UPDATED How Ramaswami taught the Vinyasa Krama asana workshop

This post isn't really finished yet, mostly a bunch of notes, but I promised it for today so this is what I have so far. I'll be coming back to tidy it up and improve on it over the next couple of days. As it is my friend commenting here as Anonymous who attended Ramaswami's Big Sur workshop has done most of my john for me, many thanks.


Yoga goddess asked if Ramaswami instructed us in how to teach vinyasa Krama.

"Wonderful material, presented beautifully but how do we go about practicing or teaching it".

Here are two examples using Ramaswami himself as a model. The first is of the 200 hour TT course I attended in 2010, the morning class being a five week course covering the sequences and approach in Ramaswami's book The complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga , the second is a short workshop lasting I think a week, attended by a friend.

Although these are workshop formats, we can perhaps get an idea of how we might approach teaching a series of lessons, whether one-on-one or in a class situation.

The idea seems to be to lay out the basics of breath corresponding with movement in the first few arm movements of the On your feet sequences and then add on more subroutines from that and  other sequences as the course continued until we have the framework of a regular integrated practice. Along the way introducing pranayama, pratyahara and meditation as well as perhaps some chanting.

In the workshop we began the asana class with the first few arm movements of the On your feet sequence, this allowed Ramaswmi to focus on the breath, the long slow inhalation and exhalation corresponding with the arm movements. He focused on the stretching, on lifting the pelvis up and then lifting up out of the pelvis as we "Stretch, stretch, stretch".

 We would begin every asana class with a few of those basic movements reenforcing the focus on the breath, on ujayii, it's coordination with the movement and the reminder to stretch.

We covered most of the On your feet sequence in the first week leaving a few of the more challenging postures until the end of the week.

This then was the general approach as we continued to explore the different sequences. Begin with the basic movements of on your feet, then work through some of the other sequences leaving out perhaps the most challenging postures at first but coming back to them later, towards the end of the week, to at least attempt them.

By around the third week, having looked at several of the sequences,  we had a good framework of a Vinyasa Krama class. Some On your feet and Triangle subroutines, Asymmetric subroutines and a long paschimottanasana, shoulder stand and  Bow postures as a counter then we would begin to include pranayama carried over from the afternoon pranayama class as well as pratyahara, some chanting and meditation, again carried over from the respective afternoon classes.

As the course went on we would switch the subroutines, include subroutines from the other sequences, On one leg and Inverted for example as we covered them.

Below is a basic, very basic, outline of the asana part of the course as I roughly sketched it out in notes at the time.

Week I

Day 1. 

basic checks

arm movements

back salutes

shoulder rotation

Day 2.

side poses

forward bends

squats 

- began to introduce asymmetric

Day3

sideways forward stretch

standing turtle

noose pose

Day 4

days 1, 2, 3 + drop backs

tittibahsana

Day 5 

full On your feet sequence

Week II

Day 1 

Simple lead in

Marichiyasana

Sirsasana half lotus

Day 2

Day 1 +

Krounchasana

bent leg back

lead in (jump through)

Day 3

As Day 1 +

Archer

leg behind head

utpluthi

Day 4

As Day 1, 2 +

Hanumanasana

half kingfisher

Bharadanjasana

maha bandha

Day 5

Full Asymmetric + purna matsyendrasana

Week III

As Day 1

Seated

Supta kurmasana

lead in

return sequence

Day 2

simplified supine up to shoulder stand

Bow simplified (as counter to shoulderstand)

Day 3

Seated

Shoulderstand

Bow

alternating bow and shoulderstand

Day 4

Paschimoottanasana

shoulderstand

bow

Day 5

Asymmetric postures

Paschimottanasana

Shoulderstand

Bow

Week IV (introducing some pranayama into asana class)

Day 1

Tadasana, 

shoulderstand, 

bow, 

triangle

Day 2

tadasana, Shoulderstand

bow

rest of triangle

Day 3

Paschi (10 minutes)

Asymmetric

Triangle

Inverted (headstand)

Day 4

Paschi

Asymmetric

Triangle

headstand vinyasas

Day 5

paschi

Asymmetric

triangle

Week IV (Integrated practice, Asana, pranayama, pratyahara, meditation).

Day 1

Holiday (5th July)

As week III but with On one leg (tapas) Introducing more pranayama/pratyahara

also exploring postures from asana section of Yoga Makaranda

Week IV (final week)

Visesha sequence Longer pranayama and pratyahara

Class model/framework (Me, Rene and Wyatt)

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We were all also offered and encouraged to lead a subroutine or two as the course progressed. At the end of the course (fifth week) we all tried to come up with a Vinyasa Krama class in pairs.  Mine and Rene's seemed to be acceptible so we, or rather she, took the final class using the framework we came up with, while Wyatt led the Pranayama section. 

