Astangya Run

Every weekday for the past month I have been getting up at 5am for a beginner intensive astanga yoga course. This is the second time I have done a beginner astanga, the first time over 15 years ago. After the disaster which was Marcothon, I really wanted to reconnect with my body and take a bit of a break from running. The podiatrist I saw said that a good runner needs strength and I think Astangya yoga is the best way to get it. I really need to work on my “core” muscles, having had two c-sections and two abdominal surgery my core is non existent, although to be fair it wasn't really anything there to begin with.

Astangya yoga is very different to other types of yoga. It is the difference between a leisurely stroll and a marathon. It is not that it is a “better” type of yoga it just has a different focus. Astanga is about endurance, discipline and dedication. Astangya yoga practitioners focus on tristana which comprise of three elements; breath (ujjayi), gaze point (drishti) and postures (asanas / bandhas). Lately I have been trialling tristana in my runs.

UJJAYI

Simply breath is life. The moment you are born you take your first breath, when you die is your last. Everything else in between is life. My first astangya yoga teacher, Tom, was extremely strict and would be mortified if we breathed through our mouths. “A mouth is for eating and a nose is for breathing – nothing else!” Tom was really hard on everyone but especially himself. But he did make a point. A nose is designed to filter the air, making each breath as pure as possible. The ujjayi breath is a yogic technique that is sometimes referred to ocean breathing because it sounds similar to waves. Try making your breathing as noisy as possible, as if you wanted someone to hear every inhalation and exhalation; constrict your throat and that is ujjayi breathing. It is proven to increase oxygenation. Newborn babies instinctively use the ujjayi breath. When running I try to breathe only through my nose and although I do not use ujjayi breathe the whole run I find it guides my focus and energy back.

DRISHTI

When I started running I actually wrote a post about not knowing where to “look” when I run. Every single astangya yoga has a specific drishti or gaze point, which aids in the focus, concentration and alignment of the posture. The power of the drishti point becomes apparent during balancing poses. Having experimented with a few drishti points (there are nine in total) I have found gazing softly just beyond the tip of my nose the most effective drishti while running. I find my focus is better and I can reach a meditative state quicker, and find my way back to that state more easily if distracted when I use this drishti.

BANDHA

A direct translation of a bandha is “lock”. Utilizing bandhas means you are optimizing the energy flow in your body while regulating your heart rate and building core strength. B.K.S. Iyenger in Light on Pranayama says, “an electric motor burns out if its voltage is allowed to rise too high. When electricity is generated, it is necessary to have transformers, conductors, fuses, switches and insulated wires to carry the power to its destination; otherwise the current would be lethal.” There are three bandhas; mula bandha, uddiyana bandha and jalandhara bandha. I have tried running with combinations of them and have found mula and uddiyana bandha the best combination. I think jalandhara bandha is more effective in passive poses. If you have ever had to stop peeing midstream and hold it, you are essentially engaging your mula bandha. Although if you were doing it more consciously you would squeeze all the surrounding muscles around your bottom too. Uddiyana bandha is when you attempt to get your belly button to touch your spine. I find it extremely challenging to run and engage my bandhas at the same time but I do feel it makes a difference. I feel lighter and stronger. I can run further effortlessly.

I feel using tristana in my running has been immensely beneficial and I am eager to incorporate more. Please share your experiences with any of the tristana elements while running or if there are any other techniques that you use. When all three elements of tristana come together they same your body becomes a temple.