Got Milk?

September 28, 2011 in classics, food | 2 comments

Newcomers to Ayurveda are often confused at the reverence the science has for milk and products derived from milk. With so many “allergies” and digestive problems associated with dairy it’s not difficult to appreciate why this confusion would exist.

More often than not, the conclusions of the inherent problems of incorporating dairy in a regular diet are based on a wrong understanding of the root cause of acquired lactose intolerance. A recent report concluded that low fat yoghurt during pregnancy can increase the risk of the baby suffering from asthma.

Ayurveda believes this report to be only half wrong.

Ayurveda, always looking to treat the source, assists us in better explaining and eliminating this intolerance and problems associated with dairy.

Ghrtena Vardhate Buddhi Ayuh Ksirena Vardhate

In translation, this sutra reads:

Ghee increases intellect, with milk life increases

Why would Ayurveda give such esteem to a food linked to so many health problems and digestive disorders? The answer lies in the definition of milk.

Milk comes from cows and the closer it is to the source – the original product from the cow – the significantly more healthy it is for us. Ayurveda believes it is only whole milk that the body can digest.

The mechanical processes that give milk unnatural characteristics – such as long life (UHT), a lower fat content (low fat, skim, etc), a different taste (flavoured), more nutrition (fortified), or a more uniform appearance (homogenisation) – denature the milk and remove our body’s ability to digest this wonderful source of health. Ayurveda does not consider the end product of these processes to be milk. These products have been mistreated in such a way as to remove our bodies ability to digest them and it is the heavy processing that results in “lactose intolerance”.

While it is beneficial to search for raw milk that is unmodified in any way, milk that has only undergone the pasteurisation process offers a suitable and healthy alternative. And Ayurveda provides guidance on how to take these minimally modified milk products so that we can be certain to fully digest them.

Most importantly is that milk is never taken cold as it will increase mucous production. Heat the milk gently on the stove and add a few warming spices (eg: cinnamon, cardamom) to antidote the mucoid properties. Taken in this way, milk provides nutrition to the body without causing indigestion or unpleasant side effects.

Whole, unmodified milk contains around 4% fat. If you want to reduce this percentage mix the milk with water. The same applies if you would prefer a lower fat yoghurt. All low fat products on the market (including non-milk products) are mechanically processed and will cause indigestion and imbalances in the body. It is better to lower the fat content naturally.

Combining dairy products with other foods is also a source of digestive complaints. Generally milk can be taken with cereals without difficulty but one should avoid taking milk with bananas, sour fruits, bread containing yeast, fish, meat, or yoghurt. Yoghurt should never be combined with fruit, cheese, eggs, meat, or milk.

As is always the case in Ayurveda there is no food which is beneficial for everyone. Milk is no exception and Kapha types should be fairly strict in limiting their intake of all dairy products. Pitta types should avoid taking too much yoghurt but milk pacifies their fiery quality. Finally, most natural dairy products are a benefit to Vata types when their digestion is in balance.

Ashtanga: The Yoga of Acquiring

September 14, 2011 in philosophy, yoga | 1 comment

Jnana Yoga is often translated as the yoga of acquiring knowledge while Dravya Prapti Yoga as the yoga of acquiring wealth. A close friend of mine suggested that:

Ashtanga Yoga is the yoga of acquiring.

Some people may feel what she is proposing is akin to Ashtanga heresy. To imply that we practice Ashtanga merely to acquire the next pose is often perceived as an insult, an indication that the practitioner is missing the point.

But often, what lies beneath the veneer of the quintessential Ashtangi, is a desire for the next pose, the next series, the next milestone. We use the poses as a means of grading ourselves against our peers – Where are we? Where do we fit in? How long will it take me? Who am I?

As in other areas of life where we deliberately choose not to acknowledge our darker side, it is perhaps the same in our yoga practice. We choose to be consciously unaware of this facet of our spiritual failing, this desire of the human body, this quest for the next pose.

In Ashtanga, acquiring is the elephant in the room that we opt to suppress and if I’ve learned one thing about yoga it’s that we are not here to suppress. An important step in the search for our true nature is to appreciate who we are, the root of our desires, and to express all aspects of the true self. People often confuse the concept of “true self” as the “good self”. Our true self is the root of our being, where judgement is absent and we simply are.

