Ashtanga*Ashtanga

My David Williams Experience, by Rusty Nelson

Renowned Ashtangi David Williams is coming to town - November 13-16. There is plenty of information on his workshop here and on David Williams here. What I want to do is share a couple of stories from times that I have been privileged to practice with him.

I first saw David about two years ago at workshop he was giving in Houston. I drove down from Austin on a Sunday morning to catch one of the sessions. My first surprise was to see two beautiful yoginis warming up before the session-it was Eriko and Selena from Yoga Yoga!

For two and a half hours David talked, answered questions, and led us through a modified Second Series. He spoke of how Ashtanga was being misrepresented. There was too much emphasis on the physical components of the practice. Too many people were either getting discouraged or injured. He spoke from the heart about patience, and treating the practice as something to be enjoyed over a lifetime. He emphasized the importance of breathing and mulabandha, and assured us that the body will open up in time. At the end of the session, I went to thank him. He was very encouraging to me about my practice and expressed some hope that he could get to Austin some day.

A year later, a friend and I drove to San Antonio for another session with David Williams. We got there a little early, and placed our mats next to his. In this session, he led us through the Primary Series. One thing I should mention - David Williams leads a class while practicing with the class. We finished our five Navasanas, and were preparing to jump our feet to the outside of our hands for Bhujapidasana. David Williams looked at my friend, and in a matter of fact voice said, "Don't let your feet touch the ground." For the first time in her life, she entered the posture just that way. After class, he spoke of a special energy that she had, and seemed to be just as excited as we were about her breakthrough.

But don't go to this workshop expecting a miracle. Go if you want to be inspired by a guy that has been doing this practice six days a week for over 35 years. You will hear some great stories, you will get some fantastic perspective, and you will leave energized and motivated to continuing to build your practice. As you are making plans, please remember that this event will attract people from around the country, and will quickly sell out. If you think you'd like to go, I encourage you to register now .

Click here for more information.

"Oh, the decisions we make..."

An article by Ashtanga teacher Matt Borer

About five years ago my brother visited me in Washington, DC. He lives in Japan and we only get to see each other once or twice a year. When we do, we have a few days to catch up on almost a year's worth of information. On this occasion we had a conversation that I remember quite clearly, and that I have thought about many times since. It was a concept that I have heard echoed in the experiences of my students, and in the ancient Vedic texts! It was a conversation about choices.

We were catching up over a family dinner at a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant in DC. As we gave our order, my brother was somewhat astonished to hear me request an entirely vegetarian meal from the menu. (I grew up eating steak, potatoes, chips and salsa, and little else. I hated veggies and have always loved a big, juicy steak.) My being almost entirely vegetarian was a huge shock for him, and it was something that just hadn't come up before. I remember him asking, "You don't eat steak anymore? How can you not eat steak? It was your favorite! It's my favorite!". I said that I was practicing Ashtanga every morning six days a week, and if I ate steak, it felt like I was practicing with a brick in my stomach in the morning. We all know the practice is hard enough without a meat brick in the stomach!

His next comment has stayed with me, and was the inspiration for this piece. Perplexed, he looked at me and said, "Well why the heck would you do a practice that makes you so sensitive that you give up something you love?"

Wow. I have to admit, the logic of his question stopped me for a moment. I hadn't thought about it like that before, but he was right! I was beginning to make conscious and unconscious choices that revolved around my practice. Even shedding things I loved!

I came back to this conversation recently when I reread the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. There is a Sanskrit term in these texts that I think is brilliant, Prajnaparadha. The term is commonly translated as "a mistake" or "improper use of the intellect (buddhi)." It means having just enough knowledge to make a conscious or unconscious poor decision! For example, knowing the effects of smoking but still deciding to smoke, driving without a seatbelt because accidents happen to other people, eating all those yummy hot peppers that you know will give you indigestion, drinking that first, second, and maybe third martini! In the holistic health system of Ayurveda, Prajnaparadha is seen as a cause of disease in the mental, physical, and spiritual bodies.

The good news is that this imbalance is correctable with self-observation and conscious decision making. The notion that we, as yogis, can make the choice to give up even the things we enjoy is stunning to me. My yoga practice showed me the things in my life that I could change to make myself feel better. It is a concept that is very much at odds with the practice of indulgence, and a world that values quantity over quality, appearance over substance. As our yoga practice becomes more and more dear to us, we begin to make decisions that support it.

