Lisa Walford

Dec. 16, 2017, Pune, India

I watched the last part of Prashantji’s class this morning, took Abhijata’s lady’s class, and then sat at Geetaji’s feet for a spontaneous talk about the how community must practice and learn from one another. The Iyengar family is truly gifted! I have now studied with three generations!

Transitions, Prashant said, it is all about transitions. When you change from the right to the left side, do you watch what happens in the transition? After the exhale and before the inhale, there is a U-turn, are you as aware of that transition as the in and out breath? The eighth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita points to the transition at the end of life, can we be aware in the transitions?

It made me think that all life really is a transition from moment to moment. And mastery comes in being aware of the changes, the transitions. When I hear a beautiful symphony, I am spellbound from moment to moment, because the transitions are so seamless, so breathtakingly captivating that I am completely absorbed. Is that not what “Samadhi” is, complete absorption? Prashant did not say this exactly. Yet as I watched the last moments of his class the stillness was palpable and the students were as if spellbound. They were doing Bhardvajasana, a simple seated twist. As they switched sides, Prashant would cue them to watch if the mind went faster than the body, and the breath, how did it change? The class looked like slow suspended parts, almost like cells in one organism, moving gently from side to side. That was the quality of presence. Transitions.

Abhijata is the young lioness taking charge of her cubs (us) now that her grandfather is no longer here to teach her and her aunt (Geetaji) rarely teaches. Abhi began her apprenticeship over fifteen years ago, when she was sixteen. She was never far from her grandfather’s eyes, and practiced daily with him. I remember Guruji looking into his granddaughter’s big dark eyes and asking impossibly difficult questions about an asana or about life. She would look back at him, innocent, knowing that he was about to spin his wonderful web of teachings. I am privileged to see this next generation begin to fill the role of “revered master”. Abhi has a master’s degree and two children of her own. She began traveling with Geetaji and Guruji as they presented at conferences in the US, China, Russia and Europe. She could see how different cultures interacted with her teachers. In some cases there was a language issue. She is now a perfect ambassador between the legacy that she has inherited and the 21^st century!

Abhi is young, dynamic, demanding, and delightful. She told a story of how, one day, Guruji had strapped her ankles and knees with iron rods (this is done for therapeutic reasons) and asked her to sit in Virasana. She tried and cried out, and tried again and winced. Her grandfather commanded her to sit, and she sat, such was the shakti of Guruji. Once she was in Virasana, he asked her what she had felt. She said, pain. He explained that we tend to run away from anything that we are afraid of, and that we glorify pain. As she focused more on the way that the knee could shift, and the rotation of the thigh and ankle, while the pain was still there, her mind was absorbed in the actions, interactions and reactions. This is Yoga.

This story she related to us as we rested between Urdvha Dhanurasanas. She had us hold a wood brick between the knees as we lifted up into the backbend. It must be wood, she said, otherwise you will not pay attention! Of course no one wanted to drop the brick! We had to then walk the hands in close to the feet and find the interactions between the lift of the outer knees, the back thighs, and the buttocks. The vibrancy went from the knees and fear of dropping the block into the sensations of both sides of the back muscles being lifted up toward the front of the body. It was intense, but deeply satisfying.

Abhijata will join the Iyengar Yoga Association of the United States in 2019 for the next national convention. I will let you know, come!

Dec. 15, 2017, Govinda’s Gardens, next to the Ragwada Hotel, near Baner road, Pune, India. 4:00 onwards, dinner at 7:30.

A sweet reunion; the intimate family, five sisters and one brother, with the extended spiritual family of students and teachers from over 60 countries, all honoring the man, the father, the Teacher, him who we call Guruji.

When I showed up for my first intensive in 1986, Guruji had recently retired from active teaching. However, while Geeta taught, Guruji interjected constantly. She would repeat exactly what he said, and add to it. I did not realize at the time that Guruji had supposedly retired, for he could not stop teaching!

Prashant explained that Guruji never really taught them yoga. He and Geeta learned through watching him practice, teach, and through their own observations. We did not have teacher’s training courses like you all have, he chided us. We had to learn our own way.

