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I don't attack it, but it's not for actors: the use ofyoga by Jerzy GrotowskiMaria KapsaliPublished online: 21 Sep 2010.

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I dont attack it, but its not for actors:the use of yoga by Jerzy Grotowski

Maria Kapsali

Grotowskis use of yoga for theatrical purposes is well-known not only through the exercises

that travelled across the Atlantic and infiltrated American actor training, but also because he

finally dismissed yoga as inappropriate for acting and actor training purposes. This article traces

the sources of Grotowskis encounter with yoga and examines them through the lens of

scholarship on Modern Yoga. It thus attempts to shed light on the way Grotowski used the

discipline and examines the caution he voiced in regard to yogas incompatibility with acting.

Keywords: Grotowski, actor training, yoga, Modern Yoga

Introduction

A number of directors and actor trainers in contemporary Western theatrehave turned to non-theatrical practices and have attempted to apply themwithin a theatrical setting. Yoga is one of the practices that tend to feature ininterdisciplinary forms of training and has been employed and applied invarious ways. One leading figure in Western theatre that made use of yoga isJerzy Grotowski, but the presence of the discipline in his work has receivedlittle critical attention. Such a task could perhaps prove formidable asGrotowskis work extended to a number of practices, and it inevitably bearsthe mark of more than one discipline. Moreover, as Schechner (1997, p. 471)indicates, no one doing scholarship on Grotowski (in English) has gonedeeply enough into these various theatrical, mystical and intellectual sources,linking them to each other and to Grotowski. The same author, though,also remarks that this is no easy task, as Grotowski is not someonewhose sources can be pinned down to a simple from this comes that(ibid., p. 486).

Nonetheless, Grotowskis case is quite significant not only because of hisprominence within the legacy of twentieth-century actor training, but alsodue to certain peculiarities that his application of yoga presents. First of all,

Theatre, Dance and Performance Training,Vol. 1(2), 2010, 185198

Theatre, Dance and Performance Training ISSN 1944-3927 print/ISSN 1944-3919 online 2010 Taylor & Francis http://www.informaworld.com

DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2010.505002

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unlike many directors who approached yoga because of its potential use inactor training, Grotowski was interested in, one dare say fascinated by, thediscipline, prior to and independently of, any theatrical application. Second,despite the influence that yoga exerted on his artistic vision and the trainingof the Theatre Laboratory, the Polish director, in a statement published inTowards a Poor Theatre, declared yoga as inappropriate for actors:

[W]e began by doing yoga directed toward absolute concentration. Is it true,

we asked, that yoga can give actors the power of concentration? We observed

that despite all our hope the opposite happened. There was a certain

concentration, but it was introverted. This concentration destroys all

expression; its an internal sleep, an inexpressive equilibrium: a great rest

which ends all actions . . . I dont attack it, but it is not for actors. (Grotowski

1991, p. 208)

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the above statement hasaffected both the way yoga is viewed in Grotowskis work as well as themanner in which yoga is approached in theatre training. Dymphna Callery(2001, p. 27), for example, states that yoga certainly promotes supplenessand flexibility, but if done exclusively can inhibit rather than release actors.Grotowskis comment is cited as a proof of her thesis (ibid.). Equally, RobertBenedettis (1972, p. 88) caution, in a volume on actor training published in1972, bears strong resemblance to Grotowskis position. The authorinstructs actors to [b]eware of yoga . . . which in its passivity and self-relatedness may lead one away from theatre. He adds, nevertheless, thathatha yoga as a purely physical discipline is valuable.

However, as I am going to demonstrate, a critical examination of the wayGrotowski used yoga not only reveals a life-long interest, but also exposescertain attitudes towards the discipline that underlie this statement. Thisarticle has two complementary aims; the first is to discuss the directorsprimary sources of yoga through the lens of current scholarship on thesubject of Modern Yoga. The second aim is to closely and critically examineGrotowskis statement on yoga in relation to the sources of his originalcontact with yoga as well as the way yoga positions were used in the trainingof the Theatre Laboratory. I will draw from currently available material aswell as interviews I conducted in 2009 with two of Grotowskis closecollaborators; Ludwig Flaszen (1930), co-founder and literary director ofthe Theatre of Thirteen Rows (later The Laboratory Theatre), and RenaMirecka (1934) one of the first actors who joined the company in 1959 andremained until its disbandment.

