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    Yoga Assists: A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists
    Yoga Assists: A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists
    Yoga Assists: A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists
    Ebook314 pages1 hour

    Yoga Assists: A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists

    By Sharon Gannon and David Life

    4.5/5

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    • Yoga

    • Mindfulness

    • Meditation

    • Self-Improvement

    • Compassion

    • Mentorship

    • Self-Discovery

    • Transformation

    • Journey of Self-Discovery

    • Wise Mentor

    • Spiritual Journey

    • Journey

    • Inner Struggle

    • Guidance

    • Power of Mindfulness

    • Spirituality

    • Alignment

    • Balance

    • Buddhism

    • Energy Flow

    About this ebook

    The founders of Jivamukti Yoga outline the fundamental principles of the assist, and how to apply them in practice and service to others.
     
    The benefits of both giving and receiving an assist—the extraordinary mind/body/spirit connection between yoga teacher and student—depend on knowing what an assist is, and fully understanding the method of Jivamukti itself.
     
    Though “corrections”—with teachers who fixed students’ mistakes—had evolved to “adjustments,” the world-renowned founders of the Jivamukti Yoga method recognized this still suggested that changes to one’s technique were necessary. In this book, they use “assist” to communicate the idea of two beings interacting on various levels of consciousness to bring into focus the five central tenets of Jivamukti: Shastra (or scripture), devotion, nonviolence, music, and meditation.
     
    From cultivating trust and patience to final relaxation and massage, this step-by-step, fully illustrated guide—featuring dozens of asanas—explores the giving of yoga as an art, a flowing dance of body, breath, and energy between two connected beings. Whether we receive or give, an assist is an active process in the resolution of a relationship between teacher and student, a microcosm of the flowing interrelation among all people, and all species.
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateJul 1, 2014
    ISBN9781497665231
    Yoga Assists: A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists
    Author

    Sharon Gannon

    Sharon Gannon is changing the way people view spirituality, life, themselves, one another, animals, and the environment. Along with David Life, she is the creator of the Jivamukti Yoga method, a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. Blessed by her teachers, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Swami Nirmalananda, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Shyamdas, and Shri Milan Goswami, she is a pioneer in teaching yoga as spiritual activism. Veganism is a core principle of the Jivamukti Yoga method. The Jivamukti method has been recognized as one of the nine forms of hatha yoga practiced in the world today. Yoga Journal magazine has called her an innovator, and Vanity Fair gives her credit for making yoga cool and hip. Gannon has authored many books and produced numerous yoga-related DVDs and music CDs. She is the recipient of the 2008 Compassionate Living Award and the 2013 PETA Compassionate Action Award. She resides in a wild forest sanctuary in upstate New York. For more information about the author, visit www.jivamuktiyoga.com and www.simplerecipesforjoy.com.

    Read more from Sharon Gannon

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    Book preview

    Yoga Assists - Sharon Gannon

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    Yoga Assists

    A Complete Visual and Inspirational Guide to Yoga Asana Assists with Excerpts from The Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life: Master Shantideva’s Techniques for Exchanging Self and Other

    by Sharon Gannon & David Life

    May all those in any kind of fear

    Be suddenly freed from it.

    May those imprisoned be released.

    May those downtrodden come to power,

    All of us living then as family,

    In harmony with each other.

    And in each one of these places

    May the very foundation, the earth itself,

    Be transformed, from sharp stones and the like,

    Into the heavenly ground of lapis lazuli—

    As smooth as the palm of your hand, And soft to walk upon.

    And like a precious jewel

    Adorning this same ground,

    May all the secret worlds that exist

    And all the goodness in them

    Abide atop these newfound lands,

    Crowded with Warrior Angels.

    - Master Shantideva

    We dedicate this book at the lotus feet of our teachers with the wish that our efforts may contribute in some way to happiness and freedom for all. Our presentation of concepts in this book is possible only because of the blessings of our teachers, especially Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, and Swami Nirmalananda. Without their compassionate guidance this book could not exist.

    The best way for us to uplift our own lives is to do all we can to uplift the lives of others. Our simple dedication for all of our actions can be found in this ancient Sanskrit prayer –

    Lokah Samastah Suhkino Bhavantu

    May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

    Go Vegan!

    The world that the ancient Buddhist teacher Shantideva speaks of will be all of ours to share—a reality—when all of us can extend kindness and compassion to all beings, including other animals. And for this reason progress in your yoga practice will be accelerated when you embrace a vegan diet/lifestyle for ethical reasons. Learning from master teachers and receiving skilled hands-on assists in your asana practice will take you far, but combined with a compassionate diet, you will be assured of achieving the goal of yoga—enlightenment or lasting happiness.

    Jivamukti Yoga

    Through the blessings of our teachers this living lineage is passed on in Jivamukti Yoga schools where the ideas in this book are put into practice every day. If you need help finding an experienced teacher we invite you to visit www.jivamuktiyoga.com where you'll find the locations of Jivamukti Yoga schools and certified Jivamukti teachers around the world.

    We thank the many Jivamukti Yoga teachers appearing in this book as they learned and applied the techniques of hands-on assists.

