Beginnings of yoga in the West and evolution towards the restorative
Beginnings of yoga in the West and evolution towards the restorative
B.K.S. Iyengar is the founder of restorative yoga using accessories. He has taught and practiced yoga for more than 75 years and is the author of 19 yoga books including the yoga bible, Light on Yoga and YOGA, The Path to Holistic Health, which includes wonderful asana sequences, asanas traditional as restorative, designed for a variety of physical, mental and emotional conditions.
Thanks to his inventiveness and experience working with many students, he developed a system of accessory use to make yoga accessible to everyone, regardless of age or physical condition. The use of accessories also allows students to delve into the asanas and feel supported during practice.
I think Iyengar would say that all yoga is “restorative,” but this particular approach of using objects to support relaxation and deepen the process has taken this name as part of Iyengar’s own heritage and tradition.
I have also seen other “styles” call certain sequences or positions “restorative”, but my use of this term refers to a particular approach and techniques that I first experienced with the yoga developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, as well as my own personal approach to this very special practice.
Yoga has a history that is vast and ancient, with a tradition that extends beyond 5,000 years of age.
In this section of the website I would like to provide a small overview of yoga and, at the same time, specify the place where “Restorative Yoga” fits into this world.
Many consider Patanjali, (who is said to have been a writer, physician, philosopher and saint) as the founding father of yoga. His Yoga Sutras, which were originally composed in Sanskrit around 200 B.C. (although there are discrepancies about the exact date) they are one of the most respected texts in the world of yoga.
The Yoga Sutras are a series of 196 sutras or aphorisms about yoga and have been translated and interpreted by many authors.
The first four aphorisms of Patanjali define the nature of yoga as a state of mental tranquility and spiritual freedom, as well as the means to achieve this state.
Yoga has a history that is vast and ancient, with a tradition that extends beyond 5,000 years of age.
In this section of the website I would like to provide a small overview of yoga and, at the same time, specify the place where “Restorative Yoga” fits into this world.
Many consider Patanjali, (who is said to have been a writer, physician, philosopher and saint) as the founding father of yoga. His Yoga Sutras, which were originally composed in Sanskrit around 200 B.C. (although there are discrepancies about the exact date) they are one of the most respected texts in the world of yoga.
The Yoga Sutras are a series of 196 sutras or aphorisms about yoga and have been translated and interpreted by many authors.
The first four aphorisms of Patanjali define the nature of yoga as a state of mental tranquility and spiritual freedom, as well as the means to achieve this state.
For its part, B.K.S. Iyengar in his book Light on Yoga defines yoga as follows: “The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root“ yuj ”which means to yoke, bind or tie, direct and focus attention on something, use and apply.
It also means communion. It is the true union of our will with the will of God ”.
Yoga is not a religion, it is a sphere of knowledge and for some a practice that accompanies us throughout our lives.
These definitions refer directly to its multifaceted nature as well as the inherent richness of the study and practice of yoga.
As in any art, understanding and mastering it requires a lot of study, a lot of practice and a lifetime of understanding.
Yoga is not simply the perfecting of postures or asanas, it is much more: It is a practice of life.
Everything that is revealed to us on the yoga mat serves as a metaphor for our lives. The stranger this world gets, the more it looks outward, the more popular yoga becomes as a way to offset this unbalanced reality that we have created here on planet Earth.
Yoga came to the West in stages. Some of the main yoga lineages or traditions reached the United States and Canada beginning in the late 19th century:
1893 Yoga and its teachings, with their long history, arrive in the United States for the first time in Chicago with the visit of Swami Vivekenanda, from India.
1920 Paramahansa Yogananda establishes the Self Realization Fellowship in the United States. His teachings are still carried out under the name Ananda Yoga and the Self Realization Fellowship.
1959 Swami Vishnudevananda, founder of Sivananda Yoga, opens a center in Montreal.
1960 Amrit Desai comes to the United States, after years of teaching yoga; In 1972 he founded Kripalu Yoga Ashram.
1960-70 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation gains popularity in the West.
1966 Swami Satchidananda, founder of Integral Yoga, arrives in New York City.
1967 B.K.S. Iyengar publishes Light on Yoga. 1969 Yogi Bhajan brings Kundalini Yoga to the United States.
1969 Swami Rama comes to the United States and founded the Himalayan Institute.
1970 Bikram Choundry, founder of Bikram Yoga, opens the first Yoga College of India in Hawaii.
1970-80 Lilias Folan presents the series Yoga and You PBS (Public Broadcasting Service, the state television channel of the USA)
1971 Swami Muktananda brings Siddha Yoga to the United States.
1973 B.K.S. Iyengar is established in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 1975 Pattabhi Jois visits the United States and introduces Ashtanga Yoga and Yoga Journal also appears in San Francisco.