The presence of yoga

As I have already suggested, yoga played a considerable role both inGrotowskis life and work. His first encounter with yoga at a young age, hisearly wish to study Sanskrit, and his repeated trips to India, mark a life andartistic journey that was significantly influenced by the discipline.1 Inparticular relation to his theatrical work, the presence of yoga can be tracedfrom the beginning of his career. Barba (1999), in his book Land of Ashes and

1. For more information onthis see Slowiac andCuesta (2007) as well asthe autobiographicaldocumentary With JerzyGrotowski (1980).Zbigniew Osinski (2008)also examinesGrotowskis contact withIndia, but the volume iswritten in Polish.

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Diamonds, offers a detailed documentation of his apprenticeship withGrotowski in Opole (19621964) and stresses the importance of Hinduthought both for Grotowski as well as for the relationship between the twomen; India, writes Barba (1999, p. 9), established between us a bond ofthought and a common language. During the same period, Grotowski alsoreferred to his theatre company as an ashram, and indeed Barba (1999, p.120) notes that Grotowski speaks of theatre as a kind of yoga. In fact, Barba(1999, p. 54) was convinced that Grotowski was only interested in onething, India or rather Hinduism, a belief which was confirmed by Grotowskias late as 1992.

Based on the above, one could suggest that the way Grotowski employedyoga in his theatrical practice was influenced by his understanding of thediscipline and the position the latter held in his worldview. It is important,therefore, to note that the presence of yoga not only can be traced in thetraining regime of the Theatre Laboratory, but it can and should be assessedin relation to Grotowskis overall preoccupation with the discipline.Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that yoga during the last 150years has gone through developments that drastically changed both theprofile of the disciplines propagators and practitioners as well the way(s) inwhich the discipline is viewed, disseminated and practised. In order,therefore, to provide a solid background against which Grotowskis approachcan be examined I will now turn to the developments that the disciplineunderwent during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Modern Yoga

Historian Elizabeth De Michelis (2004) makes an important distinctionbetween pre-modern forms of yoga and nineteenth-century re-formulationsof the discipline, which have produced what she terms Modern Yoga. Withina classical Hindu framework, yoga comprises one of the six systems ofphilosophical thought (darsanas), and underlies the dogma and devotionalpractices of orthodox Hinduism. In particular, yoga is considered to be botha technique as well as a state of transcendence, in which the devotee isunified with the Supreme Being (Brahman). However, from the mid 1800sonwards yoga became refashioned by a number of Indian as well as Europeanthinkers to such an extent that De Michelis identifies the rebirth of adiscipline, which due to its contemporaneous slant, she terms Modern Yoga(from now on MY). A key role in this process has been played by SwamiVivekananda (18631902), and it would not be an exaggeration to say thatduring his visit to the United States, between 1893 and 1896, Vivekanandamanaged marginally but properly to install yoga in the American culture (DeMichelis 2004, pp. 110111). From then on, MY, combining a refashionedHindu dogma with popular ideas on Western spiritualism, was reinforced anddisseminated by a number of publications, retreats, and the advent of holymen to the West who followed Vivekanandas example.

In addition to these occurrences, the Western desire for solid practicesthat could render spiritual attainment within reach (De Michelis 2004,p. 117) as well as Indias social and national struggle (Alter 2004) brought intothe foreground two particular aspects of yoga, namely the practice of yoga

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poses (asanas) and the breathing exercises (pranayama). De Michelis tracessuch developments to the creation of Modern Postural Yoga (from now onMPY), which, as the name suggests, encapsulates the ideology of MY while itemphasises the practice of the yoga positions or asanas. One of the mainfigures that developed and disseminated the practice of asanas, and becamearguably the most prominent exponent of MPY, is B.K.S. Iyengar (Alter 2004,p. 17). In 1966 Iyengar published in English a volume called Light on Yoga,which contained more than 200 asanas that were skilfully demonstrated bythe author in black and white photographs, and comprehensivelyaccompanied by step-by-step instructions, as well as an annotated list oftheir potential health benefits. The book, according to De Michelis (2004, p.198), became a best seller, and based on its unprecedented character andsuccess she calls it the standard reference work on asana practice in MYcircles all over the world. Faithful to its modern context, Iyengars teachingdownplayed yogas religious and Hindu-specific background, yet still viewedthe practice of the asanas as a part of the individuals spiritual and mentaladvancement. Based on the above, ethnographer Sarah Strauss (2005, p. 9)traces in the dissemination and popularisation of MY the creation of adistinctive transnational cultural product, which bears significant marks ofmodernity; the actualisation of self, the importance placed on health and thebody, the non-religious spiritual character. More importantly, the main pointthat contemporary yoga analysts go to great pains to support is that theaforementioned changes make it impossible to view yoga outside a historicaland socio-political framework. Practices and ideologies that are oftenpresented as ancient and universal are in fact disguised renditions ofrelatively recent, culturally-specific developments.2 In this context, DeMichelis (2004, pp. 911) talks about esoteric myopia, an ill that has affecteda variety of intellectuals whose work, well into the twentieth century, failedto take into account the constant reshaping of the discipline.

