Ever have a yoga question you were aching to ask a yoga teacher but never have? Here's your chance.
Simply click the Submit Your Question link to the lift and fill out the form with your question. You can direct it to
the PYS faculty in general or to an individual teacher listed on this page.
Simply click the Submit Your Question link to the lift and fill out the form with your question. You can direct it to
the PYS faculty in general or to an individual teacher listed on this page.
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| POSTED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
PARTICIPATING TEACHERS:
HOW OLD IS HATHA YOGA?
Liza Pengelly: Two newsletters ago you talked about how Hatha Yoga, the way that it's practiced in it's simplified
version in most Yoga classes, is only about 80-100 years old. Thank you for talking about this, since people do
think that they are doing Yoga as was done "thousands" of years ago.
And you mentioned that Yoga can conservatively date back to 2500 BC, but that this number has been cast into
doubt. In "The Deeper Dimension of Yoga" Georg Feuerstein says that "Yoga is the current of spirituality that has
developed on the Indian peninsula over a period of some five thousand years." What are some of the complicated
reasons for this huge difference in years?
Richard Rosen: Thanks for writing. To start I should note your email has a slight error, or more likely I didn’t
express myself clearly in the news letter. I didn’t date Yoga back to 2500 BCE, what I said (or meant to say) was
the book in which the earliest mention of Yoga is made is 2500 years old, which dates it around 500 BCE. So yes
indeed there is a vast difference in the dating of Yoga--some 2500 years--between myself and Dr Feuerstein. Of
course if ever you have to bet on the outcome of any Yoga debate between myself and the world-renowed expert
Dr Feuerstein, you would be most unwise (and somewhat poorer) to take my side. But here, in the case of the age
of Yoga, it's a matter of who you believe the most--or how far out on that Vriksha limb you're willing to climb--
when dating these ancient books. I'm sticking for now with the mainstream Western academics, those who date
the oldest Hindu sacred book, the Rig Veda, at about 1500 BCE, and the later Upanishads, where you'll find that
first concrete reference to Yoga, at about 500 BCE.
Dr Feuerstein however, for reasons too complicated to explain here, has dated the Rig and its attendant
Upanishads considerably earlier, which accounts for the vast gulf between our dates. Who do you believe? Before
you make up your mind, you should research Feuerstein's rationale behind his estimate in a controversial book he
co-authored with two other Yoga experts, Subhash Kak and David Frawley. It's titled In Search of the Cradle of
Civilization, published almost 15 years ago, interestingly enough, by the Theosophists, who were instrumental in
introducing Americans to Sanskrit classics in the late 19th century. Something to remember: even though the I'm
dating the earliest mention of Yoga at 500 BCE, you can bet that the actual practice is far older, since these
Upanishads are the written record of a long preceding oral teaching. We just can't say for sure how long, and
while 5000 years might be stretching things a bit, certainly 3000 to 3500 years isn’t beyond the realm of
possibility. Hope this answers your question.
Liza Pengelly: Two newsletters ago you talked about how Hatha Yoga, the way that it's practiced in it's simplified
version in most Yoga classes, is only about 80-100 years old. Thank you for talking about this, since people do
think that they are doing Yoga as was done "thousands" of years ago.
And you mentioned that Yoga can conservatively date back to 2500 BC, but that this number has been cast into
doubt. In "The Deeper Dimension of Yoga" Georg Feuerstein says that "Yoga is the current of spirituality that has
developed on the Indian peninsula over a period of some five thousand years." What are some of the complicated
reasons for this huge difference in years?
Richard Rosen: Thanks for writing. To start I should note your email has a slight error, or more likely I didn’t
express myself clearly in the news letter. I didn’t date Yoga back to 2500 BCE, what I said (or meant to say) was
the book in which the earliest mention of Yoga is made is 2500 years old, which dates it around 500 BCE. So yes
indeed there is a vast difference in the dating of Yoga--some 2500 years--between myself and Dr Feuerstein. Of
course if ever you have to bet on the outcome of any Yoga debate between myself and the world-renowed expert
Dr Feuerstein, you would be most unwise (and somewhat poorer) to take my side. But here, in the case of the age
of Yoga, it's a matter of who you believe the most--or how far out on that Vriksha limb you're willing to climb--
when dating these ancient books. I'm sticking for now with the mainstream Western academics, those who date
the oldest Hindu sacred book, the Rig Veda, at about 1500 BCE, and the later Upanishads, where you'll find that
first concrete reference to Yoga, at about 500 BCE.
