You can view parts of my book, The Longevity Diet, on Google Books, or get it on Amazon, where it has received good reviews. There’s even a Kindle version, which will also play on the iPhone, using the free Kindle app.
This edition is the culumation of my many years of experience with Calorie Restriction. It also contains an expanded section on yoga, and stress reduction. I hope you enjoy it.
Here’s a link to my yoga demonstration at the 3rd International Festival of Movement and Dance, in Yaroslavl, Russia on August 29th, 1998. Music is the Gayatri Mantra, by Deva Premal. This video was shot by a member of the audience on their phone, and I was very fortunate to have received a copy.
1998 was the first year that yoga was introduced at this performance oriented conference. I was also asked to teach a few classes to some of the participants. Many of the Russian students explained that prior to perestroika, their yoga experience was limited to basement classes. As an instructor, my main challenge was to help them trust their body and their breath, as they were so accustomed to performing and following orders.
Ultimately, it was a deeply satisfying experience.
With great appreciation for the star that lived among us, the Iyengar community said goodbye to Mary Dunn on September 4, 2008. She passed peacefully with her family in New York. The daughter of Mary Palmer, who introduced Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar to America in 1974, Mary Dunn moved to San Diego in 1980 and championed the growth of both the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Diego and the Institute in San Francisco. She was instrumental in opening the fledgling Los Angeles Institute in 1984, traveling monthly to teach and serve as a mentor. Her dedication and people skills nurtured the success of these communities. In 1986, Mary moved to New York and helped to grow the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York into one of the finest schools in the U.S.
Certified at the Junior Advanced level, Mary said that Iyengar Yoga was the place where her life interests and life work came together because it was in her teaching where she synthesized her love of English, history, music, the arts and philosophy, garnered through her education at the University of Wisconsin.
Her generosity as a teacher is simply unmatched. As a senior teacher in New York and leading workshops worldwide, Mary was an unstoppable combination of knowledge, enthusiasm and perseverance. She made the philosophy of yoga come alive and dance in her classes. Her teaching was lofty and accessible, majestic and fun. She embodied the possibility of transformation, and then guided us to find our own path forward.
She was a rare individual who lived with grace, joy, compassion, tremendous vitality and the contagious enthusiasm to support community wherever she was. She will continue to be a light among us. She taught us how to live, and, in her dying, how to embrace every moment with complete awareness and receptivity.
Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar counseled members of the Iyengar community to read the following slokas from the Bhagavad Gita:
10. As they stood between the two armies, Sri Krishna smiled and replied to Arjuna, who had sunk into despair.
11. Sri Krishna said, You speak sincerely, but your sorrow has no cause. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
13. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.
22. As a man abandons worn-out clothes and acquires new ones, so when the body is worn out a new one is acquired by the Self, who lives within.
23. The Self cannot be pierced by weapons or burned by fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.
24. The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundations of eternity.
25. The Self is unmanifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this, you should not grieve.
26. Oh mighty Arjuna, even if you believe the Self to be subject to birth and death, you should not grieve.
27. Death is inevitable for the living; birth is inevitable for the dead. Since these are unavoidable, you should not sorrow.
28. Every creature is unmanifested at first and then attains manifestation. When its end has come, it once again becomes unmanifested. What is there to lament in this?
29. The glory of the Self is beheld by a few, and a few describe it; a few listen, but many without understanding.
30. The Self of all beings, living within the body, is eternal and cannot be harmed. Therefore, do not grieve.
Guruji said that Mary is “a clean and clear person, and she now has freedom. We have lost a dear, good friend. She is noble.” He stated that because of the life that Mary led, her soul has the imprint of yoga, which she will no doubt carry into the next life.
Specifics about a memorial service will be announced. A celebration of the life of Mary Dunn is being planned for early 2009 at the New York Institute. At her request, in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: IYAGNY, 150 West 22nd St., 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011
Yoga Journal asked me to answer several questions submitted by readers, in their Ask the Expert column.
Finally, what to do on a Saturday night? The music is blaring a rock tune in Marathi,the language of Maharashtra. I am sitting in a little 5 foot by 2 foot cubicle, mustard yellow, rock and roll baby.. my laptop hooked up to their internet.
Survival. The first three weeks were rough, I came down with a bronchial infection almost right away, but resisted antibiotics. The pollution here is so bad.. One night we surfaced from a fabulous pranayama class, stoned out of our minds and high on prana, to emerge into a cloud of smoky DDT mosquito prevention treatment… we ran to the park to get back to our flat, only to see the cloud get thicker… Panic, everyone. another adventure in the land of contrasts.
