into ATT. Completing Yoga Business Skills in 2003, Kris had to focus on her personal vision of teaching as her work in the world and came to the realization that “your business is you; you need to be clear about yourself.”

Even with this level of skill and knowledge, making the transition to full-time teaching can be a “huge leap of faith into the abyss,” as Kris puts it. Yet she did just that. In the middle of an ATT training one year ago in August, in a break from class, Kris picked up the phone and called in her notice of her resignation from “secure employment.” Until then, Kris had balanced teaching with her mainstream job, seeing one private client per week at the most. In her first week of full-time teaching, Kris saw 21 private clients. At the end of the first year, her taxable income from teaching was the same as from her previous job.

Several steps led to the “leap of faith.” On the practical side – determining whether she could make a go of it — Kris says that remembered her earlier work as a waitress and bartender: “No matter how bad business was, I always made a living.” Philosophically, Kris knew she believed in Svaroopa® yoga as a practice for healing, transformation, and illumination – an opening to the “deeper dimensions of life.”

She also realized that while she was juggling multiple jobs, she was not living her belief fully. “It’s just like the person who is in the process of quitting smoking. Even if you are smoking just one cigarette per day, you are still smoking. You finally have to decide: Who do you want to be? What life do you want to live? And then do it.” Finally, in the middle of that ATT program in August 2007, she heeded the Tolstoy quote affixed to her refrigerator: “Until you do what you believe in, you don’t know whether you believe in it or not.” It was time to live life consciously.

If you have a business and you’re good enough, she says, people will come. Regarding the business of teaching Svaroopa® yoga, Kris sees being “good enough” – doing your best – is, first, developing your own daily practice so that you embody the yoga. “You know it works. Students pick up on that. They want to know what you know,” says Kris. “Like a shoe salesman, you have the skills to help students find what they need. You are there sincerely to help people. They know they are safe and will not be manipulated or hurt in any way. You can meet their personal needs through alignments and propping.” Going to full-time teaching is “…about making yourself available and putting yourself out there, to share the knowledge that will help people find the ‘something more’ that they are seeking.”

Recalling her personal vision that “your business is you,” Kris notes, “Your personal birth must be complete. At least, don’t be blind to your remaining dysfunctions. Always be willing to work on yourself and your life first; you must practice what you teach.” And remember, “If one person has done it, you can do it.”


3. MASTER YOGA NEWS

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE In May we announced our partnership with IAIM for your professional liability insurance. Several teachers have asked questions about it, so we wanted to give you more information.

Many teachers told us they were having trouble finding insurance that would cover private sessions. This professional liability insurance is important for your own protection, plus you must have a current policy to be a Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher, with both Master Yoga and STC Inc listed as additional insureds.

The reason you have professional liability insurance is in case you hurt a student OR in case a student hurts herself/himself. You are liable even if they are doing something different than what you are teaching. In other words, if they hurt themselves in your class, or even when they are walking out to their car and driving home, you are legally liable.

Now please consider what liability Master Yoga might have, for all the students of all the teachers, and for all the clients of all the yoga therapists. Not to mention Rama with the thousands of pages of written materials about all the teaching and therapeutic protocols. Hopefully you will want to protect both Master Yoga and Rama (through her corporation that holds the legal ownership of the copyrights and service marks). And realize the importance of protecting yourself and your family.

With all of this in mind, Master Yoga was naturally concerned that teachers couldn’t find insurance that would cover private sessions, including Embodyment® Yoga Therapy. Our Executive Director, Ellen Sichel, CSYT, researched the different insurance companies that SATYA members reported using plus others that she found on her own. Here is what she found:

• Venbrook Insurance – they do not cover private sessions

• IMA: you join the International Massage Association for $149 (for the membership only) or $300 for membership and insurance

• IARP – you join the Reiki Association for $129.00 (membership), plus the insurance starts at $160.00 year

• Namasta – you join for the basic membership at $95.00. They do not cover Louisiana or international teachers, which would not work for Master Yoga at all.

• IAIM (International Association of Integrative Medicine) – Ellen met with them and negotiated a 1/3 discount on their membership, reducing it to $99 from $149. Their insurance starts at $145 for the year.

Master Yoga could not negotiate with the insurance companies directly because we don’t have enough members in SATYA at this point. While nearly 2,000 yogis are eligible for SATYA membership, we currently have around 400 members. One of the reasons is that not all of the eligible yogis are teaching, so they may not need or want the SATYA member benefits. Thus, we had to look for an organization to partner with.

An important decision point was that IAIM is the only organization that has insurance available in all the American states plus such extensive international coverage already in place (with Australia by the end of the year).

You may not know that IAIM originally offered to support Master Yoga with a donation for each member that signed up with them. Master Yoga declined their generous offer and asked that our members be given a bigger discount on their membership instead.


IAIM offers many other benefits including:

You can accept credit card payments for your services

Your own personal website page – though Google now offers this as well.

Discounted dental and legal plans

Quarterly Namaste Journal (on-line)

Referrals Service

Event Listings & Speaker’s Bureau

IAIM has posted Master Yoga on their website as an affiliate at

www.iaimintegrativemedicine.com/affiliate_programe/Learn_More.htm

To enroll as a member of IAIM, use this website and enter your partner code – MYF33.

www.iaimintegrativemedicine.com/registration.php

Or you can get all this information on the SATYA member section of our website. Go to the Teacher Directory on Master Yoga’s website and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on “For All SATYA Members” and enter your password. If you don’t have your password, email [email protected].

ASSISTING IN PROGRAMS & TRAININGS Once you have completed Level 4, you are invited to be an Assistant Teacher in our courses. Your seva is a genuine contribution to the quality of the program, supporting both the students as well as the Trainers. While you provide personal assistance to students in poses and in informal time with them, you are only working 25-50% of the time. The rest of the time, you may participate in the program – but you pay no tuition or enrollment fee.

