Ashtanga's Difficult History

Dear Yogis!

I’ve been listening to yoga podcasts this week and one in particular from the soothing Scott Johnson. I’ve written about him before when he wrote a piece about ‘listening’, and about his morning chanting. This time Scott is talking to Petri Räisänen about Learning From The Past. Petri has been a big part of the Ashtanga tradition for the last 30 years, a Mysore regular, and wrote books with the help of Pattabhi Jois, the fallen guru.

I have wonderful memories of a workshop with Petri and how he taught us energy healing. He learnt his healing skills from folk healers and ‘old masters’ and he told us that we all have these powers. He demonstrated on me… I showed him my very limited standing backbend and he put his hand near my back, hovering behind my spine. Suddenly, my limitation was zapped and my backbend was deep. It felt a bit like being on stage in a magic show.

In this podcast with Scott, Petri talks about Ashtanga’s difficult history and how rough the teaching was in the 90s. Many people were injured. Teachers standing on the students, lying on the students and pushing really hard was normal. We’ve heard this before but Petri tells us about the megalomania of Mysore where push-back was impossible.

There was physical and mental pressure to push hard and be in a state of collapse at the end of the class. He said it felt amazing! However, that powerful collective energy that made you do things you couldn’t achieve elsewhere was the same collective energy stopped people questioning the injuries Pattabhi Jois inflicted on people… and his sexual abuse. When someone was injured, people laughed. There was fear and you got punished or called names if you couldn’t do something.

Nowadays, Ashtanga students are people who choose a healthy lifestyle, not acrobats. The controlling teacher is fading away. Sharath Jois, in Mysore, allows people to skip poses they can’t do. It used to be the case that if you couldn’t do a pose, you were told to finish and go! Thank god for progress: more kindness, less injury, more happiness, more empowerment, no fear, more freedom.

Zoom Classes 

No injuries please! No idiocy! Scott also has a podcast with Kino MacGregor where they talk about how classes during Covid became about unity and connection in a time that feels so unconnected and unsure. With these teachings which are so beautiful, she says, we learn to be present and vulnerable. Being together online taps into a memory of what once was. What a contrast!  It’s Ashtanga today at 4.30. Join me and a small number of others. It’s inspiring for me to see how lovely your home practice is.

Yoga in the news 

The New York Times has: Alabama Lifts Its Ban on Yoga in Schools. ‘Participation in classes will be optional under the legislation, which was introduced by State Representative Jeremy Gray, a Democrat from Opelika, Ala., who was previously certified as a yoga instructor.’

Firstpost has: Alabama lawmakers approve legislation to lift state's decades-old ban on yoga in schools. The Senate-added language that requires parents to sign a permission slip and bans meditation, “associated with or derived from mystical traditions of the East". Gray said the language didn’t really impact the bill, but "just makes it feel foolish".

The Telegraph has: Roll up! Can Paul McCartney's eye yoga really help to 'anti age' your vision? Phoebe Greenacre’s Daily Eye Yoga workout Palming: Rub your hands together until they feel warm. Then cup your hands over your closed eyes for a few moments. Fast blinking: Blink as fast as you can for 10 seconds. Repeat for one minute. But stop if your eyes feel tired. Zooming: Look at an object close by, then focus on the furthest point you can see for a few seconds. Repeat for two minutes. Figure of eight: Keeping your head completely still, use your eye gaze to trace the biggest figure of eight you can. Repeat three times, then change direction. Clock face: Again, keeping your head still, imagine a giant clock face.  Take your gaze up to look at 12, then then 6, then 3 and then 9. Then roll your eyes right around the clock. Repeat three times.

Theruwan Saranai! Triple Gem Blessings!