
India's oldest yogini: V Nanammal, 98 - happy-go-lucky
https://qz.com/india/1010262/international-yoga-day-indias-oldest-yogini-says-youre-doing-yoga-wrong-if-youre-working-up-a-sweat/
======
Mountain_Skies
I don't go to yoga for authenticity. I enjoy the stretches and flexibility
that comes from it. The endorphins are a nice side effect too. I can
understand if some in India or even those around the world who practice
traditional yoga or see it as a spiritual practice dislike western variants
using the name yoga. Changing the name however wouldn't push me into
traditional yoga. I'd still go to "Hot Core Power" class and enjoy it.

~~~
achow
In India, do yoga, workup great sweat.

There are thousands of path reaching to the same goal - in some you workup
sweat, in some not so. All good.

Go to office, raise family, give 100% = Karma Yoga.

~~~
tingletech
I was in India once and spent the night in an ashram. One of the monks told me
that yoga literally just means "practice" and that there were many different
types of yoga including spiritual yoga and yoga for clearing out your nose
etc. etc.

~~~
Ididntdothis
What we call “yoga” in the West is actually “asana” which is only a small part
of the yoga path. It’s preparation for higher practices like pranayama,
mediation and sense withdrawal. On the spiritual path asana is really not very
important.

~~~
rramadass
>actually “asana” which is only a small part of the yoga path

"Small" only in the "Raja Yoga" path.

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mekoka
I'm not a yogi and I admit that my view of yoga as practiced in the west is
skewed toward categorizing it more under "fashion and marketing" than
"spirituality". But whenever I read something like this article and start
delighting myself with the strange joy of seeing something I disagree with
being ridiculed, some inner bell tolls the signal that I should know better
and that something in the message is probably missing. I just have to look for
it a bit longer.

What if all these new age yogis with their sweating ways turned out to be able
to perform their 100 _surya namaskaras_ well past the age of 105, would it
validate their form of yoga then? Do most people who practice the "traditional
way" get to do it way past their 90s?

Every time I see someone pushing the "you're doing it wrong, here's the one
true way" message, I have to remind myself that even Buddha insisted that he
can only help to _guide_ you in _your own_ quest, but he can't be your master.
There is certainly something to learn from _all_ of the ways that yoga is
practiced, claiming that you know better simply turns you into a nearly full
jar. I'd rather take some and leave some.

~~~
nprateem
> What if all these new age yogis with their sweating ways turned out to be
> able to perform their 100 surya namaskaras well past the age of 105, would
> it validate their form of yoga then? Do most people who practice the
> "traditional way" get to do it way past their 90s?

I don't think "validation" is the right language any more than "right" or
"wrong". People do yoga for a reason - health, aesthetic, spiritual, whatever.
The validation comes from whether they get out of it what they want. Someone
hoping to discover the spiritual stuff the gurus write about may be better
served by a practice that focuses on that instead of longevity. Just because
someone's reached 100+ years old doesn't mean they've got out of it what they
want (i.e. if they seek spiritual experiences but haven't had any they may
still feel frustrated).

~~~
mekoka
The questions I asked served to highlight the ridicule of the criteria used to
claim that something is _wrong_ or _right_. So in essence, we agree.

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dang
Many comments were posted when the title was "You’re doing yoga wrong if
you’re working up a sweat". We replaced that with the less baity (and more
interesting) part of the article title.

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PopeDotNinja
Or maybe you (and by you I mean me in 2015) are so out of shape that standing
for a while is itself a workout.

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rramadass
I see here people quoting "Patanjali Yoga Sutras" as a definitive text on
everything Yoga. Not so; it is definitive only so far as "Raja Yoga" is
concerned. In fact, it has got far more in common with Buddhist texts rather
than Hatha Yoga (also Tantra) which is where you should look for insights on
everything physical. To that end, the three main Hatha Yoga texts are;

1) The Gheranda Samhita

2) The Hatha Yoga Pradipika

3) The Siva Samhita

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pergadad
I had a yoga teacher course myself. One of the lessons I took home is that
there is no one right or original yoga. There are many kinds and most of them
have their justification for existing. Hundreds of branches of yoga that have
developed over time through series of different teachers. And why shouldn't
new ones come along as well? Nothing wrong about goat yoga if it's healthy and
enjoyable.

