Anusara Yoga: An Interview with John Friend
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Studying with a Master
Four years ago I had my first experience with Anusara® yoga in a workshop with John Friend. It was a wholly inspiring experience.
Having John Friend as a teacher is truly amazing. He has a way of weaving a tapestry of excellence in every class. He skillfully guides you to the most profound places, and yet there has never been a training with John where laughter has been absent.
While training with John I have discovered and redefined my capacity for physical, mental, and spiritual growth. You not only learn from John Friend, but if you attune to him and open to his teachings there is a direct and powerful energetic transmission that brings everyone up to their highest potential.
"His classes are like a song - so beautiful, open, and free." This was Laura Kay's response after practicing with John in Bogota, Columbia on his South American tour. I wholeheartedly agree with her!
Skill and Respect
John's yoga practice began at least 35 years ago; longer if you count his early beginnings of meditation practice as a 4 year old. He founded Anusara yoga 10 years ago. Today he is widely considered one of the most charismatic and highly respected yoga teachers in the world. Blending an uplifting Tantric yoga philosophy with Anusara yoga's Universal Principles of Alignment(TM) and a delightful sense of humor, John's teaching style guides each student to fully live every moment from the heart. Above all, John inspires his students to more clearly see their own unique beauty and divine goodness.
I asked him to share his vision and insight, and he graciously shared some of his very scarce free time with me for this interview.
Freedom In Your Inbox
Learn how to apply this empowering approach to your own life in small, uplifting doses. Check out my free, fun, well written yoga and meditation service, Daily Doses of Delight.I offer this from the heart, and have had such amazing response from people who tell me how perfect these messages and meditations are, and how much they use the meditations and philosophy to stay centered in day to day life.
Who am I? Good question. My name is Katrina Ariel, and I'm an Anusara-Inspired yoga instructor. My mission in life is to help people be happy and healthy. Sometimes that's just a smile or a kind word in passing, sometimes it's guidance and powerful transformation. Sometimes it's just knowing when to listen and when to share wisdom.
I would be honored to offer you inspiration, should you be open to it, for we all have a gift for each other. For now, I dearly hope you enjoy this interview with my teacher, John Friend.
Yoga for Beginners
Katrina Ariel: What do you think is most important for the beginning student of yoga to know?John Friend: "That they are part of something so vast, powerful, and beautiful that all they have to do is be very sensitive and soft and open to feeling it, within them and around them. That grand energy will support them and help them to awaken to the truth that they are part of that energy. The most important thing is to realize they don't have to do it by themselves. There is this Spirit that's right there that wants them to have an awakening. They are not alone."
(Note from Katrina: This philosophy is one of the main reasons people feel so good when they discover Anusara yoga. Most beginners come into class feeling intimidated and not knowing what to expect. With this style of yoga they are welcomed, encouraged, and allowed to discover that yoga can be an expression of divine connection and creative celebration. It's just such a beautiful thing, and it feels so right! As a teacher I love seeing the same person who was hesitant at the beginning of class walking out super-bright and gushing with gratitude.)
The Anusara Yoga Invocation Song
Each Anusara yoga class opens with singing. At first, it might seem strange, but then the practice of beginning in this way opens you up to a deeper experience. You tune in, truly, with a bigger energy and because of this conscious aligning with your highest intention, your yoga practice opens up to you in an incredible way!Check out this excellent article on the Anusara Yoga Invocation mantra - it explores each part of the mantra in-depth, and gives you a beautiful feel of the whole concept that is entered into when you sing the Sanskrit words.
The Yoga of Meditation
John Friend: "It has to be fueled by the desire for freedom and awakening. These are the highest things; there needs to be some deep meaning for the practice and a purpose of meditating. If the person wants to find peace in their life, or they want to bring insight, or they want to gain more delight and more self-worth or self-love; if it really means a lot to them, it will fuel their practice.
"If they don't have that kind of deep meaning or purpose, for most people the practice putters out. They do a little practice and it doesn't hold. If they don't find the meaning and they try to do a regular practice it becomes rigid - a rigid discipline.
"The key is a continual renewal. It has to be so important that they want to awaken, so important that they want to gain greater happiness and freedom from their suffering. Consequently, meditation will become the most important thing on their schedule, so that any time during the day they're going to find time to practice. It becomes THE priority. Otherwise people skip it - something else gets in the way. 'Oh, I didn't meditate because I was busy.' You hear that excuse all the time. If it's a priority, they're going to do at least 15-20 minutes of meditation each day. That's all you need, so you make the time happen."
Why We Play
John's thoughts on how yoga can be fun! Also a sampling of teaching at Yoga Journal's Grand Gathering.
Life as Yoga
Katrina Ariel: How can yoga practitioners extend their practice past their mats?John Friend: "By seeing that the principles we use on the mat can be applied in the same way off the mat."
(For the reader's reference, there is a great reference for the principles here: Universal Principles of Alignment of Anusara yoga. The principles are: Open to Grace and Set the Foundation, Muscular Energy, Inner Spiral, Outer Spiral, and Organic Energy.)
"The first principle is to be open to the magical Spirit that is all around us all the time. Instead of first thinking that the practice is merely a physical discipline, the first thing is really an openness to see: to perceive the waves of Spirit in every person we encounter and in all the different things that happen. So you come off the mat and look around in a state of wonder, like 'Where is spirit?' [Everywhere!] That's the key.