The different ideological and political strands that underlie MY as well asthe number of schools and approaches that are housed under this umbrellaterm, offer a new perspective through which Grotowskis initial yogaencounters can be examined. It is not simply a matter of discussingGrotowskis primary sources which are already known and available through a historically informed lens. My argument is that the assumptionsthat underlie these sources are in fact present in Grotowskis vision andoperative in his actor training. For these reasons, it is of great importance tore-examine where Grotowski found out about yoga and ask which kind ofyoga he used. The next section will consider two books on yoga thatGrotowski read at a young age as well as his contact with the practical aspectof the discipline.

Grotowskis sources of yoga: printed material

A search in secret India

According to Grotowskis (1997, pp. 251253) own account, his secretvocation for India was spurred by his mother Emilia who was a Hinduist,and by a book she gave to him when he was nine years old (and see Barba

2. For a detailed discussionon this subject see Alter(2004), De Michelis(2004), Strauss (2005),and Albanese (2007).

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1999, p. 54). A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton (1970) was anautobiographical memoir of the authors journey to the subcontinentpublished in 1934. To say that the book made a strong impression onGrotowski would be an understatement, since his first reaction . . . [to] thereport of Brunton was a fever (Grotowski, 1997 p. 252).

Paul Brunton (18981981), a British journalist frustrated by modern lifeset out to India to seek answers for his philosophical questions, which as hetestified were not satisfied by Western thought (Brunton 1970, p. 142).During his trip he encountered Ramana Maharishi (18791950), who is themost emphatic subject of Bruntons account. According to the author,Ramana, following a strong spiritual experience at the age of 16, decided toleave the secular world behind and retreated to a South Indian Tamil districtnear the hill of Arunachala. After spending a few years in complete silenceand seclusion a group of followers began to gather around the by-then-considered holy man. Ramana started speaking again but he never relied onverbal language to transmit his teachings. In fact, there was no message orteaching as such; since he never followed any particular school of thought, hedid not attempt to indoctrinate or catechise his followers (ibid., pp. 281290). Bruntons personal account of Ramana emphasises the impact of thelatters silence which emerged as his most prominent lesson, and, accordingto Brunton, it had the power to still the mind of the people in his vicinity. AtBruntons persistent questions regarding the road that one should follow inorder to develop spiritually, Ramana pointed out the importance of onesself-penetration and self-knowledge (ibid., pp. 145146).

Notwithstanding the impression that the book made on Grotowski, itshould be pointed out that A Search in Secret India is not without problems.The title of the book, as well as its introduction, make clear the India inwhich Brunton was interested; [t]hat the West has little to learn frompresent-day India, I shall not trouble to deny, but that we have much to learnfrom Indian sages of the past and from the few who live to-day, Iunhesitatingly assert (ibid., p. 17). As it becomes obvious, Brunton wasconcerned with this other India and quite indifferent to the socio-politicaldevelopments of the time. And indeed Ramana Maharishi did not present atypical example of such developments. As I have already mentioned, outsidethe latters hermitage, social and political conditions placed yoga at theservice of the struggle for independence, and the discipline was now seen asa method to produce politically, financially, mentally and physicallyemancipated householders rather than isolated ascetics.

Despite its shortcomings, though, it seems that Bruntons book had aresidual impact on Grotowski; the book is mentioned in several cases, andmost significantly Grotowski refers to it in the 1980 autobiographical film,With Jerzy Grotowski.3 It should also be noted that Grotowski not onlytravelled to Ramanas hermitage in Arunachala but requested to have hisashes scattered there. Equally, elements of Ramanas thoughts and practicescan be identified in Grotowskis art. His insistence on silence during therehearsals of the Theatre Laboratory (R. Mirecka, interview with author,2009), his belief in an inner, more truthful self, and his quest to enable actorand spectator alike to move towards it, bears significant resemblance toRamanas thought, as relayed by Brunton.4 Furthermore, it can be arguedthat the book fuelled Grotowskis fascination with Hinduism. Apart from

3. Bruntons book and itsinfluence on Grotowski ismentioned in severalbooks and articles; see forexample Barba (1999) andSlowiac and Cuesta(2007). Ludwig Flaszen(telephone interview withthe author 2009) alsoreferred to the samebook as one ofGrotowskis decisiveinfluences.