Thank you for the opportunity to assist. While I find that new students come to my yoga class looking to feel better in some way, it was so wonderful to be in a room full of students that really wanted to learn all that they could about Svaroopa® yoga. It was a gift to be present with their enthusiasm; they were so appreciative of any assistance I could give. Assisting increased my awareness on many levels, and I hope to be able to assist at least once a year. – Wendy Putterman, CSYT

There are two types of courses you can assist in – programs or trainings. A program is a weekend workshop or retreat, but it is not a Teacher Training. A training is a professional training that leads to certification or that maintains your Good Standing as a Svaroopa® yoga teacher.

You get to watch how the leading Svaroopa® yoga teachers lead these courses. You see the way they finesse alignments and adjustments, as well as a sophistication to their lesson plans and teachings, which will deepen your understanding of Svaroopa® yoga. Often the Trainer is teaching advanced poses and will meet with you privately to show you how the pose works or what adjustment you will be giving.

As an Assistant Teacher in a professional training, you receive extra personal training in all of poses covered. You re-learn your previous training at a much deeper level, so that you can help the teacher-trainer and students in the partner-pairing. You may even get to lead some of the class segments!

In giving to Master Yoga in this way, you also receive a host of benefits, explains Kris Montigny, Teacher Trainer and DTS Mentor. The assistant meetings show you how to teach teachers-in-training. Then you teach them how to the propping, alignments and adjustments for all of the poses. Both of these change you – your knowledge of the poses becomes organic, arising from a greater depth. You may also attend the lectures on anatomy, yoga philosophy and teaching methodology, and will find that the information sinks in more deeply and expands your understanding. Kris says, “Assisting opens you up in a different way — your body, your mind, your life.”


I absolutely love assisting at trainings. It is a chance for wonderful review as well as a chance to give back and help Master Yoga. Most of all, it is so wonderful to get all the opening and more (having adjustments done on you as a ‘demo’ body). It is a great opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of taking a course for free! It is a win/win; I only wish I could do it more often! – Clair Oaks, CSYT

At programs and trainings, you may make yourself available to give private sessions during meal breaks. Master Yoga’s Trainer will announce your availability, and you will find that many students take advantage of the opportunity to deepen their openings. Of course, you are able to charge for that professional service, with your client paying you directly.

The last “Tadaa!” was in error when it reported that assistant teachers receive credit toward meeting their Continuing Ed standards. We apologize for that error. A few exceptions to this policy were made in the last year, which were done in error. Again, we apologize if this has caused any confusion or inconvenienced anyone. It has been a long-standing policy that you do not receive Continuing Ed credit for assisting, because it is important for you to be a student.

You learn differently when you are a student compared to when you are a teacher. Of course, both types of learning are important, but you already are learning while you are teaching – at home. When you come for your Continuing Ed, you need to be a student. It’s a wonderful thing, to be a student again!

Assisting in programs and trainings is a great way to significantly deepen your yoga, providing profound changes in your body as well as giving you a depth of understanding – at a very affordable price! While you pay no program tuition, you do cover your own transportation, housing and meals. Sometimes one of our Trainers teaches a program at a location that can provide your housing and meals, but usually you have to provide your own.

How do you sign up? For programs held in Malvern PA or Fallbrook CA, contact Cheryl Davis at [email protected]; for programs in all other locations, contact Margo Gebraski at [email protected]. They put your name on a wait list, in first-come first-served order. Three weeks before the course, if there are enough students to warrant an assistant, you are invited – but it is not first-come first-serve basis alone. Teachers who have to make airline reservations are confirmed first, so they can be assured of affordable transportation. Also, teachers who have not had the opportunity to assist before, or it has been some time since they assisted, are prioritized – so everyone gets a chance to share in these wonderful opportunities!

CATERING SURVEY We sent out a survey to get your input on offering vegetarian catering for one meal a day in our Malvern courses. We are delighted to have received many responses and now have a group looking at the results. As always, anything about food prompts a lot of discussion, so we have a wealth of responses to sort through. You might be interested in the variety of comments. Here’s a selection:

• I would love to have catered vegetarian lunches. I would be willing to pay an extra daily fee. I think that staying "in the environment" during the day is a good thing.

• One of the reasons I eat out is to go topside for a while each day. The longer noon break is the best time to do this, and the only time it is light outside in the winter.

• I do not feel that the catered meals would meet my needs and would only add to my costs, which I need to minimize.

• It would be wonderful to have just one meal a day provided.

• The additional cost is my main concern. Secondarily, I have found it very important to “come up for air” at meal and break times.

• I loved having catered meals last year. I would even like the option of dinner as well.


• Providing a catered meal mid-day would be convenient, save time and offer an opportunity to develop community among the attendees. This is a great idea!

• Before the fire, we had vegetarian meals in West Chester catered and they were very good. I would enjoy this type of meal again.

• I love the idea of a catered meal, however the meals from the caterer in West Chester were difficult to digest.

• I have attended trainings where meals were catered for both lunch and dinner. It was a great experience and everyone sat down together to share a delicious meal that we didn’t have to make.

• I probably would not be able to eat most catered meals the way I'm eating now....and my understanding of food and nutrition matters to me....and probably is different than other people's ideas of a good healthy meal.

• The program sounds like a wonderful idea if it were optional. It is too restrictive and may deter people who can barely afford the training as it is, despite the fact that they would have to spend the money on food anyway.

• this is a wonderful opportunity and offering

• This sounds wonderful to me and will provide access to time during meal break for meditation, study/revising notes, returning phone calls, etc.

• Having so many people doing their own cooking is difficult. They take over the kitchen and don’t leave much space for the rest of us. So this is an excellent response.

• Just for my own selfish "convenience factor" I'm interested in this!