Great grandchildren raced across the stage, oblivious to the crowd glued to the stories being so vividly shared. As one sister spoke, the others brightened up at the memory. It was the best commemorative celebration I could have imagined. Abhijata, Guruji’s granddaughter and the next generation in the Iyengar yoga legacy, had arranged the festivities. Every detail was special.

Geeta said that at first she felt really lost without him, and she went through a very dark phase. “We never really understood him,” she began, as she often does. Her respect and devotion for her father far exceeded anything rational. I sometimes think that this is her way to de-emphasize the value of her own teaching and experience. Everyone saw him as a flexible man, stern, she said, but he was transforming the entire human being. While the sutras speak of Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha, there are many other niroddhas. We must stifle the Ahamkara niroddha, as she rattled off five other niroddhas that we must subdue. Even in story telling, Geeta was teaching.

Sujeeta told a wild tale of yoga magic. Kids can do stupid things, and she did! She put a watermelon seed up her nose and did not tell anyone when she had trouble getting it out. Her nose began to swell, and she had trouble breathing. As doctors were making plans to operate. On the spur of the moment, Guruji showed her Kapalabhati. She blew so hard that the seed flushed out.

She had a wild mind, could not focus, and found that school was boring. Guruji had a big stamp collection from all the correspondence that he was beginning to receive. He asked her to remove the stamps from the letters and glue them into an album. In the process, she learned about countries, capitals and landmarks from all over the world!

Prashant went on and on about how he was a slow, dull, torpid kind of fellow. Anyone who knows him would be chuckling now, for Prashant is one of the most fascinating men I have ever met. Yet he slunk away from school to visit the maid’s house. When Guruji found out, Prashant received the spanking of spankings, he remembered.  Guruji encouraged him to study mechanics, then a visual art, and finally music. It seemed that the boy was being given the tools, with his hands, with his eyes, and with his heart, to make the choices he would need to make in life.

This coming year will be the centennial celebration of the gifts and guidance that Guruji has left the world. Communities everywhere are planning different ways to come together. For me, this public reunion fondly opened up the circle of family to include all of us who have been so deeply shaped by Guruji’s life and teachings

Totality: that is what everyone called it. The magnificent eclipse of August 21, 2017. The hype was exhilarating.

I happen to live part time on the Oregon Coast, the place where the eclipse would initiate this continent and then continue its trajectory across the US. Signs marked the anticipated crowds: $100 parking, no vacancy, eclipse sweatshirts, free glasses. The media compared it to the Millennium zeitgeist, a portentous event. Alternately, several yoga based oracles said that the eclipse was inauspicious and that one should fast and stay indoors. I knew that the experience would be partly based on what I put into it. Was this to be an accounting? A reboot?

The morning of Totality was well rehearsed. Countdown to Fifteen minutes after Ten. Everything depended on the weather, and the forecast called for fog. You see, the Oregon Coast is unpredictable! At 6am, we climbed into our cars and drove an hour to the Hilltop cemetery in Independence. We joined a small crowd for a clear and bright morning, with a view of surrounding fields of grain. The general mood was super friendly and everyone shared information, technology and food. With three hours to contemplate, I did a few Surya Namaskars and sat to meditate.

I can’t explain and won’t even try to give a poetic version of the Totality, except to say that my husband and I plan on traveling to see the next one in the US in 2024. Somehow I did drop to my knees and, along with many around me; the only thing that escaped my lips was “Oh my God.”

Did I have a transformative moment? A gestalt, Samadhi? Not exactly. But the experience was deeply moving. The eclipse became a metaphor for Samadhi, for a perfect union of opposites. Reflecting on different paradigms, the Yin and Yang, Ha and Tha, the singularity of the sun (Purusha) and the intimate changes of the moon (Prakriti), the lower self and the higher Self, I found meaning within all of these. The image in my mind has become a yantra to invoke, to sit with and learn through. And experience? How has this touched my psyche and my practice? I do feel anointed in some way, as if I have had a “glimpse” of the possibility of union on a “cosmic” scale.

