Some eight years back I wangled a presenter assignment at a Yoga Conference in Texas. I was never invited again because, among all the presenters, I had the dubious distinction of attracting the least number of participants for every one of my presentations. During one of the breaks a well known Yoga Teacher in US, came and sat by my side and inquired about me, about where I was from etc. I mentioned that I was a student of Pandit Krishnamcahary for 3 decades. With a quizzical look he asked, “What were you doing for 30 years with him?’, and with a wry smile he said, “Oh you must have been doing your daily practice at his school”. He left before I could start my long answer. “How can anyone study Yoga for such a long period when there are just a half a dozen sequences or just a little over a score of asanas?” He must have wondered

“Krishnamacharya as I have mentioned earlier was like a many splendoured diamond each facet brilliant in its own way. He taught yogasanas following the Vinyasakrama, the art form. He also used yogasanas, pranayama and meditiation for chikitsa or therapeutic applications. He taught a vast range of Sanskrit chants from the vedas and also from smritis. He taught several traditional texts like the yoga sutras and the sibling philosophies including the several upanishads, following mainly the Visishtadwaita approach. He taught vaishnava religious texts as well to a number of his vaishnava followers. He was a well rounded Yogi and he could make every class absorbing. There would always be something new and insightful. One could never get bored in his classes whether it be the asanas, chanting or textual studies…” I wanted to explain these to my celebrity friend but he was too busy to stay and listen.

Some research scholars have mentioned that Krishnamacharya’s vinyasa approach to yoga has a considerable dose of  physical exercise systems  prevalent at that time in India like the drills and also gymnastics imported into it. But my experience with Krishnamacharya’s asana practice is somewhat different. It is true that some of the vinyasas and vinyasa sequences like part of Surya Namaskra, the hand stands, the jump throughs, jump arounds, push ups (utplutis) may appear to mimic floor exercises in gymnastics.  Perhaps there are some asanas and vinyasas  Sri Krishnamacharya taught that had  some resemblance to drills or gymnastics. But he taught to me almost 1000 vinyasas making up close to 150 asana subroutines. The head stand, the sarvangasana, padmasana are distinctly different from gymnastics and each one of them has scores of vinyasas that are uniquely yogic and no other system seems to have anything like that. Further yoga as a physical culture is very old. We may not have records because in ancient times most of instructions were oral and the transmission of knowledge was from teacher to student and the only way to learn was to go to a teacher and learn, practice and internalize. Later on a few texts were written as scripts were developed but they were written in easily perishable palm leaves—like the Yoga Kuranta– and barely one manuscript , no xerox copies, no electronic books were available. So in these matters we have to rely upon authorities/tradition or as the vedas would call it “aitihya” or firmly held belief. Even from the available texts like the puranas one can glean a lot of reference to yoga practice including asana practice. The Brahma Sutras mention that a seated asana is a necessity for meditation. Works written hundreds or even a thousand years back contain sections on Yoga including asanas. Thirumular, a yogi said to have lived 3000 years back wrote about several asanas in his Tamil classic Thirumandiram. Puranas, smritis and several later day upanishads have sections on asana practice.  There is a dhyanasloka pertaining to the Ramayana which mentions that Sri Rama was  in Vajrasana while seated in his flowered bedecked, jeweled throne. In fact from time immemorial many people in

India, as a religious practice, have been doing sandhya or morning worship of the sun with specific sun worship mantras and physical movements and gestures. It includes mantras like the gayatri, pranayama and many postures like tadasana, uttanasana, utkatakaasana and danda namaskara and utakatasana are specifically mentioned in the smritis. So in a way we may say that suryanamaskara with mantras and the physical exercise has been a very old practice. The word Yoga is indeed a vedic word. You may check with my book “The Complete book of Vinyasa Yoga” (here no commercial intended) based on my studies with my guru and I do not think it in any way resembles a book of gymnastics. Yogasanas have their own distinct nicety. Gymanstics of course has its own charm. Gymnastics was one my favourite programs while watching the Olympics. I do not know if I would enjoy Yoga Olympiad.

 My Guru had mentioned on a couple of occasions that physical yoga had been the core system of physical exercises in India. It had technically influenced several ancient systems like wrestling, archery, fencing etc., very physically demanding disciplines, requiring a high degree of strength, dexterity and focus. Yoga is called a sarvanga sadhana as it is helpful for all parts of the body, including the internal organs. There were other indigenous circus-like practices such as malcam, kazhakkoothu where they use ropes or poles and do routines very similar to asanas. He had also mentioned that almost all the physical systems of the world, including gymnastics, had borrowed heavily from Yoga, because the asana portion of Yoga was the most ancient and developed physical culture system. Therefore it could be that there were a few similarities between asanas and some obscure gymnastic systems in different parts of the world at different times. Then one has to investigate the origin of those obscure systems, whether they were older than Yoga, or if they themselves borrowed from ancient yoga practices. My Guru himself was a passionate researcher. He would always be looking for works on yoga and other systems. He even would advise us to go to different agraharams (small cluster of homes of scholars in certain villages) and look for works on Yoga available with such scholars. He would  say that we should visit the hundreds of temples in India, especially South India, and observe the sculptures and idols all over the temples for study of yoga postures. And because of the oral tradition and relying on degradable palm leaves, Yoga itself had a checkered  progression, in the limelight  during some time in history and obscure at some other times. Then it becomes a futile exercise to try to determine which among the physical exercise regimens came first, the seed or the tree or the better known example of the chicken and the egg.

 There are distinct differences between the yoga I learned from Sri Krishnamacharya for a long period of time and some of the aerobic exercises like gymnastics. In the vinyasa krama asana practice, the breathing is synchronized with the movements at the rate of anywhere between 5 to 10 seconds for inhalation and exhalation thereby reducing the breath rate to about 3 to 5 per minute, whereas in contemporary aerobic exercises including gymnastics and gym workouts, the breath rate increases to much beyond the normal breathing rate of about 15 or so. This alone makes yoga practice of Sri Krishnamacharya distinctly different  from other drills. The variety of movements in Vinyasa asana practice is said to be designed to exercise all parts of the body including the internal organs. We do not find deep movement, synchronized  breathing, and the significantly profound exercises like the bandhas– which are an integral part of  Sri Krishnamacharya’s asana practice–  in other forms of physical exercises, especially gymnastics. Look at the 30’s videos, the bandhas of my Guru, They are not a gymnast’s cup of chai.

 When I was young, some exercises were very popular. They were outside the pale of yogasanas. One was known as “dandal”, which would look very much like a repetitive movement between caturanga dandasana and the plank or a simpler version of urdhwa mukha swanasana. The other was known as, if I remember right,  ‘bhaski’. It  involved standing up and doing repeated squats. The first one, ‘dandal’   looks very similar to part of Surya namaskara. Baski resembles a very popular ritual that is done by thousands even today and is known as “toppukaranam” in Tamil and “dorbhyam karanam” in Sanskrit. One holds the lobes of the opposite ears with one’s hands and squats usually in front of the idol of Lord Ganesha. It could be 12 times or 108 times. It is both a good physical exercise and a loving devotional practice to the charming Lord Ganesha. Are these physical drills, yoga exercises or devotional practices? Which came first? God knows, Lord Ganesa knows.

 Then there is the question of whether Suryanamaskara is old, from the vedic times. The Surya namaskara can be considered from two views; one is the mantra portion the other is vyayama or the physical part. Certainly Suryanamaskara mantras are from the vedas. In  fact there is a complete chapter of Suryanamaskra mantras from the veda which takes about an hour to chant. Again the other important Surya mantra, Gayatri, is also a vedic mantra.  The vedas exhort using Gayatri as a mantra to worship the sun daily. Worship of the sun is considered a daily obligatory duty for the orthodox in India.  We have a procedure called Sandhya vandana which is supposed to be done thrice a day, but definitely once a day. This Sandhya procedure is a kind of a worship ritual, towards the end of which one prostrates towards the Sun. While the gayatri japa portion is done sitting in a yogic posture after required number of pranayama, the upasthana or the second part is done standing. Towards the conclusion the worshipper of the sun has to do a namaskara, a prostration. So from the standing position, usually one bends forward, half squats, places the palms on the floor, takes the legs back by jumping or taking one leg after the other and does an saashtanga namaskara or the danda namaskara (prostration). One has to go through these steps (from standing to prostration) and if the steps are properly organized we get the surya namaskara vyayama, a sequence, a vinyasakrama. So, since one has to do sandhya daily and has to do the namaskara  startig from standing and since the sandhya is mentioned as an obligatory duty, it will be correct to say that suryanamaskara, both the mantra portion and physical namaskara portion, are from the vedic times. The actual steps may vary but the physical namaskara to the sun is a procedure practiced from ancient vedic times. Further In India you can see many people who do not practice yoga or the formal ritualistic sandhyavandana, standing on the terrace or on the beach, facing East early in the morning, and doing prostrations a few times, returning to the standing position every time. They do not call it Yoga but suryanamaskara. Some of the present day yoga enthusiasts however do the suryanamaskara, probably at night, in any direction or directionless, do not use the mantras or the devotional bhavana associated with it, but as a mere workout.

 I had chanted the suyanamaskara mantra almost on every Sunday with my Guru for several years. Namarupa also published my article on Sandhya vandana with pictures of the steps some time back. I also have the one hour long Suryanamaskara mantra chant from the Yajur Veda (which I learned from Sri Krishnamacharya) recorded in mid 80s and the cds are still made available in India.