So as we acquire poses and wear them as discrete badges that we are not supposed to talk about but do anyway. It is understood that it’s not the pose that you’re “stuck” on but the state of your spirit… but we shift to the importance of the pose because it’s tangible.

Some practitioners “get” what it’s all about in primary series while others finish Advanced B and are still at a loss. We all know this, but fall back to acquiring. This is not a mistake, but in hiding the reality we deny the reality – and we don’t practice Ashtanga to deny, we practice Ashtanga so as to accept.

So perhaps if we were more open about our inherent shorcomings then we’d all be more content with where we are. To accept that we acquire is to accept our true nature, and realising our true nature is the path to liberation.

Yogash Chitta Vritti Nirodhah

September 2, 2011 in classics, philosophy, yoga | Leave a comment

It seems fitting, having recently arrived in Mysore – the home of Ashtanga Yoga – that I turn some attention to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

As I have come to appreciate over the past few years of study, Sanskrit is a relatively concise language and translations are often open to fairly variable interpretations which can be, at times, contradictory.

In the West, perhaps due to our culture, we require that there be a clear and precise explanation with one single definition. This certainty – an absolute knowing – is what provides us in the West with a sense of security by which we may rest peacefully at night.

It was explained to me early in my Ayurveda studies that in Indian culture it is acceptable for two contrasting opinions to be correct – even in cases of utter contradiction. For in India, great emphasis is placed on your ability to adequately convey, through logic and reasoning, your point of view.

It is with this perspective that I re-present Patanjali’s second sutra of the first chapter.

yogashchittavrittinirodhah (1.2)

This is the most oft quoted sutra from Patanjali and is simple and illuminating. Directly translated, this sutra means:

Yoga mind fluctuations controlling.

By adding a little grammar we get to:

Yoga is a means to control the fluctuations of the mind.

And this is the translation you will find in most yoga teacher training manuals – with good sense too as yoga is an excellent method to yoking the mind so that we may guide it, rather than having it pull us according to its whims.

When working with Sanskrit is important to remember that English translations are at best an approximation. Much is based on context and, due to the limited grammar of Sanskrit, the result is often an interpretation rather than a strict translation.

Sir O.P. Tiwari, a teacher that I have spent time with in studying the yoga Sutras, prefers the word “disciplined” when translating “nirodhah”. He feels that discipline can be creative, an attribute that “controlling” is not able to convey.

This thought was on my mind as I was reading a book unrelated to Patanjali’s Sutras and I happened upon a alternate translation of the word “vritti”. The word “grooves” – meaning habitual patterns or reflexes – jumped off the page and applied an unusual meaning to the often quoted yoga sutra. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps Patanjali intended that:

Yoga is a means to discipline the mind so as to avoid responding from the (habitual) grooves.

In this rendering, Patanjali intended that yoga is a means to bring us into the “now”, to react as though each situation is presenting itself to us for the first time. Yoga is an aid to stop us reacting impulsively to situations based on how they have occurred in the past, stopping us from reacting based on anticipation. The practice of yoga encourages us to live openly.

Vasant Lad touches on this when he says:

The brain cells enjoy working along a groove made by previous knowledge and memory. Recognition becomes a habitual, conditioned reflex that gives a feeling of security. Repetitive methods, techniques and systems nourish the ego and dull the mind.

Yoga is a means to bring our awareness to the present, avoiding a dulling of the mind that causes us to be neglectful in living out our existence. When we aspire to respond to the moment as it presents itself this time, we connect with life as a dynamic and stirring experience – as it is.

The Myth of Calories

August 22, 2011 in classics, food, medicine | Leave a comment

From an Ayurvedic perspective, when food enters our mouth the distinction between the food and our body becomes increasingly blurred. The food we eat nourishes our tissues, assembles our structure, and nurtures our mind. It literally becomes us. And our ability to absorb, process and release the energy contained in food relies on the strength and efficiency of our digestion. Our digestion, in turn, relies on a balanced diet containing appropriately cooked, unprocessed food.

