This wonderful article appeared in a special health section of last Saturday’s edition of our local Great Barrington paper, “The Berkshire Eagle.” It features the classes taught by my wife, Uma McNeill at The Berkshire Breathing Project’s new Yoga Yurt located in the backyard of our home. The Yurt is so new, we have not yet updated The Breathing Project’s Website to include it – I’ll post a notice when that new info is available.
The article was written by Jessica Willis, who was uniquely qualified to write such an insightful piece, having been a regular client of mine several years ago in New York City. Jessica has beautifully captured the spirit of breath work in this article, which is one of the best pieces about breathing I’ve seen in a long time.
Category: Uncategorized
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27,000 Chances to Inhale, Exhale
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Nischala Devi remembers Rachel Greene
This touching tribute to Rachel Greene was written by my old friend Nischala Joy Devi and posted as a comment to “In Memoriam: Rachel Greene 1963-2006.” Since many of you may not have seen it on the comments page, I’m sending it along.Nischala Devi said…
When I first met Rachel (Preeti) her smiling face and impish ways captured my heart. She truly embodied the compassionate heart of a true Yogi. The limitations of her physical heart seemed only to enhance both her emotional and spiritual hearts.
Having known her for many years, it was in 1998 that our common joy burgeoned. During the Yoga of the Heart Certification Course we became teacher and student but more importantly two yogis seeking to serve those with Heart Disease.
When shortly thereafter, Rachel was chosen to be “The Yoga Teacher” at Walter Reed Army hospital for their research on heart disease, we both were overjoyed and delighted. Such a sweet soul was now leading generals, colonels, soldiers, sailors, pilots and yes, even senators in the great teachings of Yoga. On my many speaking engagements at Walter Reed, my heart always rejoiced when experiencing Rachel’s gentle triumph.
One of her greatest gifts to herself and to all of us was her ability to react to situations with a childlike abandonment.
Joining me on an “offical” visit to India, to research Yoga Therapy at a conference where I was presenting, we had the blessing to visit many Temples. Always enthralled by the mystical as well as the physical, she showed the same loving respect to the deities as well as the beggars outside.
During that same trip, we had cabins next door to each other. One afternoon, I suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream. Running out the door Preeti and I collided. Eyes big as chapattis, she yelled “I JUST STEPPED ON A HUUUUGGGGE COCKROACH!!!!! (Her hand showing a three-foot span). People were coming round to see what had happened. At the same moment she and I burst out in peels of laughter, as the three foot span began to grow. We were holding onto our sides and bending over in complete hilarity.
With her fun and laughter we also shared tenderness. In an email just a few weeks before she left her body she wrote, “You came to me in a dream the other night as the Mother-Goddess and I could not speak because all I could do was weep. It was really beautiful.”
She also came to me in a dream the night after her surgery. When she appeared she bestowed on me one of her most generous smiles and let me know that no matter what happened she is radiating joy. Her capacity to fully embrace the gamut of emotions with abandonment is one of her greatest gift and is a true inspiration to many.
With her departure from this earth my heart mourns, yet, it filled with her laughter, her kindness and compassion and unrestricted joy. All her family, friends and the students she has touched will continue to recall her qualities for many years and repose, “It was a blessing to have known her.” And among the most adoring will be me.Nischala Joy Devi
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Belated report on "Yoga Girl" video
As you can see from the server records, the Yoga Girl/Ana Forrest videos were an instant hit when I uploaded them on Thursday, January 26th, and seem to have resulted in an overall increase in viewership of the blog. They also generated, by far, the most comments of any post since I started the blog. Some of the comments are quite insightful, so I’m posting them for you below. Click “Read More!” to see them.
If you haven’t seen the videos yet, you can view them here, and post any additional comments you may have.Anonymous said…
“Is it yoga?”
Please.
How can we measure the inner experience of another from a low-res web vid? That is the more relevant question.
The capacity of the mind to think and judge and criticize is unending.
I have respect for the work you are doing, however I find this type of yoga-banter nauseating.