There are regular power outages, ours is from 8am to 9am. So we plan our morning showers with the geyser, which delivers about a 5 minute hot shower, before the power goes out. However,we had never had a night time outage. I lent my flashlight to Leslie, as they were going to the Ellora caves. We had no candles… and of course, 10 pm, black as pitch. The only reliable battery operated pack we had was the laptop. Have you ever brushed your teeth to the light of a laptop? Even Microsoft would never have imagined that.
Adho Muka Virasana
Adho Muka Svanasana, lengthen sides of chest
Uttanasana, concave spine to lengthen sides of torso, then hands alongside feet
Uttanasana, hands taken well back of feet, fingers point same direction as toes. Maintain length in sides of torso, armpit chest well open
Prasarita Padottanasana, concave spine, use everything to lengthen sides of chest
Prasarita Padottanasana, hands in line with feet, then head in line
Parsvottanasana, first hands at waist and concave spine, lift, then, arms overhead to extend side waist, then hands to either side of foot, then hands back toward back leg
Padangusthasana
Urdhva Ekai Pada Prasarita Padottanasana; standing leg as in Uttanasana, draw femur into the socket
Pada Hastasana
Adho Muka Vrksasana 2x
Pincha mayurasana (folded sticky mat under elbows, belt)
Sirsasana,
Parsva Sirsasana
Eka Pada Sirsasana; keep back waist long as you lower leg, notice how the abdominal wall draws back, maintain length
Parsva Sirsasana, maintain abdominal action from Eka Pada Sirsasana
Repeat Eka Pada Sirsasana & Parsva Sirsasana
Bharadvajasana 1
Trianga muka pada paschimottanasana
Ardha Baddha padma Paschimottanasana, do not hook foot over thigh, toes point back
Bharadvajasana 2
Kronchasana, lengthen sides of torso, femur into the socket, and extend the waist from the navel up. From the navel down, abdominal wall draws in as in Eka pada Sirsasana
Paschimmottanasana
Janusirsasana, bent leg foot into the extended leg thigh, not drawn back far
Baddha Padmasana
Sarvangasana
Halasana
Parsva Halasana
Savasana
For the last 3 classes, she has been emphasizing to pull the trapezius muscle down and to fit the arm in the shoulder
Adho Muka Virasana
Adho Muka Svanasana
Uttanasana
Adho Muka Vrksasana, press heel of hand down, arms straight, absolutely straight. Kick up alternating, lower with both legs at once
Adho Muka Vrksasana, kick up with both legs, balance, lower with both legs
Pincha Mayurasana, note how long the upper arms bones are
Sirsasana 5”
Parsva Sirsasana, maintain length of upper arm bones while turning
Parvritta Eka pada Sirsasana , do not drop the lumbar, do not spread legs too far. Maintain length of upper arm. Come back to center, note position of upper arms, do not change. Do not puff abdomen, lumbar moves up and that brings abdomen in towards lumber spine.
Come down, change interlock: repeat Parsva Sirsasana & Parvritta Eka pada Sirsasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana at wall, hands on tightly rolled blanket. Press down through heel of hand to fix shoulder into back. Trapezius muscle down down down the back, outer arm rolls in.
Tadasana, coil back ribs in and take upper arms back, fix scapulae in. Keep imprint.
Urdhva Dhanurasana at wall, hands turned out on blanket. Elbows straight
Viparita Dandasana: elbows against blanket, press forearms down and move chest toward wall, walk in with feet. Repeat 3 x
Urdhva Dhanurasana at wall, hands on floor, press heels of palms to fix humorus in socket. Elbows locked.
Viparita Dandasana as above
Kapotasana, hands toward wall, lumbar down, lift chest, open thoracic. Walk down wall.
Do not bend in the lumbar, that is an egoistic action. Opening in thoracic, in chest is a sattvic action. Lift!
Eka Pada Raj Kapotasana preparation: front leg in Marichyasana (deep lunge), back leg straight like in Hanumanasana. Touch fingers to the floor, open chest, head back, coil back ribs in.. go, further.. hands further back.
Halasana with bolster, tumble and then roll upper arms back, stretch arms back, take shoulder heads back away from bolster.
Savasana
If you watch Guruji practice now, you will see the sattvic action. He is still learning what it is to practice in old age. His age is teaching him. You all do with egoistic and rajasic action. Learn!
