edition no. 14, 3.22

“Hope you’re doing well.”

 

It’s a phrase we use a lot, because feeling well is a wonderful thing. It’s also an underrated blessing until we get sick or injured.  Then what happens to our yoga practice?

 

Pain can fill us with insecurity, resentment and despair. Will Vīrāsana ever come back after knee surgery? Does a herniated disk mean saying goodbye to Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana  forever? There are less visible psychological ailments as well. It’s tough to spring into a standing pose after the death of a beloved pet has left a hole in your heart. And how do you do Śavāsana when you’re feeling shame over a mistake you made?

 

An accident or disease can also change our practice permanently, forcing us to give up or alter our favorite poses, and even rethink the way we do yoga entirely (I’ve been there). A first step is getting past the thought that life has treated you unfairly. A next step is seeing the rich possibilities that yoga offers.

 

In Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar offers this advice:


“Do not say that you are disappointed with yourself. Find time every day to do something to maintain the asana practice. Sometimes both body and mind yield to willpower, and other times they rebel. Do you have a problem part that makes the practice difficult for you? An injured knee? A stiff back? That is your problem child. Learn how to deal with it and how to nurture it, as you would a child who had problems that needed extra love and attention.”

 

The message here is to be patient with an imperfect, yet malleable body, to be our own best friend when feeling depressed. It's not what we can do on the mat that's really matters, it’s who we discover there—the infinite being within—thanks to the transformative power of yoga.

 

Irene Alderson, Editor

 

 

Mary Jo Nissen

Home:  Minneapolis, MN

Years with Iyengar Yoga:  29

Fun fact:  I recently published an article in Iowa History Journal about how my mother was named “Miss Perfect Back of America” in 1933.

What change would you most like to see in our IYAUM community?  I would like to see more men, young people and people of color—three groups that are underrepresented in our yoga community.

 

At age 42, I had undergone surgeries and chemotherapy for breast cancer, and I needed a way to heal my body and mind. After reading an article in the Star Tribune about Kristin Chirhart, I thought yoga might be worth a try. I went to Kristin’s introductory class and never looked back. Iyengar Yoga helped me recover from those challenges, and it has provided continuing benefits for my body and mind throughout the subsequent years.

 

For decades, Kristin traveled yearly to India to study directly with Mr. Iyengar, and she brought his teachings back to her students. By infusing her classes with those experiences, she instilled in us a strong respect for him and his tradition. Kristin was also instrumental in beginning and nurturing the B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Association of Minnesota (now IYAUM).

 

I never went through teacher training because I had no desire to teach yoga, but eventually I realized the importance of contributing to the Iyengar community. Thus, I was motivated to “give back” as a gesture of my gratitude to Mr. Iyengar and Kristin. In addition to serving two terms on the IYAUM Board of Directors, I have worked with the IYNAUS Membership and Equity committees. I am now on the IYNAUS Research Committee, and we’re currently busy planning a research conference about Iyengar Yoga.

 

IYNAUS and IYAUM are interesting organizations. Membership includes both teachers (CIYTs, who are required to join) and non-teachers, but the majority (about 65%) of members are non-teachers. According to the Pune Constitution, which Mr. Iyengar framed as a model for Iyengar organizations throughout the world, the majority of the Board of Directors must be teachers, but a “significant minority” of its members are to be non-teachers. It seems he believed that the work of building and supporting this community requires a partnership between both groups.

 

I hope IYAUM can continue to use such partnerships to find new ways to introduce the art, science, and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga to others. For example, when I think of the inflexible men or stress-ridden young people I know, I want them to find a way to reap the benefits of this practice. If members know of places or organizations where other groups might be introduced to Iyengar Yoga, perhaps they could help arrange classes and bring in the excellent teachers in our community.  

 

 

 By Shannyn Joy Potter, CIYT

 

Supta Vīrāsana

Supta: supine, lying down

Vīrāsana: a hero, warrior, champion

 

 

My first yoga teacher, William Prottengeier, would accuse me of flopping down into this pose—and rightly so. I first learned the pose in a 7th-grade PhyEd class where we all flopped into it and stared at the gymnasium ceiling. The outer form was the same, but was that really yoga? We never called it anything, it was just something we did, probably to loosen the quadriceps. What I noticed (more than my legs) was how the room and my mind quickly transformed to a quiet space—after the moans of those with tight quads subsided. 