- Anonymous said…
Yoga is not a demonstration sport, it is a personal practice. I am suprised that you haven’t learned that yet. Yoga is intrinsically beautiful and in that way, has aesthetic value. However, the purpose of yoga is not to be beautiful, but to be steady and comfortable.
- Anonymous said…
interestingly, the contortionist in her video looks even more “steady and comfortable” than Ana Forrest does.
And surely one cannot do such tricks without deep connection to breath?I say it’s all yoga. Both far more athletic than *my* yoga will ever be, and that’s o.k.
- Robert Towne said…
Interesting question. What purpose is there to saying what others are doing is or isn’t yoga?
I hear many teachers ask this question in different ways. It only seems to cause division and seems to be a persuasion to tell people ‘my way’ of yoga is better than someone else’s. While I am not trying to diss you and you specifically said you weren’t trying to disrespect Ana, what is the goal of the question?I ask because I think this will personally help me to not be so jaded when I hear other teachers ask this question again.
- Anonymous said…
patanjali,,,wrote..
yoga is the stilling of the mind-stuff
or something like that… - Steve Rooney said…
Amazing. Yoga? Hard to tell. But surely beautiful and impressive. And such connection with one’s body is to be admired.
So when do we get to see the drop-dead LK vinyasa on the big E-S channel? The music can be ditched, but please do go for the unitard!
Hugs, Steve
- Sara Avant Stover said…
An outer expression and revelation of one’s inner beauty, quest, and connection–certainly this is yoga. When we criticize others’s approaches to practice, we only bring ourselves further from our own yoga. Let’s shine the light of acceptance on creativity and difference. No two beings are alike. Therefore, No two practices should be alike, either.
- Amy P H said…
Is it Yoga? Well, it certainly is asana, if that’s the question…Only Ana can tell you if she is in “Yoga” during her shared practice…we shouldn’t (or can’t for that matter) be the ones guessing whether or not it’s yoga, right? Yoga can occur doing anything….it’s the same question: do we meditate, or sit for meditation to occur? We do asana in hopes to achieve yoga. We must remember we can only practice and yoga may occur. For me; I practice asana every day, sometimes I find yoga, sometimes I don’t!
Om, shantih, shantih, shantih! - Karen S. said…
Cirque du Soleil! Fun to watch, amazing physical prowess…but you need the context to get a sense of whether it’s Yoga. I’m much more interested in what goes on in a person’s heart, mind and relationships, and you just can’t tell that from a performance.
- Anonymous said…
If that is yoga… what have I been doing all of my life?? Did she have time to breathe?
- Anonymous said…
When i have watched Kali Ray do a “performance”, there is an element of effortless practice. I did not see that in this “performance”. I did not find it inspiring at all.
- Gordon said…
Great flame bait, Man! Is she going to make enough money off that routine to afford hip, knee and spine replacements?
- Paula said…
“Is it yoga?” I dunno, is that a citta in her vittri, or is she just happy to see us?
I would like to see a video of your asana practice now, so we can compare more apples and oranges.
- Gail O. said…
What timing. I was mentioning this video to one of my classes last night, and asking basically the same thing: yoga or entertainment? Certainly asana.
It is an amazing series, and by an “older” person (yeah for those in our age range), though to me the performance does seem to harken back to the days of the medicine wagon shows: she bends, she flips, she’s the amazing bendy yoga woman. Perhaps the performance serves to dispell the notion that this type of practice is only for the young, or that older bodies and minds are capable of more than society in general might wish to credit us with. I wonder what her intention was. - Scott Smader said…
“Is it yoga?” Who can judge the inner practice of another person from such evidence?
Is “It” entertainment? Well, Ana’s YJ routine is not entertaining to me. It’s kind of wooden and stiff and has several apparent minor mistakes. I know she’s doing stuff I can’t do, but other people can do lots of things I can’t that I don’t find entertaining.
Is the little contortionist’s routine entertaining? Well, for a couple minutes, it’s fascinating in a disturbing, uncomfortable way.