Only with the fire of knowledge (jnana agni) can we begin to burn off the things in our lives we no longer need. In the Gita wisdom is called the "greatest purifier on earth." When I ask my students who have been practicing for a few years about their choices, I learn that they have all changed parts of their behavior due to their practice and are happier and healthier for it! We develop this wisdom through practice and observation. With the heat and movement of the Ashtanga system, we multiply the purification process, building tapas (physical and/or spiritual heat) and burning off what we don't need.

Matt and his wife, Hannah, having fun with Scorpion in Mexico.

Ask yourselves, what in your life resembles Prajnaparadha? What in your life have you already changed? Enjoy the work of the practice and take joy in observing the changes you've made over time!

Matt's Disclaimer:
By no means do I mean to tell anyone to go veg or not drink. These are only meant as examples from my own personal experience! Seatbelts, though...

Click here to see when Matt teaches!

Meet the Ashtangis: Ann and Kurt Wise

For four years, I have marveled at Ann and Kurt's growth in this practice. They are eloquent testimony to the power of ashtanga. If you want to see something real nice, check out Kurt's chakrasana. I know he gets a little embarrassed when I say it, but I truly believe it is the most graceful chakrasana in Austin. - Rusty

Ann: In January, 2005 our 13-year old daughter decided she wanted to take a yoga class. She got busy searching on the web and identified the Ashtanga Beginners Series at Yoga Yoga. Since I would have to drive her to the studio, I decided to take the class with her and jokingly asked Kurt if he wanted to come too. I never dreamed he would say yes, but he did, so off all three of us went to our first-ever yoga class.

Kurt: In January 2005, I was informed that I had been signed up to take a beginner yoga class at Yoga Yoga. I soon learned that the class was for Ashtanga Yoga, a very intensive type of yoga ideally taken up at a young age. Leslie, my 13-year old daughter was at the perfect age. At 49, I had no supple joints left in my body and found the postures very difficult. I was determined to finish the course just to save face in the eyes of my wife and daughter.

Ann: I had been religiously working out for many years at the gym doing cardio and strength conditioning, so yoga was just going to be a supplement to that for a short period of time. Over four years later, the gym membership has long since lapsed, our daughter is 17 and has a new interest every week, and Kurt and I plan our lives around our yoga practice.

To read the rest of Ann and Kurt's story, click here!

An Interview with Annick Sebanne

In September, Annick will celebrate her 8th year at Yoga Yoga. Annick's commitment to learning is demonstrated by the 340 teacher training hours she has logged from some of the most gifted teachers in the world. In July, she will add 200 more hours during a month-long teacher training program with Ana Forrest. Annick takes that deep knowledge of yoga, and provides her students with an environment that encourages growth. Under her guidance, your practice can not help but improve.

How were you first exposed to yoga? Everything started when I moved to Boca Raton, Florida from South Africa. That was about 14 years ago. I was very athletic. I was a runner training for marathons and I played tennis. I was not flexible at all. I was a member of a gym and they offered a free yoga class for members. The teacher of this class became my friend. I couldn't move my body, but it wasn't really bothering me. She encouraged me to go to another studio, which was Iyengar. I went there for about a year and a half. And then I started going to another studio in Boca Raton. It was a Hatha Flow class given by an elderly woman. I was fascinated. It was wonderful. I continued doing both Iyengar and flow. The Iyengar taught me a lot of technique. The combination of Hatha, Hatha Flow and Iyengar intensity was great. At what point did you become interested in teaching? I was interested in teaching from the beginning. I went to my first teacher training very soon after my first class. It was in Palm Beach, Florida with a teacher that was certified with Kripala in Massachusetts. There were 15 students there. In that teacher training something very special happened. When we were almost finished, our teacher went back to Kripalu for a week and she gave me her classes to teach. When she came back we finished the teacher training. At the closing ceremony she said, "Usually in a group, I don't find a sister, but in this group I have found my sister. And she turned to me and said it is Annick. Even though she doesn't bend forward very well, she has the spirit inside and I believe she will be a very good teacher." Had you been exposed to Ashtanga at that time? Not really. I had heard about it, and knew I wanted to learn the method. I left for Kripalu to learn with Beryl Bender. I arrived and there were 200 people. Huge classes. I did not know what I was going to do, but I didn't worry. And I started to follow along. It was a five-day intensive. I loved the movement in the practice versus staying in one posture for a long period of time. I was able to use my strength and not be as concerned with my lack of flexibility. In July 2000, I went to Burlington, VT to study with David Swenson. After the teacher training, I came back home to teach Ashtanga. I felt it. I was ready. I ended up going to three 40-hour teacher training intensives with David. The third session was in Second Series. I believe I am the only teacher in Austin who has taken the Second Series Teacher Training. After that, I studied with Richard Freeman, Manju Jois and Nancy Gilgoff. Nancy came from Hawaii, and was teaching her first teacher training outside Maui. There was only three in our class and we moved all the way to the third series. The experience was incredible. After that I worked with Tim Miller. I knew Tim Miller taught in Sanskrit and I went there to learn to teach in Sanskrit. I think it is a show of respect to the origins of the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. I was lucky because I was well trained on adjustments. My mind was just on learning Sanskrit. When I came back, I started teaching in Sanskrit. What do you think has drawn you to Ashtanga? I need to be organized. I am an organized person. It is what I like about the practice. It is organized. It is one posture after another, all in the same order. It is what my life is. It is what I like. From the point when I first practiced with Beryl Bender, it was me, and that was before I really knew anything about it. I was not flexible back then, but it was the movement, strength and requirement for stamina. That is what I liked.

