Banish the Blues Poses, Breathing and Chanting Techniques for Depression

China’s Yoga Boom

YINTERNAo TIONALga Banish the Blues Poses, Breathing and Chanting Techniques for Depression

5 Poses to Lower Blood Pressure Sarah Powers on the Yin (and Yang) of Yoga Embodying the Warrior Asana for Stamina and Determination Behind the Camera Contemplative Photography Warm Foods for Cold Nights

FPO

WINTER 2011 n THE MAGAZINE OF THE HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE n YOGAINTERNATIONAL.COM CONTENTS

WINTER . 2011-12 YOGA INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ISSUE 116

Cover Photo Yoga teacher Heidi Hong photographed by Jasper Johal

©2011 Yoga International. All rights reserved. FEATURES Legacy of the Sages 34 A comprehensive practice draws us into an ever-deepening realm of clarity and joy, unveiling the mystery of life. A master explains. By Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

China’s Yoga Boom 42 Millions of Chinese are embracing the ancient Indian tradition of yoga—or at least the American version. By Daniel Simpson

Banish the Blues 48 By engaging every aspect of our being, yoga teaches us how to lift ourselves out of depression and move toward a deeper sense of self. By Gary Kraftsow

DEPARTMENTS

9 Yoga Threads 62 Vedanta 80 In Practice A conversation with Sarah Powers, the The Subtle Language | A student Relief with a Twist | Soothe your yoga of driving, a brief look into contem- explores the layers of meaning embedded nerves and quiet your mind by relaxing plative photography, and more. in the original Sanskrit of the Bhagavad into this restorative posture. Gita. By Peter Bonnici By Claudia Cummins 20 Points of Practice Call for Peace | Restore harmony and 66 Awakening Spirit 82 Books & Media purpose in your practice with two sacred The Old Master | A renowned scholar of The best new releases for lasting prayers. By Rolf Sovik religion recounts the legend of Taoism’s inspiration. enigmatic father. By Huston Smith 24 Skillful Action 88 Contemplation Marriage on a Plate | A couple negoti- 68 Asana Solutions Not Going, Not Coming | By Shih-Te ates the day-to-day messes of married life Five Poses to Lower Blood Pressure | one dish at a time—and learns what truly Reduce hypertension with this sequence sustains them. By Karen Maezen Miller of stress-relieving poses. By Marla Apt

28 Art of Asana 74 Total Health ETC. Embodying the Warrior | Build courage, New Light on Vitamin D | A decade 4 Editor’s Note stamina, and grace with this heart-open- of research has radically reassessed the ing sequence. By Alanna Kaivalya sunshine vitamin’s role in maintaining 6 Contributors your health. By James Keough 58 Yoga Sutra 2.22 7 Mailbox Freedom in the World | Translation and 76 Conscious Kitchen commentary by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait Warm Foods for Cold Nights | Stoke your energy with warming foods from Traditional Chinese Medicine. By Janet Webb Lee The New Millions of Chinese are embracing the ancient Indian practice of yoga—or at least its American version. By Daniel Simpson Yoga Superpower

42 ©2011 yogainternational.com Yoga International. All rights winter reserved. 2011-12 Millions of Chinese are embracing the ancient Indian practice of yoga—or at least its American version. By Daniel Simpson