I don’t think I’d repeat attendance at either performance, but I might recommend seeing the contortionist to someone simply because it’s kind of shocking.
I, too, worry about the contortionist’s future health. I don’t have that concern for Ms. F.
Thus, I would choose to emulate Ana, not the contortionist.
I would not likely volunteer to exhibit any skill I might acquire, however, unless I had pretty high confidence that the audience would enjoy the exhibition.
Namaste, one and all.
- Sharon Steffensen said…
Leslie, of course, is joking! The “Yoga Girl” video is mistitled. It should be “Contortionist Girl.” I did not recognize it as yoga. With Ana’s demo, you could see her breathing–in fact, you could see and practically feel the prana exuding from her right through the computer screen. I was mesmerized by her demonstration. Ana does yoga. Ana IS yoga. The other video was a puzzlement.
Sharon Steffensen
- matt huish said…
even more than “nauseating yoga banter” (which you definitely expose yourself to when you do public performance like yoga is some kind of entertainment show), i can’t stand the portrayal of modern yoga through crude, excessive, overly dramatic crap. gives the portrayal to one who has no idea what yoga is that it is some contortionist game.this is why the ancient sages condemned the hatha yogis. and speaking of the contortionist, i think the contortionist definately had more prana burning through her nadis than ana. much more inspiring though sickening (what the hell must be happening to her joints and ligaments?). watching this shit is like looking at the freaking people magazine or even better weekly world news of yoga or something. its entertainment. Is entertainment yoga? is it yoga? who knows, but it sure isn’t something I would want to watch again.
- Anonymous said…
Actually – it’s too bad that it is “yoga”. I wish it wasn’t. It would be a lot easier to teach and bring to people if this video were a display of some other kind of performance. It’s shows like this that brings yoga that bad impression of being only for the freaky flexible, the freaky minded ( why is ana doing this ?? what is the point ?? ) , and the freaky needy for attention. “Yoga” is so much more than this as we know – displays like this make it harder for that message to get across.
- Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.
upsidedowncarl said…
It seems beside the point to me whether another person’s practice is valid or not so I am not sure whether the question is worth considering. However, it is worth noting that the two videos were of a person doing a performance. While a performance is a practice of a kind and the work that would go into preparing for that performance is another kind of practice, the main function of a performance is the edification, entertainment and enjoyment of others. In both clips the practitioner is being watched by a considerably large group of spectators. Both clips end with the hearty applause of the audience and it appears both practitioners are pleased with their performances and perhaps even happy to be finished. This might be a very different circumstance for practice than one where you are alone with yourself and your thoughts and not doing your practice to please anyone including yourself. While self reflective awareness can happen anywhere it is interesting to consider the different affects that would occur while practicing alone by yourself, in a group without thought to others, in a group with concern for the opinions of others, and/or being watched by a group and performing explicitly for the entertainment of others.
www.yogascope.com
www.yogascope.com/blog/
- Anonymous said…
I heard two questions – is it yoga? And – is it aesthetically pleasing / impressive? Many posters have already commented on the first – and as to the second – What’s the aesthetic complaint? Of course it’s beautiful! Perhaps just not to your taste . . . But I don’t understand what the competitive reference is about.
- padma said…
It is interesting to read everyone’s comments but all of you missed an important point. I was looking at the video and other than worrying about the future of all her joints, I was thinking, it would have been me if I followed my teacher.
What one needs to understand is how impressionable teenage yoga students can be. That is what I was aiming for. To stand on my pinky finger, to craddle my head in cupped soles effortlessly…breath was never my priority when I was learning yoga in the beginnning. The om chanting was the only connection to the breath in the yoga I learnt back then, but being so focussed on twisting my body a hundred ways, I missed the purpose of the chanting.
This video to me is a representation of that. I used to think I can never be good at yoga if I cannot do a perfect scissors in my head stand.
Videos like this take the focus away from breath and that is too bad.love Padma
- confucius said…
I suppose with the all-pervasive celebrity culture, is it surprising that even those who may sincerely practice yoga get caught up in seeking their 5 minutes of fame?