• I can see that catering makes more space for connections between students. Part of the beauty of trainings is what you learn from others in class, so having time to get to know them is educational as well as building a support system of fellow Svaroopis

• I would like to have catered vegetarian meals if we had meal choices. I would not like the catered meals to be mandatory and added to the cost of training.

• During my 5 day training in Malvern, I bought lunch and dinner daily at Acme Market from the salad bar. It was very economical

• I prefer fresh, warm, cooked food. So if the catered meal is a veggie grinder with cheese, tomato, lettuce and peppers, I’d rather not.

• I appreciate your looking into this, because when coming from afar, shopping for groceries and preparing meals means the diet suffers. Having one good meal a day would be awesome!

• I did participate in the catered meals provided in West Chester. They were delicious and well-prepared, and it was definitely a terrific convenience. But it was on the expensive side as I recall, and there were way too many food items that I normally don't eat (especially the desserts).

• Choosing to have the kitchen strictly vegetarian is understandable but I don’t agree with the mandatory fee for catered meals, vegetarian or otherwise.

Obviously, this is not an easy decision! If it were a popularity contest or a vote, that would be easier than what we have to look at. We are looking at what will make your training most effective as well as most economical to you, at the same time. Everyone’s input into this process is helpful, and we have plenty of input to consider!


We also got a wonderful list of dietary restrictions and preferences. While any caterer is used to dealing with these needs, it certainly looks like a lot of Svaroopis need to be sitting in Vajrasana after their meals! And maybe doing Ujjayi Pranayama twice a day.

4. THIS STUFF WORKS!

IT ALL BEGINS AT THE TAILBONE From Mari Mulitsch, interviewed by Marlene Gast

Mari Mulitsch has just completed Level 2 of Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher Training, even though she never intended to become a yoga teacher. Nor did she expect her cracked tailbone to heal. Yet she has x-rays to verify a newly straight tailbone.

Mari began yoga in March 2006, when she attended a vigorous vinyasa class at the behest of a friend. Mari took the class, “just to shut her up,” since Mari’s friend had been “bugging” her for two years to try yoga for extreme low back pain. Mari had been an athlete since age 7, playing volleyball, softball, and basketball; playing football with her brother; and snowboarding. By her mid-thirties, Mari had cracked her tailbone twice. She had had several MRI scans and x-rays showing the onset of arthritis in her lower spine.

The vinyasa class left her exhausted and hurting. At the teacher’s suggestion, Mari tried a local Svaroopa® yoga class. Afterwards, her response was, “OK. I’m not taking this. Everyone is just lying around on blankets.” But, to her surprise, she kept returning week after week, simply because she noticed that she felt calm and more rested. Soon she was taking every class on the schedule and receiving Embodyment® Yoga Therapy sessions.

Five months later, she took Foundations because she wanted to deepen her practice and better understand the changes: freedom from pain and constant worry; effortless loss of 35 unwanted pounds; and a whole new disposition – pleasant and more outgoing – “out of her cave” is how her family and friends put it.

Following Foundations, Mari’s teacher asked her to be a substitute teacher. Mari said, “I’ll try it once.” That joyful sharing of Svaroopa® yoga evoked a clear intention to teach. Returning from Level 2, Mari was delighted to sign up 15 students for her class.

And now Mari has the x-rays to underscore that it all begins at the tailbone. A year after starting Svaroopa® yoga, a new x-ray showed her formerly cracked and misaligned tailbone healed and straight. Mari also reports that her athletic ability is also enhanced; she finds herself stronger, more flexible, and faster than she was at 19 and 20 years old.

HE GOT UJJAYI! Claire Oravec, CSYT, reports that one of her clients, who had recently received a hip replacement, found Ujjayi Pranayama very effective. She reports:

This was a wonderful surprise. Because of his busy travel and work schedule, he is not able to attend class regularly. I always assumed he didn't get much from the Ujjayi part of each class. Working with him privately, I discovered that he was able to slip into deep states of relaxation that he found very beneficial. The best part is that he recognizes the correlation between a relaxed mind and a healthy body.

HIP REPLACEMENT JUST KEEPS GOING By Wendy Putterman, CSYT

My husband Dick has had a wonderful Svaroopa® yoga experience. He had his left hip replaced early in 1996. The life expectancy of the replacement at the time was 10 years. The surgeon saw no


reason for any physical restrictions other than no "pounding" sports activities (i.e. jogging, basketball, tennis, etc.) He had no objection to medial angles in yoga or any other activity that Dick enjoyed. In the late 1990's, when I began taking regular Svaroopa® yoga classes, I taught Dick the Magic Four. He did them 3 or 4 times a week but did not go to class.

Beginning in 2000, he began doing the Magic Four daily for 15-20 minutes, including Ujjayi Pranayama while in SloMo. For several months he did a Lunge variation taught to Gentle Yogis, until he was able to do the regular Lunge. On weekends, he does Ujjayi before his poses and rests in Shavasana for 20 minutes. Today he continues with a daily practice but has graduated to new poses. He also takes a Continuing Yoga class weekly and is able to participate in all of the themes.

The amazing news is that at his five year checkup he had NO WEAR with his hip replacement. At 10 years, there is such a minimal amount of wear that it was considered insignificant. He's halfway into his 13th year with total mobility, great range of movement, and pain free. We know his hip will never need a second replacement.

In addition, Dick had a history of experiencing painful & tired legs if he was standing for any length of time at trade shows, etc., which is part of his work. Since he committed to a daily yoga practice, he can attend these same events with absolutely no pain in his legs. We are both so grateful for the many, many gifts of Svaroopa® yoga.

5. TEACHER UPDATES

JUST MARRIED! Sandy Peace, CSYT, is moving from Ramona (a rural part of San Diego county) to the suburbs for a very good reason – she just married Glen Christensen. She describes it this way:

We married on April 18th, 2008; the ceremony was held in the backyard of our friend's home on a gorgeous spring day. Glen is semi-retired; he is the sound engineer for The Unity Center in San Diego. We are living with my son Dan and our 2 dogs, 3 cats and 2 birds. Glen's not into yoga asana, but certainly enjoys receiving Embodyment®!

