beauty comes first

"It is evident that a child will learn a piece of music more quickly where there is melody, rather than an exercise in which only technique is required. Therefore beauty comes first.  In the same way, yoga will be accepted by the body when it is done without resistance. The wave along the spine is like the melody in music. When the beautiful flow of extension is in action, this wave (felt along with the magical attraction of gravity) will help the body find the right adjustment in the performance of the various movements."

--Vanda Scaravelli

gravity

‘Gravity is a part of nature. It holds the world together. We are all linked by it. We are linked to the earth. The earth is linked to the sun. When we are upright, the pull of gravity is from the waist down. You feel a pull. The earth pulls you down. If you are relaxed and if you are attentive with the body, you feel it. You let the body be sucked by the earth and this is gravity. At the same time the upper part becomes light, open, aware, relaxed.’ 

--Vanda Scaravelli

Peter Blackaby

Intelligent Yoga: Re-educating Mind and Body by Peter Blackaby

Having been to a couple of brilliant anatomy workshops with Peter Blackaby a little while ago I knew this would be a must read when I saw it and it really is!

Peter has been greatly influenced by the work of Vanda Scaravelli (see yesterdays post) and his practice as an osteopath and this book is a thoughtful, interesting and thoroughly researched interpretation of Yoga with a focus on the enquiry you should be having with your body and your practice. 

I read a review on Amazon a while ago that described it perfectly, so i'm going to borrow... 'Blackaby has unpicked movement without fracturing it and teaches intelligent practice in the context of the known, the surmised and the lived, suggesting an approach to yoga that is rational, disciplined and fulsomely human and humane.'

Go read, and then go to a workshop...I have two booked for the New Year : )

Vanda Scaravelli

'Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose.’
-- Vanda Scaravelli

Vanda's book Awakening The Spine is one of the most thumbed through on my 'yoga shelf'. If you haven't got a copy then you are in luck because it was reprinted earlier this year. It's been revised by Vanda’s daughter based on extensive notes left by the author. Even if you have the first edition, it’s still worth having a look at this one to see how Vanda’s ideas subtly changed.

I am interested in Vanda's work as inspiration for experimentation, trusting in YOUR yoga and allowing this stuff to be a constant evolution

Beautiful.

Images from the book ‘Awakening the Spine’ (The final one is B.K.S. Iyengar with, or rather on,  Vanda Scaravelli,)

Be Careful

"BE CAREFUL, VERY CAREFUL about organisations. Yoga cannot be organised, must not be organised. Organisations kill work. Love is everywhere, in everything, is everything. But if you confine it, enclose it in a box or in a definite place, it disappears.’

--Vanda Scaravelli

‘Gravity is a part of nature. It holds the world together. We are all linked by it. We are linked to the earth. The earth is linked to the sun. When we are upright, the pull of gravity is from the waist down. You feel a pull. The earth pulls you down. If you are relaxed and if you are attentive with the body, you feel it. You let the body be sucked by the earth and this is gravity. At the same time the upper part becomes light, open, aware, relaxed.’ 

--Vanda Scaravelli

Recommended Read

‘Yoga takes you by the scruff of the neck and takes you on a journey whether you like it or not.’

Vanda Scaravelli

A reprint of this classic book revised by Vanda’s daughter and based on extensive notes left by the author. Even if you have the first edition, it’s still worth having a look at this one to see how Vanda’s ideas subtly changed.

Inspiration for experimentation, trusting in YOUR yoga and allowing this stuff to be a constant evolution

Beautiful.

Images from the book ‘Awakening the Spine’ (The final one is B.K.S. Iyengar with, or rather on,  Vanda Scaravelli,)

 

Yoga is...

'Ah! It's health, it's understanding, it's creation, it's love especially. When you are open, love comes. It is only when you are defensive or afraid that you close the doors.'

-- Vanda Scaravelli

Diane Long

Grounding

"To loose unnecessary tension we need to find adequate support from our bones. Bones are the only structural parts of the body that can transmit forces; they are, therefore, the means by which the weight of the body is transmitted to the floor. 

When we allow this to happen, without tightening muscles unnecessarily, we need to become well grounded. A well grounded body can become still, much in the way a bowl of water becomes still, if undisturbed. This is quiet different to becoming stiff like a brick wall. Both may be unmoving, but only the bowl of water has the potential for movement. 

When well-grounded we may be still, but the slightest impulse could initiate movement. Any unhelpful muscle tension will stiffen us and take the potential for movement away. In well-grounded movements, breathing can adjust appropriately, where as stiffness tends to 'fix' breathing." 

--Peter Blackaby Intelligent Yoga

Experiment with this in a simple posture...it's important and interesting stuff!

BREATHING

Breathing is the essence of yoga.
Breath naturally, without forcing. No pressure , no disturbance, nothing should interfere with the simple, tide-like movement of our lungs as we breath in and out.

- Vanda Scaravelli, Awakening The Spine