A breakdown in any of the pillars supporting our body results in its inevitable breakdown. With this in mind I bring attention to the topic of calories.

We accept calories, the supposed measurement of the energy contained in food, as a product of scientific study. We accept calorific values as unadulterated evidence that a particular food will make us fat, make us thin, or simply provide us with a discrete amount of energy.

However, calories – as interest rates are to the financial industry – are largely a useless analysis of the benefit of a particular food. On their own, calories are a blind acceptance on faith as to the net effect a food will have on the human body. Much like superfoods, we are devoted in our acceptance of calories as both relevant and consequential.

But this faith in calories is not entirely our own doing. Our faith exists because calories have been given tremendous stature by the food producers and advertising media, and so it has come to be that we believe what we read on the sides of food packaging.

Where calories originated provides some insight into why calories are not all that they seem.

At the end of the 19th century, Wilbur Atwater created a method for calculating the energy component of food, a method now known as the The Atwater System. And although our food has changed significantly – by becoming more processed and refined – the formula for arriving at the calorific value of food has largely remained unchanged.

Using the Atwater System, if we wanted to measure the calorie content of, for example, a carrot we would do as follows:

Place the carrot inside a container with an appropriate amount of oxygen, surround the sealed container with water, and then ignite the oxygen/carrot combination. Heat would naturally be produced by the burning and for every degree centigrate that the temperature of one gram of water rose, the carrot would be said to contain one calorie. So, for example, if the temperature of one gram of water rose ten degrees in total then the carrot would contain ten calories (actually, it would contain 10,000 calories because what we call a calorie is in fact 1,000 calories but that’s another story altogether).

Atwater also summarised the data of 97 human digestion experiments and to arrive at “average coefficients of digestability”. This indicated how much of each food was available to the body after digestion – in the case of meat this value is 97%, cereals 85%, legumes 78%, and so on.

This all seems rather simple. And it is. And so Atwater developed a table containing the basic foods and their calorie content – 9 calories per gram of fat, 4 calories for a gram of protein, etc. Fast forward a hundred years and many food producers use these same values when labeling their food.

The Atwater System, although grounded in science, raises several questions when we begin to investigate his conclusions from an Ayurvedic perspective. Do we all digest food with the same coefficient? Are all fats/proteins/carbohydrates the same? Does refined white flour provide the same energy as wholewheat flour? How far could the human body go on a gallon of gasoline?

Let me answer these questions in reverse order.

A gallon of gasoline contains roughly 31,000 calories and as such the human body could go for roughly two weeks without requiring a topup. Of course gasoline is toxic to the human body so this is entirely a fool’s errand. But this raises another important question: we can calculate the calorific value of anything, but does that make it food?

Gasoline provides no nutrition for the human body and yet it is able to provide an extraordinary amount of (empty) calories. This is no different from a can of soda pop, refined oils, refined candy, etc – these foods contain largely empty calories and as such, are toxic to the human body. If a calorie contains no nutrition it will lead to disease.

On the other end of the spectrum we now have energy drinks which claim to provide the body with what it needs but contain zero calories. These are intended to be taken after exercise as a means of quenching thirst without adding back the calories you have just worked so hard to remove. But how can food have flavour and substance without calories?

Water is an obvious zero calorie drink – it tastes as you would expect zero calories to taste. Other zero calorie drinks are, however, achieving taste through the use of chemicals. Many reports appear in the press to highlight the effects of chemicals on the human body – Bisphenol A as an example – but we often overlook food additives when speaking of chemicals. These are no different from environmental toxins and although the short term effect may be muted, the long term effect is disastrous.

Many food additives have been banned over the years as their toxicity has become apparent. For example, boric acid was banned after over 50 years of commercial use, and more recently research shows that chemical food additives can lead to hyperactivity in children.

But my point is not to focus on the toxicity of food additives, however apparent that may be, but rather to emphasise that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Especially when it comes to the human body.

Zero calories, low fat, same “great” taste? I bear bad news when I tell you that eating a diet rich in these advertisements will not come to any good.