4. The importanceGrotowski placed onrehearsing in silence wasmentioned by Mireckaduring a talk at the BritishGrotowski Conference atKent University and not inthe interview I held withher (Grotowski: Theatreand Beyond, 2009).

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seriously considering dedicating himself to Sanskrit studies, during his time asa drama student Grotowski must have read extensively both volumes ofclassical Indian scholarship as well as contemporaneous books on thesubject.5 According to Barbas (1999, p. 49) account from his years in Opole,Grotowski appears well versed in a number of subjects on classicalHinduism, such as the various darsanas and Patanjalis text on yoga. Barba(1999, p. 123) also refers to Romain Rollands (2000) The Life of Ramakrishna,a book which Grotowski read in 1956.

The life of Ramakrishna

Romain Rollands The Life of Ramakrishna comprises a biographical account ofRamakrishna (18361886), an Indian mystic who became particular popularwith the Bengali intelligentsia during the nineteenth century. In hisintroduction Rolland (2000, p. xvii) betrays an attitude similar to Bruntons,regarding the land of India as sacred and invoking the thousand yearsexperience of thought possessed by the men of Asia (ibid., p. xiii).Furthermore, the book reflects popular tendencies to mask Hinduist dogmaunder a Christian cloak, and as a result, Ramakrishnas life is relayed in anovertly biblical manner (see De Michelis 2004, p. 100). The first chapter istitled The Gospel of Childhood, and claims that Ramakrishnas birth waspreceded by a vision that visited both his mother and father, and that hisconception was immaculate (Rolland 2000, p. 6). Ramakrishnas spiritualsensitivity became apparent from the first years of his life, when at the age ofsix he was first seized in ecstasy (ibid.). Similar experiences accompaniedRamakrishna throughout his life and Rolland promptly advises his audience torefrain from disrespectful thoughts regarding Ramakrishnas ecstatic states,since they were of a rare religious and spiritual nature (ibid., p. 32). In asimilar tone Rolland recounts the relationship between Ramakrishna and oneof his students Swami Vivekananda, who is referred to as part of the greatarmy of the Spirit (ibid., p. xiv).

A more sober account of Ramakrishnas life is offered by De Michelis(2004, p. 100), who supports that Ramakrishna was virtually untouched bymodern influences and his teachings were deeply rooted in theistic Sanskrittexts (ibid., p. 129). Furthermore, according to De Michelis, Ramakrishnadiscouraged those who identify themselves with the body to pursue atranscendental experience through yoga, and advised them to practise themore devotional forms of the discipline6 (ibid., p. 142). Despites his asceticoutlook, Ramakrishna acquired a prominent place in the Indian pantheon,due to Vivekananda and the latters already mentioned leading role inshaping and disseminating MY. Ramakrishna was portrayed as Vivekanandasspiritual master, although Vivekananda greatly distorted the latters teachingand their relationship was far from the straightforward gurudiscipleconnection to which Vivekananda alluded (ibid., p. 50) and Rolland (2000,p. 114) confirms.

It is not possible to know Grotowskis reaction to the book and whetherhe had a more critical perspective on Rollands comments, but Ramakrishnaspersonality must have made a lasting impression on him, as Grotowski visitedRamakrishnas shrine during one of his trips to India. It is also quite indicative

5. Grotowski had alsoorganised a series of talkson Indian philosophy thattook place in Krakow in1957.

6. This is a point whereRollands portrait ofRamakrishna agrees withrecent studies. Heactually cites an incidentwhere Ramakrishnaseverely scoldedVivekananda when thelatter asked forinstructions in order toachieve Samadhi, the finalstage of yoga where analtered state ofconsciousness is thoughtto be achieved.

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that the assumed relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda wasduplicated in Grotowskis friendship with Barba; in their private correspon-dence, part of which is included in Land of Ashes and Diamonds, Barba (1999)called Grotowski Ramakrishna, and accordingly Grotowski referred toBarba as Vivekananda.