But I want to stress that yoga is not body building. It's not about bring
beautiful, although that tends to be a side effect of health and happiness.
The aim of yoga is to make you healthy, so healthy in fact that you can just
forget about your body for a few days and meditate.

Yoga is also not just about asanas. It's about eight limbs (hatha), that
include asanas, but also cleansing, right eating (vegetarian, and not too
much), breathing exercises and a few other things. It's about doing what's
good for your body so your mind can focus on what's important - meditation,
doing right, ...

But what should be avoided is any harm. This is where for example hot yoga
falls short - the heat is meant to increase flexibility, but it's also the
most risky kind of yoga that sees frequent injuries. There's no reason to
force your body to go beyond its current limits - rather you should slowly
work to develop your flexibility, rather than force it with 'tricks'.

Do as you like, but don't try to do anything that is against your body. You
only have one body. Make sure its healthy but don't try to do things you are
not ready for or that might be harmful. E.g. an obvious one: crow pose is
amazing but can for women put quite a bit of pressure on the ovaries so for
any woman still planning to have kids it's not something to practice too
intensely. Yes, do it, but don't force it and don't try to get to the point of
pain.

Enjoy yoga - in all its forms.

~~~
rramadass
You have a small Error;

>It's about eight limbs (hatha)

"Hatha" does not mean eight limbs. The correct phrase is "Ashta(eight)
Anga(limbs)" in Sanskrit.

~~~
pergadad
Thanks, you're probably right. It's been a while i brushed up on Sanskrit!

~~~
rramadass
The two words are conjoined as "Ashtha + Anga = Ashtanga" and thus you have
"Ashtanga Yoga" i.e. "Eight-limbed Yoga" of Patanjali.

------
davmar
i've been to india twice to study yoga for months at a time, and i've done all
kinds in the US. ok there are my creds.

yoga asana - the moving aspect - is only 1 of 8 branches of yoga and it has
evolved significantly over time.

Even BKS Iyengar, the man who brought yoga to the West, changed his practice
over time from a strong, powerful and probably sweaty style when he was
younger to a slower style as he aged.

there isn't a "right way" to do yoga, but if you're looking for authenticity
then follow a lineage that has ties to India. Iyengar yoga is probably the
closest in the US and even those expert teachers will have different styles.

at any rate, find an instructor that gives detailed instructions. you
shouldn't have to look at your neighbor to figure out what your body ought to
be doing, and the point isn't for your hand to reach that one hard-to-reach
place on day 1. that's why there are props because everyone's body is
different.

~~~
rramadass
As i point out in another post of mine, many people here are confusing "Hatha
Yoga" with "Raja Yoga". The problem with BKS Iyengar/Krishnamachar/Pattabi
Jois etc. schools is that they have mixed up both and sold it to the West and
thus the resulting confusion.

Patanjali in his "Yoga Sutras"(main text for Raja Yoga) only says "posture
should be steady and comfortable" (note asana = posture). Thats it. He also
says nothing detailed about Pranayama. It is the internal mental aspects that
are crucial in his system. Whether you do it sitting in a Chair, lying on a
Bed is immaterial.

On the other hand, in Hatha Yoga the physical aspects are all important and
are defined by Asana, Pranayama, Bandhas and Mudras. Here is where the
forceful exercises come in. By a combination of body and breath, you try to
induce certain sensations in your mind which is often defined as "Laya" i.e.
"dissolution".

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newnewpdro
I can't count the number of times I've had people tell me I'm doing $activity
wrong, and learned long ago to completely ignore them because all that matters
is that I enjoy doing the activity enough to not quit doing it daily as part
of my routine.

For me, adhering to some kind of rigid protocol or model of perfection just
ruins all the fun of it. I always strive towards making whatever it is feel
good and fun, so I'm inspired to do it more, not less.

Doing anything physical every day is infinitely better than not doing it at
all, even if done "imperfectly".

My $.02.

~~~
koolba
I think this applies to just about everything except dead lifts. You _really_
don’t want to do those wrong.

~~~
notus
Tell that to this guy
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R01rQSdsPs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R01rQSdsPs)

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dvfjsdhgfv
The title is misleading: there are many forms of yoga, and there are older
people than her in India practicing them. She might be the oldest person
teaching Hatha Yoga, now commonly called "yoga", focusing on asanas and maybe
some pranayamas - that's mostly it. Hardly anyone is teaching the complete
eight limbs because most people are interested only in asanas, and, more
importantly, there are very few people who achieved mastery over all eight
branches and are able to transmit their knowledge.

