Compassion, patience, humour, integrity, an open mind and
respect for others are all qualities of a good teacher, according to David
Swenson. He should know: David is one of the world’s best known and most
respected ashtanga yoga teachers, and author of Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice
Manual.
David first became interested in yoga in 1969, at the age
of thirteen. "My older brother, Doug, introduced me to yoga and was my first
teacher," he says. "We mostly practiced from books since there really weren't
many teachers around at that time."
Since then, David has steadfastly continued his yoga
practice. His yoga of choice is ashtanga, which he first discovered in 1973. "I
moved from Texas to Southern California when I was 16 years old. My friend
brought me to an ashtanga yoga class and the teachers were David Williams and
Nancy Gilgoff," he says. David had no idea what to expect at first, but
from the moment he entered the room, he immediately felt at home. He admits that
the practice was very hard at first, and he only managed to do the sun
salutations, "but", he says, "I felt an energy within that I had not experienced
before and I couldn't wait to come back the next day."
It was during this time that David first met K Pattabhi
Jois, the founder and Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore,
India.They were introduced in 1975,when David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff played
hosts to Jois during his first trip to America. "I have studied many times with
him since then," says David. "The main thing I have gained from him is that the
most important thing is to practice. That is his main credo - ‘ninety-nine
percent practice and one percent theory’."
Some thirty years later, David’s practice continues to
evolve. He prefers to practice six days a week for ninety minutes, but
occasionally misses a practice when travelling or teaching. Meditation plays a
large part for him too and he believes that the practice of the asanas may be
done as a meditation. "The real measure of a meditative practice is the focus
and intent of the practitioner and not merely the act of practising," he says.
The most inspiring aspect of David’s personality is that although he has
achieved international fame and respect, he is the first to admit that he has
much more to learn. "I have never mastered an asana", he says. "It is truly
impossible to do. The attempt is to control the mind while practising;
that is the greatest difficulty. The physical ability to place one's body
into a yoga posture is truly not so important. It is watching the mind during
the practice. The real yoga is what is happening deep inside beyond any
external view."
David tries to approach each posture equally, but admits
that there are some that bring greater fear or challenge than others. He finds
the postures that challenge his mind’s balance particularly testing. "I believe
that we all store emotions and feelings within our muscles and within the energy
channels of the body. Some asanas tend to confront or release these emotions",
he says. "Those are the ones that are generally the least favourite."
However, David finds it hard to identify the asanas that
release the most emotions. "The asanas that create this release or
challenge tend to change over time so it is not so easy to pinpoint any
particular ones", he says. "Sometimes the asanas that we hate become the ones
that we love and other times the reverse is true."
Although David never thought of yoga as a career, he now
travels the world, teaching and inspiring others. He loves his work; his
classes are joyful and fun and this is reflected in the popular reputation he
has experienced over the years. It is also echoed in the 1999 book, Ashtanga
Yoga: The Practice Manual, which has been reprinted eight times since its first
publication.
More than anything, David believes that yoga should be
fun. "Yes it is difficult and challenging", he admits, "but we may also find
pleasure and fun within it. If you keep it light and pleasurable you are more
likely to stand on your mat the next day."
Visit David’s website at www.ashtanga.net. David is holding a workshop from the 3rd to the 5th December and teacher training from the 6th to the 12th December in Edinburgh. To book a place or to buy any of David’s products log onto www.theyogashop.co.uk or call 08709 066 4202
Paul Grilley’s love of yoga began in 1979, when he read
Paramahansa Yogananda’s highly acclaimed book, The Autobiography of a Yogi. “I
think the back of my head melted I was so excited by it”, he says. “After that I
wanted to follow up on ‘anything Yoga’ and started practicing asanas while
taking meditation lessons from the Self Realization Fellowship that Yogananda
had founded. My first influence was Paramahansa Yogananda. He opened my eyes to
the spiritual potential of human beings.”
Since then Paul has steadfastly continued his yoga
journey, and he now practices asanas for an hour on most days, and compliments
this with meditation both in the morning and evening. His style of choice is
‘Taoist Yoga’, which describes all postures as either Yin or Yang. He has also
written a book on the subject, entitled, Yin Yoga: outline of a quiet practice,
which describes the technique and also offers advice on chakras, meditation and
breathing.
“Yang focuses on muscles and blood,” explains Paul. “Yin
focuses on fascia and ligaments. A Taoist practice would not try to emphasize
both Yin and Yang tissues at the same time. Its like breathing, we can't inhale
and exhale at the same time but must alternate between them to live. For example
some forms of hatha yoga combine tensing and contracting muscles while they are
stretching their joints such as their spine. A Taoist approach would be to go
deeper into stretching when cultivating Yin and do the strengthening Yang
efforts separately. This might mean the same pose is done twice with two
different kinds of muscular effort and positioning. When practicing it's
impossible to completely separate Yin and Yang but we can emphasize one or the
other.”
