(I also forgot to post my mid-term)
When I signed up for this class I had no clue how many different types of yoga there were. I knew that yoga was a holistic practice involving the mind and the body, but I did not realize the amount of ways people could interpret this mind-body practice. The only yoga I had ever done was over the summer through a church with middle aged to older women. Although those classes involved more guided meditation and deep breathing, we also did do some beginner movements. I found that the women, all at least twice my age, were much more capable than I was at holding positions. Knowing this, it was no surprise that the first few weeks of class have been a challenge for me, both mentally and physically. Keeping my attention on my breathing and away from wandering thoughts is hard when you are in a position that is less than comfortable. Although each week I feel capable of pushing myself more than the last, I decided to go to a more breathing centered class for the midterm assignment. I looked through the class lists of several of the local yoga studios, and I found The Arlington Center had what I was looking for.
The Arlington Center offers a wide variety of yoga and meditation classes to every age group and at all different levels of practice. They also offer other classes such as aikido, Nia, tai chi, workshops, and more. They offer a schedule of classes seven days a week as well as having monthly events and programs. The Arlington Center also offers many holistic therapies such as Reiki, acupuncture, reflexology, and psychotherapy. It seems to have something to offer to everyone. There is no one culture, or group, or age they are appealing to, it is open to any and all people that are drawn to their various programs.
Although there is almost no history to be found on the center’s website, it does talk about the founder, Chip Hartranft who has been active in the yoga community since 1978 (Hartranft, 2011). The Arlington Center was based on Hartranft’s belief in the integration of yoga and dharma. Hartranft does this integration through a mix of yoga movement and insight meditation. This led to there being a lot of the more breathing centered yoga classes offered at The Arlington Center. I decided to try one call the class titled Breath, Flow, Stillness, taught by Cynthia Gramer. The description on the website said, “This class is devoted to the inhale and the exhale, to deep relaxation and true connection with the present moment” (Hartranft, 2011). It talked about combining simple yoga poses and movements to the flow of the breath. I was looking forward to a chance to really focus on my breathing and the present without having to worry as much about my own physical limits.
I went to The Arlington Center with another member of the class, and when we arrived ten minutes early for class the center seemed quiet. There was a class going on in one room that I could see, and no one at the front the front desk. After a few second of confusion we were called down a long hallway and asked if we were there for the Breath, Flow, Stillness class. Before entering the room we were asked to remove our shoes and leave our belongings on a hook. There was a sign in sheet and a place where money was collected. We then walked into the room only to see the teacher who called to us and one other female student present. This made me feel nervous for some reason, that we could potentially be the only ones in the class.
The teacher, Cynthia Gramer began asking us questions as soon as we reached the door. Gramer has been teaching yoga since 2002 and is also a Reiki master (Hartranft, 2011). She is trained in both rigorous and meditative yoga. The website says Gramer’s teaching “blends elements from Anusara, Yin, Vinyasa, Restorative and Forrest yoga to create classes that serve the needs of students in the moment” (Hartranft, 2011). I was glad I did not read her information before I went to the class, because the rigorous training credential would have scared me, and this class was by no means rigorous, it was much more meditative. Although my first reaction of her was off-putting enough, she pinned us for several years younger, which immediately made me feel defensive. She asked what brought us to the class, and we mentioned that we were Lesley students taking a Yoga: Theory, Culture, and Practice class; she did not seem impressed. I wanted to like this teacher, and to get something out of her class, but it was hard when I felt friendly tones mixed with judgments. Luckily, several more people showed up, four or five more females and one male. It was clear we were much younger then everyone in the class, by at least ten or twenty years, if not more. It was not an unwelcoming environment, but I am not sure if it was an accepting one either.
It was time for class to begin and we all sat on our yoga mats and waited for instruction of some sort. Gramer began the class with a conversation about how the more knowledge she gained the less she felt she knew. This was something I could relate to, and I was glad to have someone share that feeling. However, Gramer continued with her discussion. She went on to say how none of us really knew anything; we do not even know ourselves. This went on for a while, and then suddenly she was done and she told us what would be happening throughout the class. The rest of the class was done to the soothing background music of Om chanting.
We started off the class with some breathing techniques. We actually focused on one called Ujjayi Pranayama, which is discussed in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Ujjayi means victorious and our book translates it to mean the psychic breath in the English language because of the effect it has on the mind (Muktibodhananda, 1993). The Ujjayi Pranayama is said to help relax both the physical body and the mind as well as bring awareness to psychic sensitivity. After doing this breathing technique for a while we moved on to some yoga movements that were similar to a modified version of the Soorya Namaskaram, or sun worship, we do to start class. There was not as much movement as the one we do in class; it was smaller steps, so I found it easier to concentrate on my breath. Every movement we did corresponded to an inhalation or an exhalation and so the movement seemed to flow more easily to me.
After doing this pattern for a while we moved back into breathing techniques. This time we focus on the Nadi Shodhana Pranayama, or alternate nostril breathing that we have done in class. I was excited to get a second chance to try this, because in our Lesley class my nose had been too congested to attempt this. I found it easier and much more natural than the Ujjayi Pranayama, but it still took some getting used to. The book refers to the alternate nostril breath as the purification pranayama (Muktibodhananda, 1993). I find it strange that it is the purification breath, because I feel in our culture we only breathe through one nostril when we are forced to by a cold. I find this breathing interesting because it takes a lot of conscious effort, as well as some physical effort, for me to perform. However, it says eventually the goal is to be able to control each nostril individually.
