The Way Forward

Well, I decided that I will simply have to build my own floor.  My mat is longer than the floor available online and I personally think that 30 inches is really just not wide enough.  The distance between my hands in svasana is around 40 inches meaning that the edges of a 30 inch floor would hit right about half way between my wrists and finger tips.  Resting my hands on the edges of a floor is not a very good way to practice svasana as the last thing I need is two more things distracting me at that point.  Keeping my hands and arms closer to my body also isn't an option as that makes me feel terribly congested inside.  Unfortunately, crafting my own floor requires a large work area that is well ventilated and I don't have access to such a place that is also warm.  The location has to be at or above 60° Fahrenheit for the varnish to actually cure (dry and level) properly.  Anything below 60° means that the curing process takes days or weeks instead of hours.  Unfortunately, the average high temperature around here won't hit 60° until early April.  Until then I am still in the waiting and planning mode; I will, however, be collecting the materials that I need to be able to complete this proejct.

Namasté

Svasana

This is just a quick note.  Writing the last entry, I wondered about the spelling of svasana (also transliterated as savasana or shavasana).  While doing a quick search on the spelling, I came across a message on a forum (where all three of the spellings listed here were used in the same thread) from a man who hates svasana.  He then proceeded to describe something which is most definitely not svasana.  I would feel safe in saying that all Yoga classes end in svasana but I would also feel safe in saying that 90% or more of teachers of those classes are no longer concerned about the asana but are instead attempting to teach some form of pratyahara or dhyana.  Neither pratyahara, controlling your mind such that you can disengage from your senses, nor dhyana, meditation, can be truly taught, learned nor practiced in a meager five or ten minutes at the end of a class.  The best that can be accomplished is to relax the body and begin to still the mind.  The same effect can be achieved by actually focusing on svasana.  Feel the alignment of your body, make the adjustments needed to make your arms, legs, back, head, neck and every other part of your body unnoticeable.  Doing that will relax your body and still your mind.

One other quick point, Yoga is to combine all the eight limbs together.

Namasté

Pranayama Everywhere

I was browsing through the quarterly health newsletter that I receive as a benefit from my health insurance and I found an interesting piece in the stress less colum.  The piece, entitled A calming breath, gave a very brief description of anuloma viloma pranayama.  Unfortunately, the piece gave no source information nor does the piece mention Yoga in any way.  While it is great to see Yoga spreading, I find it unfortunate that it is spreading in such a clandestine manner.  At some point the fact that the breathing technique described is a commonly practiced pranayama techinique is being hidden.  Surely this article will benefit someone but what greater benefits could it have carried had it mentioned that this is a breathing techinique commonly used in Yoga?

Namasté

The Beginning of a Journey

I started work on my practice floor yesterday.  The cost of the project is going to be just about $180 due to the cost of purchasing tools which I didn't have that I needed, without the expense of the tools the project would be about $70.  I'm using a sheet of 3/4 inch oak plywood, I couldn't find any 1/2 that wasn't pine and didn't want to wait any longer.  I only had a short time to work on it but managed to cut the sheet in half.  I also finished the edges and sanded the surface of half the floor.

Namasté

Pressing Onward

I spent most of the day yesterday working on the floor and I managed to finish all the wood working.  The surfaces are all sanded, the edges are nicely finished and the hand holds are done.  It was with great satisfaction that I started to apply the finish to the sides that will be the bottom of the floor.  A number of times during and since then I've asked myself why I am making this myself instead of simply purchasing a floor online (beginning at $150) as it would have been cheaper and much less of a headache.  The answer is rather simple:  I have no space that I set aside, dedicate if you will, to just Yoga.

When I first began practicing asanas, I felt that having a dedicated practice area was unnecessary and really only for those who are really into Yoga.  Since then, two things have happened:  I've come to understand why having an area just for practicing is such a good idea and I've become one of those who are really into Yoga.  Whether I was right in the beginning and dedicated practice areas are still only for those who are really into Yoga is now a question for the philosophical.  Here, however, are the reasons that I believe a dedicated space is beneficial to any form of practice:  Spaces evoke responses.  Sit at a dinner table with a place setting before you and the aroma of your favorite meal wafting through the air and your mouth will water.  Your stomach may even rumble in anticipation.  Many pre-schools use small rugs as seats for the children to sit on the floor during story time.  Given a similar situation outside of the pre-school, namely a small rug placed in front of a chair and an adult with a story book, a child who has experienced this setting in the pre-school will automatically know to sit on the little rug and listen.  Having a space that is dedicated to one purpose means that simply entering that space will help evoke responses appropriate for the activity to which the space is dedicated regardless of the activity.  Whether it is painting, writing, practicing music or asanas the principle is the same:  Having a dedicated space enhances the activity instead of distracts from it.

