Home » Discussion Forum » Archive » Iyengar Yoga » Why yoga?
 

You are reading a post in the archive of the Iyengar Yoga Resources Discussion Forum.

For the current forum, please visit

http://www.iyengar-yoga.com/forum/

Why yoga?

 
 

Manny
User

Aug 20, 2001, 5:21 PM

Post #1 of 10 (213 views)
Why yoga? Can't Post
Iyengar claims that the path to self-realization is through yoga? How does one verify this claim? i.e. If someone wanted to reach a self-realized state, how does one know for sure that he is not wasting his time with yoga?

The reason I ask is I been reading other philisophies which claim that higher consciousness can be acheived by mental/mind "reprogramming". There is no physical element to these other philosophies. Is there some sort of arguement/controversy in between yoga and other eastern philosophies over the physical vs. mental-only "requirements"?


Gabriel
User

Aug 20, 2001, 6:44 PM

Post #2 of 10 (211 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
Check out this excellent article :

http://www.iyengar-yoga.com/articles/yogatradition/

Anyway, surely yoga is A way, not THE way.


anatomist
User

Aug 21, 2001, 2:20 AM

Post #3 of 10 (210 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
I practice yoga primarily to promote physical integrity. It has helped me to recover from chronic injury and do things that I want to do like running and Aikido. My instructor is certainly rare in America in his knowledge and focus on the minute actions and alignments within the poses, and their rehabilitative power. Yoga has allowed me to transform my basic movement patterns and postures, and even rebuild the arch of my right foot.

As far as meditation goes, yoga hasn't taken me there yet. You may want to read this book:
HOW TO MEDITATE, by Lawrence LeShan.

I hope I've gotten it right, as I just checked out a few meditation books. In it, he categorizes several paths of meditation, some with physical components, and some not. He believes that they all ultimately take you to the same place, and choosing is a matter of finding which path is suitable for you as an individual.

I have had profound meditative experiences while sculpting - doing extremely concentrated and demanding physical work for many hours at a time. Unfortunately, putting those experiences into a meaningful context has thus far eluded me.

You can see my work here: http://members.home.net/anatomica/. The fact that my experiences were wrapped up with other aspects of art (like self-promotion and acceptance-seeking behavior) has proved a major pitfall.

K.


Manny
User

Aug 22, 2001, 12:38 AM

Post #4 of 10 (209 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
Thanks for the info.

By the way, I may have a similar problem with my arches. They too are fallen. In addition, my ankles pronate inward resulting in pain from my feet to my knees to my hips. I find that I have trouble participating in any activities where there is a lot of stress on the feet (e.g. running, basketball, martial arts). I ignored this problem when I was younger and "beat up" on my feet. Now my my feet are in bad shape. What have you been doing? How bad was it for you and how long to completely rebuild you arch?

Manny


anatomist
User

Aug 22, 2001, 3:29 AM

Post #5 of 10 (208 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
If you live in Wisconsin or Michigan, or near Chicago I can probably help you find a good teacher. I've seen lots of yoga teachers and books that lead me to believe few understand the subtle actions of the poses well enough to help you rebuild your arches. Most of the people you see doing eye-popping pretzel poses in publications hit a point after a few years where they can barely move, because they have abused themselves trying to achieve the outward appearance of poses they didn't really understand.

The essence of what I did to help rebuild the arch had to do with allowing my foot to spread out (i.e., buying all new shoes about 1.5 to 2 sizes bigger than before), and doing standing poses with an emphasis on moving the shin forward from the inside.

Another component was just plain monitoring what my hips and feet were doing all the time and forcing some of the external hip rotation and foot-collapse out of my habitual posture and movement patterns. I made major progress in about six months... so much so that I stopped doing yoga for a few years. Now that I'm back, I'm doing even better, but I still would say I have far to go before my arches are "completely" rebuilt.

However, I can workout and run as much as I want without pain now. I still have motion control in my running shoes though, and may always have. If you can't get to a good yogi, I'd suggest looking into what you can do with shoes and conscious posture monitoring.

K.