Dr Feuerstein however, for reasons too complicated to explain here, has dated the Rig and its attendant
Upanishads considerably earlier, which accounts for the vast gulf between our dates. Who do you believe? Before
you make up your mind, you should research Feuerstein's rationale behind his estimate in a controversial book he
co-authored with two other Yoga experts, Subhash Kak and David Frawley. It's titled In Search of the Cradle of
Civilization, published almost 15 years ago, interestingly enough, by the Theosophists, who were instrumental in
introducing Americans to Sanskrit classics in the late 19th century. Something to remember: even though the I'm
dating the earliest mention of Yoga at 500 BCE, you can bet that the actual practice is far older, since these
Upanishads are the written record of a long preceding oral teaching. We just can't say for sure how long, and
while 5000 years might be stretching things a bit, certainly 3000 to 3500 years isn’t beyond the realm of
possibility. Hope this answers your question.
YOGA FOR FERTILITY
E. Tambora: Do you offer yoga for fertility patients, particularly those undergoing IVF?
Clare Finn: Not specifically but when working on fertility it is best to think in terms of "plum poses" as in a ripe
plum - supta baddhakonasa, reclining upavistha (with legs up the wall), and supported viprarita karani. Anymore
questions feel free to email me, at claresdharma@hotmail.com.
E. Tambora: Do you offer yoga for fertility patients, particularly those undergoing IVF?
Clare Finn: Not specifically but when working on fertility it is best to think in terms of "plum poses" as in a ripe
plum - supta baddhakonasa, reclining upavistha (with legs up the wall), and supported viprarita karani. Anymore
questions feel free to email me, at claresdharma@hotmail.com.
Rayna Mehta: I started doing pranayama techniques by Yoga Ramdev a few days ago. I did it for 3 days straight
but on Sunday afternoon started to get cramps and pains in my lower belly. On Monday, i was extremely bloated
and in much pain (I didn't do yoga that day). Today I feel the same and am still very much bloated. I am not due
for my period. Is it due to one or a few of the pranayama techniques? Perhaps the one where you have to exhale
forcefully or inhale and hold with your chin down?
Richard Rosen: I see by your message that you’ve practiced "on and off" for a year. This may seem like a fairly
long time to you but relative to many practitioners, you're still brand new at yoga, especially since you say your
practice hasn’t been regular. Without seeing you in person I can't say exactly what caused your discomfort but it
seems pretty clear to me that you’ve gone too far too fast for your level of ability. I don’t mean any disrespect to
your teacher, but you shouldn’t be holding your breath at this stage of your practice, nor should you be exhaling
forcefully (and the instruction to bring your chin "down" is also potentially harmful; if done improperly you could
injure your neck). I applaud your efforts at pranayama and hope my words aren’t discouraging, but I urge you to
back off a least a little. Spend most of your practice time just watching your normal breath, and let the inherent
wisdom of your breath guide you. It's not unusual to experience some discomfort when beginning a pranayama
practice, but what you describe is not acceptable. Don’t be in a hurry to "get somewhere," working with your
breath is a long slow process that requires patience and regularity, and don’t be enamored of "techniques." All the
old yoga texts agree that techniques are only temporary props that should be used with attention and caution.
Please keep in touch if you have any more problems, we're happy to offer whatever help we can.
but on Sunday afternoon started to get cramps and pains in my lower belly. On Monday, i was extremely bloated
and in much pain (I didn't do yoga that day). Today I feel the same and am still very much bloated. I am not due
for my period. Is it due to one or a few of the pranayama techniques? Perhaps the one where you have to exhale
forcefully or inhale and hold with your chin down?
Richard Rosen: I see by your message that you’ve practiced "on and off" for a year. This may seem like a fairly
long time to you but relative to many practitioners, you're still brand new at yoga, especially since you say your
practice hasn’t been regular. Without seeing you in person I can't say exactly what caused your discomfort but it
seems pretty clear to me that you’ve gone too far too fast for your level of ability. I don’t mean any disrespect to
your teacher, but you shouldn’t be holding your breath at this stage of your practice, nor should you be exhaling
forcefully (and the instruction to bring your chin "down" is also potentially harmful; if done improperly you could
injure your neck). I applaud your efforts at pranayama and hope my words aren’t discouraging, but I urge you to
back off a least a little. Spend most of your practice time just watching your normal breath, and let the inherent
wisdom of your breath guide you. It's not unusual to experience some discomfort when beginning a pranayama
practice, but what you describe is not acceptable. Don’t be in a hurry to "get somewhere," working with your
breath is a long slow process that requires patience and regularity, and don’t be enamored of "techniques." All the
old yoga texts agree that techniques are only temporary props that should be used with attention and caution.
Please keep in touch if you have any more problems, we're happy to offer whatever help we can.