Yoking the Shadow (Chaya Samyukta) - Hatha Yoga - Shandor Remete
Video is available from Shandor Remete's website: www.shandor.com.au or from the American distibutor, www.yogacentre.com
Available in NTSC and PAL format.
The only printed info with the video is the contents of the back box cover, which has this text:
How to use this video.
This is not a performance but a demonstration for educational purposes.
The sounds used indicate the different rhythms and kinds of attention
required by the different stages of the forms. To successfully master
the forms they should be watched repeatedly. Watch up to the point that
you are confident of remembering the sequence and then practice. Do not
focus on speed or power but pay attention to accurate form, positioning,
movement and sequence. Rhythmic breathing is essential but should arise
from the movements and not be imposed by the will. Over time it should
become long and thin. Exhale when bending the body and inhale when
straightening it. Only begin the long form when every part of the pratigna
(short form) has been fully grasped. To master both forms may take anything
between 3 to 7 years. One should work slowly and with sensitivity so that
one does not go beyond ones limits.
Also on the cover:
po box 6067 haifax street adelaide 5000 south australia email: shandor@bigpond.com website: www.shandor.com.au
This notice appears at the beginning of the video:
You may copy this video. But know that by copying it you have already defeated the purpose of your journey before you have begun it. For this whole world is based on exchange. You cannot get something for nothing.
Followed by this dedication:
I dedicate this work to the great god Shiva, the great yogi Tirumalai Krishnamacarya, to my teacher BKS Iyengar, my first teacher my father Shandor Remete, and to my children Emeshe, Arikan, Noemi, and Atreya. I bow down to my mother, for bringing me into this world and giving me strength.
Here is the narrated introduction:
Yoga refers to an act of yoking, of harnessing. The two powers which must be yoked are the life force and the inner intelligence. Together they can lead us through all our difficulties and restrictions. But first the mind must be slowed down and turned inwards so that those faculties which lie hidden in the body can be contacted and brought alive. This preliminary stage is achieved through simple movements. These combine circular arm and hand movements based on the mudras, in the basic stances with correct breathing. Here one learns to connect through the body's center with the rhythms and patterns of the life force. The source of power is in the feet. The power is triggered in the legs, controlled through the waist and manifested through the hands. As the inner intelligence develops, the body's ability to respond to the life force grows surer. When you can respond to the life force swiftly and skillfully then you can move into more dificult asanas with sureness and steadiness. However, THIS FIRST STAGE TAKES TIME. It requires patience and perseverance. If you try to sidestep this learning and force the body from the brain or from the emotions, then the inner energy will be blocked or depleted.
At the end of the video, after the credits, this list of postures is given:
Pratigna - Short Form
Sthana - Fixed Stance
Sama Sthana - Configurative Stance
Guha Sthana - Hidden Stance
Sharva Sthana - Archer Stance
Gaja Sthana - Elephant Stance
Skanda Sthana - Stance of the God of War
Kartikeya Sthana - Stance of the God of War
Ashani Sthana - Thunder Stance
Surya Namaskara - Sun Salutation 1 & 2
Yogasana
Ugrasana
Padmasana
Jathara Parivarthanasana
Halasana
Uttana Padasana
Padmasana
Nata - Long Form
Surya Namaskara - Sun Salutation 1 & 2
Utthitta Trikonasana 1 & 2
Parsvottanasana
Prasarita Padottanasana 1
Skandasana
Prasarita Padottanasana 2
Sama Konasana
Baddha Konasana
Padmasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Hanumasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Virasana
Ardha Matsyendrasana
Koundinyasana 2
Ugrasasana - Asvini Mudra
Supta Padangushtasana 1,2,3
Sarvagasana
Karnapidasana
Urdhva Padmasana
Pinda Sarvangasana
Matsyendrasana
Uttana Padasana
Setu Bhandasana
Sirsasana
Padma Sirsasana
Lauliki
This is followed by a couple of screens of text, read by the narrator:
The movements of the mind are clearly expressed in the external forms and actions of the physical body. But for the individual these movements of the mind are hidden in the consciousness like a moving shadow. Because of this, the mind is in a constant state of wandering, changing its attachment from one thing to another and slowly depleting the life force. In the practice of hatha yoga, the energy of the mind is turned back in on itself and the life force cultivated. The inner intelligence grows and begins to reclaim the centre which the mind has seized.
The mind, the source of our habitual patterns of thought and movement fights to preserve the old regime. This struggle can manifest in many kinds of reaction - emotional, mental, and physical. Only by persevering with the practice will these difficulties be overcome. This process is the hidden yoking, the yoking of the shadow. Then our illusury feeling of separateness disappears and we regain the living wisdom that comes from standing in the light.
Revised 11/04/01