December 2022 Newsletterd

Hello friends,

I am so thankful to have a place to practice, and a small but developing community of practitioners. So many things have happened in the Ashtanga world as well as the world of humanity that have changed the way that we utilize resources to empower our practice; we must be wise about what resources we utilize, as well as the expense of time and energy that is given in exchange for these resources. I am going to share some personal experiences and insights in hopes to provide guidance for all of our community practitioners. Get a cup of coffee, this is going to be a long one. 

As teachers develop their own understanding, they naturally attract people who’s viewpoint is similar. This creates unique opportunities for communities to form based on locale as well as persuasion and identities; all of which are valid and acceptable along the path of yoga, and are an exciting way to innovate the practice in a contemporary setting. Because of the potential for conflict and alienation by developing a community based on persuasion, it is my goal that our place of practice in Bellingham remain committed to practitioners of basically any persuasion whatsoever, so long as there is reverence for what is taught to us in the yoga sutras. I would prefer that we see traditions as necessary and helpful, but not as a replacement for individual discipline. I’d like to reference captain Barbossa of Pirates of the Caribbean, that “the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules”.

I want to acknowledge that there are a lot of different perspectives about what Ashtanga is, should be, and what is the goal of practice. So many perspectives that it could be said that there are as many unique approaches to the practice as there are human beings. What we share of the practice within a community, or under any specific teacher or group of teachers, then, is what works in general, for a group of people. A friend of mine who spent many years in prison told me that in prison “birds of a feather flock together”, to describe the social patterns in that circumstance. This is to say that people naturally surround themselves with people who have similar perspectives. The same is with yoga… but yoga also comes with particular challenges, because these persuasions can influence our deep understanding of universal truths. If we are not careful we can be swept up into ideas rather than the path of actual yoga. This is especially in post-pandemic life, where so many divisive identities are taken as more real than the unity of human experience.

Spiritual practices, and yoga in general, can develop cult dynamics pretty easily if the focus of practice becomes group identity or socially focused, exclusive, or based on social order rather than individual progress. It is unquestionable that human beings develop cult dynamics as a result of external stressors. There is nothing healthy about cult dynamics in a yoga community, and they always seem to have tragic ends. Further, cult dynamics involve the movement of power to a concentrated place; whoever understands the teaching more has more power, and whoever is newer to it has less power. There are other aspects of this, but I think we all know the basics of cult dynamics. 

Krishnamacharya was the teacher of Pattabhi Jois, who brought the Ashtanga system of the Yoga Korunta, the sequences often referred to as “Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga” back from obscurity. It was not Pattabhi Jois who invented our style of yoga; it could be more accurately said that Krishnamacharya unearthed the practice, taught it to Pattabhi Jois, who then popularized it with westerners. Pattabhi Jois learned Ashtanga from Krishnamacharya at the infamous shala on the palace grounds in Mysore, the location of present day Mysore Krishnamachar Yoga Foundation, where the original forms and intention of the yoga taught to Pattabhi Jois are still being taught. Krishnamacharya set a wonderful example by being non-dogmatic about asana, while staying sternly committed to the progress of each individual in yoga. He did not pressure people to stick with it, but for those students who were committed, he gave everything he had to them, without any concern for who they were, what their beliefs were, or if they had a lot in common with each other. It is Krishnamacharya who brought yoga to the modern world, more so than any other person in history.

Those of us who have practiced for a long time have watched things change; ideas become popular and fade, while we internally migrate towards a greater understanding of the practice that evolves independently of these trends. I want to provide insight into the existence of these trends, and encourage all who practice to remain steadfast and undissuaded by the appearance that we need to adapt to these trends. I would almost encourage you to practice Ashtanga in a way that is contrary to following the trends, while also recognizing that many innovations of Ashtanga have occurred that may be of benefit to you. Seeing something that is of benefit to your practice, and utilizing it as a resource, is not wrong. You do not need to assign yourself to all ideas of any one particular teacher, locale, or generation of practitioners; you may select what works for you, and discard what does not work for you. Perhaps, then, I am encouraging you to have your own cult; a cult of one… just you. You are your own cult leader! Hahaaa. This teaching is nonsense! :) 

I want to tell you more about these changes in the practice, but this essay is getting very lengthy already. Let me move on to what I advise you to do. I am not going to be able to explain this without touching on my own experience, so please understand that the experience I had is very unique, and may not be applicable. I also recognize my responsibility as a leader, and want to distill some events I have witnessed into meaningful guidance for others on the path. Here is my experience. 