 

A dozen years later, I learned that this pose has a name and very specific, refined, directional actions. Straightening and extending my arms alone changed the entire pose, as I became long from my pelvis to fingers. I loved that I could drop into anywhere there was space on the floor. 

 

For decades I worked as a decorative painter, often on construction sites where chaos assaulted the senses. My body and mind would crave this pose. Sometimes the only clean space would be ten feet up on a scaffolding plank. So there I would climb and do my Supta Vīrasana at the end of lunch break. In less than ten minutes, I would once again feel quiet, grounded stillness. Wherever I’ve done this pose, as it has always brought me back to a feeling of being at home.

 

I am grateful for my teachers and the teachings that have carried me through the years.

 

 Instructions from Yoga: A Gem for Women and Light on Yoga:

  1. Sit in Vīrāsana. Hold the ankles with the hands. Take a few breaths. 
  2. Exhale, recline the trunk back and rest the elbows one by one on the floor.
  3. Relieve the pressure on the elbows, one after the other, by extending the arms.
  4. At first rest the crown of the head on the floor. Gradually rest the back of the head and then the back on the floor. Take the arms overhead and stretch them out straight. Hold this pose as long as you can, breathing deeply. Then place the arms beside the trunk, press the elbows to the floor and sit up again with an exhalation. 
  5. Extend the arms over the head with the palms facing the ceiling. 
  6. Stay in this position, observing the following points: (i) stretch the extensors of the arms so that the thighs and the abdomen are massaged and pulled towards the chest; (ii) do not lift the knees, the buttocks, or the shoulders from the floor; (iii) take the shoulder-blades in and open the chest; (iv) the posterior and the anterior trunk should extend evenly.
  7. Bring the hands towards the feet and hold the ankles. Lift the head and the trunk off the ground, supporting yourself on your elbows. Sit in Vīrāsana. Release the legs.

 

Special instructions:

  1. Beginners may keep the knees apart. 
  2. If it is difficult to recline back, put a pillow or a bolster to support the back and head so that the thighs and buttocks rest on the floor. 
  3. Consult a teacher on how to adjust for knee or back pain and injuries.

 

Effects:

Supta Vīrāsana stretches the abdomen, back and waist. It aids in digestion and may be done after heavy meals to obtain lightness in the stomach. Extremely useful in cases of acidity, rheumatism, stomach ache, pain in the back, asthma, ulcers, heartburn, disorder of the ovaries and inflammation of the nerves. This āsana is also very good for athletes.

 

Shannyn Joy Potter is the founder of nkbyoga in NE Minneapolis, where she teaches full time.

 

Sources:

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, revised edition. Schocken Books, 1979. 

Geeta Iyengar, Yoga: A Gem for Women. Timeless Books, 1990. 

Iyengar Yoga Peru

 

First Annual IYAUM Spring Retreat with Laura Blakeney

By Nancy Footner, CIYT, Director of Friendship Yoga, Iowa City

 

Plan now to join us for a weekend of great teaching, quiet time for reflection and stimulating discussions.

 

When: May 20-22, 2022. Retreat begins Friday evening at 6pm and ends after lunch on Sunday. 

Where: Prairiewoods Franciscan Eco-Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa.

Who will be teaching? Laurie Blakeney, Senior CIYT, Director of the Ann Arbor School of Yoga.

Who can attend? All levels of students are welcome. Sixteen weeks of consistent instruction with a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher is recommended.

How to sign up? Registration opens April 1 online at IYAUM. Space is limited, so register early! 

Cost?  TBA, details coming soon.

Are there scholarships? Yes, IYAUM members are eligible for financial assistance. Apply online by April 19.

Can I get a ride or share transportation? Yes. We encourage carpooling, and IYAUM will help with planning.

I have some special dietary needs, can I still come? Yes. Given advance notice, Prairiewoods will try to meet your needs. Kitchenettes with refrigerator and microwave are also available.