You must have stability in the legs, absolutely straight knees, open the skin in the back of the leg to move the muscle into the skin, move the inner back thigh to the outer thigh to straighten the leg.
Sthirim Sukam Asanam
You cannot have sukham if you do not have sthiram.. without stability and a firm container you will not have the safety net to be content, you will worry here and get distracted there. You think that by letting go you will find realization, but without stability you will simply find dissipation and distraction and disturbance. You must bring full attention and make the legs straight to enable the abdominal organs to lift properly and to lengthen the frontal spine.
Adho Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana: open skin in back of leg from inside out, take shin back
Prasarita Padottanasana: concave spine, then head to floor
Uttanasana (feet hip width), no saggy knees, we look at the face to see age, when we should look at the knees. A person may have a young face and old knees, we walk with our knees, we must make them to remain young! I do not care about your face for health, I care about your knees.
Sirsasana 10” Make the length of the arm as long as the length of the legs, make the arm length link to the leg length, make the arms to join the lengthening of the torso and the legs. Do not let loose. Knees straight.
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukha Vriksasana do not shrink in the armpits, maintain the length in the side body, come down with both legs straight.
Pincha Mayurasana
Utthita Trikonasana; suck the thigh bone deep into the hip socket, as if there is a cave in there. Knees straight. Come up with the back leg knee absolutely solid, no wavering
Ardha Chandrasana
Uttanasana, feet together
Virabhadrasana III; standing leg, move the inner thigh to the outer thigh and the outer thigh straight back toward the back heel.
Eka Pada Prasarita Padottanasana; make the outer standing leg shin long and thin, move it into the bone, make it as long as the leg itself. Then lift the lifted leg higher.
Uktasanana
Utthita Hasta Padangustasana; root of the standing leg thigh and the lower abdomen teach the pose, take the root of thigh back and from there lift the abdomen up
Vrksasana
Virasana + parvottasana in virasana; trapezius muscle down the back, pectorals should remain passive, arms locked. We held this a long long time.. (deep imprint of the placement of the top sternum lifted with the pectoral muscles passive)
Parighasana; bottom arm like in parsvakonasana
Parvritta Janusirsasana
Paschimottanasana
Sarvangasana
Halasana
Sarvangasana
Savasana
We have different phases to what we do and we must understand what to do and for whom we are doing it and when to do what we do. First there is the Learning phase, and then the Studying phase.
We cannot really study until we have learned. When have we learned? When we know how and why we are doing something. Are you doing it for the physical effect, the pranic effect, the mental or emotional effect? What is your intention? If it is physical, is it for the legs, by the legs, with the legs?
In the deepening process, we first do the kriya, the physical expression and experience of the pose, bones, muscles, and fascia. Then the pranic body becomes ignited and we can access the experience and expression of the mudras. Is it the pelvic diaphragm, the udana vayu, the samana vayu (these are energetic areas in the subtle body that allopathic or western medicine does not recognize, but which are very potent once you understand them).. Finally, the asana happens.
Janusirshatkriya: first phase, physical, “Kriya”, the action basis, musculo-skeletal
Janusirmudra: second phase, pranic, “Mudra”, subtle body, bandhas
Janusirsasana: the mastery of the asana when the “dvandva” (pair of opposites) ceases
Stages of yoga…
Yoga = union
Viyoga = dissolution, we must know how to disengage, what needs to be disengaged and lost, for example krodha, modha, lobha, aversion, dullness, doubt. So much of yoga is dispelling something, not doing something. We always think of what we have to do, but there is so much that has to be let go and dispelled.
Sanyoga = what happens, conjunction. Not an intentional doing, but the effect of a composite set of actions or events.
Prayoga = the practice
Viniyoga = when we intentfully arrive at a new place and continue to work without losing ground.
Adho muka svanasana at ropes, long long holds
Adho Muka svanasana & uttanasana
Adho muka svanasana at ropes, long long holds
Janusirsasana, 3x, why are you doing it now, how are you doing it now
Adho muka svanasana at ropes, long long holds
Ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana, trianga ekaipada paschimottanasana
Adho muka svanasana at ropes, long long holds
Uttanasana
Now we will see how we can practice the Standing poses with the tranquility of the forward bends… We speak of energy management, and yet we are stress management experts; but we must become de-stress managers. We must learn to tolerate tranquility. We get to a quiet place and are ready to go on to the next thing. Just as a fly is drawn to sugar, it is sweet, the fly develops a liking, a preference to something sweet, so we can be drawn to the contemplative, tranquil state. We must learn to stay there and develop a preference for it.