Paul prefers most of his practice to be done in a Yin,
rather than Yang way. “Yin focuses on long, slow floor postures that target the
hips, thighs, and lower spine”, he says. “I hold the poses for six to twelve
minutes at a time and sometimes longer. When I practice Yang style I focus on
inversions and strength poses rather than standing poses or Sun Salutes. I
practice Jiu Jitsu with a friend and it is quite vigorous. I also hike the
mountains where I live so the time I spend on my practice mat I prefer to do
Yin.”
Like almost every other yoga student, Paul has found
various postures impossible to achieve and this led to him becoming dissatisfied
with hatha yoga for many years. “But I never drifted away from it completely”,
he explains, “and about four or five years ago I had a series of minor
epiphanies that resulted in my understanding how the bones, the skeleton,
determine what postures any of us can or cannot do. It was quite a revelation
and is the basic message of my DVD, Anatomy for yoga.”
‘Anatomy for yoga’ has been a huge hit for Paul, and is
seen by many as being the best way for teachers to learn anatomy. But what is it
about the subject that Paul finds so intriguing? “When I first read about yoga
and started practicing, it was 1979 and I was living in a very small town in
Montana. It did not seem within the realm of possibility that one could earn a
living teaching yoga. I was twenty-one years old and thought that if I trained
myself in Chiropractic I could work with people in a physical way akin to yoga
and teach yoga on the side. I enrolled in anatomy courses at a local college and
was inspired by a wonderful teacher named Garry Parker - he changed my life in
many ways. I went on to study anatomy and Kinesiology at UCLA. I never took a
degree but the education I received has been invaluable.”
So for someone who takes a great deal of interest in how
the human body works, does he ever give into the temptation of junk food? “My
biggest vice is I love to eat”, says Paul. “I was born with great digestion and
so I have tended to ignore dietary advice and precautions. I would be the last
person to give anyone advice on diet. As to how it affects my practice when I
overeat or eat badly, I would have to say that I fall short of the idealized
Yogi in so many ways that my dietary failings are the least of my concerns.
Pride, envy, discontent - these are the things that ruin my day.”
These are harsh words from someone who has inspired many
people around the globe, but Paul softens a little when asked what he would like
to be remembered for. “I would like to be remembered as happy and kind”, he
says. “Failing that I would like to be remembered for elucidating the difference
between tension and compression when working with yoga asanas.“
Paul travels the globe to inform and educate other
students. A quick look on his website shows that he is booked solid for the next
year, with courses in Hong Kong, Canada, and throughout the United States. There
are also several workshops penciled in for the United Kingdom too, although
exact dates and times are yet to be announced.
Paul’s wife, Suzee is a dedicated dance teacher, and she
is not the only teacher to have motivated Paul during his journey. “David
Williams taught me ashtanga yoga which changed my whole approach”, he says.
“Paulie Zink has influenced me the longest because I love the Yin aspect of yoga
that he teaches, and Sarah and Ty Powers are inspirational just by how they live
their lives.“
Being surrounded by such encouraging forces, Paul is very
specific about the most important quality a teacher can have: “Honesty. Don't
pretend to be what you are not. Don't pretend to know what you don't. Admit to
yourself what you believe by your experience and what you believe as a matter of
faith. Dr. Motoyama is my spiritual inspiration. Fourteen years ago he told me I
must trust in God more. The power of that advice has grown inside me ever
since.”
You can visit Paul’s website at www.paulgrilley.com
Baron’s career is full and diverse. He studied in both
India and America, and has created his own style of yoga called ‘Baptiste power
vinyasa yoga’. In Baron’s own words, this style is,“based on universal
principles of both mind and body. Spiritual principles as well as physical laws
of the body stand by themselves, meaning that they exist whether we believe in
them or not – our votes mean nothing. In asana we follow or surrender to certain
bio-mechanical laws or principles because this allows for safety, but also for
full effectiveness and alignment to grace. Baptiste power vinyasa yoga is not
original by nature, but rather it is simply aligned to that which already exists
and is a very empowering practice and process to realign oneself to the natural
balance, power and grace that already exists within oneself.”
