Why Krishnamacharya Healing Yoga is Unique
We make the postures fit the people, not the people fit the postures
Each person has a unique skeletal-muscular structure and needs to have the postures modified to fit his or her body. For example, one person may be asked to straighten the arms completely in a pose and another person might be asked to bend the elbows into a goal post position because they have a tight neck. Although T. Krishnamacharya clearly defined the classical position for each posture, he felt that older bodies, western bodies and injured bodies needed modifications and in many cases a much softer approach to yoga than was classically taught. Classical postures were taught to young (16-19 years old) boys who were very fit, flexible, strong, lean and who had excess energy to burn. Because there is no forcing or straining in the KHYF style of yoga, the risk of injury is very low.
We move in and out of postures dynamically before we hold the postures statically
Probably the most unique thing about KHYF style of yoga is that we synchronize movement and breath dynamically. Slow dynamic movement has many advantages. First, it warms up the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments. Second, slow dynamic movement creates greater flexibility as the student moves in and out of the pose several times. Third, in many cases, slow dynamic movement also promotes greater strength building. Imagine bending into a forward bend 4-8 times (flexibility) and lifting your spine to come out of the pose 4-8 times (strength). Then, if the student is very fit and ready, we hold the pose statically to promote intensity with awareness.
The power of attention creates a meditative state of mind
The mind must be completely involved in the KHYF yoga practices. Imagine moving in and out of a pose, counting the breath, sometimes using the voice to create sound and possibly visualizing a healing thought- all at the same time!!!! This is what we call having 1-pointed focus. We take the mind from the many thoughts of life, narrow it down with a practice that starts with the gross (postures) and moves towards the subtle (breath and meditation). By the end of the practice we hope that you can easily find a meditative state of mind. Think of it like this, first is the moving meditation, then the breath meditation and finally the mental meditation. Many practices stop after the gross physical postures. We feel that the postures are only the starting point and it is important to continue on to complete the original purpose of yoga- getting into a meditative state of mind.
Function over form in the practice
We do not adhere to rigid form and ideas about how the posture is supposed to look and thus we may not look as impressive. We have a contrary view to many styles of yoga which feel certain external "form" prevents injury. For example, many styles of yoga say that in Warrior I one must push down the outside of the back foot to make the knee safe. We feel that each individual may need to make a certain adjustment to fit the needs of his or her own body, but that these adjustments cannot be assumed for everyone as a general rule of safety. In fact, many times the western body may need to have soft knees and arms because we have so much tension in the low back and neck. It may not look as pretty, but is serves the function of staying safe and having an effective yoga practice.
The spine is the focus, not the limbs of the body
Another aspect of function over form is that we base all of our movements around what is most effective for opening up the spine. Imagine yourself doing a standing forward bend with completely straight legs and attempting to bring your nose to your knees. Exactly, for most of you this is not possible to imagine, much less achieve physically. The straight legs cause you to get stuck half-way down and you never even get to feel it in the spine. Now imagine yourself doing a standing forward bend with bent knees. Chances are that you can get further down and you actually feel it in your spine. This is the way we would suggest the pose be done. Why? There are many nerves and body functions that originate in the spinal column. When you open the spinal areas you have a much greater impact on the human system as a whole (nervous system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, immune system, digestive system and reproductive system). If you had not allowed the knees to bend and the spine to open, you would miss out on all of these amazing benefits. Now if you are one of those people who can have straight legs in a forward bend and place the nose on the knees, you too will be opening the spine in a forward bend and receiving all of the benefits.
Breath is the foundation of the practice
The focus on the KHYF practice is on the breath because breath is one of the most healing of all of the available tools in yoga. We ask that you begin the breath just before the movement starts and end the breath just after the movement finishes. First, this requires complete attention, which leads to a meditative state of mind. Second, why is the breath such a healing tool? Because the breath interacts with the nervous system, the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system immediately. Third, in the KHYF tradition we say "Inhale nose to belly---exhale belly to nose". This is quite different from chest breathing or belly breathing. We move the breath down the body on the inhalation, for maximum oscillation and massage of the spine, and then back up the body with the exhalation for the same purpose. Just breathing in this way will loosen tension from the top of the spine to the bottom. When we combine this type off breathing with postures that flex and extend the spine dynamically, you get maximum results. Fourth, we would like each inhalation and exhalation to be a minimum of 4 counts (if possible) to create a calming effect in the body. Yoga postured done at a fast pace with a quick breathing pattern actually stimulate the body and mind. In many cases, we are already too stimulated and need to calm ourselves. There are times we need stimulation, but needing to stimulate the mind and body is usually is the exception to the rule. Our western lifestyles are so fast paced that 90% of us need to slow down.
We combine many tools beyond the postures for maximum effect
Yoga postures are only the beginning in the KHYF style of yoga. They are the most gross tool that we have for healing in yoga, and consequently have the least healing effects because they do not require such careful attention. Even a young person with very poor attentional skills can often do postures. It is no surprise that westerners LOVE to do postures because our attention is often very limited as a result of our lifestyle choices. In the KHYF tradition each posture is carefully coordinated with breathing patterns, sound, special hand gestures, mental images and other subtle tools. The more subtle the tool, the more powerful the effect because subtle tools require the power of attention. Additionally, as the student progresses, many tools can be combined for maximum healing potential. Most of us have seen the new medical research on the power of imagery, faith and prayer for hospital patients. Some would say these studies are invalid because the healing is caused by a placebo effect. The bottom line is, the patients become well faster than those not using these subtle tools. So remember, even if you can not do yoga postures, you can still do a very powerful yoga practice. Yoga is all about the mind and learning how to focus the mind for health, healing or beyond.
We adapt the practice to meet the needs of people from all stages of life
KHYF has specific guidelines for the practice depending on the stage of life of the student. For example, when the student is young, the practice is focused on postures with just a few breathing techniques and very little meditation. The postures for young people are often done vinyasa style or with classical perfection of the poses. For the middle-aged person with many family responsibilities, there is a short practice of postures, but much more breathing and a short meditation for stress reduction. Then when students become older the practice begins to focus on breathing and meditation, with only 2 or 3 postures to prepare the body for sitting before the breathing and meditation. As we become older we prepare to become wiser, more intuitive and stable. Breath exercises and meditation are the key to obtaining the afore mentioned attributes. Many older western students want to do the practice of a young person (mainly postures) as a way to get a workout. This is OK because it is true that our lifestyles are too sedentary. However, the student must understand that the postures are only the preparation for the goal of yoga- to get a quiet and focused mind by the end of practice.