In Ayurveda the concept of calories does not exist in any form and using this ancient science as a foundation, there are a number of reasons that this modern analysis of food does not make inherent sense:

1. Not all digestions have the same strength.

Ayurveda believes that four types of digestion exist – in simple terms these are fast, slow, variable and balanced. Someone with a fast digestion will digest quickly and easily, seemingly with little effort. Slow would be the opposite and variable would be a combination of both. Balanced digestion, on the other hand, is a content ease available only to very few people.

As none of these types digest at similar rates, their supposed calorie intake would differ greatly. Someone having a fast digestion would require more calories but yet not put on the expected weight. The opposite would be true for the slow digester. Even at the same age, height, weight and gender, these two contrasting types would have to follow vastly different diets in order to maintain comparable appearance.

2. Not all digestions have the same efficiency.

This is possibly the most overlooked aspect of the human digestion. Some people have a seemingly amazing ability assimilate everything they eat. Their digestion is highly effective and they extract close to 100% of the nutrition and energy from their diet. Other digestive tracts are not as effective, due to diet and lifestyle these people are barely able to extract 60% of the nutrition and energy from their food. Through diagnosis Ayurveda can identify these people and their digestion can be improved – but the very existence of these people is ignored by modern medicine and the calorie counters.

It can be said that the calorie numbers on packaging ignore your uniqueness entirely.

3. Not all diets are created equally.

According to Ayurveda, eating the same types of food will enable your digestion to more easily identify and digest the food in your diet. This means that it will take less energy to digest easily recognisable food and therefore provide the body with more net energy. It also means that going “off piste” in your diet will reduce your digestive efficiency and require more energy for digestion.

The fallacy of calories is no doubt becoming more clear.

4. Not all food is cooked equally.

Ayurveda maintains that cooked food is easier to digest. Any heat you add to food before it enters your digestive tract results in less work for your body to perform in order to appropriately assimilate the food. Simply put, stewed carrots are far easier to digest than raw carrots. And if you add spices to enhance the effect of the digestive enzymes then it becomes even easier to assimilate. It even depends on how the food is cooked – fried food can be congestive, baked food can be a little drying, overcooked food can be too acidic, etc. If the food is not cooked appropriately for your digestive tract it can result in increased difficulty for the stomach, small intestine, large intestine combination.

Calorie counts do not care for the cooking process.

5. Not all food is processed equally.

I’ll end on this note as it is perhaps the most relevant in the modern diet.

Does it matter in any way what the calories of refined sugar may be if the net effect on your body, after years of use, is diabetes? Is there a calorie number that indicates your likelihood of Chrohn’s disease when eating refined flour?

Whole foods digest very efficiently in the body and provide a host of additional benefits to the digestive tract that refined food simply does not. Neither the Atwater System, nor calories in general, take into account the value of eating a diet based on whole, nutritious foods.

Next time you consider the number of calories of a meal, think for a moment how your digestion is functioning and if that food will degrade or improve it. The more we eat to improve the functioning of our digestion through appropriate eating, the less “calories” will matter and the healthier our bodies will be.

The Myth of Superfoods

August 7, 2011 in classics, food, medicine | 1 comment

The term superfood has invaded our senses over the past number of years. Even the infamous Dr. Oz has a list of superfoods, each claiming one or several magical properties.

Wikipedia describes superfood as:

…food with high phytonutrient content that may confer health benefits as a result.

Certainly that explanation sounds plausible, for any food with a high degree of nutrients is “super”.

However, if we consider the term superfood from an Ayurvedic perspective, we would arrive at a somewhat different, perhaps less exclusive, definition:

Foods which are whole, unprocessed, in the natural form, unblemished by artificial growing or transport methods, cultivated locally, eaten in season, taken in adequate amounts, and eaten to balance your doshic requirements – these are considered superfoods.

This is somewhat of a different understanding altogether.

The problem with the belief that, for example, blueberries being a superfood is that this food is not balancing for all dosha types. The taste of blueberries is Madhura (sweet) and Kashaya (astringent) – this will reduce Vata and Pitta but aggravate Kapha if eaten in excess. Consider that tumours can be Kapha in nature and this superfood, in excess, is no longer Raktaarbudanasna (Anticancer) as has been claimed.