And it was the best wedding I ever attended!

MAHA STUDIES SEVA REPORT Barbara Les wrote this Seva Essay as part of completing her certification as our first MAHA (Great) Yogi!

Her certificate honors her completion of the 10 core courses and 7 electives through our MAHA Studies program. This curriculum supports those who want to deepen their study of yoga without becoming a teacher – to explore the depths within their own life and being, and to focus entirely on bringing yoga into their daily life.

She describes the experience of personal transformation imparted by the seva component of the training curriculum:

In completing another requirement for my MAHA certification, I had the opportunity of not only crossing something off a ‘to do’ list item, but working with many different people and even learning a little more about myself. We are guided to selfless service or seva through the eight limbs of yoga. As an Orthodox Christian I am also reminded by many places in the Bible to serve. One passage I came across that I felt reflected the real idea of seva was in the Gospel of Luke (6:31–36):

Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great.

With the kind guidance of my seva counselor, Karobi, I embarked on this mission. Through our conversations it was decided to pursue more service in two that I had previously ventured into: a


church-run soup kitchen and a therapy dog service. My participation in both activities had been limited in the past because of family commitments, but now I had the opportunity to return, both as a chance to deepen the experience and to observe not only the attitude of others but of my own as well. Both were enlightening, and I took a long time to reflect afterwards on the joys and difficulties of each.

I chose the church-run soup kitchen in the nearby community of Garden Grove primarily because it was very simple and offered plenty of hands-on experience preparing the meals and greeting all those who came to eat. One of my first reflections was the hard work involved in putting together the lunch each time. It is one thing to stir a pot on your own stove top, but I was challenged in stirring an industrial sized pan on a giant stove top. The muscles in my arms and shoulders were sore by clean up time. Also working in a kitchen with limited ventilation gave me new appreciation for the heat cooks must tolerate in putting together meals on a larger scale. Believe me, I reflect on this when I order food in a restaurant – it doesn’t just magically appear on your plate – a fact I didn’t consider often in the past.

Of course a large part of my experience was seeing all the people who came through for meals. I had to be honest with myself about my perception of each person. Did I need to judge the individual based on appearance? I considered: were they here out of genuine need or merely taking advantage of a free meal? Couldn’t I hand each tray for lunch without needing appreciation in return? I found all this to be great insight into the many shades of what selfless really meant.

My second opportunity was to become more involved with my therapy dog group and the many circles of people they bring comfort and joy to. My old, faithful standard poodle and I visited seniors in a convalescent home many times, assisted in a school reading program for challenged learners for 6 weeks, and visited soldiers recovering from injuries in Iraq at the Wounded Warriors facility at Camp Pendleton Marine base in Oceanside. The common thread from all these different groups of people was patience for me: Patience with seniors who repeated stories from their past with each visit; patience for children who stumbled with words or were distracted from reading; and finally patience while visiting each soldier—letting them choose the path of our conversations or the length of our visits. All three circles of people were tied by the simple pleasure of petting a dog, and I was enriched greatly by our visits.

So, while I may have had the opportunity of seva, I have also reaped the benefit of personal insight. Thanks to my kind counselor Karobi for her guidance and the many people I came to know in these pursuits of volunteerism.

MANTRA MUSIC IN CLASS From Kristine Freeman, CSYT, interviewed by Marlene Gast

Having used the same CDs – Krishna Das and Deva Premal – for class music for some time, Kristine Freeman was looking to expand her repertoire when she read the “SATYA Q&A” on Choosing Music for Yoga Class / May 2007.

Worried that mantra would be “too much” for beginners and drop-in students, Kristine, nevertheless, decided to “give it a shot,” and acquired three of the mantra CDs that Rama mentioned: Sacred Chants of Shiva (by Art of Living) as well as Songs to Shiva and The MahaMrtyunjaya Mantra by Vyaas Houston. She reports:

From the first class I switched, it was so different – it drops me right into that flow. It’s a much more powerful class, and makes me a better teacher, because I step into that flow of grace and teach from there rather than from my mind. This isn’t about the mechanics of the poses. It changes the quality of my teaching – it makes me feel like I am a more effective teacher. The students are getting a deeper experience out of it. They are really ‘getting it’ more.

Now Kristine is “sold on teaching to mantra.” No one stated that they did not like it; most, in fact, seemed not to notice the change. One student said she loved The MahaMrtyunjaya Mantra and asked


where she could purchase a copy. Even more compelling, Kristine loves the support for her as a teacher, feeling “so completely in my body that I’m able to teach from a place of grace.”

EQUANIMITY IN ACTION From Nansi Colley, CSYT, interviewed by Marlene Gast

Opportunities to teach yoga beyond the poses can come about unexpectedly. When a student became ill in the middle of one of Nansi Colley’s classes in a Wisconsin fitness center, she put everyone else into Kurmasana (Tortoise Pose) while she assessed the student’s condition. Nansi discerned that there was a medical problem that she was not equipped to handle, and sent another student to call in a fitness staff member who could take blood pressure and check other vital signs.

Once the staff member arrived with the blood pressure cuff, orange juice, cold pack, and water to care for the ill student, Nansi continued to lead the class. Then another fitness staff member arrived to work with the ill student, whose condition continued to worsen. After the final Shavasana, Nansi called the student’s husband, and then the staff called 911. The student still could not sit up when the ambulance arrived, so they took her to emergency.

When Nansi arrived home after class, she found an email with the subject, “You handled the crisis beautifully.” From a student in the class, the e-mail expressed gratitude “…for presenting such a good example by dealing with the incident in class with equanimity, something I strive for.”

