! ! ! “Words from the Ashtanga World” ! “In the 30 years I’ve known Prem he has been a shining example of the benefits of leading a yogic life. I’m so happy he has decided to share his experiences of ashtanga yoga and his knowledge of ayurveda and tantra to the world.” — Nancy Gilgoff, Senior Ashtanga Yoga Teacher ‘73 ! “Prem has poured his heart into the pages of his book. Dive in and enjoy the ride of his life!” — David Swenson, Author of Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manual ! “A light, easy and enjoyable read... Read this book if you’re looking for a fun, real world take on the ups and downs of living the yogic lifestyle.” — Olaf Kalfas, Advanced Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner ! “The Only Way Out is In” by Antonio “Prem” Carlisi is a welcome addition to our Ashtanga World familia. His weaving of Ashtanga Yoga with Ayurveda and Tantra is bravo!” — Lino Miele (European! Ashtanga Maestro) ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! THE ONLY WAY OUT IS IN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! THE ONLY WAY OUT IS IN ! ! A Modern Day Yogi’s Commentary on the Synergy of Ashtanga Yoga, Ayurveda and Tan- tra ! ! ! ! Anthony “Prem” Carlisi ! ! ! ! ! ! " ! Disclaimer: This book is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe. The informa- tion contained herein is in no way to be considered as a substitute for a duly licensed health care professional. ! COPYRIGHT © 2007 By ANTHONY PREM CARLISI ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ! No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any elec- tronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author himself, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. ! EDITOR: Thea Petchler COVER & PAGE DESIGN/LAYOUT: VedicDesign.com COVER ART: Pieter Welteverde www.santansociety.com BACK COVER PHOTO: Lisa Seed ! First Edition: 2007 Printed in the United States of America !ISBN 978-0-9798698-0-8 ! Published by: DREAM WEAVERS INTERNATIONAL P.O. Box 1341 Hanalei, HI. 96714 www.theonlywayoutisin.com !Printed by Book Masters, Ohio ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I dedicate this book to my Sat Guru, Charan Singh, who initiated me onto the path of Surat Shabd Yoga (Yoga of Light and Sound) in 1980. He has been my “anchor” through the most turbulent times of my life, including the most recent tragic death of my daughter Shanti on July 18th, 2013. His Divine guidance and grace has been with me since my birth and will be with me until the !day I go back to my true “Home”. ! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ! To my precious daughters Shanti and Mira for their never ending Love. I also want to dedicate this book to Shanti who passed on the 18th of July, 2013. To Shirin and Kenji who are always there for me, along with my play buddy Sierra; and Roddy, MaMa Manijeh, and Kamron. Plus !the rest of my Kauai Family. Special thanks to my dear wife, Heather “Radha” Carlisi, for her Love and Support in so many ways, including the writing of this book! To Len Blank for his help in launching the writing process. To Cris and Dave Williams for their encouragement to keep !going. There are so many people who have helped me throughout my !journey, that I’m sure to leave someone out. But here I go: To David Williams my Ashtanga brother and Nancy Gilgoff for bringing Guruji to America, Gary Lopedota, Brad Ramsey, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois my beloved Ashtanga Guru, Baba Hari Das, Dr.Vasant Lad, Dr. David Frawley, Ram Dass, Tim Miller, Olaf & Nina, People Forever Immortality Group, Daryl Kohlman, Marta Kohlman, Mark Segars, Maria Curtis, Kelly Prentice, Michael and Jen, Zach, Darci Frankel, Eagle, Sharath, Darine, Big Kahuna Ed, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, David Davenport, Greg Jones, Beth Cole, Iris, Elsie, Tara Mala, Luke Chan, Clint, Sayoko, Krishna Prem, Vibhavan, Tara Guber, Ricky, Takeshi, Rupali, Stewart, Bodhi, Cynthia, James, Bhavani, Gabe, Deepika, Lin, Dave Oliver, Enrique, Saskia, Ignacio, Marianna, Richard Rollins, Ellena, Saman family in Sri Lanka, Tashi, Greshon, Sun, Thea, ! ! Siva, Charles, Tom Lewis, Sacha, Mom, Dad, Corky, Chuck, Yvonne, Jim and the whole Carlisi clan. To all my students past, !present, and future. To all my friends, lovers and teachers… Thank you all for your continued love and support. Each one of you have played a part in making this book possible. ! ▬§!▬ ! ! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IX ! !PREFACE XIV ! ! PART I ! My Life's Story ! ! PART II: AYURVEDA The Science of Life and Living ! INTRODUCTION 49 ! THE FIVE ELEMENTS 59 ! VATA PITTA KAPHA 67 ! PRAKRUTI /VIKRUTI 75 ! SATTVA RAJAS TAMAS 85 ! SIX TASTES ! 