While the performance may have been deeply satisfying for practitioner and audience, a scan of those watching makes it clear that most of them would not feel inspired but more likely defeated. And they thought yoga was something that might be good for them . . . . . - Ravi Dykema said…
“Is it Yoga?” A good Question, Leslie. If we decide to let the word Yoga apply to whatever anyone says is Yoga the word will lose its meaning. Thus the ongoing debate about asana proficiency: is it Yoga? No, in my view. I base this on a long study of the literature and of living lineages. Here’s a similar example in a related tradition: Does sitting still while crosslegged facing a wall constitute Zen practice? I think your question leads to a deeper one: Is the modern Yoga enthusiast’s acquitiveness of asana expertise healthy? Or is it a tragic distraction?
- Anonymous said…
Well you’ve obviously stirred the pot by posting this video. It’s good blogging. As for the question posed I’ll try and craft a thoughful answer based on my experience, the yoga sutras and common sense, the latter of which we seem to to employ much of.
It would be extremely difficult to disprove that all things are yoga – especially reading any Sri Aurobindo. Divine is in all things. That having been said, there are layers of definitions of yoga especailly here in the West.
To fuly answer the question one would need to have this woman in class over a period of time to determine what sort of practice she has. My goodness.
I personally find the video to be disquieting. My bigger fear is that neophytes see this and it further reinforces the nonsensical notion that yoga “IS” felxibility.
I personally am no longer attracted to flow yoga so I have a built in bias. Therefore stillness feels like a requsite in yoga practice and I suspect one of our fine Sutra scholars could back this up.
And finally there’s this bit about hypermobility. It’s not a good thing. It’s sort of saggy, unengaged yoga that’s not all that healthy for connective tissue. Most instructors would be hard pressed to get this woman to engage anything in her body because she’s litterally all over the place.
How does this woman feel anything in her body at all? What happens to contortionists? Do they have normal life spans??
- Charlotte Brady said…
The world is full of different yogas and they all serve a purpose. Maybe it’s not our purpose and maybe not even what we think is a good purpose but that is irrelevant. We are exactly where we need to be at any given moment. If that means we are doing our practice in front of an aplauding audience or all alone without anybody knowing we’re even practicing yoga is also entirely irrelevant. We should try to accept that we are where we are and also accept that others are where they are. In doing that we are so much closer to the goal. We can all rest assured that in the long run failure in yoga is impossible. Thank you.
- jennifer p. said…
Performance art or yoga? Who can truly say…
I do know that I saw a lot of sukham and not much sthiram in her practice/performance which made it uncomfortable for me to watch. - Anonymous said…
‘performance’ of asana is appropriate for children, not grown ups. it’s time for grown up practitioners of yoga in the west to get this.
yoga chickie said…
I know that I am coming late to the party here. But somehow I missed this when you first blogged it. Anyhoo, first, I assume you did not mean to say that you find Ana remarkable “considering” that she is roughly the same age as you; after all, she is quite remarkable as a yogini, regardless of her age. Old or young, her practice is remarkable.
Is the physical expression of her practice as remarkable as whatever it is that the 85 pound 20-year old is doing in the other video? No, it isn’t.
But your question was: is it yoga?
In my opinion, it is yoga if it is helping her to corral the fluctuations of the mind and clear away the “debris” on the “windshield” that obscure the view of the “self” (the driver of that car, in my analogy). That is, after all, the definition of yoga.
I disagree with the notion that a performance cannot be yoga. Golf can be yoga, as John Scott has said. For me, before I discovered asana practice, figure skating was my yoga. Asana practice, as you know, is just one of eight limbs of Patanjali’s eight-limbed system of yoga. One need not be practicing asana at any given moment to be practicing yoga. Performing asanas for an audience certainly ought not to disqualify one from practicing yoga.