Sri Krishnamacharya’s range of teaching was sweeping. I have mentioned about the asana teaching, his chikitsa krama and vinyasa krama. His chanting of vedas was beautiful and very engaging. I do not know of any yoga teacher during his times who could chant as well as he could from memory. He earned the title “Veda Kesari”, or Lion of Vedas. He was a Sanskrit scholar, a Sanskrit Pandit. He taught the vedanta philosophy, the prastana trayas, the upanishads, the Brahma sutra and the BhagavadGita in the visishtadvaita tradition. He was given the title “Vedanta Vageesa”. He was also quite familiar with the advaitic interpretation. He once said while doing the sutra on Anandamaya “Anandamaya abhyasat” in which the two interpretations, advaita and visistadwaita differ from each other, “If you want I can teach you the advaitic interpretation, but advaita may be intellectually challenging but does not give the emotional satisfaction one gets from the visishtadvaitic approach”.  He also taught us several important upanishads. I studied with him several upanishad vidyas from the major upanishads, like Brahadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Kaushitaki and others. Some of the vidyas he taught include Pancha kosa Vidya, panchagni, pranava, madhu, Sandilya, Dahara Pratardana and many others. Once I asked him why if the goal is the same, understanding Brahman the ultimate Reality, then there are so many upanishads, why so many vidyas. He would say that pupils have different questions about the ultimate reality and these vidyas take you from the known to the unknown. Supposing fifty people, strangers from different places go to an unknown country, Pineland, and take a picture with the leader of the country Mr Pineman. Every one  sends home a copy of the picture by e mail. The way they would point to the unknown leader, Mr Pineman to those back home would be to start from the known. The known entity in the picture will be the one who sends the picture. He may tell his son/daughter, ”the leader is three rows in front and eight to the right of me. Another person would start first by asking his kid to identify him/her first in the picture and may say the leader is three rows behind and five seats to the left. Likewise all the various vidyas of the upanishads try to help the aspirants to realize the ultimate truth, starting from a known tatwa. I had the privilege of studying several upanishd vidyas from my Guru Sri Krishnamacharya.

 He also taught many of the sibling philosophies so that one’s understanding of Yoga and Vedanta will be on firm grounds. He taught Samkhya philosophy by explaining the Samkhya karika with the commentary of Gaudapada. He also taught Yoga Sutra in considerable detail. He had obtained the titles “Yogacharya” and “Samkhya Siromani”. He also was an expert in another profound philosophy called Nyaya and had been conferred the title “Nyayacharya”. He also taught smaller or easier works like Tarka Sangraha to introduce the difficult Nyaya philosophy.

 His religious studies were outstanding. He was such an expert in the Vaishnava philosophy, that he was in consideration to head a well known Vaishnava Mutt. He was truly a devotional person. As he practiced yoga he performed his daily puja with great devotion. He had several students who studied the Vaishnava religion in considerable detail. He could quote from the epics, Ramayana, Mahabharata and several other puranas like Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana etc.

 I do not know of any person who was so well versed in the sastras and also at the same time an outstanding practising Yogi. Sri Krishnamacharya is well known, it is almost exclusively due to his yogasana teachings. But his scholarship and teachings were enormous. I feel a bit sad when he is portrayed as a hata yoga teacher who plagiarized some exercises from gymnastics and called it yoga to make a living, and nothing more.  Maybe there is some common ground between these two different physical disciplines. I continue to remain in awe of his enormous scholarship, practice and teachings and kindness towards his students. He was a teacher who would uplift you, a true Acharya. When you study with him, you get an unmistakable feeling that his only goal in life was to transmit the traditional knowledge and make it accessible to the student. He was a unique Yogi, a unique teacher, a unique individual. Twenty years after his passing away, I remember him everyday, while practicing, studying or teaching; sometimes in dreams– fondly.

Then we have vridhi krama indicating the method of yoga practice during growing period of one’s life.

Sthiti  krama indicates the logical steps in yoga practice during the mid part of one’s life.

And then chikitsa krama is the yoga methodology to be adopted while treating a patient.

 So, since the requirements of people at different stages and conditions of life vary from individual to individual, the different kramas become valid.

 Chikitsa Krama uses the variety of techniques and procedures available in yoga, especially vinyasa movements, pranayama, bandhas/mudras, meditating techniques and it has the spiritual dimension. The therapist therefore has to have in her/his arsenal the complete rangeof asanas and vinyasas and other yogic procedures so that he/she can design a dynamic tailor made therapeutic regimen for the patient, in which also Sri Krishnamacharya excelled.

 Many people have been greatlyimpressed by the 1930s film clips of my guru doing exquisitely very difficult asanas . These and the pictures in the book “Yoga Makaranda”  have caught the imagination of many modern day yogabhyasis. However it should be remembered that these tough postures and routines are meant for a small percentage of able bodied skilled young adults and not for the majority of people.

But according to my Guru there is something Yoga can do to help every one, as Hatayogapradeepika says, whether one is young, grown up, old, sick or infirm yoga could be practiced. So as a Yoga teacher of excellence he taught yoga to everyone. And his helping/ healing hand had reached many who were having physical ailments, physiological deficiencies, psychological problems and spiritual yearnings. Since anyone may go through difficulties at different stages in life it will be worthwhile for a involved yogi to expand the horizon and be able to help oneself and others in a variety of ways with Yoga.

Srivatsa Ramaswami

Kapalabhati, etc., for keeping the upper respiratory tract in good

condition and being able to deal with many upper respiratory ailments

like sinusitis, rhinitis, chronic sneezing, etc. Neti uses water or a

twine to cleanse the upper respiratory tract and Nadishodhana in a way

is neti using air as the cleansing medium. The lower respiratory tract

has its own idiosyncrasies. The air warmed and moistened in the upper

respiratory tract enters the trachea and flows through the bronchial

tubes to the lungs. The bronchial tubes are a sensitive pair and tend

to contract and dilate during the breathing cycle . Some yogis who

have one foot in yoga and the other in modern medicine have suggested

that the Kurma nadi mentioned in the yoga texts refers to the

bronchial section of the respiratory system—nadis are after all tubes.

This sensitive nadi causes problems in certain people. The bronchial

tubes tend to dilate and contract respectively during inhalation and

exhalation in normal people at normal times. But in certain people

they tend to contract during expiration but do not dilate sufficiently

or remain contracted even during inhalation restricting the free

passage of air. Because of the narrowing of this section of the

airway, we hear the unique whistling sound as we find among

asthmatics. These constrictions in certain advanced cases can be

continuous but with many asthmatics it is intermittent.

The cause of this is usually attributed to allergens. Some allergens,

like pollen, dust, peanuts, cat’s hair or the spouse’s dandruff,

produce a reaction in the respiratory center due to which the impulses

coming from the Vagus nerve which control the bronchial tubes tend to

produce bronchial spasm. While in most people this does not happen,

this overreaction takes place in asthmatics. The conventional approach

to deal with this problem is two fold. One is to find out those foods

and pollutants which produce this condition and develop vairagya

towards them. Avoidance, a yogic trait is recommended. .”Keep away

from the offending allergens” is the dictum.  Another related approach

is to find out the various substances that one is allergic to and then

inject small doses of the allergens into the system. Hopefully over a

period of time the patient will develop some immunity to these

substances which she or he did not have. Related to this is to use

temporary medication to mainly dilate the bronchial tubes. Such

medications are available with allopathic doctors, ayurvedic vaidyas

and also as home remedies. My grandmother used to make a concoction of

several herbs (I do not remember the English names of them), turmeric,

black pepper, basil, cinnamon and a piece of dry date (to make it

palatable). So avoidance, developing artificial immunity and temporary

palliatives are the cures available for the millions of those who

suffer from the debilitating condition called bronchial asthma.

But the Yogis go one step deeper and say it is a functional disorder.

Even though allergens are the precipitating cause the root cause is

said to be sudden abnormal activity in the broncho-motor of the vagus

nucleus of the medulla. The external protein, the offending allergen,

excites reflectively in an asthmatic when the vagus motor nucleus is

irritable and unstable and produces the spasm of the bronchial tubes.

The lower tone of the sympathetic also contributes to this condition.

It is the malfunctioning of the respiratory center. In yogic parlance

it is the disturbance (prana prakopa) of the pranamaya kosa.

So rather than dealing with this problem empirically the yogic

procedures directly attempt to deal with and try to correct the

abnormality. One of  them is a unique procedure called Ujjayi

breathing. In this the vocal cords are approximated using the deep

throat and vocal chord muscles and the subject breathes through the

constriction produced, creating a unique sound, the Ujjayi hissing

sound. Normally we do not use these muscles in this particular way.

While yogis are familiar with this breathing for many others it is

unfamiliar. But since we keep the vocal cords together for a

considerable amount of time, breathing in and out, we tend to gain

control over these muscles.  Since the bronchial tubes are also

controlled by the same vagus nerve, one  would gain control over the

muscles activating the bronchial tubes. In fact the effect is optimal

if one does the Ujjayi correctly by using proper jalandhara bandha. In

this the chin is brought way down and placed against the breast bone

and the whole rib cage pulled up by straightening the spine, giving a

very powerful bandha. In such a lock, one is able to breathe,

controlling the breathing way down in the respiratory tract, very

close to the bronchial tubes, the kurma nadi. A few days of attentive

practice of this unusual procedure will bring very good control over

the lower respiratory tract musculature. Ujjayi breathing will appear

very unusual for non yogis. Further the prolonged, deliberate

constriction of this area will also stimulate the sympathetic to send

impulses to open the bronchial tubes and tone of the sympathetic also

will be improved. A better tone of the sympathetic will help dilate

the bronchial tubes during normal breathing. Without getting much into

technicalities it may be said that this reprogramming done for a

sufficiently long time will help the asthmatic have improved breathing

and less severe and less frequent attacks, and in some cases complete

normalcy. With proper care of food, reduced stress levels and other

yoga friendly life style changes and regular practice one could,

hopefully, be free of the debilitating asthmatic attacks. Ujjayi

closely resembles asthmatic breathing. Another concomitant problem is

the dry chronic cough. For this Bhastrika, which simulates a cough,

should be  practiced .