winter 2011-12 yogainternational.com 43 When China’s first yoga studio opened nine years ago, its founders were a couple of women from California. Robyn Wexler had been teaching asana in the gym of a luxury Beijing hotel while looking for a space more conducive to holistic practice. Her partner, Mimi Kuo- Deemer, took photos for a living but was eager to devote more time to yoga instruction. Together, they decided to create what they had sought in vain: “a clean room with a simple wooden floor.” “We got the idea on holiday in San in fitness. Practicing was the acme of ing Beijing to train teachers since 2008. Francisco,” Kuo-Deemer recalls. “I modernity: a way of channeling energy “They see it from an American point of mean, how hard could it be to create to succeed. “It’s a symbol of the outside view. At the beginning, they’re attracted that in Beijing?” They found it in a Qing world,” Kuo-Deemer explains. “Like by the byproducts: to be handsome, to Dynasty residence. Secluded from busy thin women on the beach.” be pretty, to digest well, sleep well, have traffic in a quadrangle, Yoga Yard was a In less than a decade, yoga studios a nice body, be intelligent, unstressed. haven of tranquility. To Wexler, it epito- have sprouted all over China. They’re It’s hard work to take them toward the mized “consistency, stability, and con- dotted along urban sidewalks, and classes deeper aspects.” tinuation in a city undergoing so much can even be found in the hinterlands. A burgeoning industry tempts transformation and change, building up They’ve spread so fast that no one’s them with distractions, hawking figure- and tearing down.” keeping count. Estimates suggest that 10 hugging sportswear on models with Initially, classes were in English. million Chinese now practice regularly, Westernized features. Most styles of Though Kuo-Deemer and Wexler speak compared to about 16 million Americans. yoga are available, although the empha- Mandarin, most students were expatri- Long before it displaces the U.S. econ- sis is squarely on physical practice. It’s ates. That didn’t last long. Across Bei- omy, let alone its military, China will be often an aspirational activity: the price of jing, Shanghai, and other metropolises, the world’s new yoga superpower. a class in Shanghai can be higher than in more and more gyms were offering yoga, “Yoga went to China via America,” Los Angeles. hiring instructors who’d learned from explains Faeq Biria, one of B. K. S. Iyen- But there’s more to Chinese yoga DVDs and hyping it as the hottest trend gar’s leading disciples, who’s been visit- than meets the eye. As Biria observes, there are internal connections to indig- enous arts, from Taoist tai chi to Tradi- tional Chinese Medicine. “The moment you connect to the energetics of yoga, they catch it so fast,” he says. “Their eyes shine and they grasp it, because it’s in their culture.” For now, most young Chinese ne- glect this heritage. It’s out of sync with their urge to consume new products. But that materialism is only skin-deep. Beneath the surface of its rapid transmu- tation, the country is troubled. While a few get improbably rich, a billion others struggle with inflation, unemployment, and migration. These widening inequali- ties breed resentment and despair, which drive increasing numbers to suicide. “There’s an urgent need here,” says Chen Si, a journalist working to promote more classical yoga teaching. He organized a conference this summer that brought Iyengar and a dozen of his WESTERN INFLUENCE A yoga studio in Lijiang, Yunnan. protégés to Guangzhou, China, face-

to-face with 1,300 students. Billed as Previous spread: blue jean images / Getty Images; Left: Helen Hu

44 yogainternational.com winter 2011-12 the China-India Yoga Summit, the event to China, and China was thus reduced eryone was fired. “It was an immediate re- was endorsed by officials in New Delhi to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal soci- action,” says John Abbott, Yoga Journal’s and Beijing, whose relations have been ety,” an official exhibition declared. Vis- former publisher, who set up the venture strained since the 1950s, when India op- iting London later, Wen added: “This in China with government backing. “It posed China’s seizure of Tibet and gave has taught the Chinese never to talk to was closed and we were notified.” refuge to the 14th Dalai Lama. Border others in a lecturing way, but to respect Abbott was told that an anonymous wars promptly ensued. nations on the basis of equality.” “rogue website” had been discovered, Trade has diminished their hostil- Fearing unrest, the government is hosted in Singapore, and “titled some- ity, culminating in a visit to India last wary of outside ideas, especially if they thing like Yoga Journal Against China.” December by Wen Jiabao, the Chinese mention liberation. While Communist It apparently listed references to Tibet premier, who paid tribute to Gandhi, regimes were crumbling in Eastern in the U.S. edition and included photos. quoted the Upanishads, and waxed lyri- Europe in 1989, non-violent protestors “I understand that one of the photos was cal on how Buddhism shaped China. To were massacred in Beijing’s Tiananmen me in a quasi-embrace with the Dalai top it off, he announced that his daugh- Square. A decade later, Falun Gong Lama,” Abbott says. Yoga Journal says ter practiced asana. was denounced as a cult, its followers it’s “in the early exploratory phase” of Unlike the Dalai Lama or Falun tortured for meditating en masse. Yoga plans to reopen. Gong, a spiritual discipline banned in proponents have had to walk a fine According to Wang Zhicheng, a China, yoga is being embraced by the line, demonstrating that the practice philosophy professor at Zhejiang Uni- state. Chinese authorities talk it up as a enhances individual well-being without versity: “We basically have religious force for “harmony,” echoing their coun- undermining collective order. freedom in China, unless somebody