Grotowskis sources of yoga: practice of yoga postures

An account of Grotowskis yoga-related influences would be wanting withouta reference to Tokarz Francis (18971973), a Catholic priest who accordingto Flaszen (telephone interview 2009) searched for practices outside hisown spiritual tradition. Grotowski met Tokarz in Krakow in 1950 andFlaszen attests that Tokarz showed Grotowski the practice of asanas (ibid.).As Grotowski was struggling with a kidney disease, he started to practiceyoga on a daily basis (ibid.). The source and nature of Tokarz knowledgethough can only be guessed at. Apart from the medieval text of Hatha YogaPradipika which gives a rather vague and cryptic account of some yoga poses(Alter 2004, p. 25) there is no line of written tradition for the practice of theasanas (Sjoman 1999, p. 35). Equally, during the 1950s Western scholarship,still carrying a strong orientalist legacy, was preoccupied with yoga as asystem of thought. As a result, the phenomenon of MPY in the West wasstill nascent.7 Taking the above into account, it would be safe to assumethat Tokarzs and subsequently Grotowskis knowledge of yoga waspredominantly based on books and the scant information on the practiceof asanas.8

As the above examination shows, Grotowskis contact with the disciplineduring his young adult life was through written works either of classicalscholarship, which inevitably placed yoga in a pre-modern context, ormodern scholarship which was oblivious to or even dismissive towardscontemporaneous developments. A critical review of Rollands and Bruntonsbooks makes clear that they were both permeated by an a-historical attitudetowards the discipline, betrayed a deeply embedded orientalist worldviewthat identified India as the land of universal spirituality, and made noreference to the developments that yoga was undergoing at the very timethese books were written. Finally, it should be noted that the character andcontent of these volumes reflects a deeper schism in the study andunderstanding of yoga: yoga as an ancient, almost primordial philosophy andpractice and yoga as a social product of the the wonder that is the world(Alter 2004, p. xiv), constantly worked on and reshaped by its practitioners.

Grotowskis repudiation of yoga

If one thus bears in mind Maharishis reclusion and silence, and Rollandshagiographic account of Ramakrishna, it is hardly surprising that Grotowskireached the conclusion that yoga is not fit for actors. Indeed, in thestatement under examination, Grotowski (1991, p. 208) regards the result ofan introverted concentration that kills all expression produced by yoga astypical of the discipline since the goal of yoga is to stop three processes:

7. Theo Bernards bookHatha Yoga: The Report ofa Personal Experiencepublished in 1944 is anexception to thedominant scholarlyoriented approaches toyoga of the time. Thebook offers illustrationsof the author practisingyoga poses, and conveys apractical but mystifiedaccount of yoga practice(for a detailed discussionsee Albanese 2007, pp.364368). There is noevidence that Grotowskiknew about this book atthe time.

8. During his trips to India,there is no evidence tosuggest that Grotowskireceived training in theasanas from a yogateacher.

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thought, breathing and ejaculation. Grotowskis description gives theimpression of an ascetic, highly internalised discipline, which interestinglyenough echoes the writings of Mircea Eliade, another writer that Grotowskiconsumed (Barba 1999, p. 50). In Yoga, Immortality and Freedom, Eliade (1973,p. 95) makes clear that the method of yoga comprises a number of differenttechniques, which all have one characteristic in common: they are antisocialand antihuman. Quite characteristically, Alter (2004, p. 7) calls the book awork of definitive, late-orientalist scholarship. The above perspective wouldperhaps settle the matter and offer a simple enough narrative. Grotowskissources during the 1950searly 1960s were inspirational but historicallyinaccurate and misleading. Alternative accounts were unavailable not onlybecause of the regime in communist Poland, but also because a challenge tosuch books had not yet appeared. Grotowski, therefore, came into contactwith a concept of the discipline that did not do justice to its moderncharacteristics and its refashioned character, and as a result his applicationwas doomed to reproduce a commonly held essentialist attitude. Things,however, are a bit more complicated, since Grotowskis (1991, p. 208) use ofyoga has an additional facet and his statement in Towards a Poor Theatre asecond part:

[W]e also observed that certain yoga positions help very much the natural

reactions of the spinal column; they lead to a sureness of ones body, a natural

adaptation to space. So why get rid of them? Just change all their currents.

From the above it becomes clear that an element of yoga was retained in thetraining, specifically the practice of the yoga poses, and that this element wasmodified. The next section will thus discuss the use of yoga in the TheatreLaboratory as well as the ensuing modifications.