The other exercises that may be beneficial are, as you can guess, the

inversions, especially head stand. Once the patient is reasonably

healthy and strong the head stand or its variants with or without help

or props may be attempted. Headstand as it has been mentioned in

earlier articles, helps to direct the CSF into the ventricle in the

brain to stimulate the pituitary the secretions  which help produce

adrenalin, a hormone which used to be given in the olden days for

asthmatics. Further it nourishes the spinal nerves which will help the

proper functioning of the autonomic nervous system thereby giving a

healthy control over the bronchial tubes. A short stay in Sarvangasana

also is helpful as  it gives a natural jalandhaarabandha and the

quality  of Ujjayi breathing is also good. Assisted

sarvangasanaViparitakarani) can also be attempted

It is also a good practice to work on the accessory muscles to

breathing. In an asthmatic the chest muscles tend to be rigid and

breathing shallow. Arm exercises and thoracic exercises are very

helpful to free the tightness of the chest. Please refer to the hasta

vinyasas and the Parsva bhangi vinyasas in the Tadasana sequence in my

book “The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga”. Many of these exercises can

be done even sitting, and some even lying down depending on the

condition of the patient. Singing (perhaps in the bathroom), full

throated chanting (prabalam adhiyita)and reading aloud (with or

without an audience) are also helpful.

Yoga can be very useful for asthmatics as an adjunct therapy, one may

continue with medical treatment one is undergoing like allopathic,

ayurvedic or any other. Normally it will be a good idea to start

treating an asthmatic during the season when the atmospheric

pollutants are the least troublesome and asthmatic attacks minimal.

One may start with the accessory muscle exercises and then teach

Kapalabhati, then Bhastrika and Ujjayi breathing with Kumbhaka withing

one’s capacity. Some kind of assisted  inversion can be attempted

after the participant feels more comfortable. Over a period of time

with  regular practice almost everyone shows improvement. The

frequency and severity of the attacks come down.

When I started teaching way back in the mid seventies, with the

blessings of my guru, I taught yoga to a bunch of asthmatics in a

nearby hospital. The patients varied from about 8 years to about 60

years. I met each one individually once a week for about 8 weeks,

teaching them slowly and progressively. I did not keep any records but

later when I met the doctor he looked quite pleased. He mentioned that

many had shown improvements over a year and it was possible to reduce

and in one or two cases suspend medication. Their vital capacity

showed significant improvement. One important aspect of yoga therapy

is that the patient gets fully involved in it. When you give medicines

alone, the patient is a passive helpless participant. In yoga chikitsa

the patient is fully involved and when she/he sees improvement there

is a psychological boost– a feeling of achievement is there which

will help them practice regularly and take care of themselves. They

are slowly able to overcome the despair and helplessness associated

with these attacks and start becoming more positive. They start

feeling equal to the challenge.

When anyone asks me if yoga cikitsa works for bronchial asthma, I say

yes. Because I was an asthmatic as a teenager. Since I started

studying with my Guru I have been—touch wood– free of attacks, for 50

years now. Children from families who have asthmatic members may

benefit immensely from relevant yoga practice if they could start

appropriate yoga early in life.

And quadruple sneeze bout is said to be one of the documented causes
of fatal road accidents!

The air we breathe day in and day out when it reaches the chest should
be lungs-friendly. It should be warm at about body temperature even
when we walk in freezing cold. It should be moist even if the humidity
is very low outside. It should also be bereft of much atmospheric
pollutants like dust and particulate matter. It should be reasonably
free of harmful bacteria and viruses. So the respiratory tract should
not only add warmth and moisture to the inhaled air, but also prevent
the harmful substances and pathogens from reaching the lungs. And then
the Yogis of yesteryears insisted that the respiratory tract or the
nadis ida and pingala should be kept clean (nadI suddhi). Nadis are
tubular structures–blood vessels in the body are referred to as
nadis, so also nerves; they could also be air passages.

So how does the respiratory tract deliver the conditioned air to the
lungs and equally important how is the health of the tract itself
maintained and renewed continually? The nostrils with those thick
short hairs (vibrissae) help to trap dust and some other offending
substances within the nostrils. Then the air enters the nose and goes
through the much narrower naso-pharynx. The mucosa lining this tract
is supplied by nerves from the para sympathetic. It is said that the
nose secretes a viscous liquid continuously, but alternately. The left
part of the nose gets secretion for about 2 to 2 ½ hrs and then the
secretion switches to other side. The wet secretions help the nose
trap dust particles and some offending organisms like virus/bacteria,
etc. The cells of the respiratory epithelium have what are called
cilia which move the particulate matter towards the pharynx, which
passes into the esophagus and mostly this, the mucous with the
offending trapped material goes to the throat . When they reach the
throat, the tract changes and we involuntarily and periodically
swallow it to be neutralized by the powerful stomach acids. Sometimes
when the upper respiratory tract is congested due to infection etc.,
the cilia do not function well and sometimes we snort the secretions
and bring it to the throat, when it is normally coughed and spit out
After the two hour cycle there is the dry spell when one part of the
nose dries and periodically we blow out the scabs.

There are three yoga procedures that are designed to keep the
nasopharyngeal or the upper respiratory tract in good functional
health. Use of the now popular neti pot helps to reduce the
congestion and wash down trapped debris so that the passage of air to
and from the lungs will be smooth. Clean warm water with a pinch of
salt helps to reduce naso-pharyngeal congestion and breathe freely.
This procedure may be followed for a short period of time until the
other more involved exercises, Kapalabhati and Nadishodhana
procedures, start giving more lasting benefits.

The Nadisodhana pranayama, as the name indicates, cleanses the nadis
and here we are concerned with the upper respiratory tract. According
to Yoga Yagnyavalkya, the two nadis ida and pingala, emanating from
the Kandasthana in the pelvic region, extend up to the tip of the left
and right nostrils respectively. When we breathe in, the hollow of the
nostrils first fill up letting the vibrissae and moisture trap some
pollutants. Then when the inhalation starts, the air goes through the
much narrower nasal passage at a significantly higher velocity. This
effect is enhanced in Nadishodhana. In this pranayama we use the
Mrigi Mudra. In it one closes the right nostril with the thumb and
uses the little and ring fingers to partially close the nasal passage
on the left side, just below the ethamoid bone, giving more control
over the process of inhalation. The powerful flow of air over the
mucus membrane of the entire air passage when one sucks in or snorts
during inhalation phase of the nadisodhana pranayama helps to trap
much of the offending unfriendly pollutants and then evacuate into the
throat.

Further the area just beyond the ethanoid bone is considered very
sensitive (asthmagenic) and when allergens impinge on the membrane of
this area, histamines are produced which send signals to the sneeze
center (sneezing center) in the brain (medulla). (Believe me I did
not make up the ‘sneeze center‘. It exists just as other centers such
as the cough center, respiratory center etc). Sternutation or sneezing
is a semi-autonomous convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs

The Kapalabhati is a procedure that has multiple benefits (For more
information on Kapalabhati, please refer to pages 190 to 194 in my
book “Yoga for Three Stages of Life“). It also helps to clear upper
respiratory passages and remove congestion. Equally important is the
possible beneficial effects it has on sneezing, the sneeze center.
Come to think of it, Kapalabhati as one can see, simulates or closely
resembles the activity of ‘sneezing‘. So when one does Kapalabhati, a
few times at a time, and repeats it a few times a day, the procedure
presumably sends signals to the sneeze center and calms down the
overactive center of those who suffer from hay fever and those who
overreact to allergens and pollutants. In these people the sneeze
center is ‘on the edge’ so to speak. And they display a nervous
response to allergens, stress, etc. that is abnormal, usually
resulting in nasal congestion and multiple bouts of sneezing. This
Kapalabhati procedure if diligently practiced for a while should help
bring about considerable control over excessive sneezing. It is said
by medical doctors that some of the methods useful in the control of
sneezing would include deep exhalation of the air held in the lungs
and this is facilitated by both kapalabhati and deep exhalation in
nadishodhana pranayama. Holding the breath after a deep inhalation for
a count of 10 is another commonly known suggestion. It is actually
achieved while we hold the breath in antahkumbhaka after a deep
nadisodhana inhalation. Additionally, when we hold the breath the
sinuses are also filled with fresh air and are cleansed in the
process. Applying pressure to the nose is another commonly popular
remedy suggested with respect to sneezing. In fact that is exactly
what is done when one holds the breath in antahkumbhaka of
Nadisodhana. The nostrils are closed just below the ethanoid bones of
the nose by the thumb on the right side and the last two fingers on
the left side, using Mrigi Mudra. Hence these yogic procedures:
Kapalabhati followed by Nadisodhana breathing with the appropriate
occasional use of Neti could ensure the reduction and subsequent
prevention of recurrent cold, hay fever/ allergic rhinitis, and other
upper respiratory problems. One will not over-sneeze.

