My time with Sri T Krishnamacharya was personally transformative. I was very young and looking for direction. I first met him in what was called Madras at the time. I had heard he was no longer taking "Westerners" to teach. I found my way to his home, introduced myself, and convinced him that I would be a good student of yoga. During my time under his direct instruction, I learned a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, humility, and  what  really is important, at least for me, in this fleeting life. I let him know I was more interested in practicing medicine, and in particular, psychiatry, than teaching yoga, and he was highly supportive. During my last visit before returning to America, he sat down next to me, and shared a book with some 200 pictures of himself doing the essential asanas. He asked me to receive it, take it with me, and use it to increase research of yoga and further the science of Yoga. Until now I have not shared these photos publicly. Since there is really no living American who studied directly with him living any longer and having no interest in profiting from my relationship with him, I would now like to begin publishing the knowledge he provided me regarding the science of mind most advanced on the planet, known as Yoga for the benefit of mankind.
I do this humbly requesting the blessings of Sri T Krishnamacharya, his teachers, and his teachers teachers.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation. Bottom line, asana can be any comfortable position where you are alert and relaxed.

i have a 60 slide power point i would like to post for those passionate about yoga. corri chadwick is familiar with it, but i thought it would be good to get it "out there" for public interest. there is a great deal information out there about what folks think yoga is. i thought i would provide some insight into what one of the greats(krishnamacharya) had to say about the nature of yoga. About The Clinic Relevance of the first sutra in building the clinic About the who, what, how, and why of the clinic What is Yoga Are Its Practices Scientifically Based? Introduction to pre-requisites of Pranayama( asana, bandha, kumbhaka, mudra,samavritti, visamavrtti, puraka, rechaka) Pranayama: Anuloma, Viloma, and Prathiloma Ujjayi It is essential in an environment intended to promote insight, transition, and some form of personal transformative process to have an environment that is safe, comfortable, quiet with a sense of the auspicious or preciousness of the moment. Equally important is the sacredness of the relation between practitioner(teacher) and client(student). The clinic is therefore built upon the insight first shared by Rishis as a necessary precondition for personal growth. Patañjali (Sanskrit: पतञ्जलि, IPA: [pət̪əɲɟəli]; fl. 150 BCE or 2nd c. BCE) is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas (short comments) on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine (āyurveda Patanjali considered the first author to compile the knowledge of yoga. Wrote 194 terse sayings or Sutras. First Sutra: “athayoganushasanam” We are here together as teacher and student in an auspicious moment to transmit the knowledge of yoga. THE PRACTICE SETTING, AND SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF RAPPORT AND TRUST BETWEEN STUDENT AND TEACHER IS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF YOGA SECOND SUTRA: WHAT IS YOGA? “YOGAHA CITTAVRTTINIRODAHA” Yoga is the suppression of, freedom from, (as though covering with a lid) the modifications of the mind. Some say(the spontaneous disappearance of the mind) This provides the practitioner with the ability to directly focus on any given object in a sustained fashion without any distractions. Restraining the “mind-stuff” from taking various forms. Thus, yoga is a mental state where one can direct the often uncontrolled activities of naturally restless conscious mental behavior, the sutras call the mind. Mind is an activity not a thing THE EIGHT LIMBS OF YOGA: 1 Yama: our attitude toward the environment 2)Niyama: our attitude toward ourselves 3). Asana: the practice of body postures 4).Pranayama: the practice of breathing exercises 5).Pratyahara: The restraint of our Senses 6). Dharana: The ability to direct our minds. 7). Dhyana: The ability to develop full understanding of all the relations to that which is studied 8).Samadhi: Complete integration and immersion with the object to be understood. WHAT IS YOGA? Yoga is not a thing or even a set of practices. it is the mental experience of a lifting or stoppage of the usual mental processes leaving a mental state of unmodified consciousness. Yoga is the experience where usual conscious mental activity stops and no mental modifications “clutter the view”. That’s it. no magic, no spells, no special twists, holds, exercises. Getting to that mental state involves many of the practices referred to in much of the popularized awareness of yoga. WHAT IS YOGA, CONTINUED; Yoga may then occur when any activity leads to the stoppage of the modifications of the mind. To attain the state of yoga, physical practices have been described in literature and are abundant in popularized yoga. The physical practices like pranayama are not yoga. They are simply practices that can lead to yoga. Popularization and hype about physical practices is not the essence of what yoga is BOTTOM LINE; WHAT IS YOGA BOTTOM LINE YOGA IS A MENTAL STATE ENOUGH FOR NOW. More to come along with photos Sri Krishnamacharya gave me to use for research purposes. OM SHANTI.

Dr. Copeland studied directly with Sri T. Krishnamacharya and taught and published on yoga in the 70’s-80’s. He has been a contributor and patron donor to the international Association for Yoga Therapy until recently when his views evolved regarding the appropriateness of calling yoga a therapy. Below is his current view on Yoga as a therapy. My journey to the conclusion IT IS PREMATURE AND INAPPROPRIATE TO CALL YOGA A THERAPY All practices of yoga are based on several spiritual and philosophical assumptions. Yoga is first and foremost a spiritual discipline with its goal to lead the devoted practitioner to a state of mind where personal suffering is experienced in context of those assumptions, and along the way, personal delusions, are dispelled. As I sift through my thinking, the separation of my knowledge of yoga from its physical practices is not a healthy practice. They go hand in hand For me to respect anyones teaching of yoga it must be taught as a spiritual discipline with these assumptions left intact with the practices. If yoga is practiced in such a divorced state, the essence of yoga is completely missed and it is therefore not yoga that is being performed, simply physical practices without knowing the proper context. About recognition as a healing discipline on a parity with modern medicine, psychology, mental health therapies, etc. At this time, teaching yoga without acceptance and understanding of its basic spiritual and religious assumptions is missing the essential point of all practices leading to a state of yoga. Viewing yoga as a healing art in and of itself without understanding or teaching its spiritual assumptions seems deceitful to me, or at least ignorant, and worst case, cloaking yoga as purely a physical practice when its true message is far from this. It could be viewed as intellectual deceit and frank dishonesty among those trying to sell the product to parties such as third party payors, hospital systems, etc. Advocating for yoga based on “the science” and data is simply using science and the scientific method as a “selling point” for the product. This is not dissimilar from what drug companies do to get FDA to approve a drug so the profit may be realized from all the Rand D(research and development). The difference being a drug is a proven product and all known side effects are revealed to the patient in plain language. We really know very little about yoga and its effects. It is a classic example of the cart leading the horse. Science should lead us to conclusions, not simply reinforce a “transcendent” belief or “experience”. It has and should be a deeply personal practice taught by a teacher knowledgeable in all aspects of yoga, and practiced with the proper intent. Teaching yoga without simultaneously teaching its religious and spiritual assumptions amounts to giving a medication or doing a procedure which requires proper disclosure, without obtaining proper informed consent of the patient. I continue to be supportive of genuine scientific inquiry into the HEALING TRADITION OF YOGA. Again, the practice of the discipline leading to a state of yoga is a deeply personal journey, each very unique, leading to the state of yoga. I am ever practicing and plan ongoing evolution of my own thinking. I personally find yoga tremendousley useful for me and will go on advocating for its personal practice if people ask me. OM SHANTI. p