Practising Ashtanga Yoga:

Precautions and Awareness

Words: Mike Rawson

Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga has 8 ‘limbs’ I have been in full time study and some time, I simply couldn’t breathe!
practice of Yoga for more than 20 My breathing was no longer automatic
(1) Yama and (2) niyama are codes years. I learned some things the hard and subconscious, it was waiting for
of conduct, the ‘rules’ that lead to a way, and offer the following advice my command to breathe. It was quite
purification of the mind. They prepare to fellow students, especially those a scary experience; I had time to be
the mind for advaita and samadhi. starting out on their yoga journey, in seriously worried before my automatic
(3) Asana and (4) pranayama are part the hope that some bad habits can be breathing did return.
of Hatha Yoga techniques to purify the avoided, or corrected.
gross and subtle bodies and prepare I no longer count during pranayama
the body for the samyama practices. I will start with a precautionary tale. exercises, I breathe at a rate that feels
Samyama is the combination of (5) correct.
pratyahara, (6) dharana, (7) dhyana Pranayama Precautions
and (8) samadhi, the practice of which If you absolutely need accurate tim-
leads to the ‘higher states of mind.’ Use Pranayama is a powerful tool for alter- ings, then set an alarm, or series of
of these practices when in samadhi ing the energy flow in your body and alarms but concentrate on the prac-
leads to the siddhis, the ‘super-pow- can be dangerous! tice, don’t anticipate the alarms.
ers.’
I stopped undertaking some pranaya- Awareness in Pranayama
To avoid a possible confusion, Pa- ma practices after I reprogrammed
tanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, one of the 6 and stopped my automatic breath- It is important to observe the breath
Shad Darshanas, precedes Patthabi ing function. I was concentrating on but not anticipate it. Do not give
Jois’ asana classes (which he termed counting and timing my breathing rate yourself a subtle command to breathe,
‘Ashtanga Vinyasa’) by over two mil- rather than focusing on the breathing simply observe the breath. As a begin-
lennium. itself. When I ended the session, after ner there is a requirement to focus on
the pranayama pattern, but once you
 a reduced program. Avoid all inverted
asanas whilst menstruating as blood
can enter the fallopian tubes and cause
harm.
know this pattern, then switch your
focus entirely to your breath. People suffering from high blood pres- Do not strain, there is no need and no
sure should be especially cautious and point and you may cause injury.
Asana Precautions careful. If even a small blood vessel
in the brain were to burst whilst in a Forward bending is not safe. Over-
I have employed a number of tech- headstand it would likely be fatal. stretching during a forward bend with
niques for timing asanas (breathing straight legs can damage the hamstring,
and heart rates are good measures) The ultimate aim of Yoga is moksha or the back muscles, or both.
but cannot recommend any after my (liberation). Hatha Yoga is important
experience with pranayama. It is better for cleansing and maintaining the gross You can not pull your hamstring if your
to ignore or estimate time. body, but ultimately moksha is a ‘men- knee is bent.
tal’ process (or absence of one) and not
If timing is important then use a clock, a physical one. Pulls or tears in the hamstrings can be
enabling you to focus on the asana avoided by fully contracting muscle
rather than time. Hatha yoga is not a competitive sport. groups before the bend. This is done in
Do not worry about other people and three stages: Firstly, raise the kneecaps.
Do not eat for at least 2 hours before whether you are better or worse than Secondly, tense (contract) the ham-
your asana practice, and 3-4 hours is them. strings
even better.
Everyone’s body is unique, some and, thirdly, tense the hip muscles. If
Early morning (before breakfast) and beginners can naturally stretch into these three contractions are undertaken
late at night (before sleep) are good asanas that even advanced practitioners together then the hamstring can not be
times to practice. struggle with, or find painful. pulled or torn. These contractions will
limit the stretch that can be achieved,
In the morning the bowels and blad- Do not worry about achieving ad- but regular practice will still see an
der should be emptied before practice vanced asanas in the early stages (or increase in the forward stretch that is
begins. ever). Find your own limits and be possible. In reality, most practitioners
happy to realise that regular practice soon become aware of the limit of their
Some women stop their practice during will see large improvements occur hamstrings’ stretch and do not contract
their menstruation, others undertake naturally. them prior to forward bending.
Always be careful, it is easy to over-
stretch until you are comfortable
performing the asana.

Keeping the spine supple is key to

good health and back-bending is im-
portant. All back-bending asanas are
intrinsically safe (due to bone ‘stops’
in the spine). I remember when my
spine ‘unzipped’ or ‘unlocked’ for the
first time, a month into a three-hour
daily asana practice. I felt it ‘go’ and
actually cringed as I waited for the
flood of pain, which never came, it felt
really good to be that flexible for the
first time in my adult life.