And the same is true for a simple food – water. In excess water will aggravate Kapha but in deficiency it will aggravate Vata. And given that no single phytonutrient can be found in water, it would not even be considered a superfood. But yet we would quickly expire without it.

It is important to mention that even austerity in excess will cause an imbalance.

Ayurveda believes that an excess, or deficiency, of anything will cause an imbalance in the body. As illustrated in the blueberry example, we need appropriate quantities of whole and nutritious foods in order for our bodies to maintain Loka Purusa Samya (balance with the universe).

From an environmental perspective as soon as a food is labelled as a superfood, the price of that food will rise. This will have a double effect on farming as; the stretched community of growers struggles to keep up with demand, and growers switch from a reliable crop to growing the more lucrative superfood. This may lead to farmers using pesticides and harmful methods of cultivation which negate any positive phytonutrient effect the superfood may have.

The economic impact on communities as we shift from one superfood to another is both confusing and frustrating. If we reliably stick to eating traditional foods, grown locally, and in season, the farming community can maintain a reliable supply of the food we appreciate each day.

Of course, eating blueberries is not the problem. Just don’t eat them every day believing that this “superfood” is going to cure your ailments and bring longevity. Instead, enjoy it in moderation for the sweet and astringent fruit that it is.

If you are wondering, to maintain balance Kapha types should drink 4-5 cups of water a day, Pitta 5-7 cups, and Vata 6-8 cups.

Ayahuasca and Ayurveda

July 19, 2011 in food, kapha, pitta, vata | 2 comments

I have recently returned from a two month odyssey around Ecuador and Peru in South America. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience this great continent and the adventure was thoroughly enjoyable.

While most of the journey was as a tourist, I was fortunate enough to spent four weeks studying traditional South American medicine with a Peruvian curandero. I feel it is important for physicians to be exposed to different medical philosophies and this was an excellent opportunity for me to do so.

Adela Navas de Garcia was my curandero in the jungle. She is a delightful 74 year old mother of 8 – grandmother to many more – who works with her son José at a retreat center in Iquitos, near the Amazon river basin.

Adela only spoke Spanish, and at times only local Spanish, so it was a slow process of understanding but I gained much respect for her work and for her immense knowledge of South American plant medicines.

The main theme of my discussions with her and José were regarding the ayahuasca vine. I won’t go into detail as to the uses and benefits of this plant as much of this information can be found on the internet, however, it was tremendously insightful to investigate the effects of this plant from an Ayurvedic perspective.

A common misconception is that the ayahuasca vine is a hallucinogen, which it is not. Ayahuasca provides digestive enzymes that enable the body to digest a substance known as DMT that can not otherwise be assimilated. The significance of this small but important distinction will become evident later.

Ayahuasca, the vine, is cooked together with the leaves of one or several plants containing DMT and the result is the hallucinogenic drink used in traditional shamanic ceremonies in South America. The quality of the vine, the type of leaves, and the cooking process largely determines the effect the drink will have.

The drink is not completely digested by the body and much of it is rejected, resulting in purgation (vomiting or diarrhea). This is an intense experience and as physically unpleasant as it sounds.

The conclusions I have drawn below are based solely based on my experience of using the plant and I can find no Ayurvedic text to validate or reject these opinions. There are three caveats to my experience:

  • I always used the plant in the form of the ayahuasca drink and never on its own.
  • The ayahuasca routine can not easily be separated from using the plant, thus my findings are based on both the routine and the plant.
  • My experience was relatively exceptional given the frequency of the ceremonies I attended.

In order for the ayahuasca to be digested and for adequate purgation to take place, dinner is avoided on ceremony nights. If one is attending a ceremony on a regular basis, this means skipping an important meal on a regular basis. This is not recommended for any type except perhaps Kapha.

Ayurveda is clear that avoiding meals will strongly increase both Vata and Pitta. Purgation, though intended, will disrupt Apana Vayu and subsequently, Vata dosha.