This was basically the usual ten minute On your feet mini sequence followed by a couple of triangle subroutines and the on one leg subroutine, asymmetric, bow, seated supine and shoulder stand, headstand with vinyasa and lotus. Ending with pranyama and pratyahara and meditation.

Obviously this was a workshop in which we were being taught the whole syllabus, in an actual Vinyasa Krama class there would be perhaps those basic movements at the beginning and then a few subroutines. Each class would include a long paschimottanasana, long shoulder stands and ideally headstands and finish with pranayama, pratyahara and meditation.

The trick is not to be too ambitious and plan too many subroutines or postures but rather to take your time with the ones you do have, less is more. Each class would be familiar containing the key postures but would also perhaps include something new, a different subroutine.

Another thing, Ramaswami didn't say much while teaching, only what was absolutely necessary to achieve the posture, mainly cuing the breath and a reminder of bandhas. Instruction always seemed a suggestion, an offering of instruction. Quite close in a way to a led ashtanga class with the bare minimum of the name of the posture but how to breath rather than the count.

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I just asked a friend who was on the recent Big Sur workshop how Ramaswami approached the workshop given that it was only a week as opposed to five. I really want to thank him for passing on his notes, i'd been expecting just a couple of lines, much appreciated.

Ramaswami's recent Big Sur Workshop notes

Week of May 6-11, 2012

Hatha and Raja Yoga Practicum
Srivatsa RamaswamiAsana practice has caught the imagination of a number of enthusiasts—especially Vinyasakrama, the sequencing art form of yoga practice. However, yoga has other important ingredients, all of which promote a positive transformation of the individual. A holistic approach would require the yogi to practice not only asana and pranayama (the Hatha yoga aspects) but also chanting, meditation, and contemplation of the philosophical and spiritual aspects (the Raja yoga aspects).

In this program, half of each session will be devoted to different asanas, following the Vinyasakrama method. It will involve doing more than 300 vinyasas, or variations in classical yoga poses, in the course of the program. The other half of the time will be utilized for detailed and varied yogic breathing exercises and the other Raja yoga practices, like chanting, meditation, and philosophical and spiritual contemplation of the yoga sutras. The objective by the end of the program is for participants to have a well-rounded understanding and practice of yoga, as opposed to doing only asanas or meditation. Hatha yoga and Raja yoga are aspects of the integrated system of yogic progression. 

Overview of the workshop by Anonoymous

"Here's a brief overview of how he taught. He stressed foremost that it was a hata and raja yoga practicum, and as such, he wanted to impress on us the equal importance of the 8 limbs. His teaching, in a nutshell, was that asana is for reducing rajas, pranayama for reducing tamas, and pratyahara and meditation for increasing sattvas. As such, each course was divided among asana, pranayama and pratyahara and meditation, with a lecture section devoted to the various chapters of the Yoga Sutras. The course met each morning from 9:30 to 12:45, and each afternoon from 4:00 to 6:30.

The first course began with asana practice of the core Tadasana sequence. Since there were some elders in the class, I think he held back on the more vigorous vinyasa krama. He would essentially split the sequences, having us rest in savasana mid way through and then continue on after all caught their breath. After asana, he taught us pranayama. Each pranayama practice would commence with 108 rounds of kapalbhati, split in 3 groups of 36 breaths. One round with hands on knees, a second round with hands overhead, the third round with hands behind our head and on shoulder blades. After this, he taught viloma (nadi shodhana) pranayama. We started with 5 rounds, and eventually worked up to 10 rounds. Here is the practice:

 1. inhale ujjayi 5 seconds

 2. hold in 5 seconds

 3. exhale right 10 seconds

 4. hold out 5 seconds, engage bandhas

 5. inhale right 5 seconds

 6. hold in 5 seconds

 7. exhale ujjayi 10 seconds

 8. hold out 5 seconds, engage bandhas

 9. inhale ujjayi 5 seconds

 10. hold in 5 seconds

 11. exhale left 10 seconds

 12. hold out 5 seconds, engage bandhas

 13. inhale left 5 seconds

 14. hold in 5 seconds

 15. exhale ujjayi 10 seconds

 16. hold out 5 seconds, engage bandhas

 17. repeat from step # 1

After pranayama practice, we would move immediately into 3 minutes of shanmukhi mudra (for pratyahara), followed immediately with 10-15 minutes of meditation, during which we were instructed to recite silently "om hrim namasivaya." His instruction was to ignore the breath, ignore the meaning, ignore everything inside--just focus on the mantra repetition and stillness of head and body space. This was supported then by lecture on the Yoga Sutras. In most classes, we would go through all cycles at least twice.