 

About Prairiewoods

An eco-spiritual center founded by Franciscan sisters, it is an ideal setting for an Iyengar Yoga retreat. It features a spacious facility for classes and meals, 40 acres of gardens, woods and restored prairie, comfortable lodging, and ample space for walking, meditating or just musing. Learn more at https:// prairiewoods.org

 

My Connection

In 1998, as the director of Friendship Yoga in Iowa City, I initiated what became an annual Spring Iyengar Yoga retreat at Prairiewoods, near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. My goal was for my students to have an opportunity to study with some of the amazing senior Iyengar Yoga teachers with whom I was studying while I was working towards certification. My inspiration for the weekend came from Francie Ricks, who sponsored weekend retreats at the Tau Center in Winona, MN in the mid-90s. When I found a similar setting near Iowa City in 1998, I invited our very first guest teacher, Lee Sverkersen, who with Kristin Chirhart provided staunch support to the Iowa City Iyengar Yoga community for many years. Out of gratitude to my northern neighbors, I joined the IYAUM board in 2020, and I have made it my goal as a board member to strengthen our ties as a regional Iyengar Yoga community.

 

Waking Up

By Joy Laine, CIYT

 

abhāva-pratyayālambanā vṛttir nidrā (I.10)

Deep sleep is that state of mind which is based on an absence [of any content].

(Yoga Sūtras, translated by Bryant p. 41)

 

 

In the last few months, we have been working our way through Patañjali’s classification of the cittavṛttis, the different types of conscious states that collectively constitute the experiential life of human beings. This month we have reached the fourth and penultimate of the cittavṛttis, nidrā or deep sleep.  At first sight, it might seem strange to classify deep sleep as a conscious state at all, since the common view of deep sleep is to see it as a non-conscious state, a welcome break from the challenges facing us in our in our conscious waking life. In Shakespeare’s words, it is “nature’s soft nurse.” Patañjali’s view that deep sleep is a form of conscious experience is, however, a natural outgrowth of his fundamental understanding of consciousness itself. Patañjali was also heir to centuries of inquiry into the nature of deep sleep and dreaming as it relates to the quest for spiritual liberation.  Further exploration of the historical context for this sūtra will therefore give us a better sense of its philosophical significance.

 

Historical overview

 

The Self-existent One pierced the apertures outward,

therefore, one looks out, and not into oneself.

A certain wise man in search of immortality,

turned his sight inward and saw the self within.

(Kaṭha Upaniṣad, 4.1 translated by Olivelle p.240)

 

Centuries before the lifetime of Patañjali, Indian philosophers had directed their attention inwards in their quest to find something joyful and permanent beyond the sufferings of earthly existence. The Upaniṣads, which constitute the last portion of the Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism, document this search. We see depicted in them a remarkable cast of individuals dedicating their lives to this inward quest for spiritual knowledge. 

 

There is a famous and extraordinary passage in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (c. eighth century BCE) where Indra (one of the old powerful Vedic Gods) is depicted as a seeker along with other seekers, looking for answers to the problem of suffering. The symbolism here is interesting because it conveys the idea that the philosophy of yoga represents a sea change within the Indian tradition, so that even the old Vedic Gods are portrayed as eager for this new knowledge and are willing to humble themselves to achieve it. The Vedic tradition was all about ritual knowledge, whereas the new teachings of yoga developed in the Upaniṣads focused on a direct first-person experiential knowledge that would offer an escape from the sufferings of earthly existence.

 

Indra goes deep into the forest, seeking out the sage Prajāpati, coming to him as a humble student. He has to serve Prajāpati as a student, bringing firewood for thirty-two years before Prajāpati even begins to address his questions. Indra wanted to understand the ātman, the deepest Self, by means of which “one obtains all of the worlds.” Prajāpati gives a series of answers to Indra’s question—that the body, that dreams and that deep sleep are the real Self. Indra, upon reflection, comes to see that each of these answers is unsatisfactory, although each of Prajāpati’s answers seems to bring Indra closer to what he is seeking. The state of deep sleep is given as a penultimate answer to Indra’s question, “Where can I find the Self?” In the following excerpt, Indra returns to Prajāpati for further instruction, having realized the limitations of dreaming as a state of consciousness that frees the individual from suffering.

 

Prajāpati: Maghavan [Indra], didn’t you leave with a contented heart? So, why have you come back? What do you want?