Yoga training in the Theatre Laboratory

Although the presence of yoga poses in the performance of Sakuntala in 1960clearly demonstrates that yoga had been practised since the inception of thegroup, the source of such practice is not known. As access to resources onyoga was limited, it is quite likely that the groups initial contact with theposes was through Grotowskis own knowledge and the scatteredreferences in the available bibliography. However, after the mid-1960s theTheatre Laboratory acquired a much stronger link to the asanas. Accordingto Rena Mirecka (interview with author 2009) Grotowski gave to Cieslak abook by B.K.S. Iyengar, and asked him to study the asanas and teach them tothe rest of the group. As I have already mentioned, Iyengars approach wasmarked by an unprecedented virtuosity in the execution of the asanas andwas followed by a comprehensive training system which became dissemi-nated worldwide through the publication of Light on Yoga (1991). In relationto the training regime of the Polish troupe as well as the likely absence of ayoga trainer, it is important to stress that the content and form of the bookfeatures what De Michelis (2004, p. 198) calls a DIY character and thusoffers clear and systematic guidance for the practice of the postures in thecomfort of ones own home (ibid., p. 217).

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Apart from Mireckas testimony, the influence of Iyengar Yoga on thetraining of the Theatre Laboratory can be also traced within a sessionrecorded on film in 1971 in Wroclaw, which features Ryszard Cieslakinstructing and training with two actors of the Odin Theatre. In the secondpart of the video we are introduced to Physical Exercises, some of which, thecommentator informs us, are based on hatha yoga (Odin Theatre 1972,0:49:46). Cieslak demonstrates a set of yoga poses, predominantly inversionsand balances, which bear an unmistakable resemblance to the photographsthat feature in Iyengars book. The way Cieslak goes in and out of headstandas well as the variations of the positions of the arms can all be seen in Light onYoga (Iyengar 1991, pp. 143157, Odin Theatre 1972, 0:51:000:59:30).Equally, the execution of shoulderstand and the variation of the position ofthe legs can be traced in the same book (1991, pp. 167169, 185, OdinTheatre 1972, 0:54:2151). Apart from the inversions, Cieslak alsodemonstrates a balancing position (Odin Theatre 1972, 0:58:5058), as wellas a backward bend (Odin Theatre 1972, 0:53:30), both of which feature inLight on Yoga, (1991, p. 275 and pp. 9495).

Apart from the similarities between the training session and Iyengarsbook in terms of form, it is also worth noting that there are similarities interms of the teaching method. In his effort to teach the poses to the twoparticipants, Cieslak initially demonstrates the pose, and then indicates thebody part which is viewed as the correct point from which the movementin and out the position should originate. In positions that have a greaterdegree of difficulty he breaks the pose down in steps, which feature oneaction at a time. In the same manner, the poses in Light on Yoga are firstpictured in photographs and then are followed by a set of instructions thatdivides the pose in different stages and indicates the way the pose shouldbe done9. It appears, therefore, that apart from using material fromIyengars book, Cieslak also adopted an analytical and orthoperformativeapproach towards the practice and teaching of the asanas. Taking intoaccount that prior to the publication of Light on Yoga, there was neither anillustrated and annotated book on asanas nor a published pedagogicalapproach towards their practice, it can be concluded that Light on Yogaoffered significant amount as well as type of information according towhich yoga was practised in the Theatre Laboratory. Furthermore, I wouldargue that Iyengars work not only provided a source of training material

Figure 1ac From Training at Teatr Laboratorium in Wroclaw, a film by Torgeir Wethal OdinTeatret Archives.

9. It is also worth noting thatthe same pedagogy isfollowed in currentclasses on Iyengar Yoga.

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but it comprised the base on which such material could be adapted andmodified towards theatrical purposes.

As Grotowski (1991, p. 208) relates in his statement, he did not simplymaintain the yoga postures in the training, but changed the currents withthe aim to transform the physical elements [of the yoga practice] intoelements of human contact. The developments that were incurred byGrotowski and his actors to the practice of the asanas can be seen in the1972 session. First of all, apart from the poses and the aforementionedvariations that can be traced directly to Light on Yoga, Cieslak executes andteaches additional variations on the two inversions. After headstand andshoulderstand are demonstrated and practised, Cieslak executes the sameposes but places the head, the arms or the legs slightly differently. As a resultthe way he goes in and out of the pose also changes. It is clear, however, thatthese variations are grafted on the shape of the main asanas, and they aretaught after the demonstration and practice of each classical pose.Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the asanas, as presented in Light onYoga, already feature a number of variations and thus make possible furtherexperimentation.10 Finally, as the last part of the training session shows, themost important aspect of Cieslaks modifications is that they made easierthe transition from one pose to the next and thus enabled continuousmovement between the poses.