I have severe injuries and chronic pain from practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. It is no one’s fault but my own, and if I think deeply about it I can see that the pleasure and bliss I have experienced is perfectly on par with the level of pain I have experienced (ref: Yoga Sutra 2:15). I did not always see this as it is difficult to maintain objectivity when struggling with chronic pain. Over the years, however, I have adapted my perspective from one of avoiding pain, to embracing the reality of what is happening. When I acknowledge that my body is forever altered, and until death, at least, I will not have a body that is perfect, I see my practice evolving to a different altruistic end. It has been this shift in my own perspective that has allowed me to enjoy a practice that is very physically painful. In this way I also see my life similarly; many painful events are exacerbated by my desire to end the pain… of course, it is my mission as a yoga teacher to decrease levels of pain in students. Perhaps the way to reduce pain is not as simple as I once though, and perhaps there are others who suffer in ways unique to themselves, just as my type of suffering is unique to me. What is common in all of us is that we do suffer. I know of no one who does not, and in the case of those who have craftily avoided suffering for some length of time, I warn that lurking around the bend is more suffering.

I am reminded of the words of Leo Tolstoy at the outset of his novel Anna Karenina; “all happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. I see that all practitioners who are happy about their practice are seeking communion and sharing of experiences, while those who struggle seem to become distant, reclusive, alienated, and lacking common ground with others. I think it is human nature, but as a yoga teacher I have a hard time promoting my yoga studio as a place where people can unite to share their joy of life, when it has been my experience that the people who need yoga the most seek it to relieve suffering.

Sometimes I see arguments about pain as it relates to ahimsa. Ashtanga is often demonized because there are so many injuries. What is even more comical is when Ashtanga practitioners and teachers deny this reality… Yes, everyone gets injuries, but the practice of Ashtanga, with all other variables held constant, creates more injuries. I would like to acknowledge those who have been injured through the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, while avoiding pointing a finger of blame at the practice, develop a context for why, and for what purpose these injuries may be occurring.

There are yoga sutras dedicated to this topic, and with those sutras many different explanation of their meaning. I am suggesting that our perception of pain is limited to a type of comfort that has been exalted by our culture, and that it may very well be futile to avoid the type of physical pain that we often seek to avoid through yoga. I am also suggesting that there are types of pain that are much more real than physical pain, that we may have more control over. Perhaps all of this pain comes from the same place, but it does not seem to manifest the same in each person. What I have witnessed is that in Ashtanga Yoga, people new to the practice are very engrossed in the physical aspect of practice, and they are therefore very concerned with their physical bodies, and are quite sensitive to physical pain and discomfort. As practitioners continue to practice each day, wether it be intense or easy, they seem to become more concerned with the meaning of pain, and they see it as a gateway or a barrier of entry, before peering off into the deeper parts of where pain comes from. It is also my supposition that physical pain is not the worst kind of pain, and it also seems to me that people tend to get “stuck” in a place of physical pain when a deeper more pervasive or existential pain looms over them. I am not saying so much that pain is a choice, in the common way of understanding “choice” to be something done with a conscious mind. I am saying that this is a part of the path of yoga that seems to involve a lot of people that I have taught, and it seems to happen to them irrespective to what asana they practice, how hard they practice, and so on. Further, it appears that becoming focused on this physical type of pain tend to ride the highs of endorphins and the pure joy of increased energy levels (prana)… this seems to have an addictive quality, and creates an experience more like a roller coaster, where one is experiencing highs and lows, days of glory and days of solemn darkness, one after another, repeatedly, until they move on to some other way of being. So I am suggesting that it is natural, and maybe even necessary, but I do not think it is the experience that we should hope for ultimately in our practice.

A practice influenced strongly by the feelings of endorphins, emotions, and moments or sustained pranic highs is a common way for people to become hooked on the practice, but the body has in place multiple feedback loops to ensure that baselines continue to adapt; there is no way to make these feelings last forever. It is like a relationship with a romantic partner; this feeling of high is what we seem to be naturally and innately hooked on, but it cannot be the only thing that retains a long term sustainable partnership. I am reminded of Govinda Kai explaining the relationship with yoga being like a romantic relationship, and those listening being either dumbfounded or appalled, but it truly is a great metaphor. I advise you to see that there are highs and lows, but underneath that is the more real purpose of practice.

