Conversations with Mirra and Aadil

A student once asked me about the contortionists from Cirque du Soleil doing a pose called Scorpion. The question was whether anyone’s back should be capable of doing this pose, or do the contortionists have some different joint in their spine that allows them to do this?

Contortionism is different from yoga–in contortionism, the aim is the posture, while in yoga, the aim is the effect that the posture has on our mind and nervous system to effect a deeper connection with our spirit. I encourage you to be completely unconcerned with attainment of postures, for that concern is not about yoga, it is about the ego.

Having said that, yes, practically all healthy backs should be able to do deep backbends such as the Scorpion. Cirque du Soleil performers often come to my classes, so I know their bodies well. Their spines are strong and healthy (with no different joints), except for the occasional contortionist who may have pushed too hard and had hairline fractures in the spine. In fact, my own teacher, the great B.K.S. Iyengar was extremely stiff in the spine when he started the practice of yoga.

Having worked with tens of thousands of students, I can safely say that, with practice, even the stiffest spines can change and become more supple. Please do note that it requires hard work under the trained eye of an expert teacher, but it can be done. Also remember that there is no need to do the advanced poses unless the body leads you to them. The reason to try advanced poses is that, as the body gets more supple with the practice, it needs deeper and deeper work to get results. You and your teacher will begin to sense the cues about when to go deeper as your practice progresses.

The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.”

To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart charka, close the eyes, and bow the head. It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart. This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word “Namaste” is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture, in India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.

We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.  For a teacher and student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.

Ideally, Namaste should be done both at the beginning and at the end of class. Usually, it is done at the end of class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her students and her own teachers and in return invites the students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow-the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.

I was born in Bombay to a family of lawyers. I started my yoga training with BKS Iyengar at age 7and by age 22 I was the youngest student to earn an Advanced Teacher Training Certificate. As a child I was taught the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother of Pondicherry, both of whom are my spiritual teachers, along with my wife Mirra, who teaches Purna Yoga Meditation.  I became a lawyer, certified naturopath, Ayurvedic practitioner, and a body worker. Mirra and I co-direct our studio, Yoga Centers, in Bellevue, WA, and I run a food company called Eastern Essence Organic Whole Foods.

I am often asked what it was like studying with Mr. Iyengar as a child. It was very intense. Iyengar is a very strict teacher-though not as strict now as he was then! Since I wasn’t exactly born supple, I had to work really hard to get the movement he wanted. But he was more than just a teacher to me, he was also a friend. He would come over to our house, and we’d have breakfast and lunch and all that. Often he would stay at our house when he came to teach in Bombay many weekends. So we got to know the other side of him, which is one of the major reasons my family stayed with yoga. Had we only known him as the powerful teacher, we may not have continued, because his other side is very beautiful-gentle, sweet, childlike, full of fun, and loves adventure.

Obviously my asana teaching is based on the Iyengar method. I have a very firm belief that yoga is very vast. I cannot say this is my yoga and that is your yoga, because I believe that yoga is so big that we all have to share what we know. I believe that the blending of knowledge is very important without losing the essence of what you are teaching. I can’t teach Ashtanga: I can’t teach Viniyoga. But I can learn from them and see what is appropriate in my system. So that’s what I do; I teach mostly physical yoga in the Iyengar method and the internal yoga is based on my wife Mirra’s meditation teaching and Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s teachings.

A consistent question I get is how I find time for my own practice with such a busy schedule. There is just no option. Every morning I get up, do my basic rituals, and then go and practice. Practice is the first thing I do. If I miss the practice in the morning, I never practice! So it just goes without saying: I always do my practice first thing in the morning.

People often ask me how my background in so many vocations affects my teaching. It really helps to have experience in different fields. Then, when you are teaching, you can tap into the different experiences and use language that resonates with different people. For example, one of my greatest loves is poetry-and I’m talking about classical, gorgeous, romantic poetry from Browning, Milton, Keats, Byron. And when I quote these, it makes a huge difference in class. Similarly, if I use a legal term or an anatomical term, it resonates with certain people, and it makes the class richer.

The best advice I can offer beginning yoga students is to find a teacher who truly knows the subject, which can be a tough thing because if you are a new student, you don’t know if your teacher knows the subject. This is the main pitfall and the main joy of being a beginning student in yoga. It’s a time to explore and find somebody who truly knows their job. And then stick with that teacher for a good five to ten years. And then, of course, yoga becomes one’s life-long journey to internal revelation.