Nansi took the opportunity to expand on the teaching in her own e-mail reply:

I love that you used the word equanimity. Equanimity = evenness of mind. You are quoting a very important yoga teaching, ‘Yoga is evenness of mind.’ In Sanskrit, the line from the Bhagavadgita (Chapter 2, Verse 48) is, ‘samatvam yoga uchyate.’ The translation of samatvam is ‘evenness of mind,’ yogah is ‘yoga’, and uchyate means ‘is taught.’

This wonderful text is well worth studying. The Bhagavadgita itself is a chapter in the middle of the Mahabharata epic, an ancient Indian story about going to war. The Bhagavadgita presents the yogic teachings on a battlefield — which is a metaphor for the battlefield of life and how to live a good life and do ‘right action.’

GEO CENTERS Over 100 Svaroopa® yoga teachers are members of Geo Centers! Most Geo Centers have emerged and expanded from a trail blazed by one pioneering teacher, who soon attracted dedicated students, many of whom themselves soon took the journey to Teacher Training. Together, these many teachers serve their communities with classes as well as special programs and courses taught by Master Yoga’s Trainers. Across the USA as well as in Canada and Australia, Geo Centers embody the spirit of Master Yoga, serving as an important venue for programs, and cultivating an ever-growing population of Svaroopis.

How do you become a Geo Center? If you have 5 SATYA members (in Good Standing), who are within a 1-hour drive of each other, you can form a Geo Center. In addition to getting one-click access for your area on Master Yoga’s Teacher Directory, you also get first option on hosting programs for your community of Svaroopis. Contact Cheryl Davis at [email protected].

In this new feature, we’ll be doing a report on each Geo Center in turn. We’re beginning with Baton Rouge, LA – it’s growing and changing a lot right now!

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA From Kim Orr, interviewed by Marlene Gast

The Baton Rouge Geo Center has grown organically, says Liaison Kim Orr. It all began in August 2002 when Kim took Foundations, for personal development only, she had thought. Though she had been


doing hatha yoga since she was 8 years old, she realized she really didn't know much about yoga. She thought that the best way to learn about it would be in a Teacher Training, so she sent for information from various Yoga Alliance approved training courses in 2002. Among these schools was Master Yoga.

Rama’s biography caught Kim’s interest. Rama talked about joy and about being moved spontaneously into yoga poses. Master Yoga’s was the only brochure that mentioned joy, which is what moved Kim to try Svaroopa® yoga. Even when Kim took Embodyment® Yoga Therapy training in December, she had no intention to teach.

Early in 2003, however, Woman’s Center for Wellness, a service of Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, was looking for a yoga teacher for their new mind-body program. A local Kripalu Yoga teacher had heard about Kim being trained in a therapeutic approach to yoga, and gave Kim’s name to the Search Committee. When they interviewed Kim, they were especially impressed with the thoroughness of Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher Training. They even held Kim’s position open for her while she completed Level 1 in June 2003. She began teaching 2 classes a week. Within 3 weeks, the demand was so high that they expanded the schedule to 6 classes a week, with 10–18 students in a class. Within the year, Kim graduated, having completed Level 4 in April 2004.

Kim attributes the growth of the Baton Rouge Geo Center to a number of factors. She feels it was “good fortune” that she connected with the Woman’s Hospital, which has had a “powerful reputation” and a willingness to innovate since the 1970s. One benefit has been their ability to promote and market the Center’s yoga classes through TV and newspapers as well as fliers.

Kim’s Advanced Teacher Training (ATT) prepared her in Yoga Therapy and Prenatal Yoga – classes that are compatible with the Wellness Center’s mission. She has been able to provide pre- and post-natal classes as well as serve the needs of women with osteoporosis and neurological issues such as fibromyalgia. Hospital employees are encouraged by discounts to attend classes, and the experience and knowledge that they gain about yoga aids in wider promotion. When hospital staff as well as patients tell doctors “this yoga has helped me,” the doctors listen and refer patients to the yoga classes. Once Kim became certified as a Svaroopa® Meditation teacher, people originally only interested in meditation moved into the Svaroopa® yoga classes as well.

Another Baton Rouge teacher, Jennifer Tenhundfeld, cites Kim’s personal qualities as a major reason for the rapid growth of the Geo Center. “Care for students and their experience and the ability to draw out the best in each person,” is how Jennifer describes Kim’s teaching. Jennifer adds, “You could say the birth of this Geo Center exemplifies reciprocal adaptation.”

A new yoga studio opened in Baton Rouge last year. Because of the reputation for excellence that Svaroopa® yoga teachers have, they asked that Svaroopa® yoga be one of their styles. Several Svaroopa® yoga teachers offer classes and private sessions at Lotus Yoga as well as the Wellness Center.

Now, four years later, 11 of Kim’s students have taken Foundations, with 5 of those continuing on in YTT. The other 6 remain committed to deepening their practices through weekend immersion workshops. Collaboration among the active teachers takes the form of regular teacher meetings in which they serve as sounding boards for each other’s challenges, support one another in seeking solutions, and practice asana adjustments.

The Geo Center teachers are:

• Caroline Kennedy, whose story about coming to Svaroopa® yoga after her son, George, received yoga therapy sessions, was in a recent email publication.

• Jennifer Tenhunfeld, formerly a dental technician, who started taking classes and got almost instant pain relief for neck and shoulder pain. She also recognized that a lot of other things were changing in her life for the good. She used to take classes in other styles but finally decided to do only Svaroopa® yoga when she realized that this practice is based on core principles in a way that no other style is.


• Kim Orr, who was the trailblazer in Baton Rouge.

• Leslie Tydings, who first came to Svaroopa® yoga when she took a program with Rama at Kripalu Center. It took her several years to get to Foundations, but once she started the training she was hooked. She now teaches several classes a week in her own home.