After teaching the poses and their variations to the two Odin actors,Cieslak demonstrates an improvisation, where he moves from one poseto the next in uninterrupted movement and without a predeterminedorder. He then asks the actors to go through the poses in the samemanner, and develop an organic flow from one pose to the next withoutpremeditation. After this initial improvisation, Cieslak asks them to workin a pair and go through the poses while relating to one another indifferent ways, such as against each other (Odin Theatre 1972, 1:14:201:15:00), for each other (ibid., 1:17:131:19:10) and finally as two smallcats who play together (ibid., 1:19:151:22:15). The training session aswell as Grotowskis remark makes clear that the nature of the yogapractice was changed in a manner that de-emphasised ones attention onthe execution of the poses, and instead placed it on the surroundingspace and the rest of the group. As Flaszen (telephone interview 2009)remarks Grotowski with his actors practiced yoga which was directedoutwards. This was the crux of his discovery. [. . .] They practiced with apartner, with the sound, with the wall, the contact with the environment,a very precise uninterrupted contact.

In particular relation to the change of the currents and the focus ofones attention outwards it should be noted that an external orientationis to a degree inherent in the practice of asanas as materialised in IyengarYoga. Since the emphasis is on the execution of the postures, and thisexecution is necessarily situated in and subjected to the contingencies ofspace and gravity, the body is constantly related to space and the space isthematised by the body. As a result, even without changing the currentsthe character of the asana practice is consequently more outward-facingthan breathing or meditational techniques. Apart from this, it should alsobe taken into account that both MY and MPY were based on and derivedfrom a desire to use yoga as a means to satisfy this-worldly concerns

10. It is also important tomention that IyengarYoga, as it is currentlypractised, features anumber of variationsthat were developedafter the bookspublication and as suchdo not appear in Light onYoga.

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rather than other-worldly transcendence. As I have discussed, MY wasdesigned to serve the individual in ones social environment. As a result,the historical contingencies as well as the physical orientation of thepractice offered intrinsic structures that made the application of thediscipline possible. However, the way Grotowski talks about the groupsinitial experimentation with yoga as well as the groups subsequent yoga-based regime conceals tendencies that are embedded in the practice andenabled his application in the first place. Most importantly, it has to bementioned that the yoga-based activities that features in the Wroclawsessions have remained in use and comprise what is nowadays regardedas Grotowski training. Lisa Wolford (2000, p. 201), for example, in heraccount of training with Grotowski in the Objective Drama programme(19891992), gives a similar description to the 1972 session:

Initially, we worked with each of the headstands and shoulderstands in a

technical way, learning to execute the positions correctly. Once we were able

to find the positions, we were encouraged to play with displacing balance . . . As

a further step in the process . . . we were encouraged to create sequences of

improvised, non-verbal dialogue with other participants.

Equally she identifies the same exercises in a training session she observed inPontendera in 1992 (ibid., p. 202). Having exposed Grotowskis key primarysources, the type of yoga that was used in the Theatre Laboratory as well asthe way in which it was modified, I will now return to Grotowskis statementin Towards a Poor Theatre and re-examine it through these sources.

A critical examination of Grotowskis statement

As I have already mentioned, the language in which Grotowski describesyoga and the subsequent results it produced in the first part of thestatement carry orientalist overtones (we began by doing yoga towardabsolute concentration, yoga produced a concentration that was intro-verted and destroy[ed] all expression). The practice of the physicalpostures, on the other hand, which Grotowski singles out later in thestatement, derives from MY and MPY, and can be directly traced neitherto the literature nor the concepts that inform the first part. It becomesapparent, therefore, that Grotowskis statement draws from two distinctdiscourses, i.e. the orientalist discourse in which yoga was viewed as anancient technique of spiritual transcendence and the MY discourse inwhich yoga is viewed as method for health enhancement and self-development. Based on this, it would be quite accurate to suppose thatthe yoga denounced by Grotowski in relation to the actors craft was theyoga of the secret India, since not only was it introverted, as Grotowskicorrectly observes, but it also did not offer any model that could bepractically explored and applied. Ramana had no teaching as such, whereasRamakrishna encouraged only the forms of devotional yoga for thoseassociated with the body. By contrast the yoga that Grotowski did useand render relevant to the performer was the yoga of modern India.Nonetheless, Grotowskis statement smoothes out any distinction between

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the two discourses and, in fact, it seems that he considers the use ofthe poses as developed in a modern context to be a non-legitimate form ofyoga.