We often hear that yoga is non-competitive, that identification with the ego is an obstacle to yoga, that attachment to anything, including performance, is an obstacle to yoga. So, if Ana or the lithe little thing in the video are feeling competitive, attached to their performance, attached to the audience’s adulation, identifying with their performance, etc., well, those are obstacles to their yoga practice.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not yoga.
Lauren
- Little Star Speaks said…
Ana can do whatever she wants. The divine plays in all forms and situations. If it did not, it would not be the divine! As for if it is yoga, you must ask is it hatha yoga? No, it isn’t. Those specific poses are designed to manipulate body energy in very specific ways. Hatha yoga is a science, and you have to follow the rules. Now, if she is having devotional ecstacy while performing, it could be bhakti yoga. So it is a very thin line to walk to theorize about yoga, and just say yoga. Unless, one is talking about direct inner divine contact, then you would not be talking about it, you would live it. It would be your own beautiful secret. It could be like prayer. Hatha yoga only exists in a space where one has a body to do it anyway. So, as a science the rules have to be followed. Because there are rules with body energy, bodies only work in specific ways. Now, if one has transcended the body, then hatha yoga as a category would be useless for that being. (Ironic that yoga helps one do this) At that point to characterize anything becomes pointless. YOGA is just a word, like God. Only we give it meaning. So….No she is not doing hatha yoga. But who knows what other beautiful things are potentially occuring in those moments?
- Anonymous said…
yes, interesting how we perceive things. As a teacher and practioner I enjoy an intense demonstration every once in a while. I see this as a dance yoga from the vision of its performer. I would have liked to see the demonstration in a softer, more graceful way, showing the beautiful respect we all should have of our bodies. I still did enjoy the video, thank you for sharing
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Robert Fried responds to arginine question
Anonymous said…
Hi,
I suffer from the viral disease herpes. A diet high in Arginine can trigger an attack. For general maintainance of the disease it is recommended to have a diet high in Lysine and low in Arginine. Though after reading your article, it would appear that I would be missing out on the benefits of a diet high in Arginine. Confused!Robert Fried replies…
Dear “Confused”
You are absolutely right. A high arginine diet can promote and/or worsen herpes. We are very careful in our book to tell our readers about that possibility. One can, however, increase Nitric Oxide availability by consuming the “greens and beans.” The body synthesizing NO from high nitrogen-compound foods does not, to the best of our knowledge, entail the herpes risk. -
Author Enlightens Christians About Yoga’s Demonic Influence
If you practice Yoga, Dave Hunt is very concerned about the welfare of your soul – especially if you are a Christian.
He has authored a thoroughly researched book called “Yoga and The Body of Christ” that irrefutably proves that the practice of Yoga is a form of Eastern mysticism that opens you up to the influence of demonic forces.Here’s a link to a PDF of the first 19 pages of his book. It’s scary stuff, but not for the reasons that he intends. I’ll let Hunt’s own words speak for themselves, as there’s nothing I could say that more clearly conveys his message. It’s very revealing to hear him state, as if it’s a self-evident given, that Christianity in this country is under serious attack from Eastern traditions, when it’s pretty clear to any semi-rational observer that the exact opposite is true. Christianists in the U.S. are on a serious crusade that seeks to undermine state-church separations, and use government force to impose their religious values on the rest of us non-believing heathens.
All in all, Hunt’s rantings are a disturbing peek into the mentality driving the smugly self-righteous religious right in this country. I’m curious to hear your comments on this issue. Also, check out the archived e-Sutra post “Christians Debate Yoga” from June 30, 2005.
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In Memoriam: Rachel Greene 1963-2006
Rachel “Preeti” Greene was a yoga teacher who specialized in teaching to heart and cancer patients. She passed away May 26 of complications from open heart surgery. I met her briefly at a Yoga conference, and had heard glowing reports of her work. If anyone has memories of Rachel they’d like to share, please feel free to post them as comments. -
Dr. Robert Fried talks about “Great Food, Great Sex”
Another friend and “Future of Breathing” presenter has released a book. Bob Fried, consummate physiological renaissance man, has co-authored a fascinating book called “Great Food, Great Sex.” Personally, I prefer the original title “Eat Your Way to Better Sex,” but his agent nixed the idea, fearing a backlash from the red states.