    Contents

    Introduction

    Relationship

    The Power of Intention

    How to Use This Book

    The Lineage

    Principles of Assists

    Set the Intention, Focus

    A Moving Body

    Cultivate Trust and Patience

    Speak Up

    Demonstration

    Blocks, Belts, Blankets, Ropes, Bolsters, Walls, Beams, Etc.

    The Magic Touch

    Stop, Look, and Listen

    Establish the Seat

    Find Space – Move In

    Assist Energy Flow

    Isotonic and Isometric Strengthening

    Continuity

    Assist the Breath

    Standing Asana Assists

    Tadasana, Mountain or Samasthiti, Steady Standing

    Trikonasana, Triangle

    Virabhadrasana I, Warrior I

    Virabhadrasana II, Warrior II

    Utthita Parshvakonasana, Extended Side Angle

    Parshvottanasana, Standing Forward Bend Over One Leg

    Adho Mukha Shvanasana, Downward-Facing Dog

    Forward Bend Assists

    Pashchimottanasana, Seated Forward Bend

    Janushirshasana, Head of Knee Down

    Sukhasana Variation, Ankle to Knee

    Baddhakonasana, Bound Angle

    Upavishtha Konasana, Seated Straddle Forward Bend

    Twists

    Jathara Parivartanasana, Reclining Spinal Twist

    Parivritta Utkatasana, Rotated Awkward

    Ardha Matsyendrasana, Half Seated Spinal Twist

    Parivritta Trikonasana, Rotated Triangle

    Parivritta Utthita Hasta Padangushthasana, Moonrise

    Parivritta Utthita Parshvakonasana, Rotated Extended Side Angle

    Parivritta Vikasitakamalasana, Rotated Blossoming Lotus

    Konasana, Compass

    Back Bend Assists

    Bhujangasana, Cobra

    Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana, Upward-Facing Dog

    Shalabhasana, Locust

    Dhanurasana, Bow

    Ushtrasana, Camel

    Urdhva Dhanurasana, Upward-Facing Bow

    Inversion Assists

    Salamba Sarvangasana, Supported Shoulderstand

    Halasana, Plow

    Karnapidasana, Ear Press

    Bakasana, Crane

    Adho Mukha Vrikshasana, Downward-Facing Tree

    Pincha Mayurasana, Peacock Feather

    Shirshasana, Headstand

    Final Relaxation Assists

    Shavasana, Corpse

    Shavasana Massage for Neck, Face and Head

    Shavasana Massage for Hands

    Shavasana Massage for Feet

    Acknowledgments

    About the Authors

    Introduction

    You have an interest in yoga, and you’ve just picked up this book on how to assist yoga asana. You may experience an urge to take a quick look at the pictures, and run out to try one of these assists on somebody.

    But let’s slow down and ask some basic questions about the whole idea of a yoga assist—because offering and receiving great assists depends first on knowing what an assist is.

    Back in the old days of yoga they used to call them corrections. The idea was that the student was doing something wrong and that the teacher could manipulate the wrongness away. This relationship is based on the notion that there is ignorance in the student and knowledge in the teacher. The teacher then does something to the student to clue them in.

    Later came the word adjustment, which is a little better: You are on the right track, but some adjustments are needed. There is a negative association with the word though, as when we say someone’s attitude needs adjustment.

    In this book we use the word assist. This word communicates the idea that there are actually two beings interacting together on various levels of consciousness simultaneously in order to foster a decrease in avidya, mis-knowing, and an increase in vidya, or the knowing principle. A yoga assist then, is action taken in a microcosmic relationship that reveals macrocosmic truths. It is action undertaken in mutuality with the best of intentions and the blessing of the teacher’s teachers.

    The giving of yoga assists is an art. Yoga assists are not static; they comprise a flowing dance of body, breath, and energy. They are based on continuous focus and awareness of the relationship between partners in the process. It takes two to Tango! As in the Tango, in each encounter with yoga teacher and student there is an equation of reciprocity. For a positive pole to conduct electrons there must be a negative pole to receive those electrons. Two like poles will repel each other. Whether we receive or give an assist it is an active process in the resolution of a relationship, a transmission, a dance. Just as asanas themselves are not static, yogic assists are the confluence of ever-moving rivers of energy. In this sense the relationship of teacher and student is a microcosm of the flowing interrelation among all people, all species, all living beings. Our hope is that through this book you will deepen your understanding of the fundamental principals of assists and apply them in your practice and in your service to others.

    Relationship

    The famous yoga mudra—Anjali–is with the hands folded in prayer at the center of the chest—the spiritual heart. This mudra that joins the left hand to the right hand in equality and Oneness of Being is one of the symbols of Yoga. Looking closely at the mudra we find a metaphor for the type of student/teacher relationship that could lead to Yoga—the enlightened state. When the hands separate from each other, even slightly, the potency of the joined effort is lost, but when they touch each other in upward yearning there is a multiplying effect.

    Asking to be taught, as well as reaching out to teach someone, are fundamental driving forces underlying a good yogic relationship. In yoga this basic relationship of teacher and student is where we experience a deepening level of awareness and connection to a lineage of teaching.

    A guru reflects back a galaxy of relationships. At times they may become like our child, and at other times like a parent, they may serve us, and then demand our service. When a teacher assists the purification of various types of relationships our consciousness is affected on many levels: physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically and cosmically. In an asana practice we have direct access to the multi-faceted substrata

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