SUPPORTED AND UNSUPPORTED

A common response from people when I mention that I practice and teach Iyengar yoga is, "Is that the one with all the props?" Yep, it's the one with all the props.

Iyengar talks openly about the development of his teaching style and his incorporation of props. When he was very young, he was sick and his body was weak and crippled from disease. He began practicing yoga in order to heal his body, and when people around him witnessed his hard work and how it paid off for him, they asked him to teach them yoga. Between working with his own fragile body and the bodies of sick, crippled, and elderly students, he began to realize that sometimes the body needs help to gain health; that not all of the poses come easily to every body, but that they can be guided and supported.

Supported (salamba) and non-supported (niralamba) are words we find throughout our postural practice. For instance, we are already practicing Salamba Sarvangasana -- Supported Shoulderstand -- in which the hands are pressed into the back to help keep the spine erect. And later we will include Niralamba Sarvangasana -- Unsupported Shoulderstand -- in which the hands are removed and the body stays erect via strong muscles. In the case of Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand), the hands are used as a support or a prop in order to aid the proper performance of the posture and, just like a block or a folded blanket or a strap, the hands are there as a learning tool and will someday be removed. That's the nature of support -- it serves a particular function, but it ceases to be effective if it's depended upon permanently. Someday the support or prop is no longer helpful or necessary, so it is removed and one is able to maintain the same behaviors independently. Think about a cast on a broken arm, or braces on teeth, or the falsework of an arch bridge -- they serve a particular function, and when their job is complete, they're removed. What would happen if they weren't?? Props in yoga work similarly. Our work in class this Sunday with straps to support the proper functioning of the legs in the standing poses served a similar purpose -- the straps were meant to teach the body a particular way to behave with the intention that their help would only be temporarily necessary. As long as we have that external support -- be it hands in Shoulderstand or straps in standing poses or anything else -- we should be mindful about using it diligently and effectively. We should try to learn the lessons that the support is offering, yet not become dependent on it. Because in the end, we want to be niralamba -- self-supported, independent, autonomous.

Salamba and Niralamba apply to more than just using or not using props in asana. In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali describes the difference between supported and non-supported practice (Salamba Sadhana and Niralamba Sadhana). Both are necessary. A supported practice includes, among other things, attending classes lead by a trusted teacher. The teacher is there as a kind of support to provide the foundation, to get you started, and to keep you safe. Your consistent attendance in class and thoughtful questions and comments helps your teacher to know what kinds of techniques and instructions to provide. In turn, their skillful guidance provides the knowledge and the confidence you need to practice even when you're not in front of your teacher. Salamba Sadhana (i.e. class with your teacher) is at least in part about learning how to develop Niralamba Sadhana (i.e. how to be your own best teacher). Niralamba Sadhana can be a lot of things, but if we're talking particularly about an on-the-mat physical practice, then it probably includes a personal practice at home. Your ability to be your own best teacher allows for a much fuller and more effective application of yoga which will follow you back on to the mat the next time you sit in front of your teacher. Then their support provides you with a new lesson which you again take away to practice on your own, and so on. It's a forever cycle. It's about balanced actions.

A practice that is done exclusively in the presence of external support (i.e. a teacher) is not full-spectrum, is not whole and complete, is only Salamba without its counterpart. What would happen to your practice if you were suddenly to find yourself without a teacher? Would it cease to exist? Have you set the foundation for Niralamba Sadhana? Could you sustain your practice if you were to find yourself without a teacher? Or would it slip away from you? Is your yoga tool-bag a balanced collection of Salamba and Niralamba, or is it prop heavy? If it is more Salamba than Niralamba, are you at least working toward Niralamba even if only slowly?

It could just as easily tip in the opposite direction. Rather than being dependent upon the guidance of a good teacher, you may have established a practice that is primarily self-guided and is missing the crucial element of skillful support. In which case your yoga tool-bag is shifted too far toward Niralamba, and is still a practice out of balance.

More can certainly be said about when and how to use props in practice, how to develop a personal practice, and what Patanjali means by Supported and Unsupported Yoga. But to wrap up I'll say that support allows us to experience things that would elude us if the support were not available. Embrace it when it's offered, but know that it is temporary. A strap during standing poses, the hands during Shoulderstand, the instructions voiced by your teacher are all good things if they are part of a balance between seeking help and acting independently. In the end we want to fully embody the yogic idea of niralambaya tejase which means that we want to be innately and brilliantly illuminated independent of external circumstances. All of us must be a student and a teacher. All of us will sometimes receive help and support, and will sometimes be the one to provide help and support. Yoga is wholly customizable and is a balanced cooperation between internal and external -- internal strength and external props, internal guidance and external instruction, within the classroom and without, etc.

Iyengar published Light on Yoga only after he was capable of performing all 200 asana without support. But he didn't start with that level of ability. He worked extremely hard for decades. He had a very good teacher, he practiced diligently on his own, and he used props. He knows as well as anybody that yoga is a balancing act between Salamba and Niralamba. Even though Light on Yoga does not include much in the way of practicing asana with support, there are many books which do. If you are interested in the support of some really great information to supplement Light on Yoga, the following are several of my most favorite Iyengar-based books:

     Yoga Wisdom & Practice by B.K.S. Iyengar
This book is a fantastic collection of commentary by Mr. Iyengar in the form of an interview by the author in which he discusses everything from his personal practice to yoga philosophy, diet to stress-relief, and it includes tons of beautiful, full-color photos of poses. (On Amazon)

     Essential Yoga: The Practice Step-by-Step Course by Judy Smith
Judy Smith is a senior-level Iyengar instructor who trained with Mr. Iyengar at his institute in India, and this book includes full-color photos of yoga poses with easy to understand instructions, props, and modifications. And easy to follow therapeutic sequences for things like headache relief, insomnia, indigestion, etc. (On Amazon)

     Cool Yoga Tricks by Miriam Austin
Blocks, straps, blankets, walls, chairs, countertops, and other people are just some of the props that are used throughout this book. Each pose has multiple photos and instructions for multiple types of support and modification. This book is thorough, simple, and practical. (On Amazon)

     Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar
This is not a "how to practice the poses" book. Here, Mr. Iyengar is revealing yogic practices in a much broader and inclusive sense than asana. He delves deeply into things like mental clarity, the role of ego, the cessation of suffering, and the creation of energy and creativity. He uses personal anecdotes and ancient wisdom to share yoga in a way that is relatable and attainable. The information in this book is part of the beginnings of Niralamba Sadhana. (On Amazon)