Tag: David Frawley

David Frawley’s advice for yoga teachers: “go to India”

by L. Valdez Karl
Sunset, Thanjavur Temple, 2008 (©Metta Yoga)

“A good Yoga teacher should follow Yoga as a sadhana or spiritual practice, not simply as an outer vocation.   The aspiration for Self-realization and God-realization should be the foundation of wanting to be a true Yoga teacher.

Consider bringing in Ayurveda, pranayama, and mantra into what you present as Yoga.  Learn the main yogic types of meditation.  Learn at least some Sanskrit so that you can know what the original terminology of Yoga means.   Try to study the deeper Yogic texts and do not just limit yourself to the Yoga Sutras, which is only one of many great Yoga classics. My favorite is the Yoga Vasishta.

Try to study the life and teachings of the great modern yogis like Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Yogananda, or Ramana Maharshi.

Visit India and its ashrams and holy places to find out more about the spiritual background of Yoga.  Do not be afraid of the devotional or Bhakti side of Yoga but try to understand its relevance.

But above all root your teachings in nature and in your own experience, as Yoga is something that is rooted ultimately in all of life.  Learn the cosmic Yoga if you can, letting the Earth, mountains, wind, stars and waters be your teachers.” [emphasis supplied.]

This post raised some hackles when it was suggested that yoga teachers would benefit by studying in India.  It was even suggested that going to India to study yoga smacked of elitism.  So when I read this post by David Frawley I had to smile.

David Frawley is the Director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies.  Frawley’s article is interesting because his compares yoga in the East and West, something I have also blogged about.  Yes, yoga IS different in India (at least where I study), despite the mainstream commercialization of it here.  I think Frawley’s article is very insightful and he hits the nail on the head when he says things like “some modern asana groups want to avoid the spiritual side of Yoga, or at least the Indian side of that spirituality.  Some spiritual Yoga groups, meanwhile, have no asana component or teaching…” and…

“A true Yoga teacher in the classical sense would be one who could teach all eight limbs of Yoga with integrity, experience, devotion and insight.  They would be able to develop programs at an individual basis and not simply be limited to group or public classes.  That requires much more study and practice than most Yoga teacher’s training programs today.”

You can read the comments in the “Babies Teaching Babies” post from those of us who have gone to India to study.  A comment was made that those who’ve been to India suggested that “those of us who haven’t gone to India aren’t teachers.”  I disagree:  “the experience of being in India changed my whole way of looking at Yoga;  and “yes it is possible to teach without going. but I UNDERSTOOD a a hell of a lot better when I began immersing myself in the culture, I became a much better teacher after I started going.”  I said that my practice and teaching totally changed after learning what I learned in India.  Frankly, I learned things at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram that I never heard anyone talk about in any previous trainings (except the teacher who inspired me to go to India in the first place.)

I am actually a bit dismayed yet amused at the elitist charge (considering that back in the day I was on food stamps and marched in protest with the Farmworkers’ Union) and the defensiveness that speaks once again (as is so common lately in the yoga blogosphere) to the “us v. them” mentality.  Perception is reality which is different for everyone.  The non-dualism of advaita wisdom does not map to North American uber-dualism.

No one suggested that those who do not study in India are not yoga teachers.  David Frawley does not suggest that either.  But what he does is differentiate between someone who teaches asana and someone who teaches more than asana when he is asked what he believes makes a good yoga teacher.  His advice for students who want to become teachers is:  “To be a real Yoga teacher is a great achievement of the human spirit and requires great dedication and commitment of a life-time.”

Of course not every yoga teacher can go to India to study or even wants to go.  India is not for everyone — I wrote about that  here.  There’s a lot fear involved when some people think of going to India.  During my first trip an American yoga student had a mental meltdown 10 days into the month long intensive and had to be sent home.

But I can tell you that you will learn more about the spirituality of the Gita, or Sutras, or whatever your favorite spiritual yoga book is by feeling it wash over you in a temple as the priests chant rather than reading about it in a book.  I guarantee it.

And just because someone goes to India to study, that does not automatically make them a better teacher — just like someone going to the best law school or medical school does not automatically make them a good lawyer or doctor.  There are many other things involved in making a good teacher, it’s individual, it’s not just one thing.  To teach ANYTHING well, one needs the aptitude to teach.  “Good” teaching springs from knowledge and years of practice and experience, including life experience.  Wisdom comes from life experience, not out of books.  It’s been said that there’s a ton of knowledge out there now, but not a lot of wisdom.  Same in the modern yoga world.  Even after 10 years of teaching, I still consider myself a baby teacher.  OK, maybe a toddler by now.

But those who DO decide to study in India will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams.  I can only speak about the school that I attend, I have no idea what happens in Pune (Iyengar yoga) or Mysore (Astanga yoga), but there is a reason that people keep returning to the heart of yoga to study.  It IS different, and paraphrasing what Louis Armstrong said about jazz, “If you have to ask what India is, you’ll never know.”

