Film about Swami Satchidananda's life and influence in the States
Living Yoga is a feature about the life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda. A couple of trailers are on YouTube or on the website. Swami Satchidananda was a major influence on the US scene when he arrived the 1966 and began re-introducing yoga and Tantric knowledge to a new audience seeking to break out of consumerism. Here in the Washington, DC, Yogaville is a monument to his legacy.
I just got through watching this video from the TED conference in Monterey, California, February 28. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist, recently gave an chat about her life-altering experience of a brain stroke. This emotionally charged story is going to spread like wildfire because it captures a vital life story and marries it to both science and spiritual insight. I'm still reeling from my first viewing so just don't mind me and set aside 18 minutes to be astounded.
TED is heavy-weight conference that deals in thinkers of great ideas and doers of impressive deeds — and good story tellers. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It's worth exploring.
I did five miles of running on the Mall at lunch time, into the cold winds coming off the Potomac. It was the first outside run that I've had since before Christmas, though I did make it to the gym for the treadmill several times. I thought I has not lost much strength over the holiday break, but I felt exhausted by the time I got home.
I am still concerned that the pounding of running will erase the benefits of my yoga practice. I remembered an interview that I heard on NPR about chi-running, a concept started by athletic trainer Danny Dreyer. I looked up his website and found his approach to be a technique that melded well with yoga and mindfulness. The technique combines "the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running."
I ordered his book and DVD. Expect reviews shortly after they arrive in the mail. Meanwhile, you can check out what other people think by consulting news links or by reading a collection of longer articles. You can get a clear idea about the program by going through a few of these online resources. This NPR story is a good start.
East-West Convergence
At the workshop this past weekend, Beryl Bender Birch drew a picture that caught my imagination. Back in the days of the Palace of Mysore when the trio of future gurus of classical yoga (T.K.V. Desikachar, B.K.S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois) were studying under Krisnamacharya, the father of hatha yoga (it's his 1938 video to the right), the Maharaja of Mysore was also patron to Western gymnastics that was brought to India by the British colonial regime. The two groups of students stood at opposite sites of the courtyard that served as classroom, copying techniques from each other. She said that a lot of the sequencing of vinyasa come from that cultural cross-pollination. It struck me as ironic that the East-West convergence influenced the formation of classic yoga. And today you're getting another round of convergence as yoga meshes with American (and other Western) culture.
You can see a historic video of Iyengar from the same period.
TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design" and it's a long-running annual conference featuring brilliant people -- "Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers." They have a theme on How the Mind Works. I watched Vilayanur Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, explore how brain damage can reveal the connection between the internal structures of the brain and the corresponding functions of the mind. You can also explore the other themes, 20 minute jewels, which are equally fascinating. Via Retrospectacle
I bought two videos produced and distributed by Pranamaya: Anatomy of Yoga with Paul Grilley and Insight Yoga with Sarah Powers. I took advantage of a 10% discount when you buy more than one video at a time. These DVDs are more expensive than most demo and instructional videos because they have a huge amount of material in. Both DVD have nearly four hours each of lectures and practice material, plus other instructional aids.
Why these two DVDs? I wanted to explore yang style of yoga with a strong fusion of Buddhadharma. The idea of slowing down the pace of my practice appeals to me. I want to understand the physical limits that the body imposes on yoga practice. I also needed to learn visually, as opposed to my normal use of reading.
Pranamaya has very high production values and seems to pick instructors and themes that dig deep into yoga practice. They don't produce DVDs for beginners. Gary Kraftsow, who heads the American Yoga Institute, has just released two DVDs on viniyoga therapy for back problems. Andrey Lappa has multiple releases that record his unique vision of yoga practice. Dharma Mittra, the NYC-based teacher who gained renown for a 908-pose chart, has two DVDs.
"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye. One seeing, one knowing, one love." — Meister Eckhart
"Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use." — Charles Schultz
"You become a writer by writing. It is a yoga."
— R.K. Narayan, Indian writer
Men cannot see their reflection in running water, but only in still water.
— Chuang Tzu, philosopher (c. 4th century BCE)
Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. —Margaret Chittenden