 

Indra: It is true, sir, that this [dreaming] self does not become blind when this body becomes blind, or lame when this body becomes lame. This self is clearly unaffected by the faults of the body—it is not killed when the body is slain or rendered lame when this body becomes lame. Nevertheless, people do in a way kill it and chase after it; it does in a way experience unpleasant things; and in a way it even cries. I see nothing worthwhile in this.

 

Prajāpati: It is exactly as you say, Maghavan. But I will explain it to you further. Stay here for another thirty-two years.

 

[So he stayed for another thirty-two years, after which Prajāpati spoke to him.]

 

Prajāpati: When one is fast asleep, totally collected and serene, and sees no dreams—that is the self; that is the immortal; that one is free from fear; that is brahman.

 

[Indra then left, his heart content. But even before he had reached the gods, he saw this danger: “But this self as just explained, you see, does not perceive itself fully as, ‘I am this;’ it does not know any of these beings here. It has become completely annihilated. I see nothing worthwhile in this.” So he returned again carrying firewood in his hands.]

(Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.10.3 – 8.11.1-2, translated by Olivelle pp. 173-4)

 

Deep sleep seems closer than dreaming to the liberating consciousness that Indra seeks. Unlike dreaming, one transcends the dualities of worldy existence, and one does not suffer in deep sleep as one can when dreams become nightmares. Indra, however, upon further reflection rejects Prajāpati’s answer and returns for more instruction. Deep sleep seems too diminished a state to constitute ultimate liberation and insight.  Prajāpati finally teaches Indra that the Seer is the real Self—the thinker of thoughts, the hearer of sounds, the seer of sights. We can see in these passages from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad the development of ideas that are central to the Yoga Sūtras, specifically the idea of a Self as Seer, revealed in a state that transcends the normal modes of everyday consciousness.

 

As a result of their pioneering psychological fieldwork, the Upaniṣadic thinkers eventually established a fourfold classification of human conscious states. This became a standard reference point for all later philosophical thinking. The four states are:

 

(i)      waking consciousness

(ii)     dreaming consciousness

(iii)    deep sleep consciousness

(iv)    a fourth liberating state of consciousness (turīya)

 

The first three states are viewed as everyday states of consciousness, in that every human being will experience these three forms of consciousness as a natural part of life.  The fourth and last state is different insofar as it is a state of consciousness that they believed liberated the individual from the sufferings of worldly existence (saṁsāra). It is also different in that this state of consciousness is not guaranteed in the normal course of life, but requires a technology of spiritual practices for its production. The development of yoga was thus closely associated with the idea of there being extraordinary liberating states of consciousness that were attainable, but only through pursuing specialized contemplative practices.

 

In the western philosophical traditions, different states of consciousness are often measured against the standard of everyday reality. Thus, dreams are considered to be less real than waking consciousness. We “wake up” from a dream to a realm that we consider to have a greater reality. In the Indian philosophical tradition, although this same measure of everyday reality is used to rank the different states of consciousness, they are also measured against a different standard, the reality of liberation. By this standard, dreaming consciousness has more reality than waking consciousness because it resembles more closely the state of liberation—since it is a more creative state of consciousness and less constrained by worldly limitations. Of the three, deep sleep is viewed as having the most reality of all because it transcends the dualities of worldly existence and is a state that is free of suffering. The idea here is that deep sleep, out of the three everyday states of consciousness, most closely resembles liberation, a fact reflected in the succession of answers given by Prajāpati to Indra.

 

Nidrā (deep sleep) in the Yoga Sūtras

 

Patañjali’s classification of human conscious states is more detailed in its presentation than the fourfold classification of the Upaniṣads. The three waking states are now analyzed as five different types of cittavṛtti, and the so-called fourth state of liberating consciousness is now a more complex hierarchy of at least seven different types of samādhi states. Yet the Upaniṣadic classification is still an important touchstone.  Following the Upaniṣadic tradition, Patañjali distinguishes between two types of sleep, deep sleep (nidrā) and dreaming sleep (svapna). This fourth cittavṛtti, nidrā, refers to deep sleep only. As we will see when we come to examine the last of the cittavṛttis, dreaming is considered to be a type of memory (smṛti).

