P-06. Week 1: Learn

In any field there are basic definitions and knowledge that can be acquired objectively. Our subjects provide this objective knowledge through articles and excerpts from books and publications so that students can understand the scope of a subject.

In pranayama the first essentials are to learn how to sit correctly with the head down, so that the body remains straight and steady, and how the maximum amount of air can be taken into the lungs to oxygenate the blood. Keep the height of the spinal column the same throughout the practice. Be continuously alert and adjust the body to a correct alignment throughout the practice, whether it be inhalation, exhalation or retention of the breath. Just as an interior decorator arranges a room to make it spacious, so does the sadhaka create maximum space in his torso to enable his lungs to expand fully in pranayama. His capacity to do so increases with practice’

Iyengar BKS. Light on Pranayama, p 66

The quote above is taken from Light on pranayama. Read the extract below from the book. Although long at 22 pages it is an excellent introduction to the scope and detail of this subject. Return to this extract throughout the subject to absorb its content fully, as recommended by BKS Iyengar:

I request you to rub yourself with my words and with other people’s words, and until they are digested, do not form opinions. Then you will enjoy the bliss which is unalloyed, untainted and free from stains.

Iyengar, BKS. Tree of Yoga, The fruit, p 72

Based on life-long practice, BKS Iyengar values the theoretical knowledge as a necessary step to prepare oneself for the experience through practice:

Experience is real; words are not real. They are somebody else’s words, but it is your own experience. So put everything to the test of experience.

Iyengar, BKS. Tree of Yoga, The fruit, p 72