Some of us have limited space and simply cannot carve out a space solely for a single purpose.  For asana practice, this is easily solved by using a mat, practice rug or similar prop.  Being on the mat helps to draw one into the practice but there are two problems with relying solely on a mat or rug.  The first is that there are still distractions all around, something that can be eliminated with a dedicated space.  The second is that a mat or rug requires a firm floor and there may be only thick, luxurious, dangerous, hard to work on shag which is often the situation that I face.  Again, a dedicated space is not likely to have this problem.  It was this second aspect which made me realize that I needed a portable practice floor.

Which now brings me back to why I am building my own floor instead of buying one.  There are a couple of reasons.  Firstly, there really isn't a floor available for a good price that has the dimensions that I really want.  When I am in svasana, my hands are about 40 inches apart.  If I use a floor that is only 36 inches wide then I am guaranteed that the edge of the floor will be under at least one of my hands if not both, a distraction that I just don't need.  Also, it is very impractical for me to make a pilgrimage to some faraway place (or even a nearby place) and study under the tutelage of a guru, I have a family and for some reason abandoning them to make such a pilgrimage just does not seem right for some reason.  Instead of making such a journey, I am using this time crafting and finishing my floor as a foreshortened pilgrimage of my own.  Every moment I've spent working on it, I've also spent focusing on what I am doing and why I am doing it.  Each night I've returned home mentally and physically exhausted.  All of these are things I will remember each time I even see this floor.  Finally, it is easy to find fault with or even completely ignore the handiwork of another, just think of the number of exercise bikes or weight machines that are gathering dust in homes.  While it is even easier to find fault with one's own handiwork, it is that much more difficult to ignore one's own work.  This floor will be a constant reminder of Yoga in my life and it will remind me that I have made it to remove an obstacle to my keeping Yoga in my life.

My reasoning for making this floor is rather complicated but it is because my reasoning is so complicated that I felt that I simply must do this thing.

Namasté

Bikram Revisited

While definitely not my favorite subject, I felt I should write something here regarding an article I read this morning relating to the whole Bikram copyright controversy.  The article does a good job of summing up the case against the copyright as I've already described and notes that settlement talks are scheduled to happen today.

OSYU in essence is asking the court to rule that Choudhury's copyright claims are unenforceable because they are based on yoga positions and practices that have been in use for literally thousands of years and thus are in the public domain, Harrison said. The group has adopted that mantra of the open source software movement that any technology or practice that is in the public domain can be freely used, Harrison said.

OSYU won the opening round of the litigation in April 2004 when Judge Phyllis Hamilton rejected the motion of Choudhury's attorney that the case should be dismissed because OSYU lacked the legal standing to pursue its lawsuit.

Both sides are scheduled to meet Monday to try to negotiate a settlement before the case goes to trial, Harrison said. He declined to comment on the prospects of a settlement.

by John Pallatto, Case Studies at CIOInsight

Although settlement talks are happening, I would be surprised if a settlement actually happens unless Bikram drops the copyright issue.  This statement from the article seems to back that notion

Harrison [lawyer for OSYU] expressed confidence that OSYU had a strong case to counter Choudhury's copyright claims.

by John Pallatto, Case Studies at CIOInsight

Mr. Harrison then shreds my own dance choreography comparison.

The closest legal parallel to what Choudhury is attempting would be a someone who copyrighted a dance choreography, Harrison suggested.

Dance choreography could be copyrighted, But dance "is expressive art. [Yoga] is exercise not expression. It is not saying anything," Harrison said. Therefore it can't be copyrighted under the law, he said.

by John Pallatto, Case Studies at CIOInsight

Put that way, copyrighting a sequence of asanas is just like copyrighting a weighlifting routine and so would not be allowed under copyright law regardless.

Namasté

The End Approaches

I applied the final coat of finish tonight.  Tomorrow I will attach the hinge and bring the floor home.

Namasté