Yoga vs. Ach..choo

This article was written by Srivatsa Ramaswami and is reproduced with his kind permission.

The brain and its nerve pathways form an important system of the human
being and again Yoga has some unique procedures to help the efficacy
of the nervous system. The brain, the spinal cord containing the nerve
fibers, the ganglions, the plexuses and the peripheral nerves form
this system. We have already seen the benefit the yogic technique of
meditation can bring to the brain. It helps to create new neural
connections and reduce disturbances. This Raja Yoga technique works
within the brain and transforms (parinama) it to a better functioning
organ. The Hata Yogis through the Hata Yoga practices such as
Pranayama, viparitakaranis and some mudras help to maintain good
health of the brain. The two postures that really help the brain are,
as you can guess, the inversions, Sirasasana and Sarvangasana.

Many people, when they start to practice Headstand, find that their
faces flush and they feel a rush of blood to the face and the skull.
After some regular practice for a short period of time, the body
adjusts to the new posture and auto regulates the flow of blood. Even
so when one practices this posture for a significant time, the blood
circulation in the brain improves considerably, since the blood
vessels in the brain do not contract or dilate the way other blood
vessels do. This is very refreshing to the brain and normally people
get a cleansed feeling. Equally important is that the cerebro-spinal
fluid, which is a clear and colorless liquid surrounding the brain and
the spinal cord, drains and pools upon the top portion of the brain.
It enters the ventricles and small recesses in the brain and helps in
the nourishment of the brain cells. The third ventricle conveys a
small recess to the posterior portion of the pituitary gland. The
pressure of the CSF, while staying in Headstand, helps the gland to
secrete more of the hormones into the CSF which again is said to
stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. So people who have a weak
sympathetic system may benefit from remaining in Headstand for a
considerable amount of time. The weak sympathetic is considered to be
one of the causes of some ailments like bronchial asthma. Hence this
exercise could be useful for those who suffer from such conditions as
bronchial asthma, its cousin eczema and distant relative, epilepsy
stimulating the sympathetic.

Sarvangasana is similar to but yet different from Headstand. In this,
instead of the crown, the occipital portion of the head is on the
floor, and the CSF pools into the midbrain and the back of the brain
including the medulla. These areas are really stimulated by a good
stint in Sarvangasana. It is said the Vagas nerve nuclei are
stimulated by this exercise. Thus it results in the activation of the
para sympathetic. It results in reduction in anxiety and insomnia. My
Guru used to say that it helps normalize sexual functions. Thus a
judicious mix of Headstand and Shoulder stand would help to bring
about a healthy balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems.

Yoga is particularly directed towards maintaining the integrity of the
spine. The spinal cord is about 45 cm long for men and 43cm for women.
The enclosing bony vertebral column protects the relatively shorter
spinal cord. In fact, the spinal cord extends down to only the last of
the thoracic vertebrae, or the thoracic spine, and then the tail flows
down the lumbar region. The spinal cord is inside the neural canal –
almost the diameter of the thumb– of the backbone. The nerves from
the spine emanate on either side through openings called neural
foramina and then proceed to the autonomic nervous system and then
various organs. The slightest displacement of the vertebrae will
result in chronic or acute pain. In Yoga, efforts are made to maintain
the spinal column in proper position and mobility. There are fibers of
both the central and autonomic nervous system. When there is some
pressure on the nerves due to even the slightest displacement of the
vertebrae, there is pain which inhibits the various impulses that pass
through the brain, spinal cord, the various organs and muscles. This
can be compared to ‘noise’ in the telephone transmission system. In
such cases the signals do not properly reach the organs or the brain
and spinal cord do not receive the signals properly resulting in the
inefficiency of those organs. So Yogis take special care to see that
the spinal column is properly exercised, mobile and supple. The
exercises are designed to prevent any vertebral pressure on the nerves
by maintaining a healthy inter-vertebral space. And then these spinal
exercises help to circulate blood and CSF to nourish the spinal
nerves. They also suggest strengthening the back muscles so that the
spinal column is well supported. Paschimatanasana, as the name
implies, will meet the requirement admirably.

The movements for the spine include side bending, forward bending,
curving the back, back bending and of course twisting. These may be
done in different postures as is usually done in Vinyasakrama. One of
the simple sequences that helps achieve this is hasta vinyasas and
thoracic exercises in Tadasana, which include all these movements.
(See my book “Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga, Chapter on Tadasana).
This stretching of the spine will be enhanced if one practices the
scores of vinyasas in inversion poses like Sarvangasana and sirsasana.

The spinal cord is inside the thoracic region of the vertebral column.
So when we move the arms and do the various movements the spine at the
thoracic region does not stretch as the ribcage moves up and down as
one unit. The intervertebral discs in the region of the thoracic spine
are much thinner than in the cervical and the lumbar regions. As a
result there is generally less movement between the vertebrae of the
thoracic spine.  The yogis have found a unique way of stretching the
thoracic spine.  This is achieved by doing all the movements with deep
breathing, especially inhalation. When we do deep inhalation, the
chest expands side to side, front to back and also up and down which
will help stretch the vertical thoracic spine and maintain a good
intervertebral space for mobility and freedom for the nerves. Hence
the vinyasakrama method of doing asanas with good breathing has this
additional advantage. Again a good stint of Pranayama practice
especially Nadisodhana (nerve cleansing) with an easy, graceful and
secure Jalandharabandha should be very useful for the spinal cord.
Pranayamic deep inhalation and the long breath holding  (1:4:2) after
inhalation (antah kumbhaka) directly benefit the nerves inside the
spine. So when you do deep inhalation, hold the breath and stretch
the spine, the breathing itself acts as an internal traction of the
thoracic spine.

This article was written by Srivatsa Ramaswami and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Some scholars refer to svadhyaya with a more generalized
interpretation. Since sva is own, svadhyaya could mean study of the
Self:or the atma vidya or adhyatma vidya which is the subject matter
of the Upanishadic portion of the Vedas. It could include other
philosophies which help to understand the nature of the Self,  like
Yoga and Samkhya. Hence all studies in which the main goal is
realization of the Self or Soul can be termed as svadhyaya. Sri
Krishnamacharya made it a point to teach  several Upanishad vidyas and
other adhyatma vidyas as Yoga, the Gita, samkhya  etc.

But what does Patanjali indicate by Svadhyaya in the Niyamas? It is
the study and practice of the devotional rituals of the Vedas. This
can be inferred from the benefits Patanjali says would accrue by
svadhyaya. It is the communion with one’s own ishtadevata or personal
deity, “svadhyayat ishta devata samprayogah”. Sri Krishnamacharya
spent a lot of time teaching the Vedas and vedic philosophies.
Svadhyaya is a perpetual niyama. So every year on the full moon day
during the month July15 to August 14th, orthodox Indians renew their
pledge to study the Vedas, and follow it up on the following day by
the chanting of the Gayatri mantra 1008 times. They continue the
minimum practice of svadhyaya by chanting gayatri every day at least
108 times. Many chant the Vedas, like the Sun Salutation mantras or
the vedic hymns of Siva or the Upanishad etc., every day. This is
orthodox svadhyaya which Patanjali seems to include as a Niyama.

If we take a wider interpretation of the word svadhyaya to mean study
of the adhyatma vidyas or study about the Self, we have a number of
texts that compete for the Yogi’s attention. Apart from the main
philosophies like Yoga, Samkhya and Vedanta on this subject, almost
all the old texts like the Puranas and individual works have a portion
on Yoga, as “yogic discipline” was considered a prerequisite for the
study, understanding and meditation of the Self.

Such texts are many in number. They are not limited to Sanskrit alone.
In fact there are many classic texts on spirituality in a Dravidian
language called Tamil (Tamizh), which is my mother tongue. Several
Tamil scholars consider Tamil to be even older than Sanskrit and it is
one of the few Indian languages with a minimum of Sanskrit- derived
words. The philosophical works in Tamil are many. There is a beautiful
small text called “Kaivalya Navaneetam” or the butter of  Spiritual
Freedom. It indicates that if one studies that book, spiritual Freedom
takes place instantaneously, like the time taken to swallow a piece of
butter. Or kaivalya or spiritual freedom will appear to be as
delicious to the spiritual aspirant as butter would be to a child.
Children love butter and Lord Krishna as a child was said to be very
fond of butter.

Perhaps one of the best known Tamil works on spirituality is the one
written by a Sivayogi called Tirumular.  He says in his work
Thirumandiram that he was a contemporary of Patanjali and by
implication witnessed the dance of Lord Siva in Chidambaram. (For the
story of Patanjali please read the chapter “Story of Patanjali” in  my
book “Yoga for the Three Stages of Life”). Some scholars consider
Tirumandiram, the 3000 verse monumental work, as equivalent to the
works of the Bhagavatgita, Patanjali’s Yogautra and another Yoga
classic, Yogavasishta combined. It is hard to disagree.

Tirumular says:

By receiving Nandhi’s grace we sought the feet of the Lord
The Four Nandhis (Sanagar, Santhanar, Sanath Sujatar, Sanath Kumarar),
Siva Yoga Maamuni, Patañjali, Vyakramapadar and I (Thirumoolar)
We were thus eight disciples.

The story of Tirumular is also interesting. He was a Sivayogi and a
siddha yogi, one who had attained siddhis—like what you find in the
Vibhuti Pada of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Here is the story.