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crucialfelix
I've studied yoga for 20 years. The style in the west was developed during the
Raj, influenced by European physical exercise. Classic yoga takes Asana as
mainly the precursor to loosen the body and correct the flow of prana (where
minds meets body). Pranayama and meditation and are more central. Patanjali's
defining text makes very little mention of asanas at all.

~~~
crucialfelix
This year I started practicing Qi Gong. It emphasizes slow conscious movements
and soft breathing. You are supposed to do this in yoga as well but it's very
easy to make mistakes, even injuries.

Qi Gong has solved all of my lower back problems and the tensions in my
shoulders and arms. You loosen and breath rather than pulling and stretching.

~~~
nprateem
Qi Gong tends to put more emphasis on working with "environmental qi", drawing
it in from the outside (Earth, nature, space, your imagination). It can be
great for charging yourself up when combined with a practice like 5-point
breathing. The kicker is that you can also do it while doing yoga asanas.

Yoga pranayama typically only works with prana in the body or uses mechanical
breathing techniques (e.g. bhastrika, etc) to draw in prana as a by-product.
But it'd be impractical (and probably dangerous) to do a practice like
bhastrika while performing yoga asanas.

Doing Qi Gong practices while practicing yoga can really supercharge them. On
the inhalation draw energy in from deep in the Earth through your feet to your
lower dan tien/navel, and on the exhalation send it out your hands wherever
they're pointing (probably the sky or Earth). Then on the next round inhale
from where your hands are pointing, taking the qi/prana to the lower dan tien
and then exhale out the feet or crown. Keep repeating this, always inhaling in
through the 'gate' you just exhaled from. Do this for 5-10 minutes at first
and build up. It'll really charge you up. You should learn the Macrocosmic
Orbit first, but hopefully you already know that if you've been learning Qi
Gong. If not, check out Mantak Chia's Awaken Healing Energy through the Tao.

~~~
rramadass
I am sorry to say this but your post is bunkum. You seem to have been studying
some wrong books and listening to possible charlatans. Mantak chia, Yang
jwing-ming and their ilk are not authentic. They are making a living by
hustling on what little they know about Chinese/Asian arts to a clueless West.
There is a lot of nonsense out there on Yoga, Tantra, Qigong etc. and hence
one needs to be careful on where one gets their knowledge from.

I highly suggest that you look for some authentic sources (see my other posts
in this thread) in subjects that interest you and base your studies on them
instead.

~~~
nprateem
What, specifically is "bunkum" here? What's your definition of an "authentic
source"? This is just more FUD, easily dispelled. Just try doing 5-point
breathing while doing yoga and see for yourself.

~~~
rramadass
>Just try doing 5-point breathing while doing yoga

Why should i try this when i can do 12-point Neigong-Daoyin-Waigong-Shaolin-
Micro-Macro with a side of Yoga-Tantra-Chakra-Channels and a topping of Reiki?
:-)

...jk...

I am just trying to help out people who are interested in esoteric subjects of
which i have some knowledge by steering them away from BS and charlatans.

I will provide a more serious answer in my response to your other post so that
everything is in one place.

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z3phyr
There are different schools of yog though. There is no single traditional
Indian school. There are variants, that do infact promote high energy
movements. Having said that, their observation is strict and mixing and
matching them in single session is a no-no

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calibas
She also says you're doing yoga wrong if you're practicing any time other than
between 3 AM and 5 AM in the morning. She's part of a strict school that
focuses on pranayama, breath-work, a major part of yoga in India but rarely
mentioned in the West. I recommend the Wim Hof method if anybody's interested,
it's similar to the Indian and Tibetan practices.

~~~
amriksohata
Spot on! This is called Brahmamuhurtha in Hinduism, when I explain to my
english friends there are 4 types of Yoga they give me blank faces. I try and
explain that if you believe in the science of the physical yoga that you do,
invented by Hindu sages, then they clearly knew something and were onto
something, try the others. But unfortunately I find most people will only
follow something if its commercialised and mainstream.

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person_of_color
What are some good beginners resources on pranayama? Wondering if it can help
my sleep apnea.

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hereme888
Well, I guess I'm doing something other than yoga. Works for me though.

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saravana85
ahh she belongs to my place... very famous...

True inspiration

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haxterstockman
This just in, person who is 100 years old thinks the old ways of doing things
are better

~~~
dang
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here.

