Ashtanga Intermediate Series: Salabhasana to Parsva Danurasana - Iain Grysak at home in Bali

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• published: 18 May 2016
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Salabhasana to parsva danurasana - a snippet from my personal practice - taken around 3:30 am, at home in the rice fields near Ubud, Bali in April 2016. Salabhasana is the first of eight backbends which occur in succession near the beginning of the intermediate series. This is the first point in the Ashtanga system where there is a significant emphasis on cultivating the pranic energetic movement in the body. The effect of this is very different from the apanic energetic cultivation of the preceding primary series. Some of these backbends are basic, and newer practitioners sometimes wonder why they must wait until intermediate series to practice them. When these backbends are practiced “correctly” – with deep and full breathing, with the correct vinyasa linking them together, with mula bandha in place and without stopping in between the postures to rest - the effect of this sequence on the body and nervous system is deep and intense. It is very different from practicing one or two of these postures in isolation. A significant amount of preparation is required in order to not be overwhelmed by the effects of daily practice of this sequence. Even with sufficient preparation, most practitioners still find the initial effects of practicing this section of the intermediate series on a daily basis to be quite powerful. A common report from practitioners during the first few weeks or months of beginning this section of the series is a disruption of sleep patterns. I recall experiencing this myself in 2004 when I first began to practice the intermediate series. I would experience involuntary twitches and jerks just before falling asleep, I would wake up frequently in the night with sensations of electric currents running through my body and nerves, and I had vivid dreams. I was also established in Vipassana meditation at this time, so it was not disturbing for me to experience these phenomena. I observed them with objective curiosity, and understood that these experiences were simply a sign of deep stimulation and release of energy in my body, nervous system and subconscious. One Friday morning during this phase of my practice, I remarked to a more experienced practitioner that I was happy to be practicing “only primary” on that day. “Yeah, you’ll sleep well tonight”, he replied with a knowing wink. Practicing asana with the techniques of vinyasa and full deep breathing will stimulate mula bandha and open up the central axis/sushumna nadi of the body. The result is a release of physical and mental energy into general circulation. As a part of this process, subconscious psychological patterns will also be projected onto the surface of the consciousness. This is the same process which occurs in a so called “kundalini awakening”, except in the Ashtanga system, we are releasing this energy drop by drop, instead of all at once. This way, we have a greater likelihood of being able to integrate it into our lives in a healthy and functional way. It is essential to begin this process with the more apanic and grounding forward bending postures of the primary series. Forward bends are soothing, stabilizing and introverting by nature. Once we have begun to experientially understand bandha, breath and vinyasa within the more stabilizing sequences of postures, we are then ready to apply this tool to the more stimulating backbending sequences. The first four of these eight backbending postures are practiced in the prone position. They are quite strenuous, especially when performed with the correct vinyasa and breathing. The postures should be performed one after the other, without stopping to rest in between. This keeps the internal form of bandha active, and allows the release of energy in the body to continue to build. Keeping this unbroken flow becomes increasingly challenging in some of the more strenuous sections of the intermediate and advanced series. If one feels overwhelmed and breaking the flow of vinyasa becomes unavoidable, then taking a few extra deep and full breaths in downward dog or in one of the easier linking vinyasa positions is a good compromise. This maintains the internal form of bandha and breath, and is much better than collapsing on the ground and losing the internal form entirely, as some practitioners tend to do. This video was shot during my personal practice at approximately 3:30 am - the usual time that I practice before teaching Mysore style classes in Ubud, Bali. Because this practice session was being filmed, I turned on more lights than usual and increased the overall brightness of the video using Windows Movie Maker. However, the video is still somewhat dark. I feel the darkness helps to capture some of the meditative mood and introspective energy which characterizes my early morning practices. More information about my Mysore style classes and Ashtanga immersion courses with Iain Grysak in Ubud, Bali can be found at: http://spaciousyoga.com/