It is said that the Siva Yogi, Sundaranatha, who was one of the eight
direct disciples of Lord Siva, having received the blessings of Lord
Siva and also having become a Sidhha and being a great Vedic scholar,
decided to visit the South Indian sage Agastya (rhymes with Augustus?)
who was living in the Podihai mountains of Tamil Nadu in South India.
He worshipped the Lord in Kedhar and Pasupati in Nepal. He took a holy
dip in the Ganga and proceeded towards the South. He visited the
mountain range of Shrisailam, on the banks of the great Southern river
Krishna and worshipped Sivasankara. Travelling further south he
reached Kalahasti, another venerated hill temple of Siva. Then he went
to the dancing Siva’s (Nataraja) temple Alavanam and then went to
Kancheepuram and worshipped the Lord in the Ekambresvara temple, about
50 miles from the city of Madras (Chennai).  Then he reached the great
temple in Tillai or Chidambaram and witnessed the primordial dance of
Lord Siva, the same place where Patanjali also had the vision of the
divine dance. His heart was full of immense divine joy on seeing the
dance of the Lord. Then he slowly moved further south and reached the
banks of the river Kaviri.

One day, after taking his bath in the holy river Kaveri, he went to
another Siva temple in Aduthurai. He worshipped the icon of the Lord
in that temple and never felt like leaving the beautiful form and the
spiritual environs of the place. But he collected himself and started
proceeding towards the Podihai mountains to meet with the short
statured Agastya. As he was slowly treading along the bank of Kaveri,
he saw a herd of cows standing around a spot, not moving, not grazing
as expected. He went near them and saw to his dismay, the cowherd
lying dead in front of the cows. The orphaned cows which seemed to be
unable to bear the loss of their friendly cowherd were weeping with
their heads down. It was also time for the cows to return to their
habitats to be milked and such milch cows were struggling to stay in
place with their heavy udders.  The Yogi, who considers ‘Love is the
Lord’ (anbe Sivam), took pity on the cows.  He used his yogic powers
called “para kaya pravesa” and transmigrated into the body of the
cowherd, known as Mula. In an instant Mula woke up as if from sleep
and the cows instantly looked happy. The Yogi, now a cowherd, kept his
own body aside under a banyan tree-planning to re-enter his own body a
short while afterwards- and led the cows back to their habitats. He
waited for the cows to return to their respective spots and then
decided to get back to the forest where his original body was.
Reaching the spot where he had left his body, he was shocked to find
that his body was missing. Actually the King’s servants finding an
unclaimed body decided to dispose of it by cremating it as per the
custom. Now the Yogi who had renounced everything had now renounced
his own body.  Though he was taken aback by the turn of events, he
realized that the Lord Siva was directing him to propagate Sivayoga
through him in the Southern part of India through the medium of  the
Southern language, Tamizh . Shortly thereafter, some of the villagers
not finding Mula with the returning cows came in search of him in the
forest and brought him back to the village and left him in his house.
Mulan’s wife who herself was an orphan and childless found the
behavior of her husband odd. He said to her that he had renounced the
world and would not come back home and went into a Mutt and remained
there for the night, planning to leave the place the following day.
Mulan’s wife was restless all night. She had no relatives or grown up
children to take care of her. Early in the morning she approached the
elders of the village and narrated her plight and requested them to
persuade Mulan to return home. The elders after talking to him for a
few minutes realized that a transformation had taken place in Mula and
that he was not the illiterate cowherd anymore but an accomplished
Yogi and they thought it was due to the grace of Lord Siva. They went
back and consoled Mulan’s wife, telling her that her husband has
transformed himself to a Yogi and she should feel happy and proud of
her husband. They also persuaded the Yogi to stay near the village so
that his wife would feel more secure even though he would be separated
from her. The Yogi sat under a tree and meditated for one year and at
the end woke up from his Samadhi and composed one verse. Again he went
into Samadhi and at the end of the second year he opened his eyes and
composed the second verse and went on to compose three thousand
verses, it is believed in the following 3000 years! Thirumantiram
(lit., the sacred mantras) became a classic in Siva Yoga and there is
no one who would not be touched deeply by one verse or the other.

Here are a few verses translated, pertaining to Ashtanga Yoga.
1. Certain constraints and prescribed duties (dont’s and do’s),
countless postures, breath control, sense control, concentration,
meditation, and absorption are the eight aspects of yoga.
2. One who is steadfast in Yama, the first Anga, will never cause
injuries to anyone by word or deed (nor abet). Thoroughly truthful, he
never covets; possesses exemplary qualities, and is pious. Modest and
neutral he shares his possessions with others. Pure he abjures use of
intoxicants.
3. The Niyamas (vows) are cleanliness, both outward and inward,
compassion, dieting, forbearance, truth, sensitiveness and a mind free
from lust, greed, or sadism.
4. Further, austerity, chanting, contentment, faith, charity,
religiousness, scriptural study and its propagation, and worship are
the aspects of Niyama.
5. Asanas are many hundreds. The important ones are Bhadrasana,
Gomukhasana, Padmasana, Simhasana, Siddhasana, Veerasana, Sukhasana
and Swastikasana.
6. By the proper control of Prana (Pranayama) bliss arises in one
automatically. Why resort to intoxicating drinks? The gait becomes
sprightly and laziness vanishes. This is the truth, oh sensible one,
of the efficacy of Pranayama.
7. Usually Prana circulates in the body without control. If one, by
proper practice purifies and controls it, the complexion will become
golden, grey hair will turn black, and ultimately/untimely death will
be prevented.
8. Thirumular indicates that he, by the aid of Yoga lived long (3, 000 years). Knowledge of life and long life are essential, he says,to
attain spiritual knowledge. He says “Once I was under the impression
that the body need not be protected since it is perishable. Of late I
found that something is inside it, and that something is the all-
pervading entity, which is inside my body as though my body is its
temple. After finding that truth I have taken a vow to protect and
preserve my body temple and keep perfect.”

Here is Ganesa Prayer from Tirumular’s Tirumandiram, which I usually
chant at the beginning of my Yoga classes

Aindu karattanai
Aanai muhattanai
Indin ilampirai pondra eyitrinai
Nandi mahandanai
Jnaanakkozhundinai
Pundiyil vaittadi potruhinrene.

Him, who has arms five,
Him, who has an elephant face
Him, whose single tusk equals the charm of the crescent moon,
Him, who is the offspring of the Blissful Lord,
Him, who is wisdom overflowing
I worship (by) keeping His feet
In my consciousness (mind)

Here are a couple of gems

There is but one Race
There is but one God

The ignorant considers Love and God as different
And many consider Love and God separate
When one finds out Love and God to be identical
One becomes an embodiment of Love/Compassion

The entire text is published. I think there is a translation of it in
Indian English, with which you are now familiar.

Sri Krishnamacharya was an innovative yogi. He adapted yoga, using the
physical, physiological, psychological, devotional and spiritual
aspects to the requirements of individuals. But these adaptations were
based on solid footing in traditional yoga. There is a view among a
few yoga practitioners that Yoga is evolving and so they become
inventors of Yoga, without studying the huge amount of yogic wisdom
already available. My Guru spent the first four decades of his life,
went around different parts of the country studied under different
teachers different subjects before settling down to teach Yoga. In the
olden days, classical subjects like traditional music, grammar and
literature, vedic chanting, Ayurveda and Yoga were supposed to be
studied full time for at least seven years before one can claim to
work in that specific areas. Even in modern times, subjects like
Medicine, Law, Engineering and others require solid study for a number
of years before one can practice as a doctor or a lawyer or design a
bridge. So when Krishnamacharya taught Yoga or treated a patient with
yoga procedures, you could be sure that even as he would adapt to
individual requirements it was based on solid, thorough traditional
knowledge. He had one foot firmly grounded in orthodox approach. He
even would exhort his students to go around villages and approach
agraharamas (elite communities) and look for works of obscure yogis
that would be available with their families and bring them out and
study them. He used to quote sometimes from unusual sources, mainly
because he took efforts to unearth hidden treasures of yogic
knowledge. In Yoga Makaranda you come across references to many works
which we are not able to find nowadays, but which he had studied. Many
of the works remained unpublished like the Yogakuranta, for instance.
So svadhyaya is a vey important aspect of a Yogi’s development.
Without that, without those moorings, the yogi becomes rudderless and
could waste perhaps a lot of valuable time either with ineffective
innovations or lopsided practices within a narrow spectrum. Sri
Krishnamacharya was an orthodox Yogi with a lot of conventional,
traditional study (svadhyaya) and that was the secret of his
innovations. He made the obscure Yoga of yesteryears accessible to
modern times.

This article was written by Srivatsa Ramaswami and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

The two important inversion poses, Sirsasana and its better half
Sarvangasana, called the King and Queen of yogasanas are a unique
contribution of Yoga towards physical culture and physical therapy.
Several contemporary yogis have disputed the place of these poses and
have claimed that they perhaps are later day inventions. But in
Hatayoga they are considered as viparita karani mudras.

Hatayogapradipika refers to inversions as follows
“ There is a wonderful karana or procedure which helps to starve the
sun,( here the gastric fire). One may learn it only from a Guru, and
not from the books. If the position of the sun(stomach) is above and
the moon(the head) below (i.e., upside down) it is called
viparitakarani(inversion). Learn it from a Guru “
The pelvic area—kandasthana-, according to some yogis is a breeding
ground for many ailments. It is also the area from where 72.000 nadis
are said to emanate and also Kundalini. This area should be kept
clean. The dross should be burnt and blown away, figuratively
speaking. How does the Yogi do it?

