Srivatsa Ramaswami: The Ancient Teachings of Yoga

Srivatsa Ramaswami: The Ancient Teachings of Yoga

By Cara Jepsen

”What is the ultimate goal of yoga?” Srivatsa Ramaswami asked on the first night of his recent sold-out workshop at the N.U. Yoga Center. “Is it merely to maintain physical health or make the body beautiful?”


As we shook our heads no, he said he that in addition to vinyasa and asana the weekend workshop would focus on “the aspects of yoga not commonly discussed” and fell under the heading of svadyaya, or what he described as self-development. Then he launched into a discussion about the importance of chanting, or mantra. “It involves the two senses we use most often--the eyes and the ears,” he said. With one of his longtime students he demonstrated how mantras were traditionally memorized--the teacher said the mantra once, and the student repeated it back twice. Sometimes it took as many as 100 times for it to click, he said.

It was a rare chance to hear directly--and in impeccable English--from someone who had studied closely with Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest yogis of the last century (and who in turn learned at the feet of Rama Mohan Bramachari). Srivatsa began studying with Krishnamacharya when he was a teenager, meeting with him daily from 1955 until 1988--a year before his teacher’s death. (That is several years more than Pattabhi Jois and over 30 years longer than B.K.S. Iyengar studied with the master.... Not that it’s a competition. But it does make one wonder why Srivatsa, who was Krishnamacharya’s longest-standing student, wasn’t part of the recent Krishnamacharya Yoga Festival in San Francisco).

After he learned asana, Krishnamacharya taught him the Vedic chants, the Yoga Sutras and many of the Upanishads. Srivatsa taught for 20 years at the Kalaksetra Institute in Chennai, India, and is the author of Yoga for the Three Stages of Life. He’s recorded the Vedic chants his teacher taught him and is working on a book of over 700 vinyasas (sequences), also picked up from Krishnamacharya. This was his third trip to Chicago, and after his stint at N.U. he led a three-day sutra study workshop in Evanston.

Srivatsa used my favorite teaching technique; first he explained or demonstrated something to us, and then he had us try it. The theme of the workshop seemed to be that doing asana alone has a limited effect, and that meditation, pranayama and mantra are just as important.

He explained that in order to chant it’s important to be seated properly (something the body learns by doing asana). He gave us a handout containing the Sanskrit alphabet and some mantras, which we were soon chanting--though not very well (you should have heard us try to say “SHAN-ti” properly). But first he explained how to pronounce “ohm.” (It begins with “ah.” The “oooo”--not oh--sound comes straight from the throat, and the “mmm” is held very briefly at the end.)

Asana alone is not sufficient, he reiterated. No yoga practice can be complete without pranayama, which should be done before meditation. The three, along with mantra, work in concert.

At one point he was asked at what age children could begin yoga practice. “They can learn asana and stretches when they are five to seven,” he said. “From the time they can say, ‘I am hungry.’”

Then he had us tune out the world by placing our fingers over our ears, eyes and nose. In position we were to notice how many times the mind wandered as we breathed in and out through our mouths. I found myself comparing the experience to the taxing pranayama exercise at the beginning of the Bikram series and noticed how dry the air seemed when it came in through the mouth. I found closing off the senses to be claustrophobic and challenging. But when it was over I left the workshop feeling very good indeed.

We began Day Two with a mantra and then worked on vinyasa, which he translated as a sequence of asanas, or, literally, “to place things properly.” Vinyasa also integrates body, breath and mind. He explained there are about a dozen major vinyasa sequences and several hundred poses (of which about 150 are commonly practiced). “Vinyasa allows us to move into a posture more easily and to stay longer,” he said. He reminded us that the sutras say one should be stable and comfortable in asana.

He told us to use a five-second inhale and a five-second exhale to move in and out of poses “so that every movement is at least 10 seconds long.” Once that becomes comfortable, it should be lengthened to 12 seconds. “In Hindu philosophy, life is determined by the number of breaths you take. If you slow the breath down, you live longer,” Srivatsa informed us.

We did a sequence of standing vinyasas for the upper body that involved our arms and shoulders and became more complex with each movement. A couple of the movements were similar to those in ashtanga’s sun salutations, but the effect was heightened because each one took five seconds. Srivatsa also had some longtime students from out of town demonstrate a delightful “bird sequence” of postures that involved hopping gracefully forward and backward into utkatasana (chair pose). We were invited to try it as well (this slow learner took a pass).

Another sequence began with a seated forward bend and included navasana (boat pose) and urdhva mukha pascimottanasana (a balancing version of the forward bend). He told us to focus on stretching our bodies during the exhale and then added some variations on upavista konasana (wide leg forward bend). It was interesting to note the similarities and differences between his and Pattabhi Jois’ teachings and think about the different things they had learned from Krishnamacharya--who taught each student based on their particular ability and temperament.

We followed the asana session with kapalabhati (an exercise for the purification of the nasal passages and lungs) and some breath retention exercises in which the exhale slowly became longer and longer. “Only one person exhaled ten breaths. Do you know who that was?” he asked afterwards.

“It was me,” he answered, with an impish grin on his face.

After a break he re-reiterated his theme: “Asanas are good to look at but the benefits of the other aspects of yoga are more important.” It’s not beneficial “if at the end of class people sweat and run away.” It’s better to wind down with mantra and pranayama after asana. “Be aware of what you’re doing and be in control throughout class,” he advised.

A sequence designed to prepare the body for shoulderstand had us on our backs doing backbends and forward bends (in the form of leg and arm raises). More pranayama and a final mantra followed it. “Do you panic when you exhale for ten breaths?” he asked us. “I used to.” He suggested starting with a five-second exhale and lengthening it slowly, one second a time. “Or exhale with sound. Then you’re not focused on the breath.” We tried it, making a buzzing, beelike sound. “Also try not to inhale immediately,” he advised. Then he left us with a final thought.

“Asana practice should ultimately lead to the ability to be seated for a long time, so you can do pranayama and meditation, and so the body is not a source of distraction. Meditation cannot be done without proper preparation.”

A month later I was still trying to incorporate the five-second inhale and exhale into my own practice and teaching (this seems to have resonated with at least one student). The practice seems to make my usually short fuse quite a bit longer. I’m also thinking a lot about pranayama and mantra. Not doing it as much as I should. But definitely thinking about it.

Srivatsa Ramaswami will return to N.U. Yoga Center later this year. Check www.yogamind.com or call 773.327.3650 for details.

Cara Jepsen is a writer and teaches yoga at the N.U. Yoga Center and YogaNow. She also teaches privately and in the workplace. She’ll be in India this winter and reachable via carajepsen@yahoo.com. Read about her trip at www.mysore.blogspot.com.
http://www.yogachicago.com/jan04/ramaswami.shtml