NCHTANTED MBODIMENT "I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life, as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive" EEBEN ROTH — Joseph Campbell BEN ROTH ENCHANTED EMBODIMENT 35 To me, this is the baseline reality that I can Being Present is often relate to at all times when the frantic mind takes over. It is the antidote to a disembodied described as being Here consciousness that passes as normal in the and Now. But where is world at large today. Our world is composed of narratives. It is all too easy to get lost in this this place? How do we get groundless territory of identity, language, social roles, ideology, religion, philosophy, there? And where do we economics, and politics. These are all purely mental constructs, existing only in the mind. arrive when following this When we realize this to be true, our identifica- lead? To me, this journey tion with this mental construct crumbles and makes room for the felt presence of direct starts with the most experience. tangible—inside my body. We step into a new realm of spaciousness and unfolding potentiality—the actuality of life as a This is the most obvious continuous process, as felt by our somatic per- ception. Then we experience sensory impres- place from which to sions: The visual and auditory field, the feeling begin any investigation of our feet touching the ground, sensations of pressure, weight and tension, the air going in into being present as a and out of our respiratory system, the beating of the heart and the pulsing of blood. That’s human in this world. it. That’s more or less the totality of life minus narrative. And this space of living presence is a Despite the many theories place from which we can truly create. about the nature of reality, what I experience as most So for me, Being real, is being a creature Present is not about with a body. Being Here transcending the body means arriving in this ani- to reach an ideal state mal body, acknowledging of truth, detached my corporeality fully, from this earthbound feeling it as deeply as I can. life. Instead, it’s about Being Now means parti- becoming fully alive cipating in this continuous in our bodies and re- process of life as it unfolds alizing the Enchanted within, and all around; Embodiment that is witnessing it in all aspects our birthright. and subtleties as it takes This state is synonymous with health and well- form in the endless being. It is the human potential we ought to de- velop — our capacity to feel and to perceive. moment of Right Now. As much as possible. I see this as the uniquely human role in this big play. Not to understand, but to stand in awe before creation like a child. This is as true as it gets. This is Presence. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN ROTH 1% theory 99% practice BEN ROTH ENCHANTED EMBODIMENT 37 This curiosity about our human potential we experience. I believe cises. This modern interpretation of Ashtanga practises independently at his or her own has always spurred my inquiries; what stops Yoga was created by Krishna Pattabhi Jois pace and skill level, following a memorized set me from living life to the fullest? How alive this to be true on all during the 20th century. He was a student of sequence of asanas called series. There are can I feel when all false identifications are Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who can be re- six of them, each taught posture by posture dropped? How lightly can I walk this earth levels: The traumas of ferred to as ‘the father of modern yoga’, since as the teacher doesn’t move on to the next when there is no armour weighing me down, most of the popular systems practised in the pose until the student has understood the no mask obstructing my vision? How does it our lives are not only West are descendants of his lineage. The former one. So in the beginning, your practice feel when I am aligned with my natural state Mysore style is the most distinctive feature might take less than an hour, but after some and life can flow freely? What are the obsta- manifested in our pos- of Ashtanga Yoga: Each student in the class years of consistent practice, it can stretch to cles I face on the way? And what are the tech- ture but are actively two hours or more. This means that the level niques of realizing this purest state of wellbe- of experience amongst the students in the ing as a human? memorized by every room might vary greatly, but all are treated as equal. A beginner practises alongside a very single cell. advanced student who might have practised The Body—Mind for decades. People of all ages and all physi- This infinitely complex system of acquired cal constitutions come together each morn- Continuum behavior builds a unique pattern of how we ing, six times a week, to cultivate a deeper react in life. Many of these reactive patterns relationship with themselves. This dedication Body and mind are inseparable. Any method that govern our movements are outdated alone creates a powerful energy in the Mysore that aims to correct dysfunctional patterns and dysfunctional as they don’t allow us to room, an almost palpable focus accompanied should be based on this understanding. Two dwell in the present moment. This process of only by the sound of deep breathing. further main characteristics that constitute the dissolving restricting and disenchanted pat- human condition are plasticity, and the tenden- terns, and replacing them with healthier ones, The role of the teacher is to watch over all cy towards repetition. Everything begins with is the core idea behind my approach to Yoga. students and offer guidance when needed. acknowledging that we are drastically mallea- But most importantly, he holds the energetic ble and constantly changing. We can adapt to When asked why I practice Ashtanga Yoga, container in which the students are allowed to any given circumstances beyond measure, I sometimes say that the reason is fitness. Of meet their edge. Obviously, a beginner needs and we do it continuously. This is just as true course, not referring to any shiny words from more cues and hands-on adjustments. But in the province of the mind as it is on a cellu- the so-called spiritual realm is intended to pro- it’s still very much an independent practice lar level, on which the only absolute term is the voke a moment of disturbance. But it is true despite the teacher’s presence. It’s a moving constant flux of adaptation, death and rebirth. that I simply understand the word ‘fitness’ in a meditation in which you encounter yourself much broader sense. I want to be fit to make while keeping external influences to the re- The body-mind continuum continuously the most of this human life given to me. I want quired minimum. The teaching is embedded works to maintain a level of equilibrium that to experience the world in as uninhibited a way within the practice itself, and so only requires ensures life. This process of homeostasis is as I can, and act freely in it. In Ashtanga Yoga I little explanation in order to take effect. 99% essential for survival but it has one weak spot: have found a method which allows me to cul- practice and 1% theory, as they say. The dissonance between clinging to the status tivate this embodiment that makes one come quo (inertia), and the ever-changing reality of fully alive. Or at the very least, it’s the best sys- Aside from these external characteristics of all life (flux).We blindly repeat the past, applying tem I have come across in terms of its holistic the Ashtanga framework, there are certain a modus operandi that once seemed appro- approach and the depths into which one can main components that are performed inter- priate, and assuming that it remains effective. grow with time. It is definitely a very compre- nally during the asanas. These play a vital role But we are actually stuck in the proverbial rut: hensive and sustainable maintenance of the in accessing the full potential of this method: a holding pattern that assumes an outdated body and a guide for consistent self-inquiry. The most important one is Vinyasa–the fusion image that isn’t real anymore, and so doesn’t The rest is unwritten and can only be uncov- of breath with movement. For each movement, work within the actuality of the new situation. ered by individual experience. there is one breath. When this link is firmly established, the mind is under control and a This is the opposite state of Being Present. deeper transformation can occur. By mov- Rigidly existing in the past is what I under- Mysore Style ing and breathing together, we heat up the stand as the great human downfall. body and allow an internal cleansing to occur. Ashtanga Yoga Toxins and impurities are freed from organs and tissues, and are then eliminated out of the Our body-mind conti- The Sanskrit word ‘Ashtanga’ or ‘eight limbs’ is body through sweating. In bringing together representative of the eightfold path of yoga out- fire and air––the heat of vinyasa and the air of nuum is the accumula- lined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This source the breath––the body becomes an alchemi- tion of the endless ad- text synthesizes the philosophy and practice of cal vessel of purification.