Where’s Your Head At?
What do you do when you are practising asanas? Where’s your attention? Are you making lists? Winning imaginary arguments? Reliving the past or speculating on the future?
In Ashtanga we count the breath. The inhale and the exhale. In Sanskrit when we flow. In English when we are in the asana. From the very first movement raising the arms above the head in Surya Namaskar A to preparing to take rest at the end of practice. We do this every time we get on the mat. 6 days a week.
We believe that each breath is like a bead on a mala [prayer beads] linking the sequence of postures together and as such each breath is to be accounted for and meditated upon. It becomes a moving meditation with the breath and movement beautifully synchronised. The respected teacher John Scott says that it becomes a mantra. And I can see where he is coming from. Steady and rhythmic. A focus for the attention. Remember the Yoga Sutras 1.2 “Yoga citta vrtti nirodha”– yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.
There are 3 key elements to the Tristhana method which we use in Ashtanga – bandhas – the asanas, ujjayi – the breath and drishti the gazing point or as David Swenson puts it “looking without analysis”. By focusing our attention in this way we prevent ourselves getting distracted by external stuff – those lists, arguments, reminiscences and speculations. In addition to focusing the mind counting also helps us learn new postures and the transitions between them however challenging they may be. It also keeps us moving at a steady pace through the sequence. Not too fast. Not too slow. Achievable and sustainable.
So where to start?
It can be overwhelming at the start whether you are a complete beginner or if you have been practising for some time without the count. The best advice I can give is a quote from Desmond Tutu [although I doubt that he was talking about yoga at the time]
“There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” Take it steady posture by posture and don’t bite off more than you can chew!
First familiarise yourself with the Sanskrit numbers. You can find various cheat sheets by googling “Sanskrit numbers”.
Start with Surya Namaskar A and watch that part of a counted class on your preferred platform. Watch it through a couple of times concentrating on the count. When you feel reasonably comfortable with that take part for several rounds. Then work through it yourself without the assistance of the recorded class counting aloud or in your head if you prefer.
When you are comfortable with Surya Namsakar A move onto B and thereafter work your way steadily through the sequence in the same way. You will find that certain postures have the same count such as Janu Sirsasana A, B and C. Once you become familiar with which ones do that makes the task a little easier.
It doesn’t matter if you get it wrong – it can take a little while to get used to especially as some breaths aren’t actually counted as such. And don’t worry if you need to add in an extra breath here and there if you need extra time for a challenging asana. I often add extra breaths when I am working deeper into a posture, doing prep or drills for more challenging postures or just want to take longer.
For a full written count through there is a useful section at the end of Kino MacGregors book The Power of Ashtanga Yoga and there are cheat sheets available to download if you prefer. To start you off here is the count for Surya Namaskar A.
Starting in Samasthiti
- Ekam -1- inhale raise the arms above head
- Dwe -2-exhale fold forward
- Trini-3- inhale head up only
- Catvari-4-exhale step or jump back and lower down [all done in one exhale]
- Panca-5- inhale upward facing dog
- Sat-6- exhale downward facing dog hold for 5 breaths counted in English}
- Sapta-7- inhale step or jump forward head up only
- Astau-8-exhale forward fold
- Nava-9- inhale raise arms above head
- Exhale no count] Samasthiti
Have a go and let me know how you get on!