91 !! AGNI AND 101 !AMA ! ! !PRANA TEJAS OJAS 115 CLEANSING AND REJUVENATION 121 ! ! ! PART III: Ashtanga yoga The Royal Super Highway ! WHAT IS YOGA? 133 ! ASHTANGA YOGA “SUTRAS” OF PATANJALI 139 ! ASHTANGA YOGA: A GLIMPSE OF THE EIGHT LIMBS 143 ! REVELATION OF “THE PYRAMID CODE” 165 ! THE WIZARD YOGI 173 ! ”MYSORE STYLE”: ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA: THE MOST ANCIENT FORM ? 205 ! !ASHTANGA YOGA AND AYURVEDA 211 ! PART IV: TANTRA Divine Ecstasy ! INTRODUCTION 219 ! PAST AND PRESENT VIEWS OF SEXUALITY 223 ! PINEAL GLAND MAGNETISM 233 ! SHIVA SHAKTI STORY 239 ! BREATHING TECHNIQUES FOR TANTRIC PRACTICES 243 ! TANTRA AND SACRED SEX 253 ! EPILOGUE ! 261 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I wish I could speak like music I wish I could put the swaying splendor Of the fields into words So that you could hold Truth Against your body ! And dance. I am trying the best I can With this crude brush, the tongue, To cover you with light. ! I wish I could speak like divine music. I want to give you the sublime rhythms of this earth and the sky’s limbs As they joyously spin and surrender, Surrender Against God’s luminous breath. — Hafiz ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PREFACE ! ! ! ! his book may surprise some of you who are looking for the typical, linear, step-by-step presentation of Ashtanga Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra. You won’t T find that here. I have a hard time taking life too se- riously, but I am sincere in my attempt to give you what I feel are the essential aspects of these living arts in their most practical form. My style of writing, like my life, is intense yet frequently full of levity. My language can sometimes be coarse, at other times poetic or humorous, but most of all it is personal. I can speak on these topics much more easily than I write. As you will see right away, I ain’t no Bill Shakespeare. I’ve kept it “raw” on purpose, drawing mostly from my own life experiences. There are an infinite number of synchronistic happenings in and all around us that whisper, or sometimes yell, “Look Here, Go Within!” This book is based on a handful of these kinds of experiences and ob- servations in my own life. See what they parallel in yours. It will then be up to you to explore them more deeply if you so choose. My main intention in writing this book is to open the discus- sion on how important Ayurveda, Ashtanga Yoga and Tantra are !when they come together as a trilogy. The synergy of the three The Only Way Out is In ! combine to form a perfect three-sided pyramid, or tetrahedron, giving you one of the most powerful tools available for Con- sciousness. One without the other two leaves you feeling “short- changed.” You will see this is happening in numerous experi- ences throughout the book. To set the stage of this literary journey, I’d like to ask you to visualize yourself as one of the ancient Rishis, enlightened Yogis from India. In your mind, put yourself back in the same jungle or Himalayan mountain peak where they may have gone and iso- lated themselves in order to uncover the mysteries of life. They observed themselves first and foremost, then nature. These ob- servations became what we now know as the ancient texts of Ash- tanga Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra. Imagine yourself as one of these ancient “Seers,” discovering the secrets of these practices without having to endure the austerity of living in a cave, wear- ing a loin cloth and eating berries. Instead, I will show you how to incorporate these concepts wearing your favorite Calvin Klein yoga attire, having a cappuccino and hangin’ out in the comfort of your own living room. One of our greatest stumbling blocks as human beings is that we’ve become desensitized to the natural rhythms of life by asso- ciating so strongly with our minds, instead of listening to the in- herent wisdom of our bodies. Our most profound teacher is re- flected all around us in nature, yet in order to recognize and feel her rhythms we must first clear the mirror of our mind. It’s im- portant for us “citified folk” to get to the country periodically and undo the effects of the stimulation bombarding us from all direc- tions. I’m sure this is why the Rishis immersed themselves in na- ture, and it is much more challenging than ever before to find balance. This book can show you a way out of this dilemma, or per- haps a way In. Sit back and enjoy the ride, as I lay out a road map of what to look for in your own life using my life as an example of mostly “what not to do!” (You can thank me later for saving you !hundreds of thousands of dollars and blood, sweat, and buckets "10 Preface ! of tears!) Having said that, the most important guide you have is your own inner wisdom. Don’t hesitate to call on that part of yourself frequently as you read to check in and feel what I am at- tempting to communicate to you.