We have an air principle in that area which is Apana Vayu. We have
also the fire principle in us in the abdominal area in the form of
gastric fire or Jataraagni. This flame is flowing upwards and in the
normal upright position the gastric fire is above the pelvic area,
flowing upward, sometimes when overactive, produces a burning
sensation in the esophagus producing the typical ‘heart burn”. The
Yogi by resorting to the inversions, as Headstand and Sarvangasana, is
able to place the pelvic area above the gastric area. Now the gastric
fire or jataragni,– figuratively speaking—flows towards the pelvic
area and heats and purifies the Nadis and the Kandasthan, arouses the
Kundalini with the heat. The fire is further supposed to be fanned and
intensified by directing the air tatwa or apana by Mula bandha; it
draws the apana closer to the fire principle and thereby the apana air
also becomes hotter and in turn melts away the dross of the
kandasthana and arouses the sleeping kundalini. So headstand and
shoulderstand, the mulabandha and the intense gastric fire help to
cleanse the nadis and the rogasthana or the disease prone area is
cleaned and spruced up.

There is another interesting concept associated with the inversions of
which I may have referred to in one of the earlier letters/articles.
It is said that our head contains a liquid called amrita which may be
translated as nectar. This nectar gives us life and drips drop by drop
through the uvula into the stomach where it is consumed by the gastric
fire to provide the life energy to live. This reservoir of nectar is
slowly used up and with its total depletion comes the end of one’s
life. The Yogi tries to ration the flow of the nectar, by remaining in
inverted position for a length of time every day—say between half an
hour to an hour or so. During the period of time the yogi is in head
stand and shoulder stand, the amrita remains stored in the head
without dripping down.
The Hatayogapradika has this to say

The Hatayogapradipika explains the inversion mudra as follows. “The
cool nectar that flows from the moon (here the head) is swallowed by
the hot sun (the gastric fire). Hence one’s body becomes aged. There
is a wonderful karana or procedure which helps to starve the sun,
(here the gastric fire). One may learn it only from a Guru, and not
from the books. If the position of the sun is above and the moon below
(i.e., upside down) it is called viparitakarani(inversion). Learn it
from a Guru. Do abhyaa of this inverted pose and increase the duration
every day. One who practices this for a yaama (3 hrs) daily will
conquer death”. When I was young I came across a Yogi who was said to
be practising sirsasana for three hours every day. His face had a
unique bluish tinge. He also practised Mouna or silence.

So by this daily practice, the Yogi is able to increase, so to say,
his/her lifespan by 5%, or say between 3 to 5 years. Normally after
Headstand the yogi is supposed to spend equal time in shoulder stand
as well.  In shoulder stand, amrita while still confined to the skull/
brain portion, now is allowed to flow to the entire head portion above
the neck and nourish all the sensitive sense organs, the two eyes, the
two ears, the mouth and the nose (shanmukha). This is also considered
necessary to maintain the acuity of the sense organs as they are way up
in the body and may not get the full nourishment .
Sarvangasana therefore is considered good for the sense organs whereas
the headstand is good for the brain.

The normal upright position and the chin up position in which we keep
our head, both result in a wasteful free flow of the limited amrita in
the head down the uvula to the gastric fire, like a free flowing tap.
The Yogis found it necessary to constantly control the flow of this
nectar and even temporarily stop it. They developed a simple technique
called Jalandhara bandha to temporarily stop and control the flow. The
term Jalandhara-bandha itself indicates the effect it is said to
produce. Jala means water and here it refers to the amrita or nectar
which is said to be in the liquid form. Dhara is to hold, here holding
the amrita in the head itself and bandha is the lock, the procedure
which helps to achieve the holding operation. So Jalandharabandha
means the lock that enables holding the nectar in the head. Of course
while we do asanas and pranayama we adjust the bandha in such a way
that we allow only a small and necessary amount of amrita to flow and
also maintain a good ujjayi control over the breath. That is why the
default position of the head in asana practice whether it is tadasana
or the seated Padmasana or Vajrasana is the head down position. One
could see the pictures of my Guru doing asanas and one could see his
head down position in most of them—even in asanas like urdhvamukha
svanasana or the well known upward facing dog pose. In the entire
vinyasakrama one would find the relaxed default head down position is
resorted to control the flow of amrita and the ujjayi breath.

Some contemporary yogis may read these metaphorical narrations with a
wry smile. However these inversions should be considered as unique
contributions of Yoga, for health. Within the first few minutes of
Sirsasana practice, the leg and thigh muscles, the gluteal muscles,
relax. The chest, back, shoulders and neck muscles also relax as all
these are not required to maintain the postural tone as in the upright
position. It has been found that due to the relaxation of the leg
muscles, the blood pressure in the legs drop to about 30mm.There is no
great rush of blood to the head among the adept yogis due to auto
regulation; yet the gravity helps to open up many capillaries in the
brain, head and face which may otherwise remain partially closed.
People with high blood pressure and retinal problems will have to be
careful. However persons with mild hypertension and under control with
diet, life style change and even medication could benefit from this
posture if they had learnt it from early life. It appears to increase
pressure on the shoulders which would result in the brain trying to
reduce the blood pressure. Therefore if one would practice Sirshasana
regularly for a sufficient duration, one’s pulse rate tends to reduce,
thereby reducing the strain on the heart. Gradually there is a
reduction in the blood pressure.

What is equally important is that Sirsasana helps improve circulation
of the cerebro spinal fluid, which is helpful to the brain and also
for the spinal nerve bundles—the chakras. Because of the increased
pressure in the brain due to this fluid, the pituitary secretions
increase helping the better functioning of the sympathetic nervous
system which will help in many ways including the dilatation of the
bronchial tubes giving great relief to asthmatics. There is draining
of the bronchial tubes, giving some welcome relief for those with
chronic chest congestion.  Many feel increased memory power and
general better brain capacity. There are cases of even some correction
of the eyesight. The vinyasas like the twists, Akunchanasana, the
backbends like Viparitadandasana in Sirsasana and Uttanamayurasana in
Sarvangasana help the spine considerably, by not only maintaining the
flexibility of this structure but also nourish the nadis and chakras
or nerve fibers and nerve bundles in the spinal chord.

In the inversions, as mentioned in earlier articles, the internal
organs get positional correction. Pregnant yoginis may find the
inversions help relieve pelvic congestion, oedema of the legs,
conditions that are prevalent during pregnancy. Practising the
inverted poses with the variety of vinyasas gives a complete massage
to all the muscles, organs and considerably increases the blood
circulation. Perhaps equally important is the effect of the twin poses
on the major joints– the ankles, the knees, the hips and the spine.
The intra-articular space within the joints improves and hence the
joint movements when one does the various vinyasas also will improve.
Dorsal and plantar flexions performed in the ankle joints while in
these asanas help the ankles significantly. Asanas like Akunchanasana
in inversions give good relief to the knees, while inversions  help
to open the hips by dragging the big pelvic girdle down a bit and
giving more space for the femur to move and rotate nicely within the
hip socket(pl. refer to Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga for headstand and
shoulder stand vinyasas). Perhaps the most benefit accrues to the
entire spine. The inter-vertebral space is enhanced and person who
practises these inversions and the vinyasas like akunchanasana and
backbends will find the spine stretching nicely and becoming more
flexible. The narrowing of the inter-vertebral space can be tackled
positively and the low back pain reduces significantly. I would say
that the inversions are the best yoga postures to alleviate low back
pain. Overall these inversions and the vinyasas in them help to keep
the spine supple and strong. It is said one is as old as the condition
of the spine. Further, because of the relaxation of the lower
extremities Sarvangasana is a good pose to help overcome insomnia.
These twin poses are very good for health.

Contemporary Yogis find the other important inversion, viz., the
Handstand or Vipritvrukshasna very popular. This is a great pose, with
a number of variations possible. However since the head is not fixed
in this group of poses, some of the finer aspects of the other two
head- fixed inversions (sarvangasana and sirshasana) may be missing.
One finds it more difficult to maintain balance and also stay for a
sufficiently long time in viparitavrikshasana or inverted tree pose
(Hand Stand) and other similar poses like scorpion pose etc. These two
regal poses stand  ‘head and shoulders’ above the rest in conferring
health benefits to the yogabhyasis.

This article is reproduced with the kind permission of Srivatsa Ramaswami

Charles Darwin’s 200th Birth Anniversary has—indirectly–energized
many to restart the debate about God, Creation and Evolution.

This kind of discussion, though, has been going on from time immemorial.
Sayana, the well known commentator on the Vedas, starts his commentary
by pointing out that several of the sayings of the Vedas on Heaven and
the less favorable place and the details of how to get to the former
and avoid the latter can never be proved or disproved. Even if they
debate for a billion years (sata koti varsa) the believer can not
prove to the nonbeliever the existence of these worlds and God, nor
can the non-believer disprove their existence to the believer.
Recently, several Darwin believers have put up graffiti  billboards,
etc., proclaiming—inter alia, — “Probably there is no God, so go out
and enjoy life”, drawing an equally telling response from a believer
—“God exists, so go out and enjoy life”.

The most popular theory of creation of modern science is the Big Bang
theory. Great minds have propounded this theory. Basically it asserts
that the present Universe we experience evolved out of a dime sized
entity called “Singularity” that the universe has expanded from this
primordial hot and immensely dense initial condition at some finite
time in the past, and continues to expand to this day.