Below, you will find a great explanation of some of the key points in his book, which is based on serious science, and speaks to more than sexual performance. His proposed diet also has profound implications for blood pressure and general cardiovascular health. I, for one, am going to protect my blood vessels by loading up on my greens-and-beans, arginine rich meats and fish and antioxidant fruits and vegetables – expect a report on the side-effects in a future post.
P.S. If you’re in the NYC area, you can attend an event with Dr. Fried sponsored by the 92nd Street “Y” on Wed, Jun 21, 2006, at 12:00pm-1:00pm.From: Robert Fried, Ph.D.
Y’all may wonder how we got the nerve (chutzpah) to write a book on food and sex, so I thought I’d explain it to you:
In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three Americans who discovered that blood vessels are principally under the control of a curious gas molecule made by the body, in the body, nitric oxide (NO). No one imagined that, as we all assumed that blood vessels were under the control of so-called action hormones including noradrenaline. In fact, prescription antihypertensive beta-blocker meds reduce the action of noradrenaline, thus lowering blood pressure. But, we now know that action hormones only modulate blood vessels and that NO is the basic control mechanism that dilates blood vessels increasing blood flow when and where needed….click “Read more!” to view the rest of this post.
At that time also, Pfizer, well aware of the research on NO, discovered that they had developed a compound–later termed VIAGRA–that extended the duration of the action of NO on body blood vessels–dilating them– and intended to market it as an antihypertensive. But they noted that it resulted in erection in men at the same time that it reduced their blood pressure. In other words, VIAGRA dilated more than coronary arteries.
How does the body make NO? It turns out that it comes mostly from one of the principal amino acids found in all proteins: L-arginine. L-arginine rich foods include meats, fish and legumes. In addition, the body can make nitric oxide directly from green vegetables because they are rich in nitrate compounds that can be made to yield NO.I (Fried) experimented with arginine supplement readily available in health food stores in the early 1990s reasoning that one alternative to VIAGRA that prolongs the action of NO is to supply more NO to the body. As you know, this worked and resulted in THE ARGININE SOLUTION and then VasoRect, an arginine-based supplement product. By then, tens of thousands of articles had been published on the cardiovascular and erectile benefits of arginine-derived NO.
In the mid- 1990s also, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a series of clinical trials of a nutrition plan intended to raise NO availability for heart patients. Anything that raises NO production will lower blood pressure, lower heart rate and the work of the heart, and will increase sexual energy. This does not mean libido (sexual desire) but performance. NO has no effect on sexual desire, only on performance.
So, GREAT FOOD, GREAT SEX explains all that, and most of the recipes are from the NHLBI clinical trials (reprinted in the book with their permission). Thus, we have the only sex nutrition book proven by the US government to support cardiovascular and heart action and at the same time it raises NO production for increased sexual performance. So, as you can see, it is very scientific, not whimsical, nor is it prurient in intent or content.
Edlen-Nezin joined the project several years ago contributing also her vast knowledge about- and experience with special-populations nutrition. Together, we formulated the three-food factors for sexual vitality:
The three food factors are “greens-and-beans” (nitrogen rich and arginine rich foods such as vegetables and legumes that yield NO), arginine rich meats and fish that yield NO, and powerful antioxidant foods (fruits, vegetables, etc) to protect blood vessels.
This book is about a Nobel-Prize winning discovery that we have applied to enhancing cardiovascular and heart health and sexual vitality for a lifetime.
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Yoga and The Tao of Natural Breathing
My friend Dennis Lewis has recently announced the re-publishing by Rodmell Press of one of the best books available on breathing and the breath: “The Tao of Natural Breathing.”