Through the process I lost a great deal of weight and found my blood pressure dropped significantly. I also struggled a great deal with my energy and was not able to practice yoga on most days during the process.

Low blood pressure and lack of energy are symptoms of increased Vata dosha. Rapid weight loss can aggravate all three doshas.

The diet followed while taking ayahuasca would be considered by Ayurveda to be healthy and sattvic – cooked, wholesome and nutritious food with limited salt, little meat and no sugar.

The ayahuasca diet is balancing to all doshas.

Whilst I did not suffer too greatly from insomnia during the process, several people following the same process did have a hard time with it. Adela provided them with reasonably large doses of valerian.

In this instance, insomnia was a symptom of the increased Vata and/or Pitta. Valerian was taken symptomatically.

For a portion of my time with Adela I was put on a dieta. A dieta is a restricted diet of two meals per day containing what Ayurveda would refer to as a mono-diet (ie, a grain and a vegetable with little or no flavouring).

Mono-diets are used to great effect in Ayurveda to rid the body of ama and to restore agni. However, a mono-diet with two meals a day would only be recommended for pure Kapha types.

As an overall experience, I found the Pitta and Vata doshas became increasingly aggravated as time went by. I was able to confirm this by examining my tongue and eliminations. Analysis of my pulse and the pulse of others also confirmed Vata and Pitta increase.

Specifically, the increase in Vata was most likely due to the ayahuasca vine and the routine followed while drinking the plant. While Pitta was partly increased routine and also increased by the leaves of the plants containing the DMT.

Naturally, the focus of ayahuasca is not to balance the doshas, that is Ayurveda. Instead ayahuasca strongly pushes us towards a better understanding of ourselves and our behaviours – at times a painful and unsettling process but ultimately of tremendous benefit. I feel that there is tremendous value in combining the process of drinking ayahuasca with the knowledge of Ayurveda and, in so doing, to create long lasting mental and physical health.

My knowledge of Ayurveda enabled me to quickly and comfortably restore balance once the process had ended, providing me with the best of both philosophies.

I won’t be returning to the jungles of Peru in the short term but I did learn a tremendous amount from the experience.

Verses on a Faith Mind

June 14, 2011 in classics, philosophy | Leave a comment

The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood,
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things.

Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things and such
erroneous views will disappear by themselves.

When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other
you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way
fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things
is to miss their reality;
To assert the emptiness of things
is to miss their reality.

The more you talk and think about it,
the further astray you wander from the truth.
Stop talking and thinking,
and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

To return to the root is to find the meaning,
but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.
At the moment of inner enlightenment
there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness.
The changes that appear to occur in the empty world
we call real only because of our ignorance.

Do not search for the truth;
only cease to cherish opinions.
Do not remain in the dualistic state.
Avoid such pursuits carefully.
If there is even a trace of this and that,
of right and wrong,
the mind-essence will be lost in confusion.

Although all dualities come from the One,
do not be attached even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
nothing in the world can offend.
And when a thing can no longer offend,
it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no discriminating thoughts arise,
the old mind ceases to exist.
When thought objects vanish,
the thinking-subject vanishes:
As when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.

Things are objects because of the subject (mind):
the mind (subject) is such because of things (object).
Understand the relativity of these two
and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.
In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable
and each contains in itself the whole world.
If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine
you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult.
But those with limited views are fearful and irresolute:
the faster they hurry, the slower they go.
And clinging (attachment) cannot be limited:
Even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment
is to go astray.
Just let things be in their own way
and there will be neither coming nor going.
Obey the nature of things (your own nature)
and you will walk freely and undisturbed.

When the thought is in bondage the truth is hidden
for everything is murky and unclear.
And the burdensome practice of judging
brings annoyance and weariness.
What benefit can be derived
from distinctions and separations?

If you wish to move in the One Way
do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.
Indeed, to accept them fully
as identical with enlightenment.

The wise man strives to no goals
but the foolish man fetters himself.

There is one Dharma, not many.
Distinctions arise
from the clinging needs of the ignorant.
To seek Mind with the (discriminating) mind
is the greatest of all mistakes.

