Anusara's 3 As

I read this article from an Anusara teacher (Christina Seller), regarding the discussion with John Friend about one of the Anusara's 3 A. If I have time I will translate into Chinese.
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So I had an amazing conversation with John Friend yesterday about the 3 A's and about the lovely and dynamic relationship between Attitude, Alignment and Action and what it really means to be a three-pronged approach to asana practice. Obviously, Anusara is heart-centered method. As such, Attitude is considered the most important A. But really, if we think of a three-legged stool, it is at it most functional when all the legs are equally balanced.

Why I say the conversation was amazing is the clarity that John brought to my understanding about Action. Action is really Balanced Action. (Like maybe instead of 3 A's, we really have 2 A's and a B, but I digress...) Action, in our method, is about bringing balanced action to the form of any asana so that the light of the heart (attitude) shines through what otherwise would be a stale pose or a foreign outside imposition of an arbitrary shape to the body. The A's are in relationship to one another; each A, gives the other A its relevance to the whole.

For instance, if we take away Attitude, we have dry technique-based asana. If we take away Alignment and a sense of clarity as to what the form for each asana is, we have creative movement with little boundary. Also we lose sight of the vision of why the actions are even necessary. If we take away balanced Action, we run the risk of injury in the postures because the forms themselves can be like land mines of potential danger if we do not know how to align ourselves within them. And so on. Each A is important.

So we talked a lot about classic form vs. variations. One of the hallmarks of our method, I believe is our great delight in practicing creative variations on classic form and on our willingness to occasionally, as I say, "put the protractor away for a while" when we practice. But John was insistent that these variations be taught relative to the classic form because in most cases the classic form is the standard for experiencing and expressing balanced action.

Take trikonasana for example. Many time we take that pose and back bend it. But in its classic form trikonasana is straight through the spine. (Check out Light on Yoga or D's syllabus poster.) The straight spine should be "mastered" first because it is easier to find and express balanced action in that form. (Mind you, I did not say easier to do, just easier to do in a balanced way. If you are a bend-y type, guaranteed you will not enjoy classic form as much!) So if you can find balanced action straight, then you can work on not just back bending the pose, but back bending it in a balanced way- with strong kidney loop and pelvic loop, for instance.) Same goes with all the forms that we back bend- seated twists, Vira 1, anjaneyasana, etc.

Now, I myself have heard John say, Action over Form but I think we have to be mature in our understanding of this. I am pretty sure he does not mean that form does not matter! This might mean that in a back bend like urdhva danurasana the shape is bent but the action is like tadasana; there is still that kidney loop action within the form. The kidney loop in this case is there to bring Balanced Action. And so on. Same with poses like padmasana where the form is extremely externally rotated we still need the action of Inner Spiral to keep the femur set in a balanced way so that we do not aggravate the psoas or the S.I. joint.

So enough on this today. Obviously more could be said. Oh, but the thing I must say is how cool it is to keep plumbing the depths of the basic of this method because as John told me once, "The depth of the basics is infinite." How crazy after 10 or more years at this with John to go, "Oh, right.... Balanced Action, not just Action." (I swear this stuff is never dull.) And John's patient dedication to my love for precise articulation always astounds me.

Tomorrow I hope to follow this up with a discussion on how all of this relates to Tantra because the way we take this off that mat is actually where the fun begins! It is a lovely discussion about discipline, indulgence, rules, guidelines, deference, and the exciting path of discovering and expressing one's own wisdom and authority. (How is that for a tantalizing preview?)

Chris的身心順位

這是個滿滿的週末! 上星期突然收到電話, Christ 老師在嘉義白鷺鷥的Anusara Workshop需要人翻譯, 因為C先生為愛走天涯去了! 呵! 感謝雪林林老師的推薦, 還有生命之流在我剛好回台灣時, 去接住這個機緣!

Chris老師是我很欣賞的老師之一, 在一年多前參加過他在台北的5天的workshop, 受益良多! 這一年Chris老師來台灣都是在Balance開Anusara的workshop, 真的造福了中南部的瑜珈人!! 很久不見的Chris還是一樣活力十足, 仁慈且親切, 因為第一次來嘉義, 一早從台北到嘉義的路上出了一些狀況, 當我歉意的進入教室時, Chris還很慈悲的給我一些時間cool down. 課程開始, 我很快的接上線, 直接開始了! 一切都像是打開水龍頭一樣, 自然流暢! Chris的教學就像所有的Anusara老師一樣, 擁有一定的水準, 但是我覺得Chris有一些特質是我在其他Anusara老師身上難得感受到的, Chris很真實且實在, 他的教學很清楚有條理, 對於Anusara的初學者, 是比較容易了解的．在談論哲學時也是很生活且實際. 他也不太像有許多Anusara的老師, 說很多的話, 尤其是在Asana practice時, 常常都會讓人覺得指令多到腦袋和身體都塞住. Chris覺得讓學生有時間在身體上去感覺, 是最重要的.


這週末的課程其實是分成四個週末的課程之一. 內容當然是對Anusara的深入介紹, 還有哲學, 更有難得的Mantra和梵唱, 還有冥想練習, 是很全面性的課程, 很難得且誠意十足!! 還得說一說久仰大名的白鷺鷥瑜珈, 真覺得南部人真是幸福, 擁有這麼寬敞, 且優雅的瑜珈館, 一樓的挑高教室, 大面窗戶, 還有個舒服的露台, 我赤腳踏上這露台去透透氣, 戶外有著南台灣的安適, 鄰近雖有許多住家, 但是白鷺鷥在這裡安靜且自在, 可以在這裡練習, 並在Guruji的看顧下, 是多麼幸福的事! 來參加研習的同學, 都是美麗且認真的瑜珈人, 有些還是我在台中workshop當翻譯認識的呢! 還有一些在部落格就認識的網友, 或是早就從這個blog知道我的yogis, 感謝大家的能量, 讓我們彼此成長!


這次Anusara的研習課還有2個週末的機會, 不管您的瑜珈練習是任何的派別, 都值得來學習人體和心靈的正確順位, Align with Divine!
研習課程http://www.wretch.cc/blog/yoga928/8913632
Chris 老師 www.mindfullivingarts.com