This may sound complicated to some, but to Baron’s many
students it is both inspiring and effective. Actresses Helen Hunt and Elizabeth
Shue are just two of the A-list celebrities who have worked with Baron, while he
has also been called upon to work with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, and has
shared his knowledge with millions of TV viewers and readers alike. Added to
that, Baron has made it possible for everyone to share his philosophies, with
the creation of his Teacher’s Bootcamp. “It is open to everyone”, he says. “It
is a powerful week-long process of dynamic vinyasa asana practice, with great
emphasis on exploring the many levels of humanity within each of us and within
your classroom. Perhaps you never want to teach but you would like to bring more
“yoga to your yoga”. In this teacher training process we do exactly that.We peel
away the layers of your onion (so to speak) and bring you to a place of profound
knowledge, understanding and insight into the laws of life and of the
bio-mechanics of asana practice.”
To spend an extended amount of time in a yoga community
is a dream-come-true for most yoga students, but for Baron Baptiste, it’s a
reality. Not only was Baron raised in such a community, but his parents,Walt and
Magana, actually established the commune themselves, in the 1950s. “The most
important thing my parents taught me”, says Baron, “is that to thine ownself be
true, and as the night follows the day, you can then in no way be false to
anyone else.”
During Baron’s enlightened childhood, he was initiated
into several yogic traditions. “Kirpal Singh, Muktananda and the teachings of
Yogananda, were all very familiar to me during my childhood”, he says. But now
that he is an adult, how has his practice evolved?
“I do practise daily”, he says. “Sometimes for ninety
minutes to two hours, but very often I break my practices into two sessions.
Forty minutes in the morning and forty minutes in the evening. Energetically I
find this split routine works very well. The a.m. practice prepares my nervous
system for the day. I also meditate for twenty to thirty minutes, which
spiritually aligns me to truth and clarity. The p.m. practice helps
realign my nervous system as well as a re-centering at mid-day or early
evening.”
Meditation and yoga go hand-in-hand for Baron. “As Buddha
said: ‘everything is mind’”, he observes. “I believe meditation is the
root or foundation of all truthful asana practice. Meditation becomes the
epicentre from which all movement flows. ” For those students who want to share
Baron’s knowledge but cannot attend the Bootcamps, there are a number of other
options. Baron has devised an audio CD programme called ‘Teachers’ Insight’ and
although he is the first to admit that “there is no replacement for an immersion
in person with a seasoned and passionate teacher”, the programme does offer an
insight into Baron’s philosophies. “If you cannot journey to an exotic location
for hands on training”, says Baron, “the techniques, insights, lectures and
exercises in the audio program will be very eye opening and spark your own
intuition.”
There are also a number of books on the market, including
the best-selling ‘Journey into Power: Sculpt Your Ideal Body, Free Your True
Spirit and Transform Your Entire Life”, (HarperCollins, 2002), and the newly
published ‘My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids’ (Barefoot Books,
2004). The latter is Baron’s first ever picture book and is designed for
children to learn that yoga isn’t just about the asanas, but is also about
achieving your full potential and discovering who you really are.
Knowing that he has inspired many thousands of people
around the globe, it is refreshing to learn that Baron still thinks he has a
long way to go regards his own practice. “I do not believe we ever “master” an
asana or any given practice”, he admits. “In the same way that we never really
ever stand in the same river twice – we never really experience our own body, a
posture or even our mental mood twice. Certainly I can recognize my proficiency
in a pose, or my incapacity to perform a posture, but I have learned to refine
my technique, cultivate my consistency in practice, show up in full presence and
then let go of the fruits of my efforts and simply be at peace with what is. If
a posture is difficult – I will work at it over time, but I’ve learned not to
make the outcome overly important and make my attitude and spirit toward the
pose or practice most important.”
Baron has many years of teaching experience and has
strong views on the most important qualities a teacher can have. “A teacher must
have spirit, passion, perseverance, enthusiasm for the subject and a teacher
must be interested in each student as well as interest in her presentation. In
the Baptiste Teacher Training Bootcamps we give great emphasis to taking your
seat as a teacher. Taking your seat means sharing from your own authentic
process in the practice and letting your own journey be the platform from which
you share and teach. Sharing from your own experience makes you real and
believable.”
And out of everything he’s achieved in his own career as
a teacher, what stands out most and what would Baron like to be remembered for?
“The humanity, and the excavation of yogic truths”, he says, “and the emotional
and physical breakthroughs that occur for participants - when I lead my week
long Bootcamps, and Teacher Training Programs - is really profound. I have
become very proficient at “holding the space” for transformation. So I think one
thing that I will walk away with from all my experiences as a teacher will be
the gratitude that I have witnessed shining from people’s eyes toward me.”
You can log-onto Baron Baptiste’s website to find out more at www.baronbaptiste.com