Have you ever studied with Pattabhi Jois? I saw him for a week in Encinitas, California. For me it was after foot surgery, so obviously I was limited. I went there knowing my physical body was not going to cooperate that much. I went for the breath. Ashtanga is the breath. There were 200 people in the class. It is hard for Pantabhi Jois to see anyone. We got to the part in the practice for the first chakrasana (backward rolling somersault). This is one posture I did not think I could do after my feet surgery. Right at that time, Pantabhi Jois started walking toward me. When he got to me, looked directly at me and said "chakrasana". And I did it. I could not believe it. If someone were to ask you, "what is Ashtanga?" how would you respond? I would first say it is the coordination of movement and breath. The teacher is here to guide. Listen to the teacher. What you can do is fine, what you can't do is fine. Just have fun. For the first few classes, look around and you will get an idea of what is going on. Then you can start to learn in earnest. I start to introduce the breath early, but not too early. When you feel the student is willing and wants to build their practice, they will come ask you about the breath, ask about the bandhas. When they ask questions they are ready to accept the answers. I like it when the student is curious. The breath and bandhas do not happen overnight. My heavens, coordinating bandhas is a lifetime journey. Throughout this journey of developing your practice, remember the words of Pattabhi Jois, "practice smart not hard." What is great about ashtanga is once you know the sequence you can release yourself from having to concentrate on postures and physical body. You can start to focus on the breath and bandhas. At that point, you are in a meditation practice. I like the fact that the postures are in the same order. If you don't have to think about the postures, the body is going to get there in its own time. Then you can think about the breath and bandhas. Every thing about the practice is calculated. Over the practice you work every muscle in your body. Even the eye muscles through drishti. What have you gained from this practice? First of all, by strengthening your body you strengthen you ability to control your mind and ability meditate. By Ashtanga Yoga strengthening your body is strengthening your mind. Strengthening your body and mind is going to help you in life. For example if a tragedy happens in your family, you can still maintain control. It does not mean you are not sad. You are very affected, but you are strong. A stronger mind can allow you to focus more effectively on your work. Being more effective at work gives you more power. Everything starts to change. You are not as affected by outside forces. I have raised four children on my own. I have been very grateful to the stamina and strength that Ashtanga has provided me to do this. The practice builds a power inside that I really like. I hear you are going to another teacher training intensive later in July? I have had 340 hours of training in Ashtanga. It is never enough. There is always more to learn. I have done a lot of workshops with Ana Forrest, now I want to be certified by her. It will be 200 hours in 24 days. She is an inspiration to me. She is very powerful and demanding of her students. It is what I like. I want to train with her and bring back this strength to my classes. You don't give up. You do it. You grow. It is all part of the magic.

This Yoga Thing Doesn't Seem to Be Working...

My parents began practicing Hatha Yoga years ago. I suppose I talked about it so much that they figured there must be something to it! They've been practicing twice a week ever since. About two years into his practice, I asked my Dad how it was going. He said, "My back and body feel much better, but I am not sure if this yoga thing is really working." I was astonished by the comment, and curious, so I asked him to elaborate. He said that, although he was physically feeling a better, he was getting more and more frustrated with daily living. "It's just making me realize all the things I don't like about my own behavior." I was blown away! He had come to THE most important stage of a yogic journey beyond asana!

I liken it to step one of Alcoholics Anonymous, the admission and acceptance that I have a problem. We all do. We all have imperfections and behavior we'd like to change! At first it can seem daunting and even depressing, but a great power comes from this realization. In any given breath I can change who I want to be and how I want to be. The path to change begins with the recognition of what needs changing.

So how does this yoga thing work? How does an asana practice lead me to recognizing things about myself I need to change?  

Click here to read the rest of Matt's article.