Exploring the Yoga Tradition part 2!

Mark your calendar!  The second of Annie Barrett’s “Exploring the Yoga Tradition ” workshops is coming Feb 9 at 2-4:30 p.m.  Here’s more if you’d like to take part in this rich workshop. Make sure to return to the website to pre-register. 

YL:  I wanted to go to Part 1, but I missed it.  Can I still attend Part 2? 

AB: Absolutely!  The content presented in Part 2 is different from that of Part 1.  The second can be a stand-alone class.

YL:  Is there something I missed in the first workshop that would be helpful for my attendance in the second part of the series?

AB: In the first presentation, I detailed the most ancient teachings and texts of the yoga tradition.  However, it is not necessary to have this knowledge in order to benefit and enjoy Part 2.  In Part 2, I will review some key concepts from the previous presentation and I will provide a timeline that will place these ancient texts and teachings in context as we move into the Classical Yoga and up through to the modern era. 

Q: In essence, what will we hear in the second part? 

AB: In Part 2, my aim is to present an overview of the philosophical teachings and practices of the Yoga Sutra of Patañjali, which is the root text of the yoga tradition. I will discuss how these teachings and practices are taken up and are expanded upon in the Post Classical Yoga traditions of Tantra, Hatha Yoga, and Modern Postural Yoga.  I will also highlight the key figures in yoga of the past century.  As in the previous workshop, participants will enjoy practices such as chanting, asana, (movement) and meditation.

 YL: You're offering some movement in this workshop.  Tell us a bit about your asana style? 

AB: The workshop will begin with asana (yoga postures) as this is the gateway into the yoga tradition for most Westerners.  The type of asana I teach comes mainly from the Anusara tradition. It has roots in Tantra and in which I spent 14 years studying and practicing.  Prior to that, I studied and practiced Iyengar yoga.  My style is alignment based and heart-oriented.  For me, yoga is the practice of stepping fully into one's body, mind and heart.  Yoga is a path in which we learn to confront and embrace ourselves fully - our bodies, emotions, thoughts, challenges and joys, and via the tools of profound practice move more and more toward a stabilized condition of well-being and expansive freedom.

YL:  What else should we know? 

AB: My desire is that this workshop will spark enthusiasm for exploring more of the greater yoga tradition.  Asana (postural yoga) is wonderful and vital. There is a world beyond asana.  I hope participants gain exposure to and a basic understanding of the central concepts and practices of yoga through the ages, thereby gaining a greater understanding of the context of their yoga practice today. 

by Doug Adamson 

Did you hear about Annie Barrett’s upcoming workshops called “Exploring the Yoga Tradition?”  Here’s a bit more about this opportunity.  Part one starts Jan. 26

YL: Most people associate yoga just with the movement called asana. How will this deepen my yoga practice?

AB: What you say is true.  There are 15 million Americans practicing yoga today.  That is a lot of Downward Dogs!  However, Downward Dog or yoga asana, is just one of the many and varied practices of yoga.  Most people who come to yoga are not just coming to get fit, they are looking for a tool to help them live their life with greater ease, purpose and joy. 

Yoga through the ages has aimed to answer the BIG questions, the purpose and meaning of life: Who am I?  Where did I come from? Where am I going? What must I do?  In Exploring the Yoga Tradition, my aim is to show how through the ages, yoga has sought to answer these questions and to provide tools for individuals to experience these answers for themselves.  Yoga is about deepening our understanding of who we are and our connection to the world.  Yoga’s wisdom is timeless.  Participants in these workshops will not only gain knowledge about the tradition, they will also gain tools for deepening their own yoga practice.

YL: What caused you to study the roots of this ancient practice?

AB: I began practicing yoga asana twenty years ago.  I mainly began taking yoga classes because I thought it would be a good way to increase my flexibility.  Very quickly I discovered that yoga offered me much more than just a means to a more flexible and strong body.  I discovered that when I practiced yoga, I became calmer, more connected to my true core, and more able to make sense of my life.  And, while yoga asana continued to be an important practice for me, I yearned to know more about the tradition at large. 

I began yoga teacher training in 1998, and absolutely fell in love with yoga philosophy!  The timeless wisdom of this tradition had immediate practical values for my life.  The ancient texts spoke to my heart.  Under the guidance of wonderful teachers and mentors, I began to meditate and to incorporate other yoga practices into my life. 

Currently, I have the very good fortune to study with one of the most prominent scholar/practitioners of Tantric Yoga, Dr. Paul Muller Ortega.  My on-going study and sadhana with Paul has opened up the world of yoga even wider.  I have a much greater knowledge and understanding of the history, texts, philosophies and practices of yoga thanks to Paul.

YL: How old is yoga and where did it start?

AB: It is difficult to ascertain exactly old yoga is, but the oldest reference to yoga dates back 5,000 years to the Indus Saraswati civilization in Northern India, the oldest of the ancient civilizations.  Archaeologists have uncovered  a seal called the Pashupati Seal which dates about 3000 BCE portraying a seated yogi.  After this, we have references to yoga in the Vedas beginning about 1200 BCE.  It is amazing to realize just how old yoga is.  However, postural yoga which is the most familiar type of yoga found today is a much more recent tradition.  It is important to understand too that yoga is continuing to evolve and change.  The tradition is not static, it is very much alive and we are part of it!

YL:  “ Exploring the Yoga Tradition” will include study of some ancient texts. What if I’ve near heard of these? 

AB: It is absolutely fine if you have never heard of these texts!  Many Westerners have not.  Nonetheless, these are root texts of the yoga tradition that contain timeless wisdom that is worth our study.  For example the Yoga Sutra of Patañjali outlines the theory of the practice of meditation and is perhaps most well known for codifying the 8 Limbs of Yoga, which include yoga asana (posture) and pranayama (breathwork).  The Yamas and Niyamas listed in the text serve as a code for living well in the world and include observances such as non-violence, truthfulness, non-grasping, discipline and self study.  Very relevant today!

The Bhagavad Gita is an exquisite householder yoga text that, among many themes, elucidates the theme of the yoga of action and the question of dharma, one’s purpose in life.  It may come as a surprise to learn that the Bhagavad Gita was a central text and tool for several extraordinary Western figures such as Henry David Thoreau, Beethoven, and Gandhi.

 YL: Anything else?

AB:I really look forward to offering these two workshop!  I hope that folks will come with many questions and curiosity and that our exploration together will fuel the fire for deepening our understanding and practice of yoga together!  Namaste!

By Doug Adamson