Asana Kitchen Podcast

Tapas or discipline is a central aspect of daily practice that each yogi must struggle to embrace and make peace with. In this podcast I discuss the value of older, harsher ideas of tapas and the evolving new paradigm of tapas. I argue that some of the old ways of interpreting or living the spiritual discipline, though too severe or extreme, must not be forgotten, and must serve to remind new yogis of the seriousness of the obstacles that can obstruct the path of yoga. To maximize your ability to give and receive love during your brief time here in this world your discipline needs to be both strong and loving in equal measure. I locked the doors and windows. I grabbed the breath thief and yelled for help. I tied him up in an inside closet and threatened him with OM, OM, OM. I shut the body openings and found out what steals the even-breath, the truth of Who we are. —Lalla

One of the greatest things in the world is to work to perfect a pose or anything you choose. By perfect I mean to be involved in a process of improving, tinkering, seeking to go further in any small or large way. Ideally this creative process can go on indefinitely or at least until you feel fully satisfied with your creation. However often we fail to accurately determine when enough is enough, we lose track of how to best direct our efforts, and we cross over into perfectionism. We harangue ourselves instead of giving support, become overly attached to results instead of enjoying the action itself, judge too harshly or too soon instead of being patient or trusting, or we get stuck focusing our weaknesses instead of our strengths. In this podcast I discuss how to avoid these traps and win the freedom to get in there and try as hard, as long, and as openly as you want everyday.

In this podcast I speak about pain and creativity as an unlikely pair of opposites, a closely connected duo that are fated to coexist within me and to play off of each other in an ongoing battle for supremacy. Though often not welcome, pain is a principal ally of creativity, a main motivator of positive action, an effective catalyst for inner revolution and evolution, and an ever-present, wise reminder of constant change. Also in this talk I discuss this statement from the Yoga Vashista: “The power of creativity is always found through logic and by facing experience. The speaker is heard not the one who remains silent”.

In this podcast David discusses Shraddha or Faith as a powerful but hard won ally that helps you to remain committed to a daily practice. Faith means belief in and commitment to the invisible spiritual dimension of your life. You cultivate faith one practice at a time by coming to your mat each day equal in times of plenty or challenge. You build a strong faith through trust in your self, your practice, and in dharma (cosmic justice) and also through loyalty to inner work, longing for sacred connection, approving of your highest visions of life, and being sincerely curious about how to open yourself up to the dawning of consciousness within your own body. To have a strong faith requires tremendous effort and devotion on your part but if you are able to catch this worthy prize you become a yogi, a powerful force for good in this life.

In this podcast David talks about how practice helps you manage inner and outer conflict.

An in-depth explanation about what constitutes goodness and auspiciousness in your yoga poses and in the rest of your life.

In this Asana Kitchen podcast, David takes an in-depth look at the word dharma. -"What is my dharma? What does that even mean to me?" -LONGING! - essential. find your dharma? Tap you’re longing. -Raw desire into something tangible. -See dharma as happening in practice & and the bigger aspect. What's my work in this asana? -Take stock of your duties. What is your vision? -Take stock of your body. certain flexibility, and non. skillful and non. action -Prolonged vision quest. takes many repeated quests. withdrawing away/ simplifying. fasting from material. -Dharma is lessening and ending suffering. How do i heal/ encounter, my suffering? -Get into relationship with what makes you wanna fight or run away in fear. -Find the wrong that you want to make right. -Justice, work you come out of womb with. not specific, characteristic mark! -What you are searching for? Your intrinsic essence - peculiarity -Abide in your essence as seer. -Your Ego doesn’t decide your sacred work. It comes more from a humbling and following a sense of mysterious will.

In this podcast David uses Yoga Sutra 1:33 and discusses the four different attitudes to take to go from a clouded mind to a clear mind.

"DEAR DAVID, WHERE IS THE PLACE OF THE YOGI IN A REVOLUTION? SITTING STILL GOES AGAINST EVERY FIBER OF MY BRING BUT WHAT WOULD THE SUTRAS SAY? . It’s a natural human thing to want to lash out at wrong, to get mad, retaliate, and let go. It takes great power to practice restraint and to channel your anger like Gandhi or MLK. You keep your anger contained so that you can act skillfully instead of rashly. Having restraint means you can act for the long term, be consistent in your actions, and really take the steps to fight for what you believe in. And also you’re not supposed to sit still, you’re NOT SUPPOSED TO SIT STILL. Remember what the Bhagavad Gita says, “From birth to death the human being is never even for one moment without action.” You are constantly compelled to action and so what you want to do is sit still for long enough to gather your forces so that you can act with discernment, skill, and love; act from the place of your higher Self rather than from insecurity or fear or concern for your own gain."

Certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher David Garrigues discusses the concept of infinity and how it plays out in the asana practice, nirodha, and creates yogic powers (siddhis) in the practitioner. EXTRA NOTES The 8 famous Siddhis Siddhi (special) power:  peculiar skill, mastery, perfection 1) ANIMA SIDDHI Ability to become small, size of an atom  In your pose:  ability to perceive the minutest detail; subtle, fine discernment; isolating the actions of different parts of your body; supra sensory perception  In your life:  attention to details; sensitive; perceive subtleties  2) MAHIMA SIDDHI Ability to become large like the monkey God, Hanuman, who grew to colossal size when he leaped across the water to Lanka from the tip of India.   In your pose: ability to perceive your entire body all at once; seeing many layers of context for activating your body; harmonizing the different parts of your body, causing Life Force to flow freely throughout all the channels.  In your life: see the big picture: more all encompassing perspective  3) GARIMA SIDDHI Power to increase in weight infinitely In your asana:  power to connect to your body (feet, hands, legs, and arms) with the ground beneath you and strike the Immovable Spot; ability to send weight into specific parts of the body: ability to wield your weight skillfully; able to sustain your attention where you choose.  In your life: grounded; able to place weight on what is important, meaningful, and prioritize what is valuable; supportive, steady, constant, reliable like a rock 4) LAGHIMA SIDDHI Power to become lighter than the lightest In your pose:  power to make your body light, buoyant, float, leap, float, and fly; buoyant light spine; nimble, swift, cheerful, ebullient In your life: lightness, able to let go of or avoid heavy states depression, despair, lethargy or pessimism; forgiving not holding grudges swift minded sharp, light on your feet responsive. 5) PRAAPTI SIDDHI  Ability to acquire anything anywhere In your pose: knowing how to get the best from your body and mind; able to work with your weaknesses and limits instead of against them; thinking creatively; able to utilize whatever is at hand—props or modifications-- to attain your objectives for doing a pose.   In your life:  knowing what you want and then making the best of whatever you have in all circumstance to succeed.  Knowing how to compromise, make concessions, and set priorities; knowing how to sacrifice the things that are least important to you and retain what is most important to you; faith that the universe somehow provides whatever you need. 6) PRAKAMYA SIDDHI Willfulness, freedom of will, power of will  7) ISHITVA SIDDHI Lordship over all creation 8) VASHITVA SIDDHI Ability to control the entire creation, especially the 5 elements Extra Siddhis Relevant to your Pose and your Life  DURA SRAVANA SIDDHI Hearing far; masterful listener both external and internal; ability to quiet and still and hear communications from the creative, higher source within  DURA DARSHANA SIDDHI Seeing far; visionary; penetrative outward and inward gaze; living your life according to dharma; in touch with what represents the ‘Ultimate You’; seeing the pith of your life and life.  MANOJAVITVA SIDDHI Swiftness of mind and body KAMA RUPA SIDDHI Ability to attain the desired form—power to strike the asana as you envision it.

In this podcast, certified Ashtanga teacher David Garrigues, gives the 3 top reasons to not let anything steal your practice.

In this Asana Kitchen podcast, David dives deep into yoga sutra 1:20 and looks at how doubt and faith reveal themselves in the practice. David's new video course, Yoga Sutras for Ashtanga Students, is now available for purchase on his website. There are 22 talks on Book 1 (Samadhi Pada) and on Book 2 (Sadhana Pada). You can purchase each book separately or together. In both books, David breaks down each sutra and relates it to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. Go to www.davidgarrigues.com to order.

In this Asana Kitchen podcast David discusses the five root causes of pain and gives practical ways to work with pain in your asana practice.

Silence, Pattabhi Jois, and Moving Forward in Ashtanga by David Garrigues

JOIN ME JULY 6-AUGUST 10 for my ONLINE SUMMER COURSE: ASANA SKILL BUILDING TECHNIQUES AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE HATHA YOGA PRADIPIKA. www.davidgarrigues.com In Ashtanga yoga when we stay in a pose for a prolonged length of time we call it being in “the state of the asana”. We single out the fact of holding a position and give it a name because our practice also includes doing many transition poses that we don’t hold. You might even say that half of our practice is doing momentary transition poses and the other half is holding poses and being in the state of the asana. Also it is true that to be in a pose is to be in a state of body and mind. To be in the state of the asana is not an ordinary way of being in your body or using your mind. It is an exceptional, heightened state of being where, through pure effort and intently focusing your mind, you work to become saturated with vitality, awareness and dynamism. You expend the energy that is necessary to achieve the state of the asana to train yourself to become more skillful in being here now. One main part of practicing is to continually wonder about how to be in your pose when you are staying there, what to think about, what is the goal(s), what to do with your body, when to be effortful and when to relax? In answer to these questions, in this podcast, I discuss the concept of action in the state of the asana and give tips on how to come to a more subtle understanding of yoga through creating actions throughout the body when you are in a pose. I also talk about how the famous yoga sutra 2-46 ( Stira (Steady) Sukham (Agreeable) Asana (Posture)) provides you with two essential qualities to seek and to manifest when you are in the state of the asana.