The mathematicians would say that this singularity has no dimension and
infinite density. Then the Universe evolved out of it. I understand
that the Big Bang theory does not address the question whence the
Singularity was formed and how. Some speculate that these are formed
from matter and energy sucked by the Black Hole(s), which is the end
chapter of the previous evolution. Implicitly there is no mention of
the need for an intelligent cause (Nimitta Karana) for the creation.
It evolves by itself. Of course there are many scientists who believe
that there could be an intelligent principle behind it—though they may
not call it God.

This view that the Universe evolved without God or an
efficient cause has been there along with the theistic view from time
immemorial. An orthodox philosophy, Samkhya avers that the entire
Universe evolved out of a singular non-dimensional entity called Mula
Prakriti, without an efficient cause (nimitta karana) called God.
Both these views hold that the Universe, the macrocosm that we
experience has a real, material cause. And theists believe in a
material cause which is also efficient/intelligent cause, which is
God. This macrocosmic view that out of the huge macrocosm, countless
individual entities like us have sprung up or were created, or
evolved, is generally accepted. But there is a third view less known,
less straightforward, which tries to understand the whole evolution
from a different point of view, from the point of the individual
microcosm.

Yoga looks at it from the individual viewpoint, as briefly explained
below, which will help and lead us to understand the third viewpoint
about Creation, propounded by the Advaitic School of the Upanishads.
All my life I am the subject and the world around is the object. I see
objects, hear sounds, smell things etc. When I am awake and see an
object, the sequence as all of us know is as follows.

Light falls on the object that I see, the light is reflected by the object, and the
light particles, reach my eyes and then the retina. The retina
converts them into electrical impulses and they reach some part of my
brain. Then there may be some chemical changes in my brain cells and
communications among the brain cells resulting in my seeing the
object. But in physical terms all the information reaches my brain and
is absorbed. With this the physical phenomena end.

After these reach my brain, how do I see the object, outside of me, in front of me? 
The information is in my head physically but how do I see it outside of
me? Nothing goes out of my head. The brain projects an image, not
outside but in the mental space according to Yogis, because the
projection does not and cannot take place in the physical space. My
mind projects it and there has to be some awareness or consciousness
in me which sees or experiences this mental projection.

The yogis call the projection a chittavritti. The chittavritti is the projection of
the mind made out of the information received through the eyes.
Of course the projection is a little more involved. The mind not only
gets information through the eyes but also through the ears and other
senses, and the mind collates the information and makes a composite
presentation which I see in the mental space, just as the objects
appear to be outside of me. I not only have the outside picture
reproduced in my mind but also me, the subject, as part of the
experience. I am also aware that I am in the midst of the total
picture as the ‘subject’ experiencing the outside world. I also feel
emotions attached to the mental picture. I also react to the
experience, sometimes with a happy or sometimes an unhappy
disposition. Anyway there is a composite picture I experience. The
totality of what I experience including that I am the observer, I like
it, I don’t like it, everything,– this is the chittavritti at a
moment. In the next moment, the chittavritti changes. Moment after
moment there is a new chittavritti and the non-changing Self, the pure
consciousness keeps observing this changing flux of chittavrittis.

The chittavritti is not confined to objects outside that I see
directly.  Sometimes, I infer from partial sensory perceptions or
occasionally I try to picture on the basis merely of what I hear. Then
there are occasions when I close my eyes and produce my own
chittavrittis, without objects, like in dreams—day or night. Then I
have chittavrittis produced purely from past incidents which I
remember. Then of course my mind completely closes shop when there is
an ‘experience of sleep’. So I have a variety of chittavrittis, all
taking place in my head. My chittavritti which is the totality of my
experience at any given moment takes place not in physical space but
in mental space or in virtual space. So even though the objects I
perceive may be real, what I experience is virtual. This is what
happens in all of us all the time. But even as the experience may be
with virtual objects, the objects of the outside world are real
according to Yogis.

But the Vedantins, especially advaita vedantins, ask a further question.
If the experience we have takes place in mental space or chitta akasa,
the experience of the prior moment also should be taking place in
virtual space. So the objects that reflected light particles for my
eyes to perceive themselves are virtual objects. Thus going back they
aver that our entire life experience is only virtual and not ‘really’
real. We can extrapolate this to the entire outside world and say the
Universe is not really ‘real’, it is an illusion.

So we have three possibilities, following this line of reasoning.
Firstly the universe is real even though our experience, known as
chittavritti is virtual.  This is the position of the Yogis, and we
would agree with that. The second view is that it is not possible to
say for sure if the outside world exists or not (anirvachaniya) since
our experience is limited to our virtual chittavrittis. The third view
is that there is no real outside world, there is no real creation and
the experience is virtual and the universe is illusory.  But, one may
assert that the objects are real, we can see, we can feel them. But
the Mayavadins or those who say that the world is only an illusion,
aver that just as we feel the dream space, dream objects and the dream
self to be real during dream but they are found to be an illusion when
we wake up, likewise the waking state experience also is virtual and
there is no real world outside. They say that there is no real
creation, all our life we have a succession of virtual experiences.

Let us get back to the ideas at the beginning of the article.So we
have now three views about creation of the universe.

One is that it evolved from “Singularity” and that is the material cause of the
Universe. Like  the modern scientist, Samkhya does not feel the need
to agree to an efficient cause like God, the creator.

The second view is that God created the Universe and He is both the material and the
efficient cause.

The third view is that the creation itself is anillusion and hence there is no need to
subscribe to a material cause,like the Singularity or the Mulaprakriti. However since
there is an experience, the experiencer (Atman or drashta), which is non changing
pure consciousness alone exists which observes the illusionary experience. Some
Buddhists schools find no need for even postulating the constantly observing Self.

So, the Upanishads aver that there is an origin of the Universe, like
the Singularity of the Scientists or the Mulaprikriti of the Samkhyas,
which ‘origin’ the Upanishads call as Brahman, literally meaning “the
principle that expanded into this Universe’. But the comparison ends
there. While the Singularity is inert, without consciousness, Brahman
is pure, non-changing consciousness.

It is the considered view of the vedandins that matter cannot produce or become  consciousness; the object cannot become the subject. The advaita vedantins
further aver, likewise, Consciousness cannot produce or become matter,
it can only be an observer. So they postulate the theory that what evolved out of
the Brahman is not really real, but only an illusion. Brahman does not
expand like the Singularity does as postulated by the Big Bang Theory.

In fact it is said that the zero dimension Brahman contains the entire
universe within itself, but the Universe appears to be outside of it–
like during our dream state the dream objects are within our
consciousness but appear to be outside us. Or, it is like the thin
film of the reflecting surface of a mirror giving  the impression of
having the three dimensional space and objects behind it.

One may therefore examine theories of creation other than the most
popular views of “God created the Universe” or “the Universe evolved
on its own”. The third view is that there is no real creation.
Uncomfortable?  But this obviates the need to answer the rather
difficult questions, “Whence did all this material come to make this
Universe.” Or “Why God created this Universe” and many other
questions. The theory of illusory evolution is plausible and
tantalizing. Some traditional theists (astikas) who are drawn towards
the logic of this third theory of Virtual Creation (maya vada), call
the Lord a Mayavin, or the Creator of the Grand Illusion.

Srivatsa Ramaswami

 YOGA FOR THE HEART

Sri Krishnamacharya, my Guru would characterize yoga as a Sarvanga
Sadhana or a method that is helpful for all parts of the body, not
just the skeletal muscles. Every part of the body can be accessed and
treated, aver the yogis.  Therefore some of Yoga’s influence on the
heart may be considered here. One of the views expressed repeatedly by
my Guru was that the heart should not be strained; that even while you
exercise yoga procedures like asanas, the heart rate should not
increase significantly, which is markedly different from the ‘aerobic’
approach.

Further there is another aspect. There are six vital kosas
or sacs in the body which are the six important internal organs. The
Heart is called the hrudaya Kosa or the Heart sac, which is in the
thoracic cavity and is responsible for the circulation of blood (rakta-
sanchara) to all the purificatory organs like the kidneys, the lungs
etc., and also to all the tissues in the body. The heart is surrounded
by the twin walled heart covering or sac called pericardium, which
allows the heart to move smoothly within the thoracic cavity. This
organ which is made up of musculature is attached to the chest walls
which are also made of muscles. These muscles, due to our upright
position most of the time, tend to sag due to gravity, over time, even
though they are well supported. This sagging of the Hrudaya Kosa
according to Yogis has a progressively debilitating effect on the
Heart– which becomes less efficient by the slow downward displacement
of the organ from its original intended position. This hypothesis of
the ‘heart sag’ engaged the attention of the yogis.

So in this article let us examine what the yogis of yesteryears did to
1. Help the heart in its function of pumping blood and also
2. Correct the slow decline in its efficiency due to physical descent, albeit slight, of the heart
and also its elasticity.

There are two segments to rakta sanchara or blood circulation. First
is the return of the blood to the heart so that the heart can then
pump blood to various parts of the body including the purifying organs
like lungs (svasa Kosa) and kidneys. All the blood that is received by
the various muscles and tissues will have to return to the heart. The
muscles, especially the skeletal muscles are partially contracted all
the time so that they maintain a tone. This slight contraction helps
to squeeze some ‘used’ blood out of the muscles into the venous
system.  The veins contain valves which prevent the blood from
backtracking  to the muscles. Further, during the movements of these
muscles the blood is pushed slowly towards the main vein which carries
all the return blood to the heart.  In terms of skeletal muscles both
the extensor and flexor muscles under normal enervation maintain
constant tone while at rest. Thus even a ‘couch potato’ is able to get
the blood circulating, due to this phenomenon called ‘muscle pump’
though such circulation is not very efficient. If the return blood to
the heart is scanty or below normal, the heart will have to pump more
often to push out the same amount of blood per unit time. If this
‘stroke volume’ is increased then the heart would be able to pump
blood more efficiently. It will beat a fewer number of times to
circulate the same amount of blood, which according to yogis will help
to reduce the strain on the heart. It is considered desirable.