"The next thing is to use Muscular Energy; you use focus; you choose to align. You can't just be spaced out and blown away by the wonder of Spirit, but [instead] you literally use concentration; use focus to make the right effort, and make the right action to align with that Spirit that you're sensing. So Muscular Energy is about paying attention and focusing.
"The Spirals are about refining and becoming more sophisticated and more of a connoisseur of life off the mat. You hone your senses, hone your knowledge, hone the artistic expression of the knowledge, so you become more eloquent, and you become more artistic. Internally, the Spirals are the development and refinement of our desire to make creative beauty.
"Lastly, you come in and ultimately it's for expansion and expression. Ultimately our life off the mat is a celebration of the Spirit that is moving through us, so that at the end of the day or at the end of a life you look back and think, 'Wow! That was a great day. I gave it my full, I gave it my all. What a joy that was! What a blast - what a ride that was!' So there's no regret. Now I live my principles off the mat, full-on. Practice and 'off the mat' are not separate things. Realize it's all one practice."
John's Personal Practice
Katrina Ariel: What do you most enjoy in your own practice?
John Friend: "The never ending unfoldment of insight and delight, and creative play that moves in me and around me. It's constantly astonishing for me and delightful. It's never ending. Everyday I learn something. I've been doing it for a long time - poses like Dog pose, I've been doing for 35 years and I find something new in Dog pose all the time. My relationship with the Shakti keeps deepening every day. It's never ending. I rush to the mat, I rush to be with the Shakti off the mat too. It's constant fuel and enthusiasm for me. It's totally exciting, totally fresh."
Classes by John Friend on DVD and CD
Anusara Yoga
John Friend: "As Anusara yoga has grown over the last 10 years, we have new generations of practitioners and teachers who I've not even met. They're truly caring and adamant in a deep level of integrity. It's spread to so many cultures and different places around the planet.
"There's so much joy that the practice is bringing to people in its creative expansion. I sit back and watch something that's moving by itself now. And that's really a trip - it's a far out trip! We're [also] deepening the actual manifestation of the yoga system in terms of support in the form of books and tapes and other media so people can go deeper in their understanding and supporting their practice. And that's in different languages and locations on the planet, so that the community is now a totally world-wide Merry Band."
Deeper Into Understanding
The Anusara Kula (community of the heart) that has developed with John's vision is a global fun-loving family. The support generated within the Kula is deeply sincere and powerful. We naturally clap for each other when someone demonstrates a pose or does something for the first time. There is a closeness, and a willingness to help out that is touching. Yet it is an open community; one that heartily welcomes newcomers and looks for the beauty in all, celebrating each person's uniqueness.
When John speaks about Shakti, he refers to the creative energy of the universe that pulses within everything. As you become more aware in yoga practice and in life, you feel more deeply and more frequently that creative energy. John's classes are full of Shakti, with each person giving their personal best, both for themselves and for John Friend. He is such an inspiration that it is a joy to work harder than ever before, to ride the wave between laughter and tears, singing and silence, and to become an ever more attentive student.
The skill with which John teaches and interacts with people is truly amazing. He is one of the leaders in innovative biomechanics and yoga therapy. He weaves ancient teachings, modern humor, scientific alignment, common sense, and deep feeling into each masterfully sequenced class.
What About the Weight of the World?
John's answer was something like this: Come to your mat. Make your practice an offering. Dedicate yourself to becoming more aware, and celebrate life! Lift up others by lighting up your own heart. As you shine you inspire others to do so, and each contribution ripples out to touch the next person.
John says, "We lead by example of our own lives, while respecting others' choices to express their own views and values. With deep respect we warmly invite everyone to join the grand celebration of life through Anusara yoga."
Want More?
At my yoga and meditation blog you will find articles, meditations, and a free yoga and meditation service called Daily Doses of Delight, all of which are informed by the Anusara yoga methods. As an Anusara-Inspired yoga teacher(TM), it is my sincere pleasure to offer guidance into the freedom of awakening. I invite you to learn with me for free by subscribing to my yoga meditation newsletter.
You can also read my other Squidoo pages to learn more about various aspects in the wide world of yoga!
Yoga for You
How Has Anusara Yoga Helped You?
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beryl herrin
Sep 8, 2009 @ 6:30 am | delete
- john friend has been one of the most influential people of my lifetime....the last almost decade of study and community has informed my practice, my life, my heart and my offerings.....most of my dearest friends trace back to this kula and i am aware daily of the greatness of this illustrious system of yoga and the depth with which one can choose to go if so inspired...it is an honor to have john friend and my friend and beloved teacher...to the ever expanding unfolding and enfolding!
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Katrina_Ariel
Aug 24, 2009 @ 1:41 pm | delete
- Thank you. I really appreciate reading your comments - we grow together by sharing experiences and ideas. Wisdom expands through your words.
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Rowan_Goodheart
Aug 23, 2009 @ 8:32 pm | delete
- Thanks so much for this interview! Anusara yoga has been life changing for me - it's like coming home to a way of life and huge family I always wished I had.
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Jenami Larsen
Aug 20, 2009 @ 2:04 pm | delete
- Much gratitude for these depthful insights.
xo
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CaseyKaldal
Aug 20, 2009 @ 1:36 pm | delete
- Fantastic lense! Keep on spreading the light.
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Gratitude
This article is written with great gratitude and humble respect for my teacher, John Friend, and the profound teachings of Anusara yoga.
I truly hope you find more freedom in your heart, mind, and body. May each breath be realized for the magic it can bring.
Namaste
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