• Margaret Culbertson, who tried Svaroopa® yoga just out of curiosity and discovered that a long standing pain in her hip, due to an car accident many years ago, went away and her pelvis untwisted.

The Geo Center is considering hosting a Foundations course in 2009, because they see that their core group is ready for it. The Wellness Center of Woman’s Hospital is gung-ho on Svaroopa® yoga because of what it does for people. They have never seen any training that is as comprehensive as Svaroopa® yoga training.

Now that Kim is preparing to relocate to California, the Baton Rouge Geo Center will move into a new phase. Several of the teachers have been taking EYTS and ATT courses so they can continue to offer things that Kim has been teaching. Kim is confident that the “wonderful teachers” who are, in a sense, her legacy to Baton Rouge, will continue to bring Svaroopa® Yoga to the city and its suburbs, through continuing classes as well as beginning — and deeper classes soon. Each is in a different level of YTT, so it will all come together in a new way.

6. CERTIFICATES AWARDED

SVAROOPA® YOGA MEDITATION TEACHER Master Yoga has held this training four times since its debut in 2003, and is happy to be awarding these certificates to the graduates from all the courses.

Ann Kinner Johnson Barbara Sayre Thompson Belle Mann Betsy Bommer Bon Seog Koo Carole Balcombe Caroline Kutil Casey Gerdes Catherine Leigh Rose Cathy “Bombay” Stillman Cherie Miller Clair Oaks Cynthia Davenport Deborah Torres Elizabeth McKenty Ellen Sichel Grace Barca Helen Dicke Janet Murray Jean Glover Jill Lewis Joanne Wolf Judith Waldman Julie Berkhout Julie Caputo Kalpana Reddy Karen Catalano Karobi Sachs Kelly Sharp Kim Abplanalp Kim Orr Leslie Worris Margaret Howard-Smith Maria Abbruzzi Maria Mazzi Mazie Zdanowich Melinda Maxwell-Smith Melissa Fountain Michelle Gross Nansi Colley Nora Smith Patricia Kilpatrick Polly Breen Polly DiBella Rosemary Nogue Sandra Courtney Sarita-Linda Rocco Sue Webb Tara Boyce Crivello Terry Gardner Tish Roy Yogamaya Doe Wails Yoon Jeong Park


YOGA PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSION GROUP LEADER Rama has taught this phone course eight times since its debut in 2006. We are happy to be awarding these certificates to the graduates from all the courses.

Addie Alex Annette Bongiorno April Merrilee Beth Cunningham Cathy “Bombay” Stillman Bonnie Schindler Carol Waite Caroline Kutil Chris Horner Deborah Torres Dorothy Barbara Elaine Nesta Elizabeth McKenty Ellen Sichel Erica Andersen Janet Murray Janis Desmond Karobi Sachs Kim Orr Livia Suver Maria Mazzi Maria Sichel Mary Beth Lewis Michaelynn Myers Polly DiBella Rosemary Nogue Sally Broadhurst Sandra Courtney Stephanie Clement Tara Boyce Crivello Terry Gardner Tish Roy Wendy Putterman

VICHARA – YOGIC SELF INQUIRY: These certificates are being awarded to the graduates from all three of the courses Master Yoga has held since this course began in 2005.

Addie Alex Beth Cunningham Deborah Shapiro Diane Wojciechowski Dorothy Barbara Elizabeth McKenty Ellen Sichel Kim Orr Leslie Johnson Melinda Maxwell-Smith Sarah “Mukti” Rossiter Nansi Colley Sandra Courtney Tarlika Margery Anderson Tish Roy

MAHA SVAROOPA® YOGI Barbara Les

DEEPER YOGA TEACHER – LEVEL ONE, YOGA FOR YOUR BACK & GENTLE YOGA TEACHER:

Ann Kinner Johnson

Jeanne Ormiston

PREGNANCY YOGA TEACHER: Ann Kinner Johnson

Jeanne Ormiston

LIVING YOGA - BUSINESS CERTIFICATE:

Livia Suver

Marcia Costello

YOGA PAIN CLINIC LEADER & MEDICAL YOGA THERAPIST:

Jeanne Ormiston

ADVANCED SVAROOPA® YOGA THERAPIST:

Maria Abbruzzi


7. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

SEVITES Master Yoga would not exist without the support of so many generous yogis, including financial support as well as so many who offer their seva. The following people deserve our special thanks for their hard work, time and effort in recent months (or longer):

TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN RECENT COURSES

Embodyment®, March 08 Leslie Johnson ATT 262: Yoga Therapy – Treating Pain March 08

Clair Oaks

Toronto Yoga Conference, April 08 Peggy Vidya Trainor, Audrey Copeland Foundations at Kripalu, April 08 Audrey Copeland, Kim Orr, Leslie Beckett, Liane

Bracciale, Micki Italiano, Sandy Courtney, Wendy Putterman

EYTS – Special Needs, May 08 Dorothy Barbara Midwest Yoga Conference, May 08 Jennifer Sebastian, Margo Gebraski Foundations in Antioch IL, June 08 Leslie Johnson Yoga, Healing & Intimacy at Kripalu June 08

Sandy Courtney, Tish Roy

Foundations Review, July 08 Sally Broadhurst Level 1, July 08 Shweta Ports

Behind-the-scenes and ongoing support Michael Newman E-group moderator (for several years already!) Elizabeth McKenty Typing quotes from Program Feedback Forms Marlene Gast Editor and Interviewer for E-letter stories and “Tadaa!” Deborah Woodward Catalog proofreader Beth Cunningham Marketing Committee Beth Holmes Marketing Committee Elaine Nesta Marketing Committee Maria Sichel Marketing Committee Mary Jane Haley, Kathy Johnson, Jennifer Sebastian

bringing blankets and props to the Midwest Yoga Conference

Vidya Peggy Trainor & students bringing blankets and props to the Toronto Yoga Conference


DONATIONS RECEIVED IN HONOR OF… Thank you for honoring someone important to you by giving a donation in their name. We deeply appreciate your generosity and support, and are delighted to send the honoree a gift card! They are also honored publicly in each “Tadaa!”

