5-6 September 2020 - CHANTING WEEKEND
with RADHA SUNDARARAJAN

Join us ONLINE to learn about Patañjali's YOGA SŪTRA, Chapters 1 & 2
with COMMENTARY, CHANTING and Radha's PERSONAL ACCOUNTS.

Find out more form TSYP's website by clicking on the link or photo below.

https://www.tsyp.yoga/training/event-list/#!event/2020/9/5/online-vedic-chant-workshop-on-the-yoga-s-363-tra-swith-radha-sundararajan

13-15 November 2020 - TSYP ONLINE ANNUAL GATHERING

on PARIṆĀMA - CHANGE

GUEST SPEAKERS:

- Frans Moors (author of LIBERATING ISOLATION: The Yogasūtra of Patañjali); and

- Simone Tempelhof
- Helena Del Pino
- Andy Curtis-Payne

For more information, check out the TSYP's website by clicking on the photo or link below.

https://www.tsyp.yoga/training/event-list/#!event/2020/11/13/tsyp-online-annual-gathering-parinama

Fiona Ashdown shared these thoughts recently:

"During my yoga therapy course I did two month-long internships at the KYM and observed many 1-to-1 classes being given by the teachers there. Many clients had breathing difficulties, including asthma due to the air pollution in Chennai.

I also attended many lectures with Dr N.C [N Chandrasekaran], who was head of therapy at KYM at the time, and was very lucky to sit in on many of his 1-to-1 sessions. He talked about the physics of breathing and how, if you restrict one end of the tube (the nostrils), the other end (the bronchioles) would open up. There is a scientific name for this process: the Venturi effect.

So alternate nostril breathing, particularly nāḍī śodhana and restricted nostril breathing where you partially close both nostrils, were given to people with asthma, even during an attack if they could manage it. Obviously, the more familiar one is with these techniques, the easier they are to use when you are breathless. I have used both of these several times a day in 12 breath cycles, and find they really help with breathlessness. We were taught that strong ujjāyī should be avoided, as it could aggravate the throat if there was a cough. Also, the use of sound orally can trigger a cough. In this case, mental sound or chanting can be used instead.

Classically, nāḍī śodhana means to cleanse and purify the energy channels and used with a breath ratio such as 1-1-1-1 (build up to this) is very effective. The ancients knew their stuff! The inhale brings air to the fire, the antaḥ kumbakha (hold after inhale, A.K.) holds it there and makes it burn more brightly. The exhale brings the dirt (covid 19!) to the fire and the bāhya kumbakha (hold after exhale, B.K.) burns the dirt by holding it in the fire!

You could also use nāḍī śodhana with the gāyatrī mantraḥ. Sir [i.e. TKV Desikachar] taught this, chanting the mantra silently and dividing it up into the portions of the breath. For a more calming effect, keep the inhale free and chant the mantra silently on the exhale.

I find mantra very steadying for the mind. In fact, the word means protection for the mind and I have been using the full version of the Om hram (sūryanamaskāra mantraḥ) chant for disease cleansing!

Thinking of you all and wishing you well… and always breathe through your nose!"

- Fiona Ashdown.

[Originally published on the TSYP website www.tsyp.yoga in 2020; Image by adrian schüpbach from Pixabay]