Finally we spent the last segment of class doing meditation. Although I struggle with some of the more challenging yoga positions, I think I struggle most with staying still and concentrating on my breathing. It was a colder day so she had us all grab a blanket so we were warm as we lay on the floor. The Om chanting was quite helpful, because it gave me something to help me concentrate on as well as my breathing. About halfway through, the Om chanting ended and not too long after than my thoughts started wandering and I fell asleep. Luckily, the teacher ended the meditation with a singing bowl, which has a sound I find very soothing because my mom has one. This not only gently woke me up, but it also helped me end the meditation successfully concentrating on my breathing.
Once class was over I felt really good. I had done a gentler yoga so I did not feel sore, but my body felt awake. I also was proud that I was able to concentrate on my breathing, even if it was with the help of the singing bowl. Before we got up to leave, the teacher went back to her opening discussion about how we as humans do not know anything. She said that every time she thought she knew herself she found out she did not. She then added that you could not be you wrong. This immediately frustrated me, because the two comments seemed so contradictory to me. The class as a whole seemed contradictory to me, because the things she said in one minute did not seem to match up with what she said the next. The teacher then hugged me goodbye and wished me luck in my studies, even though she said earlier we will never really know anything.
After I left and I had time to reflect, I decided the teacher’s behavior reminded me of Krishnamurti’s book and how contradictory he seemed to be in his writing as well. In the opening pages Krishnamurti (1999) says, “To find that out, to come upon it, all authority of any kind, especially spiritual, must be totally set aside, because authority implies conformity, obedience, acceptance of a certain pattern” (p. 3). However, by reading his book you are obeying what he says, you are allowing him to be some kind of authority. Therefore, Krishnamurti himself is the authority telling you to accept his pattern. I was annoyed by the contradictions in Krishnamurti’s book, just like I was by the teacher’s contradictions in class. Maybe contradictions are part of the yoga culture that I have yet to understand.
Since the class I went to revolved around the breathing techniques in yoga, I decided to do some research on just exactly what the goal of pranayama was. I have in my class notes the word broken down to mean energy control. However, why exactly is the conscious control of the breath such an important part of yoga? I found an article from a natural health magazine examining the many benefits that breathing practices could have on the body. The article says, “research shows that it can help lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and cut the risk of heart disease” (Melone, 2008). The article goes on to say that breathing has been proven to relax the nervous system, reduce anxiety and stress, and make childbirth easier. If there are so many great benefits to breathing practices, why do more people not do them? There was an article on breathing online for our class. The article says, “The aim of pranayama is to help us transcend the fluctuations and addictions of our given situation by putting the body into a pattern of breathing that most people never observe” (Kearney, 2008). It is starting to seem like a lot of the aspects of yoga involved doing things most people never observe. Especially after reading the techniques suggested in the Shatkarma and Pranayama chapter of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and watching the video on the meditating man who was not harmed by fire. The article went on to say, “The proper balancing of inhalation and exhalation enables us to reach the rhythm and depth of sleep without renouncing lucid awareness” (Kearney, 2008). So I am to assume this lucid state is the goal of meditation, and breathing is one of the tools to get you there, but I am yet to fully understand what can happen in this space of the mind between consciousness and unconsciousness.
I feel as though there is a lot you can learn in the theories behind yoga practices. The rituals and the techniques and why they are done this way. Each branch of yoga interprets those theories in their own way. In some types of yoga, breathing is a tool, but it is not the main focus, the body is more important or the clarity of the mind is the goal. However in other branches of yoga, breathing is the base that everything else branches off of. There is a lot that can be said for the culture of yoga as well. Is it so Americanized that the basic principles are lost in translation? Or is so Eastern that all concepts are foreign and people are afraid to try the practices. It is interesting to see which cultures grab hold of which theories of yoga. If a branch of yoga decided to start advertising the concept of Gaja Karani, the elephant stomach cleansing, as opposed to the more commonly known practices of the Neti, or nasal cleansing, I think that branch of yoga would inspire an entirely different culture than what is commonly expected. It is easy to see middle aged women in American, such as Oprah backing the Neti pot, but Gaja Karani would probably have a quite a different following. Then finally there is the practice of yoga, which I think is the only way to fully understand what it is. You can read about theories and cultures, but without ever experiencing some of the different aspects of yoga, what would you really be learning? The theory and culture are a good place to start, but it is in the practice that I think the most can be gained.
References
Hartranft, C. (2011). The Arlington Center. Retrieved from http://www.arlingtoncenter.org
Kearney, R. (2008). Pranayama: Breathing from the Heart. Religion & the Arts, 12(1-3), 266-276. doi:10.1163/156852908X271060
Krishnamurti, J. (1999). This light in oneself: True meditation Boston: Shambala Press.
Melone, L. (2008). Breathe Deeply. Natural Health, 38(4), 89-90. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Muktibodhananda, S. (1993). Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar, India: Bihar School of Yoga.
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