Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series. Gregor Maehle

forward bend (Parighasana), a hip and shoulder opener (Gaumukhasana), another twist (Supta Urdhva Pada Vajrasana), and a sequence of headstands (Mukta Hasta Shirshasana and Baddha Hasta Shirshasana)

      The three essential parts of the series are the backbends, leg-behind-head postures, and arm balances (items 2, 4, and 6 above); the other four sections function mainly to connect and prepare. The Intermediate Series strongly differs from the Primary Series, which is made up of forward-bending postures and hip rotations.

      The Benefits of Practicing the Intermediate Series

      Practicing the Intermediate Series yields many benefits to the gross body — that is, the body that is perceptible to the senses. Your body will become healthier, stronger, leaner, and athletic, much like that of a racehorse. And yes, of course, the shape of your derriere will also improve. (You see, I know what motivates many modern yogis.) But let’s leave jokes aside and focus on what’s really important: the effect of the Intermediate Series on the subtle body.

      The subtle body is chiefly made up of chakras (energy centers), pranic currents called vayus (vital airs), and the receptacles of the vayus, the nadis. Nadis are the conduits, or energy channels, of the subtle body, along which the various forms of life force (prana) move. The nadis are clogged in most people and must be purified if one is to progress to the higher limbs. The Intermediate Series serves this function of purification; in Sanskrit it is called Nadi Shodhana, which means “purification of the nadis.”

      Some have translated the term Nadi Shodhana as “purification of the nervous system,” but this translation is problematic. The nadi system is much subtler than Western anatomy’s nervous system. The nervous system refers to part of the gross body, which is obviously very different from the subtle nadi system. Many nerve ganglions of the gross body are several millimeters in diameter and can easily be seen by the naked eye. Nadis, on the other hand, are considered to be one one-thousandth the diameter of a hair. As part of the subtle body, they cannot be perceived by the senses.

      As one practices the Intermediate Series, and later the Advanced Series and meditation exercises, the nadis are gradually purified. Since prana ascends through the body via the nadis, this purification clears the way for prana to ascend all the way to the crown chakra, a culmination that marks the physical dimension of divine revelation or, in other words, of the state of liberation.

The nadis also require balancing, so that prana can flow through them evenly. The three primary nadis are the pingala (the right, or solar, nostril), the ida (the left, lunar nostril), and the sushumna (the central energy channel). When the breath flows predominantly through the pingala, the mind tends to adopt a solar or fundamentalist attitude, which means adhering to one truth while overlooking the many other truths.⁸ When the breath flows predominantly through the ida, the mind tends to adopt a lunar or relativist attitude, which means that one is attracted by many truths but unable to pick the one that is most appropriate in a given circumstance. During a samadhic state, there is no such imbalance, because either the prana flows in the sushumna or, as some authorities maintain, there is no pranic movement at all.

      When a race car driver prepares for a championship race, he or she makes sure that the car is in perfect condition, ready for peak performance. The car is taken apart to make sure that all its parts are clean and in working order. If there are any blockages in the fuel ducts, air intakes, hoses, combustion chambers, exhaust pipes, or manifolds, the parts are cleaned to unclog them; otherwise they will impinge on the optimal flow of energy. In a similar way, if you see samadhi as the peak human experience and want to achieve it as much as the race car driver wants to win the race, you must make sure your nadi system is in top condition. If it isn’t, you either won’t have the mystical experience or won’t be able to put it into context and integrate it into your life. This necessary cleansing and fine-tuning of the nadi system is achieved by becoming proficient in the practice of the Intermediate Series of postures. Thus the practice of this series helps lay the foundations for higher yoga.

      Prerequisites for Practicing the Intermediate Series

      Practicing the Intermediate Series is incredibly beneficial. However, just as a farmer must till and fertilize the soil before yielding the harvest, you can reap the many benefits of the practice only if your ground — your mind and body — is properly prepared. Before starting the Intermediate Series, you need to fulfill the following three conditions:

       Be able to correctly practice all the postures of the Primary Series (as explained in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy).

       Attain Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy), the goal of the Primary Series, by practicing the Primary Series for a sufficient length of time.

       Have built a sufficient amount of strength and endurance.

      Let’s look at each of these conditions separately.

       PROFICIENT PERFORMANCE OF POSTURES

      Attempting the Intermediate Series too soon is like building a second story on a house before the concrete in the supporting pillars of the first story has cured. Inevitably, your building will soon show cracks. The cardinal postures of the Primary Series are Pashimottanasana and Baddhakonasana, and you should display sufficient proficiency in these two postures. It is difficult, however, to define the required level of proficiency. You need to be flexible enough in both forward bending and hip rotation so that you can satisfactorily perform the three energetically most effective and important postures of the Primary Series, namely Marichyasana D, Supta Kurmasana (which includes Kurmasana, a vinyasa of Supta Kurmasana), and Garbhapindasana. You can read about the importance of these three postures in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy.

       ATTAINMENT OF YOGA CHIKITSA

      Yoga Chikitsa means “yoga therapy” and refers to the process of eliminating the basic causes of diseases and balancing the doshas in the body (vata, pitta, and kapha) and gunas in the mind (tamas, rajas, and sattva) through regular practice of postures. Some dancers, gymnasts, and very flexible people can do the postures of the Primary Series right at the beginning. But this is not enough. They need to practice the Primary Series until the health and balance of Yoga Chikitsa is achieved.

Patanjali lists the obstacles to yoga.⁹ The first, sickness, results primarily from an imbalance of the doshas; Yoga Chikitsa improves this balance. Attaining Yoga Chikitsa does not mean that you will never become sick again, since disease stems primarily from its root cause, the mind, and also from the environment and from karmic influences. Yoga Chikitsa will, however, improve your health and increase your resistance to disease and your capacity to recover quickly.

      Yoga Chikitsa can be obtained by practicing the complete Primary Series every day for approximately one year. Please note that this is only a rough guideline, and the time required varies from person to person. Only a qualified teacher can determine if you have achieved Yoga Chikitsa.

Patanjali states that practice can succeed only when it is sustained uninterruptedly, for a long time and with a devotional attitude.¹⁰ So, as indicated previously, the Primary Series needs to be performed daily and in an uninterrupted fashion for an entire year. If the student is not able to practice daily in a devoted fashion, then she or he is not ready to commence the Intermediate Series.

       ATTAINMENT OF STRENGTH