In order to study in India, yes, it IS hard to find subs for your classes.  It IS hard to be away from families for however long the study takes.  And  yes, there is no guarantee that your yoga job will be waiting for you when you return, given that in certain areas of the country (especially mine), yoga teachers are a dime a dozen and as soon as you leave, 12 more are waiting to take your gig, some who will teach for nothing.  But as the saying goes, if it was easy, everyone would do it.

The bottom line is that if you want to do it, you’ll do it, without hesitation.  You’ll save your money for a year or two years or whatever it takes, find your subs or even give up your classes, maybe even a family, and go.  That’s how important it is to some people to travel to the heart of yoga.  When I made my decision to go the first time I knew in my bones that nothing and no one would stop me.  Is that elitism?  Or commitment of a life-time?  My students are glad when I go because they know they can not drink from an empty cup and what I bring back is not only for me, but for them.

The fact of the matter is that yoga teacher trainings in the United States are much more expensive than it is to go to India for a month to study with the senior teachers of Iyengar, Jois, or Desikachar.

“To be a real Yoga teacher is a great achievement of the human spirit and requires great dedication and commitment of a life-time.” 

What are you willing to give up to become a “real yoga teacher” whether it’s here OR in India?  I asked that question back in 2008.

So go to India to study.  Or not.  I don’t care, just like I don’t care what “your” yoga is.  I know what mine is.

Just keep it real.

what is tantra?

by L. Valdez Karl

“Tantra” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in yoga circles. It’s a word that many American yogis have become familiar with via Sting who claims that he can get it on for hours because of tantric sex (see the comments that follow in YogaDork’s post.)

I don’t think there is anyone who has done as great a disservice to tantric yoga as Sting because of his comments. The whole sex thang is about 1% of what tantric yoga is about. Once Sting and tantra were on Oprah you knew it was going to be all downhill after that. IMO, if this culture’s attitude about sex wasn’t so f*cked up in the first place (pun intended), there wouldn’t be all the giggle-snorts with the mere mention of the word “tantra.” (“Oh yeah, you mean THE SEX!!” slobber, slobber…)

Then there is John Friend who is sometimes referred to as “Tantra Lite.” In the NY Times article about him that is burning up the yoga blogosphere it states:

“Friend’s “dharma talks” — short sermons — are based largely on simplified tantric principles (not, he stresses, the ones relating to tantric sex): students learn that they are divine beings, that goodness always lies within, that by opening to God’s will — opening to grace, Friend calls it — ‘you actually become vastly more powerful than the limited person that you usually identify with.'”

What I don’t understand is when people talk about Anusara yoga’s concepts such as “opening to grace”, etc.. I have heard more than a few yoga teachers say that they never heard those concepts before in their trainings and I really have to question that.

Isn’t all yoga about “opening to grace”? Isn’t all yoga about moving beyond our limitations? Isn’t all yoga about opening the heart, surrendering, giving it up to something greater outside ourselves? At least for me it is and always has been. John Friend isn’t the first teacher to talk about such things, he did not invent these concepts, he merely repackaged them for mass consumption.

When I hear a yoga teacher say that they’ve never heard such things before it makes me even more thankful for my non-Anusara inspired teachers and how they taught and what they taught me. I’ve been blessed to have the teachers I’ve had.

Mark Whitwell says, “asana is hatha yoga, the non dual tantra of direct intimacy with Reality that is nothing but nurturing.”

All yoga is nurturing. No one specific brand, no trademarks, just do YOUR YOGA.

So what is tantra? In his book Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses, David Frawley writes that “Tantra can best be defined as an energetic approach to the spiritual path, using various techniques including mantra, ritual, pranayama, and meditation. It contains a devotional approach emphasizing the worship of the Goddess and her Lord, Shiva. It contains a way of knowledge, directing us to Self-realization and the realization of the Absolute. As such it is a complex yet integral system for the development of consciousness which has something for all those who are seeking the truth.”

In my training “tantra” was never separate from hatha yoga. The word is a combination of “tanoti” and “trayati”. Tanoti means “to expand, to stretch, to extend” and trayati means “to liberate or free”. Therefore tantra (tan+tra) means to expand one’s experience and awareness of everything, to extend the frontiers of apprehension beyond the material, thereby attaining spiritual knowledge and liberation.

Isn’t that YOGA, no matter what brand name it is?

I learned that “tantra” means “to weave.” Through weaving in certain breath and meditation techniques, we train up our system to become more sensitive to the subtle forces of prana or the vital life force. Through learning to control the prana in yoga you learn to control the mind.

Isn’t that YOGA, no matter who trademarked it?