In his statement, Grotowski first declares yoga to be inappropriate foractors and then he refers to the use of the yoga positions. When, therefore,he explicitly states that yoga is not for actors, and then he mentions the useof the yoga positions, it ensues that the practice of yoga positions is notyoga. Moreover, his reference to the yoga poses has a casual character andtheir practice is justified due to their physiological benefits (flexibility in thespine, space awareness). The employment of MY therefore, although itformed a significant part of the training, is presented as yoga positions withchanged currents, and as such is not regarded as part of the discipline. As aresult, Grotowskis statement seems to rest on a preconception in regard towhat does and what does not count as yoga. Furthermore, it points at adisjunction between the foundations that formed Grotowskis attraction toand cultural understanding of yoga and the source that influenced hispractical application of the discipline. It is not simply that Grotowski cameinto contact with a number of yoga practitioners each resulting in variousdegrees and kinds of influence. Quite troublingly, it seems that Grotowskiwas fascinated by a kind of yoga he could not apply and applied a kind of yogathat did not fascinate him.

Grotowskis attraction to a pure and primordial form of practice isalso supported by the profile of the yoga practitioners that Grotowskisought in his journeys to India. During his trips there11 Grotowski visitedRamakrishnas shrine, Maharishis place of hermitage, and Aurobindosashram.12 Furthermore, during his first trip in 1969, Grotowski came intocontact with the practice of Bauls, a Bengali devotional form of singing, whichwas maintained and led to the participation of a Baul singer in the lastgathering of the Theatre of the Sources. Bearing in mind Grotowskis attitudetowards yoga, it is not surprising that all of the aforementioned figuresdisplay a significant ascetic orientation, and their outlook and lifestyle bearresemblances to the image of the archetypal yogi.

A similar tendency has been identified by Milling and Ley in relation toGrotowskis interest in other disciplines and their practitioners.13 Theyparticularly refer to an ideology that in the very choice of participantsconstructs these traditions of ritual as closer to the origin and the primal(Milling and Ley 2000, p. 137; emphasis added). They further identify afetishization of the work of these practitioners as pure and suggest thatGrotowski was reluctant to view them in relation to their own history andthe contingencies of cultural development (ibid.). In the same vein,Schechner (1997, pp. 490491) points out that Grotowski assumes thatthe ancient practices are superior to the modern, and most pertinentlyhe continues this formation does not satisfy me. I cannot recognizewisdom that exists before or behind cultures and genres, in the originaltimes, in the old practices. Why for Grotowski, does old equal good?Schechners point appears to encapsulate Grotowskis understanding of, aswell as his statement on, yoga. Indeed, it seems that according toGrotowskis worldview the practice of MY paled in front of the archetypalyogi and the new form of practice was condemned to be inferior tothe old.14

11. It is worth mentioningthat Grotowskis trips toIndia, all after 1966, donot feature any recorded visit toIyengars base in Pune(Mirecka for examplesought tuition there inthe late 1970s; Mireckainterview 2009).

12. It is also quite telling thatGrotowski in a letter toBarba in 1965 likens theresidence of the Theatreof the 13 Rows in Opoleto Ramanas hermitage inArunachala, whereas hedraws parallels betweenthe subsequentrelocation of theTheatre Laboratory toWroclaw (a bigger city)with Aurobindosashram in Pondicherry,which is a bustling urbancentre (Barba 1999,p. 136).

13. Grotowskis interest inand influence by anumber of practices iswell-known anddiscussed; for moreinformation see I WyanLendra in Wolford andSchechner (1997, p.310).

14. This disjuncture is alsoapparent in both Callerys(2001) as well asBenedettis (1972)previously cited opinion,who although theycaution against thediscipline, acknowledgethe potential of the posesfor the actors work.

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Conclusion

An examination of Grotowskis statement on the presence of yoga in thework of the Theatre Laboratory not only points out the inconsistencies thatpervade the way he talked about it, but also sheds light on the way he used it.A close reading of the statement, especially in relation to Grotowskiskey primary sources, makes clear that Grotowskis use and subsequentrenunciation of the discipline for theatrical purposes was permeated by anumber of assumptions as to what the discipline is and the results it shouldproduce. An uncritical repetition of Grotowskis verdict is first of allinaccurate, since Grotowski did use yoga, albeit not the yoga he had in mind.If anything, therefore, Grotowskis example should be seen in relation tocurrent applications of the discipline, as for example those advanced byDorinda Hulton and Phillip Zarrilli.15 Finally, it should be acknowledged thatthe layers that underlie Grotowskis contact with yoga belong to a widernetwork of cultural assumptions and scholarly biases that afflicted not onlyGrotowskis vision but the work of a number of scholars. Grotowskis case,therefore, makes it imperative that the discussion and application of yogatake into account both the complexity of historical and cultural premises aswell as the liveness of a constantly evolving form of practice.

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