CHINA NOW HAS A YEARNING FOR MORE ON THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL AND HAS A TRADITION OF SEEKING NEW IDEAS. terparts in India. “There is a growing In the early days of the yoga boom, uses religion to stir up tensions.” Yoga, social conflict due to our relentless pursuit teachers felt watched. “We had some he adds, is “more like a spiritual-mental of material objects,” an Indian diplomat very awkward stiff men who’d appear in practice, a way of thinking, or a way of told the summit. “Yoga can be a useful in- class,” one remembers. “Like totally out keeping healthy and happy,” and “Chi- strument for promoting social harmony. of context, with fake leather belts.” nese culture very much appreciates the After all, only individuals at peace and This mutual suspicion has subsided ‘cultivation of character,’ which is basi- in harmony with themselves can build a as China adapts to a breakneck pace of cally a humanist idea.” peaceful and harmonious society.” change. Falun Gong’s popularity hor- It’s also at the core of Confucian eth- By inviting an Indian master to teach, rified hard-liners, who thought it was ics, which held sway, at least in theory, Chen aimed to empower the Chinese to building a network beyond their control. for over 2,000 years. Order was defined practice yoga more deeply, and thereby In contrast, yoga studios have been in terms of moral standards, to be upheld foster social change. While these are sen- slow to form a national federation. The by everyone from paupers to the em- sitive issues in a one-party state, he feels government seems to see them as allies, peror. Mao Zedong exploded this ideal, fairly secure. “China has a tradition of not as hotbeds of subversion, apparently saying power derived from the muzzle of embracing foreign cultures and making hoping they’ll calm a restive populace. a gun. In their efforts to reconcile com- them its own,” he says. “That’s why it’s Booming business also helps. At the merce with control, his successors have been so vibrant.” summit in Guangzhou, most discussions revived the spirit of Confucius. “The were focused on marketing. state strengthens the building of socialist A Fine Line Yet as recently as 2009, officials shut- spiritual civilization through spreading But it’s not always that clear-cut, for tered a Chinese version of Yoga Journal, education in high ideals and morality,” reasons the Communist Party stressed citing political objections. Editors are reads the Chinese Constitution. in July, when it marked its 90th anniver- confused about what happened, and some This amounts to propaganda, at odds sary. “Since British invaders launched say other factors were involved, such as with the yogic goal of shedding illusions. the opium war in 1840, the Western jockeying for power at the magazine’s But state “ideals” are hard to instill in capitalist powers came one after another state-run media partner. Regardless, ev- practice. Despite placards extolling “a

winter 2011-12 yogainternational.com 45 peaceful society,” there are protests all charges $1,000 for unlimited access pupils. Workshops by foreign yogis have the time in modern China, in places for a year—a quarter of average an- grown more common, as have 200-hour few outsiders ever hear of. Farmers riot nual income nationwide. At provincial teacher-training programs, some with when land is grabbed for factories and franchises, fees drop to $10 a month. Yoga Alliance accreditation. apartments, as urban sprawl eats badly Yogi Yoga made $4 million last year, Priorities are starting to change. needed crops. In the cities, migrant including earnings from teacher training Indian teachers are now in demand, and workers fight police, and polluted water and equipment sales. Revenue has qua- those who are willing to emigrate get and smog trigger rants at apparatchiks. drupled since 2005. paid well. “People have become more ap- The government tolerates limited dis- “There is a big market,” agrees Birjoo preciative of what yoga is really about,” sent. Critical blogs are prolific, yet com- Mehta, a visiting teacher from Mumbai, Yin says. “They’re not just working on ments are censored. Letting off steam “but what happens if the brand doesn’t the physical level.” is tacitly allowed, but cross the line into meet its promises?” Addressing Chinese Away from better-run centers, rallying resistance and you’re in trouble. businesses at the summit, he urged them however, instruction varies wildly. Journalists sometimes get beaten and to develop their understanding of yoga Some teachers claim to be qualified activists jailed. Minorities are enemies and present it more authentically: “Do when they’re not. “I’ve basically been within. Talking about devolution is ta- not restrict yourself with the technology crossing their names off a list,” says a boo. And the number of people executed you have. There needs to be a continu- woman who lives on the coast, north of is classified. It’s said to be more than the ous technological development.” Shanghai. “These days I mainly practice rest of the world combined. When Yogi Yoga opened in 2003, at home alone.” Most people’s lives are full of chal- it promised to “bring pure yoga from Meanwhile, countless companies lenges: affording food as prices soar; India.” This arrived in the form of Yogi cash in. The premier Chinese sports finding wives when men outnumber Mohan, a teacher from Rishikesh. brand, Li Ning, is launching a yoga line, women, thanks to sex-selective abortion But when he settled in China, he was while some of the attire sold by rivals and a one-child policy; securing jobs; shocked: people asked if he’d studied looks fit for the disco. Built-in push-up and surviving grueling hours without the yoga in America. bras are popular among practitioners, right to unionize. Workers at Apple’s To educate them, he and his partner most of whom are women under 35. Chinese supplier have dived to their at Yogi Yoga, the Beijing publisher Yin Other products also prize form over deaths from factory windows. Women Yan, translated books. They began with function. A thick towel-like variant on often kill themselves by drinking pesti- Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, then a couple the sticky mat is slippery when dry. cides. Domestic violence is rampant. of texts by Swami Kuvalayananda. In Meanwhile, premium goods are shipped “What we call modernization brings 2005, they invited Iyengar to teach. He abroad, supplying the likes of Lulule- so much mental and physical stress,” declined at first but sent several senior mon, which sell at a markup. Once says Chen Si, the yoga sum- Chinese firms master market- mit organizer. “Compared ing, they could export directly. to drugs and psychiatry, “There’s more interest in yoga is a much better tool yoga because of celebrities like for social harmony.” Madonna, but it’s also because But is it reaching the yoga is well marketed,” Yin says. masses, or just urban elites? She ought to know. One of her So far, it’s mainly the latter, ventures is a free online maga- though as people explore zine called Yoga Digest, which connections with Chinese has 200,000 readers compared arts, more might practice to the 30,000 who bought Yoga by themselves. Journal, which she also edited. Like its forebear, Yoga Digest A Booming Market plugs her studios. Marketing China’s largest chain of “makes a strong force to push yoga studios, which boasts people into practice,” she says. more than 20,000 students, Traditional Chinese disci- has a two-tier price plan. INDIA’S BUDDHIST LEGACY Seated Buddha Sakyamuni plines work differently. “Tai and Baistrajyaguru, Dunhuang, 9th century. In big cities, Yogi Yoga chi stays in a relationship of Left: Chinese School / Getty Images; Right: Wu Guofang / Xinhua Press / Corbis