 

This is the only one out of the five cittavṛttis where the word vṛtti is used again in the definition. In his commentary, Vācaspati Miśra acknowledges that there may be some disagreement as to calling sleep a vṛtti, hence the need to include the term in the definition. Unlike the other cittavṛttis, sleep seems to be characterized as an absence of mental activity. Vyāsa confirms nidrā as a vṛtti by pointing out that, since we can remember our time asleep, there must have been some mental activity. We say, for example, “I slept well,” or “I slept badly.” We are thus remembering a specific mental state, not just an absence of mental states. As Carrera says in his commentary, “we remember only that which we perceive.” (p. 34) The absence of content in deep sleep consciousness does not therefore imply an absence of consciousness itself.       

 

It is important, however, to discern the deeper reason why Patañjali insists on including deep sleep in his classification of cittavṛttis. You may remember from our study of vikalpa that consciousness is not just an accidental property of puruṣa, but constitutes its very essence. Consciousness is the essential feature of each eternal puruṣa, a feature which it never loses.  Since the puruṣa is the enduring part of our existence, so too is consciousness. What is diminished in sleep is the ability of the instruments of cognition to function as a conduit of consciousness, since they are clouded by dullness (tamas). Losing consciousness is not an option for Patañjali. Consciousness is a light that cannot be turned off.

 

One question is how the quietness of deep sleep compares to that of liberation. In his commentary, B.K.S. Iyengar observes a link between these two states: “sleep gives one a glimpse of the seer.” Spiritual liberation, however, is not to be equated with sleep.  As B.K.S. Iyengar goes on to say, it is only an indistinct glimpse, “because the light of discrimination, viveka, is clouded.” (LOYS p. 56) Responding to the question as to how sleep differs from one-pointedness (a higher form of consciousness), Vācaspati Miśra says in his gloss, “… although it is similar to one-pointedness, yet it is caused by Tamas, and is therefore contrary to both the cognitive and ultra-cognitive trances.” (p. 25 Rāma Prasāda). Thus, although deep sleep is a state that transcends the dualities of the material world, a state in which the ego is submerged and also a state in which we escape our suffering, it is a dull state, devoid of the insight of liberation. It is also temporary.

 

Concluding thoughts

 

As was the case in many ancient societies, dreaming and deep sleep were regarded as valuable experiences for the individual, offering potential sources of insight and knowledge. It is easy to take these states of consciousness for granted, but they are curious dimensions of our existence.  In the absence of a scientific explanation for these states, they must have seemed quite magical. In I.38, Patañjali gives dreams and deep sleep as important tools to be used for overcoming the obstacles faced on the yogic path, for the reasons discussed above, that such states give us some sense of the ultimate goals of the yogic path. Dreams can also be used as a tool for gaining insight into our psyche and the workings of the subconscious mind.

 

In popular culture, movies like The Matrix bring to life the philosophical worry that so-called reality might not be as real as it seems to us. Long before, philosophers in India too harbored this belief in their rejection of waking consciousness as constituting the last word in what is real for human beings. Just as we have all had the experience of waking up from a dream, they posit a state of liberating consciousness which feels like a “waking up” from what we had previously viewed as real. From the vantage point of spiritual liberation, the so-called reality of waking life seems like a dream and falls away in the face of a new reality.

 

 

Joy Laine taught philosophy at Macalester College for over thirty years and teaches Iyengar Yoga around the Twin Cities.

 

Sources

 

Edwin Bryant, The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. North Point Press, 2009.

Jaganath Carrera, Inside the Yoga Sūtras. Integral Yoga Publications, 2005.

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sūtras. Aquarian Press, 1993.

Patrick Olivelle, Upaniṣads. Oxford’s World Classics, 2008.

Rāma Prasāda, The Yoga Darśana of Patañjali. Logos Press, 1912/2005.

 

2021 IYAUM Board of Directors

President: Nancy Marcy

Vice President: Nancy Footner

Treasurer: Dawn Talbert

Secretary: Katharine Wood

Membership: Bethany Valentini

Media & Communications: Shannyn Joy Potter

IYAUM Liaison to IYNAUS: Susan Johnson

Contact:  iyengaryogaaum@gmail.com

 

IYAUM Committee Newsletter

Editor: Irene Alderson

Visuals: Shannyn Joy Potter

Contact: news@iyaum.org

 

Iyengar Yoga Association of the Upper Midwest

P.O. Box 582381 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55458

IYAUM.ORG