Master Yoga has received the following donations in honor of…

Donation Made By In Honor Of

Cleora Scott In honor of Elizabeth McKenty Leslie Tydings In honor of Kim Orr's move

NON-CASH DONATIONS Thank you for your gifts that meet specific needs. We appreciate your noticing the need and taking your precious time and energy to fill it, along with your financial generosity.

Kathleen Marino A tank of gas for Rama's car at Meditation Retreat Kelly Sullivan Book for the library Kim Abplanalp Knives for the PA studio Patty Allen New signs for PA studio Tish Roy 3 IPOD players for Yoga Therapy rooms

BIRTHDAY GIFTS RECEIVED Thank you to all the generous yogis who have already sent in a birthday gift for MY birthday! Your support makes a critical difference in the work we do and the support we can provide for you. Now hum along, “happy birthday to MY, happy birthday to MY…”

Anonymous Gururaja Rao Pam Church Adeline Alex Howard Enfiejian Patricia Morrison Alicia Penney Irene Rubin Paula Selmayr-Student Ann Scheppach Jacqueline Coffey Peggy Janes Annette Bongiorno Jennifer Connors Rachael Smith Barbara Les Jill Roberts Rachel Small Becky Bronson Jody Ermold Rama Berch Beth Holmes Jonathan Feeney Sandra Gilbert Betsy Bommer Joyce Gibbs Sandy Peace Bev Maggart Juliet Davies Sarah Hancock Broda Stuart Kelly Goss Sheila McHugh Carole Brown Kirsten Hale Susan Kane Cathy Corl Laurie Santapio Susan Milberg Deborah Torres Leonora Torres Susi Godfrey Diane Wells Livia Suver Suzanne Martin Donna Criscuolo Mary Dinneen Terri O’Connor Eliana Fromer Maureen Shortt Thom McGinley Elinor Hecht Michael Riccitelli Winona Montgomery Ellen Sichel Nadine Misiaszek


8. TEACHING TIPS

VARY YOUR TONE OF VOICE Avoid speaking in a monotone. You may not even realize you are doing it, but it is very hard to follow

instructions that are delivered in a flat, unvarying tone – especially if there are no pauses in them, like a run-on sentence that has no periods no commas no inflection or variation at all.

This happens when you have been teaching for some time. You become experienced at giving certain instructions – over and over again. You have read your pink sheets, listened to other teachers, and watched what your students do when you use certain words. You have figured out what instructions are succinct, yet clear enough for the students to follow with ease. You’ve got your patter down. But you stop listening to yourself, and you drift into grey drab monotone nobody-can-make-any-sense-out-of-what-you-are-saying land. And you talk too fast.

Normal conversation has a lilt to it. When you are truly interested in something, your voice goes up and down the musical scale. You pause after a meaningful word, or speed up in some places and slow down in others. You become interesting to listen to! Your students need this from you in class, too. It’s not forced or fake. Don’t become a caricature of yourself either. How can you do this? Tape record yourself.

Tape yourself when you are teaching and then follow your own instructions on the tape for the next few days. Compare it to a recording of yourself talking on the phone – in a conversation with someone you really like, talking about things you enjoy.

Notice the differences. See if you can cultivate that delight in your tone of voice when you are teaching. After all, you do enjoy teaching, don’t you? So help your students enjoy it too, by learning how to use your voice effectively. You’ll even have more fun!

9. NEW MUSIC

MAHA MRTYUNJAYA MANTRA By Rama

This is one of the chants in the new CD, Embodied Infinity. I wrote the music to be expressive of its meaning, so that it would ride on the melody line to penetrate deeper into your mind and heart. It is an important chant, as it is the fear-dispelling mantra. You can chant it or repeat it any time you are anxious, worried, nervous or fearful in any way, for any reason.

It does not replace your meditation mantra – still use that for meditation as well as for japa (silent or verbal mantra repetition any time you like). Playing Maha Mrtyunjaya in the background of your yoga class, or in the background of your life, will significantly calm your mind and nerves and make it easier for you to live as a yogi in the world.

There are many different translations for these Sanskrit words, but I have found the one that I feel expresses it most beautifully and most accurately. In addition, below you will find a detailed analysis of the translation, as well as the musical notes for the melody.

om tryambakam yajaamahe; sugandhim pushti-vardhanam

urvaaruka-miva bandhanaan; mrtyor mooksheeya maamritaat


Om. I sing to you, the three-eyed one, captivating, the basis of the world.

I’m bound by worldliness and pain. Make me free from death and fear

• Tryambakkam refers to the three eyes of Lord Shiva. In this word, we are referring that One who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.

• Yajamahe means, "We sing your praise."

• Sugandhim refers to Shiva’s fragrance, the fragrance of presence, awareness and bliss. Like fragrance, the grace is always spreading around, giving the joy that we experience within.

• Pustivardhanam describes Shiva as the sustainer of this world. Pooshan is the root word, which means father as well as the inner impeller of all knowledge

• Urvaarokameva – 'urva' means big and powerful or deadly; 'aarookam' means disease; thus urvarooka means deadly and overpowering diseases. Many translations translate urvarookam as cucumber, which is one possible translation, but not apt for this mantra. The diseases are three, related to the gunas: avidya (not knowing your own divine essence), asat (getting lost in the superficial), and weakness (pain, loss of resolve, confusion, inability to make progress).

• Bandanaam means bound down. Combined with urvarookameva, it means, “I am bound down by worldliness and pain”.