Taking a deep breath….SO……

What inspired this post was a Facebook discussion that followed the above photo. It is a photo I took at the Kumbh Mela of a baba whose arm has atrophied from his austerity, his extreme tapas. My caption to the photo was “no Tantra Lite at the Mela!” because the sadhus I met at the Mela were the real deal, the down and dirty tantric yogis.

Taking part in the Facebook discussion are Carol, blisschick, and Baba Rampuri, who’s about as real of a yogi deal as you can get.

Talk amongst yourselves and leave a comment if you are inspired…..

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“blisschick: and the point of that would be…[i.e., the frozen arm]

Carol: Would actually really like it if someone could explain to me: What is this form of Tantra about, and what if any relationship does it have to anything that we call Tantra in this country?

L-S: these sadhus are devotees of Shiva and the upraised arm is a form of mortification or austerity, it’s tapas. it’s a way of showing extreme detachment from the body, transcending the body. other sadhus might stand day and night,… even while sleeping, or they sit in one place and stay sitting there, till they die.

Baba Rampuri: Wonderful photo! It is Naga Baba Amar Bharti Ji in this photo, he is a Naga Sannyasi, and a very close friend for many years. He is an “Urdhvabahu” meaning “raised arm”, but this is a description not a sect. One of the main things distinguishing traditional yoga from American yoga is austerities, “tapas.” It is a powerful means of obtaining knowledge and power. In one way, it’s an extreme form of focusing will power, almost like saying, “Nothing is going to stop me in my quest! Not pain, not discomfort, not the attraction of the world, not even death! I don’t need food, water, nor even air!” When I make disciples, and some of you know that we have 5 gurus, I always choose Amar Bharti Ji to join me as one of the five.

L-S: Carol, what is tantra in this country? In America, hasn’t the phrase been mutilated, people taking a sensationalist approach encompassing only thinking about “sacred sexuality,” with little reference to its true practice as a path to enlightenment? for me, hatha yoga IS tantra yoga because there is philosophy, meditation, and mantra and other practices. don’t forget there is also Buddhist tantra in the Mahayana tradition.

of course American yogis aren’t going to perform austerities like the Urdhabahu baba (who blessed me with his other hand!), or cover their bodies with ash and sit in cremation grounds to try to transcend their worldly attachment to life.

Baba Rampuri: Carol, these days Tantra means anything you want it to. In the West, it’s normally a marketing tag for something to do with new age sexuality, or at best, new age psychology. In India, at it’s worst, it is thought of as black magic. Yoga, as practiced in the West, has nothing whatsoever to do with Tantra as it is practiced in its high and low forms in India. At it’s best, Tantra is the teaching that Shiva gives to Parvati regarding knowledge and immortality. The practice of this involves the connection of Sacred Speech with Knowledge and the corresponding withdrawal from the illusory perception of the world.

Carol: thank you so much, Linda-Sama & Baba Rampuri! I feel so fortunate to wake up & find so many answers to my question. If you are interested, here is a link to a Yoga Journal article that I think captures how I commonly hear Tantra described in the American yoga community: http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2240.

blisschick: It seems very much to me like a denial of the GIFT of this life. If transcending the body were meant to be a spiritual goal, why are we given bodies at all to begin with? (I know these statements will simply be perceived as me not getting it but I find this bothersome. I choose YES and this seems like a giant NO.)

Baba Rampuri: Christine, you are right, if it is his purpose to transcend his body, which it is not. He is pushing the envelope. He is using an extreme practice to get quick results. He is using his body in a way to acquire knowledge.

L-S: thanks for the clarification….I used the wrong word in “transcending”…yes, we have these bodies to use as vehicles for enlightenment (as the Buddha also taught about the “fathom-long body”), but these austerities (to me) show a non-attachment to the body, i.e., “non-attachment” being different from “transcending.”

Carol, I scanned the YJ article and will read it more deeply later…but as for tantra in the US…I have heard people say that they never heard of the tantric concepts or even the word tantra before they studied with John Friend.

I find that a bit hard to believe. I don’t know about anyone else, but I became familiar with tantric concepts from India from my teachers early in my yoga training. so I agree with Baba when he says that it seems that “tantra” can mean almost anything in American yoga. I also think many of the concepts have to be distilled in a different way for westerners. I mean, I’ve been to studios where the mere picture of Durga or Shiva on the wall makes people uncomfortable…how are they going to handle tantric ideas if a teacher talks about them?

blisschick, to me, tantric yoga is about “sacred body-fearless mind”. Buddha taught that the path to enlightenment is in this body, watching body/breath, watching the feelings/felt senses, watching those mind objects that are our thoughts, and embodying the dharma, the ultimate truth of reality which is impermanence. those are the four foundations of mindfulness, and that is how we can use our body, use the physical asana practice to realize deep truths.”