There are a few things the yogi does to improve this venous return. By
doing a number of vinyasas, she/he is able to squeeze out more blood
out of the cells. In vinyasakrama, by a well thought out regimen of
vinyasas and asanas, one will be able to work out all the muscles,
tissues and cells of skeletal system, so much so that there is a more
complete scavenging of the system. And as the ‘deoxygenated blood’ is
wringed out of the tissues, fresh nourishing blood enters the
tissues.

What is equally important or more important is the effect of breathing
on this venous return of the blood. When we breathe in we do it by
expanding the chest. When we expand the chest during inhalation, the
diaphragm also descends and there is a partial vacuum created in the
thoracic cavity, — there is a significant pressure gradient between
the thoracic cavity and the outside atmosphere. So as the chest
expands, due to the pressure difference, the air rushes into the lungs
through the nostrils, trachea etc. Normally this takes place for a
couple of seconds, then the involuntary inhalation stops, then the
exhalation starts  due to the relaxation of the chest muscles and some
air, say about 500ccs out of the 5 liters or so of air in the chest is
expelled. This is normal breathing. What is important in our
discussion is that when the chest expands, the partial vacuum created
has also an effect on the heart which is  in the same thoracic cavity.
The blood which is slowly moving through the main vein, the vena cava,
is sucked in by this partial vacuum and its suction has the effect of
accelerating the flow of blood to the heart chamber. The Yogis take
advantage of this phenomenon, also called the ‘respiratory pump’
effect. By expanding the chest more, and more slowly, the negative
pressure in the chest cavity is increased and maintained longer, by
holding the breath for a period of time, during Kumbhaka. During the
long inhalation and breath holding, the suction pump effect is
maintained and the flow of blood back to the heart is accelerated.
Thus a good Pranayama practice helps the venous return of the blood to
the heart.

The Vinyasakrama method of doing yoga practice therefore has an
additional advantage. Performing the tens of scores of vinyasas helps
squeeze out ‘bad blood’ from every muscle and joint , the simultaneous
synchronized slow breathing employed especially the inhalation helps
to suck more blood to the heart. As the vinyasas and asanas help to
squeeze out blood, the slow deeper inhalation by maintaining a
negative pressure of the chest cavity for a much longer period of time
helps to return more blood to the heart, so much so that every time
the heart beats it is able to pump more blood, i.e., the stroke volume
increases. In about half an hour of Vinyasakrama practice one can do
about 100 vinyasas taking the rest periods into account and during
this period there is a significant improvement in the blood
circulation in the entire system. This yoga method has a marked
difference with aerobic workouts. In these types of aerobic
exercises– which is what happens when people do yoga as a workout,
without any reference to slow breathing– the blood circulation
improves but due to faster working of the heart and lungs. The same
amount of blood circulation is achieved by a greater number of heart
beats, which according to Yogis is inefficient and strains the heart.
Further in the workouts, the body creates more waste products and
creates more ‘bad blood’ due to substantially increased metabolism,
whereas in Yoga where slow synchronized breathing is involved as in
Vinyasakrama taught by Sri Krishnamacharya, the increase in metabolism
is minimal.

Yoga also takes care of blood circulation to the internal organs.
Whereas the asanas help basically the skeletal muscles, Yogis have
devised methods by which the vast amount of muscles and tissues inside
the body are also exercised so that the large quantity of blood in the
muscles and tissues inside the body also is squeezed out and brought
into circulation. Deep inhalation done during pranayama pushes the
diaphragm down and puts useful pressure on the abdominal and pelvic
organs. Further some adept yogis also do mulabandha and some
Uddiyanabandha after inhalation (and holding the breath) so that there
is pressure on the internal organs (the abdominal and pelvic organs)
from above, below and the anterior side, virtually wringing more blood
out of these organs and muscles. Again after exhalation more powerful
bandhas are employed by which the internal muscles and organs are
exercised, squeezed and massaged. In Uddiyana bandha while doing bahya
Kumbhaka, the adept Yogi, like my Guru, is able to push the diaphragm
pretty deep up into the thoracic cavity providing a healthy external
pressure on the heart muscles to squeeze out blood even from the heart
muscles and providing a gentle massage to the heart, thereby helping
the elasticity of the heart muscles in the process.

There is another unique procedure the yogis employ for the venous
return of blood to the heart. It is the inversion asanas, like
Headstand, Shoulder stand and the various vinyasas in these poses. The
heart is way up in the body, almost 2/3rd  or even higher up, in
normal upright position. While it helps the heart to pump out more
blood efficiently to the 2/3rds of the body like the visceral organs
and the lower extremities, the return of the blood to the heart is
somewhat hampered  due to gravitational resistance. So the inversions
like Sarvangasana help to drain fluids, especially blood from the
lower extremities and also visceral muscles. This is accentuated by
doing a variety of Vinyasas in the inversions. The combination of
Vinyasas in inverted poses, synchronized breathing and employing the
bandhas helps to return more blood to the heart from the muscles and
tissues below the heart. Again exercises like Kapalabhati, Vanhi sara
(agni sara) and the bandhas help in the process.

As mentioned earlier, another view that used to be strongly expressed
by my Guru is that all the internal organs get slowly displaced or
tend to sag from their original positions and thus become less
efficient/ become diseased over a period of time due to partial loss
of tone. The muscle tone of the heart is very good when one is young
but with age and gravity the muscles start sagging–lose their tone a
bit, become less elastic, like all other muscles. So the yogis
resorted to inversions or viparitakaranis. For the heart, Sarvangasana
is ideal, and in that position the heart snuggly rests in the upper
portion of the chest cavity, well supported and rested. Perhaps this
is one of the reasons why Sarvangasana is referred to as the Heart of
the Asanas. A ten minute stint in Sarvangasana, with the bandhas helps
to restore — or slightly overcorrect– the heart back to is original
position. The Pranayama that is done thereafter is said to normalize
the position by neutralizing any over correction during the inversion.
Deep Uddiyanabandha and other abdominal exercises like Kapalabhati,
Vahni Sara etc, help to massage and strengthen the heart muscles, so
that the heart can continue to pump blood to all parts of the body
efficiently.

Therefore, if the heart condition is normal for a person, then, it may
be a good practice to do exercises for the chest and the accessory
muscles of the thorax first. Please refer to hasthavinyasas in
Tadasana chapter in my book “The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga”. These
help to exercise the accessory muscles of breathing and help to expand
the chest significantly. Then do as many vinyasas as possible in
different asanas to cover the whole body. Stay in Shoulder stand for a
good ten minutes doing also a variety of Vinyasas. It is better if one
can do Headstand as well for several minutes. Do Pranayama for about
ten minutes preceded by Kapalabhati and accompanied by Bandhas. Do
good meditation for about 10 to 15 minutes so that the mind relaxes
and the heart and the chest muscles relax. You may also consider
chanting aloud vedic or other laukika mantras like Sahasranamas etc.
Or read aloud from the scriptures for about 15 to 20 minutes
everyday.

It is said that prayer is very efficacious. There is a vedic prayer
addressed to Sun god (the sun is the god of health) specifically for
the good functioning of the heart.

“hrudrogam mama surya
harimaananca nasaya”

Oh! Lord Sun. Do remove my heart ailment and the greenish patches in
my skin (due to improper oxygenation and blood circulation)

In due course the rest heart rate itself comes down. Following my
Guru’s advice, one should avoid doing yoga as a workout as that
substantially increases the heart rate. In Hatayogapradipika, the
author Svatmarama, quoting another great Hatayogi, Gorkshanatha,
mentions that the yogi should not do strenuous activities (kaaya
klesa) and these are detrimental to overall progress in Yoga.
Brahmananda who has written a lucid commentary on this text, gives
examples that are considered to be strenuous exercises that are fit to
be eschewed by the Yogi. He specifically gives the examples like
lifting and carrying heavy weights and doing repeated Sun Salutations
(bahu surynamaskara) as strenuous exercise which a yogi should avoid
doing. My teacher also would say that the yogi should be thin (krisa)
and not overweight. One could say,
“Overweight is bad
Lean or fat”
as overweight puts additional strain on the heart.

Aerobic Exercises are good in their own way; they help to strengthen
the cardiovascular system. Even so Yoga, as practiced by the
Vinyasakrama system, is the antithesis of aerobic exercises. The
Breath-yoga deliberately reduces the breath rate and consequently the
heart rate, whereas the aerobic and the aerobic like yoga (like the
continuous 108 Suryanamaskaras), significantly increase the breath
rate and heart rate during exercise.  While workouts and practice of
yoga as a workout help to reduce Rajas, they also accentuate Tamas.
But, breath-vinyasakrama-yoga done slowly, with synchronized
breathing, followed by deep Pranayama helps not only reduce Rajas but
also Tamas. The reduction of these Gunas makes the mind calmer  and
fresh or Satwic and a calmer mind is conducive to the healthy
functioning of the heart. Therefore it may be a good ‘Health Policy’
to encourage youngsters, especially teenagers to practice yoga, the
breath-asanas and vinyasas, pranayama, various mudras, vipatitakaranis
and appropriate meditation, eat moderate and satwic food and thereby
they can take lifelong care of the heart.

Srivatsa Ramaswami