So, aside from the Tadasana sequence, we worked on the supine sequence, some of the bow sequence, the triangle pose sequence, and the inverted posture sequence. However, in shoulder stand and headstand, we did not practice other vinyasas, due to the average capacity of students. Ramaswami seemed concerned of pushing people too far too fast. While the majority of the class was youthful and yogically prepared for vigorous practice, we also had a 63 year old, an 80 year old and a pregnant woman. Therefore, his was mainly concerned with our practice of pranayama and meditation.

On the last day of class, take us through a routine that we could practice at home, stressing the core asanas and mudras (paschimottanasana, sarvangasana, sirsasana, maha mudra), pranayama, pratyahara, mantra meditation, based on his daily practices with Krishnamacharya.

Interesting point I just remembered: Ramaswami said Krishnamacharya instructed the width of one's stance in standing postures to be as wide (no wider than) as the length of one's leg. I don't recall ever hearing this, so was delighted that he mentioned it.

He also recommended Swami Hariharananda Aranya's translation of the Yoga Sutras over any others for western students."

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UPDATE from Comments.

Grimmly said...
I meant to ask you, our course was a teacher training and so Ramaswami could expect a resonable level of practice and experience as well as some awareness of his approach, we all had his book already I imagine. However, I wondered on your shorter course where there were perhaps some relative beginners and/or some unfamiliar with his approach, can you say something about his instruction and guidance in postures. in that context? For us it was mostly a case of saying the name of the posture almost as a reminder and then focussing on the breath or some tiny details as issues came up.
Thanks again for your help with this post anon.
23 May 2012 09:05

Anonymous said...
The following is a very rough sketch…

Lift! Lift! Lift! Straight back, straight arms, straight legs. Toes, ankles, knees together. Pelvis and rib cage lifting; chin down to pull the spine ever straighter, eyes down. Deep ujjayi breathing.

Ramaswami did not correct alignment by touch, so far as I could see. In one instance he very gently touched my left calf to bring it wider when we were in the preparatory hold in sarvangasana, where he instructs to keep the legs apart with the knees bent, to allow the legs and blood to settle. On another occasion, when I was demonstrating cobra pose, he very quickly pulled me back and up stretching me to my limits to show the length to which one can go in the posture. It was very unexpected and exhilarating and made me and the class chuckle with laughter.

Otherwise, his instruction for correct posture was purely verbal, which, again, is how he was instructed, I think, by Krishnamacharya. As an aside, I was reading through Mohan’s book on K and I think he said the same, regarding how there was no “hands on” correction of postures, per se. I will try and post this later tonight for reference.

Ramaswami’s teaching is very intellectual. As I noted before, my understanding (or experience) of vinyasa krama is that it is really something that must be taught on an individual, one-on-one basis, per the specific abilities and needs of the student. If I ever were to teach the method, I would have to do so in a way that Mysore classes are taught. It is not a practice that I think is easily or strategically taught to large classes. Moreover, it is not a method (at least in my understanding of it thus far) that seems to view asana as an end in itself. Rather, the asana practice is merely a necessary stage to be passed through (traditionally) to sit for pranayama and meditation. Such that if you are able to sit in padmasana, great. If you’re not, no worry—try something else that is suitable for your body. I sense that vinyasa krama astutely undermines the rather egotistical pursuit of perfection in asana. It doesn’t discourage proper asana practice, but it also doesn’t glorify it. It is as it is an integral limb of yoga.

A point Ramaswami stressed and that hit home for me was that pranayama/pratyahara/dharana is an internal process that cannot be seen by the teacher, and so we all must be our own vigilant teachers regarding the internal aspects. He suggested that it is not something we really ought to discuss with others (such as what is happening or being experienced inside) but should be observed and kept secret. He said one should directly approach their teacher for specific guidance or questions, but otherwise it is a individual path to be walked alone. This, I think, harkens back the traditional guru/disciple relationship.

Personally, I think asana can be corrected only so much from the point of view as a physical form. The alignment must be sensed by the practitioner from inside. Likewise with pranayama, the digital and cyclical method can be instructed, and the slow passage of breath listened to and observed by the teacher, but the process itself again is something that is personal and internal.

To close, I will note that Ramaswami stressed the importance and necessity of practicing the inversions and the bandhas, so as to massage the heart and organs covered by the rib cage. He also suggested that our joints all have superior and inferior aspects to them, and that when in inversions, these are thus inverted and can rejuvenate in the reversed positions, easing compression, such as the heart and lungs do in sirsasana, etc. Pranayama is necessary also for physically massaging and stretching the portion of the vertebral column that is connected to the rib cage, and likewise the heart and lungs.