I hold that those who are more enveloped in this energetic, visceral, and pleasure seeking aspect of practice are likely to experience yoga as more of a roller coaster ride than a grounding experience, even with the prevalence of apanic postures in the primary series (the built in remedy for this effect). If, therefore, someone is to take up the practice, it is my advice to them to be sure to find a way to practice with persistence, regardless of what the asana looks like. Even as you ride the rollercoaster, understand it in context of something beyond the rollercoaster, such as the ground that the rollercoaster is built upon, and remember that it is only a ride that you chose to spend your tickets on… once you are off the ride, you will return to the earth, and can then do what you want with your remaining tickets.

The one remedy for all of this back and forth seems to be persistence. It is the one common denominator to all of my students who have felt fulfilled from their practice. I say this, recognizing the great ambiguity and subjectiveness of asking a student if they are fulfilled, but I ask you to just trust me that this has been my experience. I’d like to clarify further that I have not seen students enjoying their practice who practice advanced asana, or a practice for a longer duration each day. I see people often being frustrated as they reach into their proverbial toolbox of yogic resources given to them by their Ashtanga teacher, and trying to solve everything with more asana, when clearly it is asana itself that may be the problem. We should be open to this, and if we need more proof of this approach, simply listen to the stories of Krishnamacharya’s students, who repeatedly witnessed him take postures away and prescribe other holistic or “way of life” treatments for students who were stuck. In fact, my own teacher, David Garrigues, advised me ferociously to decrease my tenacity with my asana practice. David, who is so well known as a master of asana, and who himself professes that asana itself can be a point of focus in life that can lead to attainment of kaivalya, is well aware of the impacts of asana, and sees it as a tool like any other that has potential side effects and dangers that should be understood by the practitioner. It is often because we lack the ability to discern what asana is best for us that the practice of Ashtanga has become so mechanical, rigid, and “rubber stamp” like. What good is it, then, to seek the advise of a teacher if they do not recognize the limitations of this type of approach, other than to serve the ideal of Ashtanga at the expense of the students quality of experience?

I am advising you to be very undogmatic with your selection of asana, but also recognize your needs for instruction and guidance in this regard, and not let the ship guide itself, per se. Some teachers say that the breath is all that matters, and that you can breathe anytime, but this is not really enough for most people living in modern society; we often need set parameters and boundaries, a container, if you will, so that we can transport our consciousness into a space of yoga that is necessarily distinct from the types of thoughts we encounter in our worldly affairs. I am both a proponent of setting these boundaries, as well as allowing yourself freedom within your daily sadhana to meet your needs in creative ways. The challenge becomes one of discipline, of course, and that is where the structure of the yoga shala can help. 

Ashtanga Yoga Bellingham can provide a space of practice for you, and at times it can provide guidance from different teachers. In the meantime I strongly advise you to take practice as often as possible, without limiting yourself to practicing only when you are feeling good, or when you can practice for a certain amount of time. I am encouraging you to take control of your practice. I would like to offer my assistance with helping you develop your personal practice, regardless wether that practice resembles the Ashtanga style of Pattabhi Jois. Anyone who uses the shala can make an appointment with me here: https://calendly.com/lukebaugh/30min. A short phone call, or zoom meeting once per month should suffice, but we can also meet in person, or hold private asana sessions. What is important is that you know that I am here, and I understand that my responsibilities are not to maintaining the traditions of Ashtanga as was taught by any specific person. Rather, my responsibilities are to you, the members of this community. I want you to know that I am here to serve your practice. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Ashtanga Yoga Bellingham remains at a $50/month tuition rate for all people, for unlimited classes. People with monthly unlimited have 24/7 access to the shala; they have their own means of entering the space, so long as there is not a class in session. People with monthly unlimited also have access to all classes being taught; right now that is the beginners class on Wednesdays, and led primary on Saturdays. I will continue to work to provide more classes as we have more teachers who would like to contribute. 

I have heard that people want to give adjustments in Mysore class. I am warning against that because I see a lot of folks struggling with maintaining a daily practice. I won’t stop people from practicing together and adjusting each other, but it’s my advice that you focus 100% on yourself while you are in there. 

Govinda will surely return to do workshops, and David Garrigues has a wonderful online Mysore program that Aly and others in our community have been enjoying. I will let you know when other opportunities from senior Ashtanga teachers are available. Until then please do not hesitate to reach out to me for assistance with your practice. 

OM. 

Luke