46 yogainternational.com winter 2011-12 master to disciple, so there’s nobody to push it,” Yin says. That doesn’t stop millions of pensioners meeting in parks at the crack of dawn to glide gracefully through such movements as White Crane Spreads Wings and Swallow Skims the Water. The scene plays out daily from Beijing to Hong Kong, where yoga took root before Britain surrendered its colony 14 years ago. Nowadays, hip Hong Kongers would rather splurge $35 on a flow class than flow with their grannies. Even so, some young Chinese still do wushu, the collective name for hundreds of martial arts, including “supreme ultimate fist,” as tai chi is known. Like yoga, it aims to balance mind and body, working on posture to circulate energy YOGA CLASS on the bank of West Lake in Hangzhou, a city in Zhejiang Province. more freely. To Vicky Wong, who practices both, they’re complementary. “The two dis- Si asked the summit. “Guruji manifests and inner light, and not for the external ciplines merge quite beautifully,” says 5,000 years of civilization on the subcon- beauty only.” Wong, a Hong Kong native who lives in tinent. China will take yoga to heart, like His parting words were blunter. “I Beijing. “Doing asana helps my whole we embraced Buddhism. Who will be gave you all the knowledge of yoga,” he body wake up, and tai chi mind-set tech- the next masters of this tradition? Let’s said as they garlanded him, “which may niques help me focus internally.” wait and see.” take maybe ten years for you to digest.” When Iyengar taught in China, he For three days, participants were Chen believes the master’s visit was drew upon a tradition the Chinese know stretched. Lined up in a sports hall, most timed to perfection. “China is mad for well: Buddhism. “The mind has to be looked bendy. But they were told they’d success,” he says, a throwback to the absorbed in the pose,” he told students. “just come to the base level, and there’s “greed is good” 1980s. But there’s also “If you use your mind it is a Zen mind.” a Mount Everest in front of you.” At a yearning for more on the spiritual level Zen resonates widely in Guangzhou. 92, the Lion of Pune stood for hours on and a tradition of seeking new ideas next Roughly 15 centuries ago, an Indian end, vowing to show “how to start from door. One of China’s classic novels is monk came ashore there. Known as scratch and aim for the ultimate.” Journey to the West, known abroad as The Bodhidharma, he is considered a direct He described “how to listen to the Monkey King. Revived of late as an opera, descendant of the Buddha, and he sound of your inner voice” by observing it’s a quest for sacred Indian inspiration. worked his way northwards through how the senses distract you and “moving “Yoga is such a wonderful gift from China, disseminating wisdom. Legends closer to the center.” The five mahabhuta India to China,” Chen says. “Chinese of his feats abound. It’s said that he (elements) and koshas (sheaths) were society is ready to understand another stared at a wall in silence for almost a demystified in the context of adjusting oriental philosophy. What you saw in decade and trained Shaolin monks to imbalances in poses. “Alignment leads America is nothing compared to what use kung fu. Primarily, he practiced to enlightenment,” he said. “Using the will happen here.” n meditation, and the sect he inspired was power of the body with a skillful brain is a fusion with Chinese arts. Called chan, nothing but surrender to God.” it spread as Zen to Japan (and as seon to For now, many people’s engagement Before he moved to London and took up yoga, Korea), teaching experiential awareness is superficial, even if they smile while Daniel Simpson worked as a foreign correspondent. of transcendence. doing the splits. “It is natural to make He resigned from the New York Times to run a music festival, which got him embroiled with Iyengar’s arrival was hailed as the yourself work to keep your beauty,” gangsters in Belgrade. This inspired him to leave second coming. “Is it wrong that we Iyengar conceded. But we should “prac- the Balkans and write a book. Nowadays he mainly compare him to Bodhidharma?” Chen tice yoga to experience the inner beauty writes about yoga.

winter 2011-12 yogainternational.com 47