Rest and unrest derive from illusion;
with enlightenment
there is no liking and disliking.
All dualities come from ignorant inference.
They are like dreams or flowers in air -
foolish to try to grasp them.
Gain and loss, right and wrong,
such thoughts must
finally be abolished at once.

If the eye never sleeps,
all dreams will naturally cease.
If the mind makes no discriminations,
the ten thousand things are as they are,
of single essence.
To understand the mystery of this One-essence
is to be released from all entanglements.

When all things are seen equally
the timeless Self-essence is reached,
No comparisons or analogies are possible
in this causeless, relationless state.
Consider movement stationary
and the stationary in motion,
both movement and rest disappear.

When such dualities cease to exist
Oneness itself cannot exist.
To this ultimate finality
no law or description applies.

For the unified mind in accord with the way
all self-centered striving ceases.
Doubts and irresolutions vanish
and life in true faith is possible.
With a single stroke we are freed from bondage:
Nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.

All is empty, clear, self-illuminating,
with no exertion of the mind’s power.
Here thought, feeling,
knowledge and imagination are of no value.

In this world of suchness
there is neither self nor other-than-self.
To come directly into harmony with this reality
just say when doubt rises “not two”.
In this “not two” nothing is separate,
nothing is excluded.

No matter when or where,
enlightenment means entering this truth.
And this truth is beyond extension
or diminution in time and space:
In it a single thought is ten thousand years.

Emptiness here, emptiness there,
but the infinite universe
stands always before your eyes.
Infinitely large and infinitely small;
no difference, for definitions have vanished
and no boundaries are seen.

So too with Being and non-Being.
Don’t waste time in doubts and arguments
That have nothing to do with this.

One thing, all things,
move among and intermingle without distinction.
To live in this realization
is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.
To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,
because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Words!
The Way is beyond language,
for in it there is
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no today.

~ Hsin-hsin Ming

Ashtanga Club

June 1, 2011 in humour, yoga | 1 comment

I’ve pondered how likely the Fight Club quotes would relate to the practice of Ashtanga yoga. And, unsurprisingly they are not that different.

Consider the rules:

  1. The first rule of mysore class is – you do not talk about Mysore class.
  2. The second rule of mysore class is – you DO NOT talk about Mysore class.
  3. Third rule of mysore class, if someone yells Stop!, tell them to breath and go deeper
  4. Fourth rule, only one person to a mat.
  5. Fifth rule, one pose at a time, yogis.
  6. Sixth rule, no ego, no separateness.
  7. Seventh rule, poses will go on as long as they have to.
  8. And the eighth and final rule, if today is not a moon day, you have to practice.

Also, the similarities between the effect of yoga and the effect of Fight Club.

After mysore class, everything else in your life got the volume turned down.

And how you feel once you really connect with yourself in a pose…

And then, something happened. I let go. Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.

The essence of Fight Club rings true with the practice of yoga:

Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing. Mysore class isn’t about winning or losing. It isn’t about words.

And then of course, there are the physical ‘openings’ which occur in both Fight Club and Mysore Practice:

I got in everyone’s hostile little face. Yes, these are bruises from mysore class. Yes, I’m comfortable with that. I am enlightened.

Fight Club Tyler Durden inadvertently sums up Ashtanga:

Sometimes all you could hear were flat, hard packing sounds over the breathing, or the wet choke when someone caught their breath… you weren’t alive anywhere like you were there. But mysore class only exists in the hours between when mysore class starts and mysore class ends. Even if I could tell someone they had a good practice, chances are I wouldn’t be talking to the same person – who you were in mysore class is who you attempted to be in the rest of the world. A yogi came to mysore class for the first time, their ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, they were carved out of wood.

Happy carving!

Unmodified Ashtanga Vinyasa

May 2, 2011 in teachers, yoga | Leave a comment

Ashtanga Vinyasa, unmodified through the ages.

Or is it?

Commit time to practice with an experienced Ashtanga teacher and you will begin to appreciate that the sequence of poses, as taught by Pattabhi Jois, is to be practiced in its authentic and genuine form. The flow of postures, governed by the breath and separated by vinyasa, heal through the energy and heat of the practice.

