YH:
Aditi, your upoming workshop, “Inner wisdom through outer body” sounds
interesting, tell us something about it
AG:
Well, the intention behind the workshop is to help students obtain a deeper
experience from their Yoga practice. And I don’t mean deep as in an increase in
flexibility but deeper as in moving inwards, discovering the Mind-Body
equation. Most practitioners understand an intensive practice to be physically
hardcore but a practice can be mentally intensive as well. When we come face to
face with our own impatience, restlessness and fears in an asana, we are
discovering something a lot deeper that never gets addressed, let alone worked
upon. Normally, we take an asana class and for us that is Yoga. The practice of
Yoga involves a lot more than just asanas. The emphasis on observing the
breath, making the body and the mind still is not emphasized as much. As a
result our consciousness stays only on the physical aspect of things. The
inward journey never begins. I always tell my students that Yoga is about
conquest of the Mind and not conquest of the body. Seek to control the Mind
through the practice, understand why each posture affects us differently, not
just physically but also mentally and emotionally. And to be able to make that discovery one
must make an attempt to go beyond the physical. In this workshop we will seek
to understand our Mind, and see how it
affects not just our bodies but also our quality of life.
YH:
So its going to be a relaxed, slow practice?
AG:
An interesting choice of words. I have never quite understood why people
address a practice as slow. Holding postures for some time, is a good test of
the condition of the Mind. Can your Mind become still during a posture? Are you
able to accomplish that? Or is it all over the place, waiting to jump to the
next posture? If you’re feeling ‘bored’ during the practice, clearly your Mind
is not in it, only your body is. And an asana is complete only when your body
is aligned, the breath is directed and the mind is focussed and still. An asana
isin’t just about twisting your limbs into one position and then thinking about
when the teacher will ask you to come out of it. If you learn to dive deep
within yourself, explore what’s happening to the mind during the asana,
watching the breath, becoming aware of what’s happening there you are beginning
to come close to what the yogis wanted you to discover through your practice. If
you want pearls you have to dive deep into the ocean, pearls don’t float on the
surface.
I
often have people come and ask me, “Is your class intensive?” and I reply,
“depends on what you’re definition of ‘intense’ is. What is intensive for me
may not be intensive for you and vice versa. For me a ‘mentally’ intensive
practice—one that brings me face to face with my Mind and emotions -- is more
of a challenge than a physical one. I mean its easier to build strength of
muscle, but its difficult to face our fears in a posture, confront our emotions
of restlessness, irritability in the practice. And how will you face these
things if you keep jumping from one pose to another? Where is the time to
become still and observe? I’ve seen people practice asanas for 15 years and
they do consider themselves very accomplished, and on a physical level it is,
but if you ask them to make the body and Mind still for 10 minutes they can’t
do that. What does that say? That for 15 years you are stuck in the doorway and
haven’t moved forward. Asanas are only a doorway to something much greater that
is waiting to be discovered. Don’t get stuck in the door. Move forward through
an inward practice. In the workshop we will learn to perform a practice with
awareness and mindfulness, allowing the Mind to reveal to us what we have
within us. It requires courage and willingness definitely, but the fruits of
such a practice greatly outweighs the efforts that one invests into it.
YH:
What is the structure of the workshop going to be like?
AG:
We will begin with Pranayama. Specifically, Anulom Vilom (Alternate Nostril
breathing). Talking about and
discovering the reasons behind the
invention of this Pranayama, we will learn the basics of Svarodaya (Science of
the Breath), move into a series of asanas discussing their origins, benefits
and learn to bring mindfulness into the asana practice by holding the postures
and allowing the breath to create expansion. Normally we deepen the posture by
pulling or pushing ourselves into it, but a true practice involves expansion of
asana by expanding the breath. We end with a deep meditation that will take you
deeper into the recesses of the Mind, away from the physical, allowing you to
surface back with awareness, clarity and serenity.
YH:
sounds wonderful. Does one need to have any yoga experience to join the
workshop or can beginners join it as well?
AG:
The practice of mindfulness and awareness is for everyone -- Beginners,
Intermediate and Advanced practitioners.
Everyone seeks inner peace. And
with our lives in the external world getting more and more chaotic and fast
paced, the need to calm the Mind is even greater today. Learning to be mindful
and calm from within will help us cope with the stresses of everyday life. What
we learn in this workshop will be simple and practical. And not to forget, it
can be easily incorporated into your existing practice. Nobody is asking you to
abandon your current practice, we are simply offering an addition to it – and
one that you will greatly benefit from. As the great sage Patanjali says in The
Yoga Sutras, ‘Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah, Tadah drashtuh svarupe avasthanam’,
Yoga is learning to control the modifications of the Mind, only then can one
rest in its true nature”. The texts highlight the importance of keeping the
body healthy through asanas so that one may develop and maintain the practice
of Meditation through which one explores the reality within. Hence if you go
through the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtang) Dharana (Concentration) and Dhyana
(Meditation) always follow Asana and Pranayama. Asana and Pranayama are meant
to prepare you for the practice that lies ahead. Like I said, don’t get stuck
in the door, move ahead. We exist in both the inner and the outer worlds at the
same time, the only thing we need to learn is a way to create a balance between
both. Meditation shows us how to accomplish that. Its fruits of clarity,
serenity and stillness expand our sense of identity and we learn to live in the
external world peacefully and meaningfully.