Manny
User

Aug 23, 2001, 6:06 PM

Post #6 of 10 (207 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
I'm located in the LA area. There are a ton of yoga instructors out here. Would you recommend Iyengar yoga?

By the way, were you flat-footed? That was the diagnosis by my doctor. He prescribed custom orthodics a couple of years ago. The first pair really helped. They helped with the pronation and also provided great metatarsil (sp?) support. I was able to comfortably participate in sports. However, after a couple of years the orthodics wore down an became ineffective. I've since had new ones made, but for some reason they were pain full to wear and have since been searching for orthodics in the sports retail stores. I've found a pair that somewhat helps, but haven't participated in any strenuous activities in them yet. My question is: If I pursue the yoga path to help or cure this problem, would the orthodics hinder the work done by yoga? I ask this because the orthodics actually reshape the bone structure in your feet and was wondering if the reshaping is different in the way yoga reshapes the foot.

Manny


anatomist
User

Aug 24, 2001, 4:45 AM

Post #7 of 10 (206 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
I'd say to try and get a new pair of orthotics made first. You might want to check with local running clubs for recommendations on a good podiatrist. If it worked once, it sounds like a good bet for another try. Maybe the second pair wasn't done right.

I would also be wary of anyone who tells you to take them out right away. Nonetheless, I think you're right in noticing that yoga and podiatry approach the problem from two completely different perspectives. Orthotics seek to provide you with an external crutch where yoga tries to transform your body from the inside. Yoga won't dazzle you with instant results, so I think you should look to strike a balance that will gradually wean you away from the crutches.

There has to be a good instructor in your area. You'll probably have to try several and do much snooping to find a good one. Ask running clubs first. Look for an older instructor with many years experience, who has impressive athletic capabilities, and emphasizes therapeutic work. Ask the students if they have been helped, or know of others who have. (If you did this at my instructor's classes, you would be bombarded by tales of pain relief, increased athletic capacity, even migraine headaches permanently cured.) Look for an emphasis on strength, alignment, and stability, and a de-emphasis on stretching.

If you see experienced students or the teacher locking out their knees or elbows or hinge-ing their lower lumbar area radically, run away quickly. Likewise for very young instructors in general, or older instructor who have no athletic capacity - if you're sneaky, you may get an instructor to let slip that they don't or can't do anything except yoga. I think you'll have better luck with Iyengar than Ashtanga, but you never know.

Sounds daunting, but if you find a good one, it will definitely be worth it. Good luck.

K.


Manny
User

Aug 24, 2001, 8:17 PM

Post #8 of 10 (205 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
I really appreciate your advice. Thanks for your time and patience. But I have one more question.

I recently purchased one of Iyengar's books on yoga. I think its called "Holistic Healing Through Iyengar Yoga". There are some asanas and asana sequences that he claims to help flat feet as well a multitude of ailments (including some skin diseases). Have you had any experience with his claims? Has there been any independent medical studies on these claim?

Manny


anatomist
User

Aug 25, 2001, 1:55 AM

Post #9 of 10 (204 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
From the little I know of Iyengar himself, I believe that he can deliver on his promises. However, the delivery depends upon your receptiveness and the mode of communication. Unfortunately, a book is an awful medium for communicating how to learn a physical discipline. I have heard my teacher say books are worthless more than once. Feedback, experience, and perception are missing. If you can make a trip to Madison, I'm sure I can help get you some private appointments to set you on the right track, otherwise, you'll have to go out there and pound the pavement.

K.




Manny
User

Oct 5, 2001, 7:58 PM

Post #10 of 10 (203 views)
Re: Why yoga? [In reply to] Can't Post
In my search for different paths to higher consciousness/self-realization, I've come across the "Handbook to Higher Consciousness" by Ken Keyes, Jr. This particular "path" interests me because it makes sense to me from an intellectual point of view, and it seems like an easy approach. There is no physical component to this approach, for it is all mental. I have yet to fully experiment with the ideas in this book. Is anyone out there familiar with this book, and has anyone had any sucess when trying this particular "method"? Are the ideas too simplistic?


 
 
 


Copyright © 2002 by Iyengar Yoga Resources