• Mrityormooksheya means to deliver us from death and from the fear of death. This includes death of this physical body, as well as the never-ending cycle of birth & death. It also includes all the little deaths that occur throughout your life, the ego-deaths. Freedom from death, and freedom from the fear of death is one description of the state called moksha – freedom or enlightenment.

• Maamritaat asks that you receive amritam, which means freedom from mortality. It also refers to the life rejuvenating nectar that the celestial beings live on. Combined with the previous word, it means that you are asking for amrit to be free from death and fear.

C C# D# C C#; F D# C C# om tri-yam-ba-kam ya-jaa-ma-he; Su-gan-dhim pushti- var-dha-nam C C# C C# ; D# F D# C-C# ur-vaa-ru-kamiva ban-dha-naan; mr-tyor muu-ksii-ya maa-mri-taat

1O. POSE POINTERS

JATHARA PARIVRTTANASANA (ROTATED STOMACH POSE) Alignment of back arm – this is an important refinement, which will provide more spinal release in their spine through the rib cage. It is important because many students get their elbow on the floor by overstretching their shoulder joint, which creates spinal tension in their thoracic vertebrae. When you have them follow this protocol, they will get more spinal release and heart opening.

Have them check the alignment of their back arm by placing their palm on the side of their waist. If their elbow lands on the floor when their palm is on the side of their waist, they may extend their back arm into the A-frame angle (similar to Shavasana). If their elbow doesn’t land, they should keep their palm on the side of their waist. You may give them the prop Elbow Pillow, but it is not required.

“Palm on the side of their waist” –This is a precise alignment.

Many students will place their fingers on the side of their waist instead of their palm.

Or they will put their thumb on the side of their waist instead of their palm.


Some of them will place their palm on their lowest ribs (which can be a useful angle), but for the spinal release, they will get the deepest openings with their palm on the side of their waist.

When their palm is on the side of their waist, their fingers and their thumb will be pointing toward their midline or toward their belly. They will not have their thumb tucked behind their waist.

When you get their hand into this alignment, their back shoulder will release more deeply and lean toward the floor. This widens their collarbone and releases tensions in their upper ribs and the vertebrae connected to them. You can help them discover this by placing your hand softly on the front of their shoulder; then comment when their shoulder leans toward the floor, so they notice what happened.

If their elbow does not land on the floor with their palm on the side of their waist, but it does land on the floor when they extend their arm into the A-frame angle, they are overstretching their rotator cuff (shoulder joint) in the pose. If they protect their rotator cuff, which they do by placing their palm on the side of their waist, their spine will release more deeply. This happens because your spine tightens when you overstretch your joints, and it releases when you align and protect your joints.

PRASARITA PADOTTANASANA (SLOW MOTION DIVE) – IN THE CHAIR Props Feet Cushions:

Do not use the garden pads/knee cushions under their feet for propping any more. Use wide blankets under their feet instead. This allows for free movement of their feet as you bring their heels/ankles into alignment under their knees.

When you start with garden pads under their feet, students don’t check where their body really is at. The reason is that they really cannot move the garden pads around. Without realizing it, they position their knees over their heels/ankles, which means their tailbone will not release. Their body will not improve.

This is very important! In SloMo, they must position their heels/ankles under their knees – not their knees over their heels/ankles.

Additionally, they always put the props in the same place that they needed last time. This means that they have an image of their body in their mind – and that image doesn’t allow their body to change. This is even more limiting! Every time they do the pose, they need to realign their feet to where their body is at that moment. Using the blanket platform for the props under their feet makes this easier.

Lastly, if they use garden pads, and they actually do move the pads around in order to reposition their feet, they are tightening their spine each time they go up and down to move the pads.

And remember, with the blanket platform under their feet, they must use a minimum of 2 folded blankets.

There is one problem with the blanket platform. Once they get their feet in good alignment, with their toes turned inward, the sides of their feet might be leaning more deeply into the blanket layers. Essentially, their big toes and ball joints are lifting, as they are higher (from the floor) than the sides of their feet. They don’t notice it because the blanket fuzz lifts up under their big toes. Point this out to them and have them keep their big toes down. If they cannot do this, they should stay in Stage 1, or do a substitute pose.

11. POSE POINTERS (FOR GRADS)

JATHARA PARIVRTTANASANA Variation from Level 4 – Straighten Lower Leg W/ Upper Leg Bent


The instructions for how to get into the pose are still the same, but once they are in the pose, you can give additional information about the alignment. Additions are in bold.

13. How To Do

C) HOLDING – Continue with easy breathing as you relax all the unnecessary muscles. You are already in the angle. Your hand or arm may have to work to hold your knee down – but don’t use your leg muscles to keep your knee down. Your long leg is long, but does it have to be stiff? And how about your back? Your neck is turned, but it can relax into that angle.

See what happens if you let go of your bent knee. If it floats up a bit, you’ll need to turn your chest toward your knee a bit, so you’re not using your back muscles to pull yourself into the pose. Once you have your knee landing fully on the floor, let your shoulder lean softly back. You’ll get a deeper spinal release even though the twist doesn’t go as far around. Your bent knee does not have to be at your wrist. Your kneecap can be as far up as your elbow, or partway down your lower arm, or at your wrist, or even all the way down to the tip of your little finger. How do you decide? Try the different angles and see where the twist is reaching in your spine. Use your knee position to target the deepest tensions – but make sure you don’t have a swayback. If the back of your waist or behind your lowest ribs begins to sink inward, we call it a “swayback.” If that happens, move your knee toward your elbow, even an inch or two, until that part of your spine lengthens out again. MIN: 20 sec; MAX: 1 min

Tadaa! - Svaroopa · 2016-02-09 · “Tadaa!” June 2008 Page 2 of 21 1. HATHA YOGA – GHATA...

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Transcript of Tadaa! - Svaroopa · 2016-02-09 · “Tadaa!” June 2008 Page 2 of 21 1. HATHA YOGA – GHATA...