But devote time with different teachers, all students of Pattabhi Jois, and you will glimpse how each teacher has replicated the practice – showing just how Pattabhi Jois modified his teaching over time. I have often pondered who could be correct, whose teachings represent the ‘real’ ashtanga, who has remembered the teachings faithfully?

Over the past year I have been fortunate enough to spend time with David Williams, Kathy Cooper, and most recently, Nancy Gilgoff. All students from the 70s with a combined knowledge of over 100 years of practice in the system of Ashtanga Vinyasa.

In the same period I have also spent time with Philippa Asher and Petri Raisanen. Also students of Pattabhi Jois, but from two decades later.

The more time you spend with each generation the more you appreciate the subtle changes in approach. The 70s generation quickly move their students on through first and second series. The focus is on the energetics and flow of the practice. 90s students, on the other hand, emphasise proficiency in each pose before moving through the succession. The focus here is on ensuring the practice is opening the body methodically.

And herein lies the conundrum of which teaching is the “correct method”. What changed over the years? Why did Pattabhi Jois make the changes picked up and taught by the later students? Is there an approach that is correct, and if there is, what to make of the generation gap?

Borrowing from Indian culture, why not discard the Western view that there can be only one certainty, instead allowing for many possibilities aligned with the truth.

An important point to remember is that Pattabhi Jois taught each student as an individual, giving each person what they needed at that time. The idea of one yoga, one approach for all, is a relatively new concept. The Western nature to find the universally correct approach has obscured the very important principle of parampara – from teacher to student.

The discussion to be had is not “which generation is correct” but rather, “how to teach each student as they present themselves”. Perhaps there are several approaches and, as a teacher, we are to spend our energy understanding the needs of the student and guide appropriately.

We are to teach not dogmatically, but through attention and experience, as Pattabhi Jois did. Learning from all who present themselves, teachers and students alike.

Understanding the Doshas (part iv): Kapha

April 17, 2011 in classics, food, kapha | 1 comment

Kapha is often the last of the three doshas to be discussed but makes up the majority of the structure in the human body. Although most organs and tissues are governed by Kapha, it is so stable that it seldom goes out of balance – generally causing less than 10% of diseases.

The Ashtanga Hridayam describes the nature of Kapha as:

Snigdha, sheeta, guru, manda, slakshna, mrtsna, sthira.

In English, these sanskrit words translate as:

Unctuous, cool, heavy, slow, smooth, slimey, static/steady.

It’s not hard to see why ignorant people often describe overweight or lazy people are Kapha and vice-versa. This is very much not the case from an Ayurvedic perspective.

Kapha types have a body structure that is “thicker” than the other types, which means they have the most endurance and forbearance of all three types. Emotionally, their earthy nature enables them to be the most compassionate and nurturing.

An oft repeated misnomer of Western nutritional advice to “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” can be downfall of Kapha types. Ayurveda recommends that a pure Kapha type skips breakfast entirely – something that Kapha types are often relieved to hear. This type has a dull, but strong digestion and skipping breakfast allows the fire to grow enough for them to have a strong appetite for lunch.

This type does have a tendency to emotionally eat, however, this “feeling” of hunger does not come from the stomach. This type is excellent at adding structure to the body, so eating when not hungry (not recommended in Ayurveda) can add bulk to their shape.

In balancing the predisposition of Kapha, we look to the Vimshati Gunas. The opposites of Kapha are:

dry, hot, light, fast, rough, non-slimey, mobile

Using these attributes to describe meals is a beneficial means to balance Kapha. This means fewer oily curries and more undressed green salads. Dry, light breads are also a good choice along with dry, warming curries.

Predictably, we can see that while a wet Winter will cause Kapha to increase, a dry Summer will naturally balance this dosha. An important point to note is that Kapha can “melt” at the change of a cold season. Before this change of season occurs, consult an accomplished Ayurvedic physician to ensure that any accumulated Kapha is appropriately expelled.

As a final point, obesity and laziness are tamasic in nature. Never confuse this with Kapha, which is a strong and intelligent dosha with tremendous vitality.

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