Every day I find myself on my yoga mat. During these vacation weeks I often begin with Savasana. Some days I pursue an asana, or I explore releasing or stimulating a part of my body. Some days I do what Geetaji calls a “donkey practice”, I go through the paces. But now, on some special days, after any asana where I feel either my heart rate increase (backbends) or a flush of endorphins (forward bends), I stop and feel. How is my breath, where does my breath touch, and the heartbeat, how are my sensations changing with each breath, and between breaths. I tune in to the “not-doing” to feel the transfiguring power of each asana and sometimes, the integration and harmony within. Perhaps this is a union of sun and moon, the doing and “not-doing”. Another step in a long journey.

It’s always gratifying to be part of building a community. Tri-Yoga has been my home in London for the last three years, and I look forward to seeing everyone again. This year’s workshops touch on themes that impact us all in very direct ways.

These are turbulent times. In such conditions we call upon our integrity, resolve, actions and insight to guide us through the storms and uncertainty. The story in the Bhagavad Gita, that of depressed and dejected Arjuna’s quest for wisdom and insight, offers a poignant metaphor for us today. “Here (in the yoga doctrine of practice), no effort is lost, nor is any loss of progress found (backsliding). Even a little of this discipline protects one from great danger.” 2.40

These workshops apply the language of asana and Iyengar Yoga to explore the practices described in the Gita; that of service, wisdom, devotion, and meditation. We practice first to serve the health of our bodies; we cultivate wisdom so that we may live gratifying lives; and we embrace a devotional attitude in practice so that any effort becomes an offering. Service is tapas, discipline; the daily work to maintain health. Wisdom is Svadhyaya, studying what heals the heart and brings clarity and courage into life. Devotion is Isvaraprandhanani, recognizing the underlying harmony in all things around us. These are the tools that Arjuna and yogis everywhere find helpful throughout life.

I look forward to sharing these inspirations with you all. Please join us June 2nd – 4th at Tri Yoga Soho, London. For more info, or to sign-up, please visit here.

This is a unique time in our personal and collective history, for catharsis is always a window into the soul. I have lived through several seemingly seismic chapters in my life, as I am sure you all have. Our personal narratives help us realize we are not alone. I invite you to read an exceptional publication, Yogapoetica, which includes my article The Name that Can Be Named.

Every article is special, as we, the real people behind the face of yoga, share our insights, struggles and dreams. Please like this journal on Facebook (if that’s your cup of tea) and dip your hunger into the stories. It is truly awesome!  #asanaforthemind

Introduction to Iyengar Yoga for Teachers

I have been teaching this module for the Santa Barbara Yoga Center for twenty years. This year  we are changing the structure to include two workshops open to the general public. If you are an Iyengar student or a teacher in another method, come learn the guiding principles that have made Iyengar Yoga respected worldwide. The course will include a manual.

Iyengar Yoga is based on an integrated body/mind/breath exploration of the Self that employs the body as a vehicle towards the skillful mastery of the mind. Beginning with the structural conditioning of the body to ease pains or injuries while building mobility and strength, the practice deliberately trains and focuses scattered, stormy, or sinking minds. Physical vitality encourages emotional stability that leads to a deeply satisfying life. Each class is like a canvas, bare in the beginning. Each posture is a brush stroke that opens the hips and shoulders, stretches the legs and elongates the spine. Good alignment can deepen your breathing capacity.

Following the public workshops those of you in the teacher training will review the sequence, actions and applied principles from the workshops. Together we will look at each asana and review how it applies to your body and practice.

Teaching pranayama and introducing the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are my favorite part of the weekend. I hope you will join me!

Public workshop: Sat. 11/12: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Upside down and Inside out:Inversions come in many flavors: standing, chest expansiveness, restorative and full on. Inversions benefit every system in the body, and hence are considered the most important postures for a daily practice. Join us for a progressive practice that builds from standing inversions to the experience of being upside down that is right for you. If you are new to Iyengar yoga there are effective ways to modify the classic inversions. For the experienced student, you will refine the postures.