1976 T.K.V. Desikachar visits the United States.
* Adapted from Cynthia Worby, The Everything Yoga Book, pp. 27 and 28
Since then, from the 1980s and 1990s to the present, Americans, Australians, and Europeans have shaped more than 50 styles of yoga; some examples of these styles are: Yoga Jivamukti, by David Life and Sharon Gannon; Yoga Zone, by Alan Finger; Anu-sara Yoga, by John Friend; Viniyoga, by Gary Kraftsow; Yoga Tri, by Kali Ray; Forrest Yoga, by Ana Forrest and many more.
Many of these teachers studied one or more of the main yoga schools mentioned above with one of the teachers or gurus who came to America or Europe from India; some also traveled to India to study with their gurus.
Nowadays there are new branches and interpretations, variations and combinations that are maintained and that are still being created.
There are many ways to approach this ancient tradition. Just as there are many roads to get to the top of a mountain and many roads that will take you to the same place, there are several important roads in the Hindu yogic tradition.
Yoga practice is not just a physical practice. It is much more: working, understanding and calming your own mind is an integral part of the knowledge and practice of yoga.
I will focus on Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, because, although each of these paths has a different focus, they all have the same final link: communion with the higher and spiritual self within you, communion with love, the union with all that is.
This is why I feel that all three are directly related to the practice and teaching of restorative yoga.
RAJA YOGA
Raja Yoga is often referred to as “the royal path.”
Within each of us lives witness consciousness, mindfulness, a higher and spiritual being, a queen or a wise king who can think clearly, make clear decisions and is not carried away by the ideas or ramblings of other people who They may be reflecting a lack of clarity within your own mind.
Raja Yoga is also known as Ashtanga Yoga, referring to the eight (ashta) limbs or pillars (anga) on which the system rests.
THE EIGHT PILLARS OF RAJA YOGA
1. Yamas – The Yamas or restrictions (what should not be done) are divided into five parts. They can be practiced in thought, word and action:
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- Ahimsa – non-violence
- Satya – truthfulness, speaking and living in truth
- Brahmacharya – moderation in all things (control of all the senses).
- Asteya – do not steal, do not take something from another that is not yours
- Aparigraha – not wanting what another has
2. Niyamas – The Niyamas or observances (what must be done) are also divided into five parts:
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- Saucha or purity – refers to internal thoughts and the physical body, internal and external cleanliness
- Santosha – complacency with what is and what is not
- Tapas – austerity, living simply, forgetting the desire to possess more
- Swadhyaya – study of sacred texts, spirituality and wisdom
- Ishwara Pranidhana – living with the awareness of the divine presence and that you are part of it
3. Asana – yoga poses
4. Pranayama – regulation or control of the breath
5. Pratyahara – absence of the senses
6. Dharana – concentration
7. Dhyana – meditation
8. Samadhi – state of superconsciousness. Perfect union with oneself
The practice or teaching of these eight pillars does not necessarily follow any order for their perfection, but they can be integrated, and they can be practiced both together and separately.
Of the eight pillars of Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga, restorative yoga connects to a part of the third pillar, asana, but it also includes the other pillars of Ashtanga practice.
The first and second pillars, yamas and niyamas, are more concerned with attitude and attention to work with the body and mind; the fourth pillar is pranayama, yogic breathing; the fifth, pratyahara, absence of the senses; the sixth dharana, concentration; the seventh, dhyana, meditation; and the eighth appears in moments of connection and pure happiness. All of these pillars can be experienced through the practice of restorative yoga.
KARMA YOGA
Karma Yoga is the yoga of action or selfless service. I practiced this form of yoga with great intensity for six years, while living at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA, in the USA, when it was an ashram, that is, a center that was so dedicated to teaching as well as learning. Karma Yoga continues to be an integral part of my practice.
As a restorative yoga teacher, Karma Yoga brings you the attitude that teaching is a way to help others. As a teacher, you are serving your students and the entire planet by teaching and helping your students connect with themselves in a deeper way. You are helping your students understand what it means to relax and facilitate recovery to health through practice.
BHAKTI YOGA
Bhakti Yoga is the path of divine devotion or love. I also practiced this type of yoga while living at the Kripalu Center and have continued to do so ever since.
The spiritual name that was given to me while living in Kripalu, Puja, refers to a yogic ceremony in which five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether – are offered to a deity or the higher spiritual essence of any living being . A deity is a representation of one or more divine aspects that we all carry within. So when we perform a puja ceremony, for example, we are honoring that aspect of our being and we are cultivating those characteristics in our own being. Other forms of Bhakti Yoga are prayer and chanting along with other ceremonies and rituals.