However, be careful as over-balancing

whilst getting into and out of some
of the more advanced back bending
asanas can lead to serious injury.

Awareness in asana

Awareness in asana will shift naturally

as your practice progresses.

Initially, awareness should be on the

pose itself and the muscle groups and
stretches associated with each asana.

Once a balanced final pose has been

achieved then awareness can shift to a
chakra, your breathing or some other
focal point (often described as part of
the asana).

As you master each asana you will

need to concentrate less on achieving
the pose and your awareness will shift
naturally.

Ham-so translates as ‘I am that’ (and

so-ham is ‘that I am’) and is an excel-
lent focus during asana (it is also used
as a mantra). It is onomatopoeic,
exhaling produces the ‘ham’ and
inhaling produces ‘so’.

Speaking, whispering or thinking

ham-so not only coordinates the
breathing, it serves as a reminder of
the ultimate purpose of yoga: to re-
alise the brahman-atman relationship.
Dhyana Precautions spine is always aligned correctly. Many which takes dedicated practice. How-
practitioners, myself included, find this ever, the bookcase remains. When you
Asana is important in the preparation quite a painful pose to hold. enter samadhi, the bookcase disappears
for the long hours sat in meditation The lotus pose (padmasana) is impor- instantly, taking
(Dhyana). tant to master for some advanced asana
poses, but it is not suitable for long all the books with it. Samadhi is not
I can recommend two asanas for prac- hours of sitting meditation. analogous to an empty bookcase, but
tising meditation: the auspicious pose to no bookcase, and it doesn’t take
(swastikasana) and the thunderbolt There are many mental and physical practice to achieve, it is available in an
pose (vajrasana). benefits to practising meditation. How- instant, which is why everyone laughs
ever, if you are actively seeking a higher so heartily when the get the cosmic
The auspicious pose is suitable for all awareness then meditation can actually joke. This is best described as the ‘sa-
practitioners and provides a solid base be a dangerous cul-de-sac. tori’ moment of Zen Buddhism, and is
that can be held comfortably for a long Metaphorically, imagine your mind as a called samadhi-advaita in Yoga.
period. The pose is easier if you sit on book case full of books. The bookcase is
a cushion, which can be removed, or the framework, the dualistic mind-set. Once you become aware of the many
lowered, as your flexibility increases. The books represent thoughts. Through benefits of Yoga practice, it is a logical
meditation practice you can reduce the step to transpose this knowledge into
The thunderbolt pose is an excellent books (thoughts) and even empty the everyday life.
choice if you can sit pain-free, as the bookcase. This is quite an achievement,
Awareness in Everyday Life

Sit up straight! If you spend time at a desk or com-

puter then be conscious of your posture. Keep your
spine straight, and as much as possible keep your
shoulders back.

Most people do not breathe correctly. When they

sleep, they breathe correctly, with steady and con-
tinual breathing from the abdomen. When they are
awake, they will likely breathe from their chest.

Breathing from the abdomen produces the cor-

rect energy flow in the body; it is the natural way of
breathing and is stress-free.

Breathing from the chest places the body on ‘alert’

(the “fight, flight and fright” response) and puts the
whole body into stress.

Pausing while breathing is another way to introduce

stress into the body. Imagine breathing in a circular
motion and not as straight lines in and out.

One of the most common reasons for poor breathing Precautions for attempting to achieve
is poor posture. If the shoulders or spine are hunched Samadhi
forward then pressure is exerted on the diaphragm
and chest breathing results. Swami Satyanada Saraswati defines a yogi as a
madman who can handle his experiences and
not end up in a lunatic asylum. In the west there
Sitting straight is a good first step to correct breath-
is no recognition of the state of advaita-samadhi;
ing. Sitting in a meditation pose with a straight spine indeed, the psychiatric profession have gone to
will highlight just how ‘alien’ abdomen breathing can some lengths to classify all ‘mystical realisations’ as
feel to someone who has been chest various forms of mental disorder.
breathing for a number of years.
Swami Rama makes the valid observation: “Indi-
When walking it is good practice to point the feet ans are free thinkers in the bondage of social law;
straight forwards; if the feet are splayed to the side westerners are in bondage of fixed ideas, though
then hip problems can result over time. have social freedoms.”

Mike Rawson has been studying and prac-

tising Yoga for more than 20 years. He may
be contacted at mikerawsonbooks@proton.
me
His new book “A Comprehensive Introduc-
tion to Yoga” is now available in paperback
and hardback from Amazon in all countries
(e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
B0DDR28XHN )