Public workshop: Sun. 11/13: 9am – 11am
Twists, backbends, the Niyamas and Ashtanga Yoga: New to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? Asanas and Pranayama are but two of the eight limbs path (Ashtanga) in the Yoga Sutras. In this workshops Lisa will make Sutra study practical and accessible through supported and dynamic practice of back extensions.

The teacher training schedule:

Fri. 11/11: 4pm – 8pm
Sat. 11/12: 10:30 – 7pm (break 12:30pm – 1:30pm)
Sun. 11/13: 9am –  5pm (break 11am-1pm)

For more information, please visit here. I hope you can join us!

Going off the well-worn track

What happens when I jump off the bus, or the train, or the plane? It depends on how fast I am going to somewhere other than where I am, now, in this moment. This summer I stepped out of the moving city and landed on the Oregon Coast with our new puppy Sita, and my husband. Open hours, open practice, wide open horizon and a phenomenal night sky. How to start my practice when I’m not going to teach? It was more complex

than I thought it would be, this “taking a
vacation”.

Touch. I was touched by the silence of opening to not knowing, and the noise of Urdhva Dhanurasana or Eka Pada Sirsasana begging for attention. I began each practice with Savasana, the touch of mind probing, sensing, softening, listening. Touch is interesting as we use it to imply so many things. Guruji notes that the skin is the largest sensory organ in the body. We can feel a firm handshake or shoes that fit too tight. We prefer soft and natural fabrics, the tactile efficiency of the right pen, or the slender stem of a wine glass. Touch is the only sense for which there is no cultural art form, such as music, art, gastronomy and perfumery.

Savasana. Invite the touch of mind probing, sensing, softening, listening. In yoga, sound is equated with the element of space, while the mind with the element of fire. I might probe to feel the difference between the two sides of my calves on the floor; but really I have to allow the sensation to come to me. I listen with my body; I soften the zealous mind and allow for nothing at first. Then, slowly, I feel the mind shifting into a state of awareness that spreads and “touches” different parts of the body from within. I find this listening to be different than a body scan or Yoga Nidra; perhaps more akin to some forms of Vipassana meditation.

I did continue with Urdhva Dhanurasana or whatever caught my fancy that day, but at some point I would “rest” in the pose. Invite the sensing, softening, and listening into the shape. Perhaps the pose was not perfect or photographic, but that is not the point. If I practice like this more often, I will not need a “vacation”, for every practice will be touching this spacious place of resting deeply, Savasana in action.

Thank you Oregon and summer of 2016. Now to return to the spinning wheel; what web will I weave this year?

The first time I heard the term “industry of yoga” was in 2004. It was a portent of what was to come. I had to upscale my involvement with marketing, media, and management. Fortunately, now there are resources to help.  Join me along with Lynann Politte (manager & promoter of yoga teachers) and eight other highly experienced yoga experts in a one of a kind online experience designed specifically for yoga teachers who are serious about creating and growing profitable businesses that allow them to increase their reach and teachings in a simple and authentic way. Click here for more info.

• March 1st – Enrollment opens.
• March 31st — FINAL day for registration.
• April 1st — BtE course begins.

This “elephant” is what we often hesitate to talk about. A big part of management and marketing has to do with communication. I have served on several Boards for non-profit organizations as well as worked with management for multi-studio corporations and found effective communication is a fundamental skill. Once words leave your mouth, you cannot retrieve them, unlike an asana which you can refine and practice the next day. I found that the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali held valuable keys to organizing the internal voices so that I could express myself with clarity and compassion.

Taking the time to continually nurture your business the way you do your teachings and practice is fundamental to finding ease, flow, expansion and success in your own life and what you offer to the world.

Balancing the Elephant offers the insight and knowledge direct from over 221 years of combined experience teaching yoga and running yoga businesses in the modern world. Over the course of 90 days you will receive wisdom, tips, tools, mentoring, exercises, personalized feedback and more. My colleague Lynann Politte will personally guide, support and inspire you on your unique path as a yogipreneure from exactly where you are.