Day 13. Krishnamacharya's Mudra/Life Saving practice #2

 See the Guidelines for Practice page at the top of the blog.

Basically, the breathing is long and  slow, the eyes closed, bandhas engaged, Jalandhara bandha in particular. After each asana, mudra,and pranayama ( unless indicated otherwise, usually by "followed by") we are directed to lie down and rest for one to two minutes to notice the effect. See the guidelines post for more on this most important element of the practice.

Points of concentration are introduced for different asana, mudra and/or pranayama from this session on. I will be including the chart below with each post, the concentration post mentioned in the session highlighted in bold.

Points of concentration: 16 vital points. (No concentration points in todays practice)

sirsa - the fontanel

murdhna - middle of forehead

bhrumadhya - between eyebrows

nasagra - extremity of the nose

talu mula - back of the palate

lalata - root of the uvula

kantha - throat

kantha kupa - back of the throat

hrdaya - middle of the heart

nabhi - navel

sroni - centre of the pelvis

mula - perineum

jangha- point at top of thighs

janu - point at middle of knees 

gulpha - point at middle of ankles 

pada angusta - point of the big toes.

Also of note...

Murdhna: the point located in front of the nose

Divya Chakshush: Point behind the head (occipital)

Aditya (the sun) is the disk of the sun, black and shiny,

The star: lying on his back to look as far as possible on the sky 

Taraka: the horizon point,

Kumbhaka

A.K. = Antah Kumbhaka (holding of breath after inhalation ) 

B.K = Bhaya Kumbhaka (holding of breath after exhalation )

*

General Notes.

Concentration

Tāraka is the horizon point, the “infinite world beyond Earth”. I like to think of it as something like “Enzan no Metsuke” (far off mountain gaze) which is something we employed when I used to practice Iaido here in Japan. Iaido is Japanese sword art, it’s also practiced in Kendo I believe. Taraka is not the same but it helped me get a handle on the idea of the gaze.

"The concept of “Enzan no Metsuke.” (Gazing at the Far Mountain) It is said that “Enzan no Metsuke”  (Gazing at the Far Mountain) is one of the most important Waza whereby fighters look at their opponent with a gaze toward the mountains in the distance, taking in not only their opponent's face but their whole body as well." Takkaki Kato

IMPORTANT PRACTICE POINT 1.

Lying down between Asana, mudra, and pranayamas

In Sribhashyam's presentation of his father's (Krishnamacharya) practice, you lie down and rest for 1 to 2 minutes after every asana, pranayama and mudra.

"Lie flat on the back, legs together, feet together, arms along the body, palms of the hands on the floor, chin lowered, eyes closed. Breathe normally through the nose." p65 Emergence of Yoga.

My friend Andrea Panzer who practiced with Sribhashyam over an eight year period, before his passing, added this comment to one of my Instagram posts.

"After any asana or pranayama there is always lying. Lying is not resting. Lying is a Mudra in itself or better, a meditation. From the divine eye at the area of the occiput...where we always look from in yoga...as we are in a state of the observer....we see in a fine line between the big toe and the nose...and watch the state of our energy...which might move."

See the Guidelines for Practice page at the top of the blog.

Pranayama

see... P R A N A Y A M A - An Absolute Necessity in YOGA by T.K.SRIBHASHYAM, Nice, FRANCE

On Sitting

This from Andrea panzer ( who studied with Sribhashyam over an eight year period before his passing).

"Just to add to "perhaps Ananta Asana"...there are always 4 seats to choose for Concentration or Pranayama...(even 5 ...when we include Baddha Kona Asana) and the advice of Sri Sribhashyam has been, that we explore their differences in the effect concerning bandha, concentration and breath. There is Danda Asana, Ananta Asana, Padma Asana, Vajra Asana ("buddhist seat")"

This is helpful for me as I've noticed my Paschimattanasana becoming more challenging without the sun salutations and the standing postures that I'm used to from Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama. In practice this morning I practiced the first pranayama, ujjayi viloma, in danda asana and the nadi shodhana in vajra asana. For now I'm intending to follow the practice as Sribhashyam has it in his book, after I've shared and practiced all the example sessions, I will likely reintroduce Sun salutations and standing postures as  a warm-up for practice. 

Breathing in mudra.

Sribhashyam mentions in the mudra section the the exhalation is double the inhalation. In Tatka mudra, my inhalation was 8s and exhalation 16s, 4s and 8s would also be appropriate.