In conjunction with the release of the book, Dennis circulated the following piece, which mentions “The Future of Breathing,” the symposium I organized last September at Kripalu. I hope to work again soon with Dennis and some of the other presenters on a follow-up event – possibly in 2007.(OPENPRESS) April 11, 2006 — When “The Tao of Natural Breathing” was first published back in late 1996, yoga breathing, or pranayama, was all the rage. “It still is today,” says Dennis Lewis, author of this acclaimed book, “but at least now a growing number of people, including yoga teachers, are questioning the wisdom of teaching advanced pranayama exercises to people who don’t breathe very well to begin with.” They are also opening themselves to some recent research about the meaning of healthy breathing…click “Read more!” to view the rest of this post.
Last year, for example, Lewis was one of several presenters at “The Future of Breathing” Conference held at The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Lewis points out that one of the goals of this conference, which was organized by Leslie Kaminoff, a leading yoga teacher and therapist, was to expose and correct some of the many myths about breathing that are still being taught today by many yoga teachers and appear in many books. One of the biggest myths of all is the belief that the more carbon dioxide you can breathe out with each breath the better. “The fact is, if you exhale too much carbon dioxide too quickly,” Lewis says (and many researchers agree), “you often not only make yourself more anxious and irritable, but you can create or exacerbate many serious health problems.” Lewis explains the reasons for this in his book “The Tao of Natural Breathing,” as well as in his latest book “Free Your Breath, Free Your Life.”But there are other problems with teaching advanced pranayama exercises to people who are not ready for them. In his book “The Tao of Natural Breathing,” Lewis points out that “Breathing exercises involving complicated counting schemes, alternative nostril breathing, reverse breathing, breath retention, hyperventilation, and so on only make sense for people who already breathe naturally, making use of their entire body in the breathing process.” Lewis believes that though these advanced practices can result in novel and even useful energetic experiences, they often do so–for people who don’t breathe well–at the expense of making their breathing even worse over the long run.
Though “The Tao of Natural Breathing” has been out of print for the past year, Rodmell Press, which specializes in books on yoga, has just republished it. Although one might think that the book would not be welcome by yoga teachers, there has been a growing awareness among yoga teachers of many of the points that Lewis makes in this book, especially with regard to the importance of “natural breathing,” which “The Tao of Natural Breathing” was written to help make possible. And so one finds may yoga teachers who think highly of this book and recommend it to their students. One well-known yoga teacher has this to say:
“Insightful in its breadth and simple in its presentation, ‘The Tao of Natural Breathing’ offers something new, especially to those skilled in pranayama (yoga breathing exercises). Dennis Lewis presents practices that are less about control and more about letting go. He gently entices us to allow our conscious breath to become the teacher, the healer, and the expression of our soul.” –Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T., author of 30 Essential Yoga Poses
For more information about “The Tao of Natural Breathing” and “Free Your Breath, Free Your Life,” visit The Authentic Breathing Website.
For more information about Dennis Lewis, visit http://www.dennislewis.org.
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First Ever Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research
I am very pleased to join The International Association of Yoga Therapists in announcing their first ever International Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, to be held at the Airport Hilton in Los Angeles from January 18 thru 21, 2007.I am excited to be a presenter at this event, along with a veritable who’s who in the fields of Yoga and Yoga Therapy.
My main presentation at the syposium will be “What Yoga Therapists Should Know About Breath Anatomy,” which is also the title of an article I’ve written for The International Journal of Yoga Therapy. I will also moderate (along with IAYT President John Kepner) a panel titled “Yoga as an Emerging Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Profession” that will address certifying and regulatory issues for Yoga Therapy. Those of you who have been regular readers of e-Sutra know that I have one or two strong opinions on this topic, so that promises to be a lively discussion.
I urge you to register early for this landmark event, and be a part of history, as Yoga Therapy takes a major step in setting high standards of research, study and practice.
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"Are you putting me on the Internet?"
My youngest son, Sasha (6), just reminded me that I promised to put him on the Internet. I made this promise the other day, when I showed him this photo, which was taken last year at a shoot for my Yoga Anatomy book here in Great Barrington. As I type this, Sasha is standing right here, and he wants to say “hi” to the Internet. He will now click the “Publish Post” button.
