to be reversed when working in the posture itself. For example, while forward bending is performed by the hip flexors, once we are in the posture we use the hamstrings, which are hip extensors.2 Backbending is performed by the trunk extensors, but once in the posture we counteract these by engaging the abdominal muscles. To arrive in Baddha Konasana we use the external hip rotators; once in the posture we use the internal hip rotators.
The fact that every action performed in yoga does not continue endlessly means that we automatically perform the opposing action to counteract it and so reach a balanced state. As each posture is balanced by a counterposture, so each action within the posture is balanced by its counteraction until a neutral position is reached.
The neutral position is that in which the initial action has been balanced and correct alignment has been achieved. Alignment is correct when steadiness and lightness in the posture are achieved, holding it becomes effortless, and meditation is possible. This state is reached when all actions are balanced by opposing actions.
The posture remains alive and active as we continually play with balancing these opposites.
How to Stretch
There are three ways to stretch in a posture: passive, active, and dynamic/ballistic stretching. An example of passive stretching would be folding your torso forward from a standing position and then just hanging from your hip joints with your arms dangling down or your elbows clasped. Passive stretching is relatively ineffective, as it takes a long time to produce results. A person with high muscle tension could hang in a passive stretch for half an hour without getting very far.
This type of stretching has the added disadvantage of not protecting the muscle stretched. For example, if in the posture previously described we reached for the toes and drew the torso down with our arms, the stretch would mainly be taken at the origin of the hamstring muscles, the ischial tuberosities, which are a part of the sit bones. This can result in tearing of muscle fibers, the so-called pulling of the hamstrings. Another downside of passive stretching is that it does not build strength to support the flexibility gained.
The technique employed in Ashtanga Yoga is active stretching. In this type of stretching we use an inherent reflex without which the body could not move. Whenever a muscle contracts, its antagonist (the muscle with the opposite function) releases. To understand this reflex one may look at the elbow joint. When the biceps (biceps brachii) contracts, the triceps (triceps brachii) releases, so that the elbow may be flexed. If the triceps also contracted, the elbow could not move. Likewise, when the triceps contracts, the nervous system simultaneously sends a signal to the biceps to release, and the elbow is extended.
A muscle that is being stretched will receive a signal to release when the opposing muscle is activated. In addition to gravity, it will also be stretched by the strength of the opposing muscle. At the same time, the opposing muscle will be exercised and increase in strength. With this method we will be able to close a joint — flex it — to about 85 percent. To access the remaining 15 percent, we will use a technique we call “active release,” which is covered later.
The other form of stretching is dynamic stretching, mainly used in martial arts, rhythmic gymnastics, and calisthenics. Here one uses momentum to stretch. It is not often employed in yoga as it is considered too forceful. There are some exceptions in Vinyasa Yoga, such as Supta Konasana in the Primary Series and Supta Vajrasana in the Intermediate Series. Dropping into a backbend from standing, handstand drop-backs, and Viparita Chakrasana are other examples of dynamic stretching.
Apart from these exceptions, active stretching is used in the whole of the Ashtanga Yoga practice.
Full Vinyasa versus Half Vinyasa
With the full-vinyasa system, one returns to Samasthiti (the basic standing posture) between each and every asana. The format I learned from Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore was the half-vinyasa system. This has one return to Samasthiti between different standing postures but transiting from one sitting posture to the next without coming to standing. This approach appears to be the more common one today.
It can be advisable to practice full vinyasa for some time to improve strength and stamina, for example after recovery from disease or to speed up metabolism. The full-vinyasa approach has an intensified flushing effect and can stimulate a sluggish liver. Although full vinyasa is more work, it also allows time for the practitioner “to come up for air” so to speak, and may actually de-intensify a practice. It certainly does eventually repay the energy expended. However, as a long-term practice it may be difficult to sustain.
Temperature
If you practice in a hot country, you will heat up quickly. This is especially true of males. Care needs to be taken not to overheat if one is engaging in strenuous practice in a hot environment. As with any type of engine, so also with the human body: overheating is not good. Sweating is healthy, but if sweat drips from the body it is a sign that the body is no longer able to cool itself adequately. Sweating to this degree on a daily basis literally drains life force from the body. A temperature of 68°F would be ideal for practice, with a range of 15° below and above that still possible, but practice speed needs to be adapted — faster when it’s cold to increase heat and slower when it’s hot to cool down. On a hot day, focus on the cooling quality of the breath.
Heating the yoga room to above 77° may produce more flexibility, but it decreases strength, stamina, and concentration. If yoga were only about flexibility, contortionists would be the greatest yogis. It is worth noting that extreme flexibility is often a result of biochemical imbalance. True posture is about the ability to focus deeply within.
The Ashtanga Vinyasa practice attempts to balance flexibility with strength. Real yoga “will walk the edge between opposing extremes.”3 Rather than desperately cranking ourselves into one particular direction in a posture, we expand simultaneously in all directions. The first pair of opposites that we discover in physical yoga is strength/flexibility. Excess flexibility is an obstacle because it means loss of strength and vice versa. We should never build up a degree of flexibility that is not matched by the necessary support strength. On the other hand, building up great strength without increasing one’s flexibility restricts the range of joint movement.
A heated yoga room helps flexibility because it increases vata and pitta. A cold yoga room helps strength because it increases kapha.4 A cold room also increases awareness and attention to detail. We have to study the posture more deeply to get to the same point in a cold room, but this pays off in terms of benefits. There is more learning if the temperature is low, and the body becomes sturdier due to the awakening of physical intelligence. We can avoid this process by turning up the thermostat, but everybody who has worked through a couple of winters with only moderate heating values the gain in refinement that it brings.
If temperatures are high, proper ventilation is necessary. The western fashion of keeping all windows closed in sweltering temperatures so that you can see puddles of sweat on the floor is surprising, considering that I have never seen a yoga room in India that even had closeable windows. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika warns in several places of the dangers of too much heat and too much heating, by staying too close to the fire for example, and also of excess physical exertion. Getting too cold, for instance by taking cold morning baths, is also not recommended. The idea here is moderation: staying away from the extremes and abiding in the center. Once a yogi is fully established, however, extremes will no longer be of concern.
Samasthiti
EQUAL STANDING
Drishti Nose
Samasthiti is the basic standing posture. We stand with the base of our big toes touching and the heels slightly apart so that the feet are parallel. The straight line of the foot is from the second toe to the center of the heel. If we were to bring the heels together, the thighbones (femurs) would be outwardly rotated to a slight extent.