Maria Kapsali

‘I don’t attack it, but it’s not for actors’: The Use of Yoga by Jerzy

Grotowski

Published in Theatre, Dance and Performance Training Journal, Vol 1(2), pp.

185-198.

Abstract

Grotowksi’s 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 Grotowski’s

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 examine the caution he voiced in regard to yoga’s incompatibility

with acting. Maria Kapsali is a qualified Iyengar Yoga teacher and this research

forms part of her PhD in Performance Practice at University of Exeter

investigating the use of yoga in actor training.

Keywords

Grotowski, actor training, yoga, Modern Yoga, acting

Introduction

A number of directors and actor trainers in contemporary Western theatre have

turned to non-theatrical practices and have attempted to apply them within a

1
theatrical setting. Yoga is one of the practices that tend to feature in

interdisciplinary forms of training and has been employed and applied in various

ways. One leading figure in Western theatre that made use of yoga is Jerzy

Grotowski, but the presence of the discipline in his work has received little

critical attention. Such a task could perhaps prove formidable as Grotowski’s

work extended to a number of practices, and it inevitably bears the mark of

more than one disciplines. Moreover, as Schechner indicates, ‘no one doing

scholarship on Grotowski (in English) has gone deeply enough into these

various theatrical, mystical and intellectual sources, linking them to each other

and to Grotowski’ (1997, p. 471). The same author, though, also remarks that

this is no easy task, as ‘Grotowski is not someone whose “sources” can be

pinned down to a simple “from this come that”’ (ibid., p. 486).

Nonetheless, Grotowski’s case is quite significant not only because of his

prominence within the legacy of twentieth-century actor training, but also due to

certain peculiarities that his application of yoga presents. First of all, unlike

many directors who approached yoga because of its potential use in actor

training, Grotowski was interested in, one dare say fascinated by, the discipline,

prior to and independently of, any theatrical application. Second, despite the

influence that yoga exerted on his artistic vision and the training of the Theatre

Laboratory, the Polish director, in a statement published in Towards 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;
it’s an internal sleep, an inexpressive equilibrium: a great rest

2
 which ends all actions…I don’t attack it, but it is not for actors.
(1991, [1968] p.208)

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the above statement has affected

both the way yoga is viewed in Grotowski’s work as well as the manner in which

yoga is approached in theatre training. Dymphna Callery, for example, states

that ‘yoga certainly promotes suppleness and flexibility, but if done exclusively

can inhibit rather than release actors’ (2001, p. 27). Grotowski’s comment is

cited as a proof of her thesis (ibid.). Equally, Robert Benedetti’s caution, in a

volume on actor training published in 1972, bears strong resemblance to

Grotowski’s position. The author instructs actors to ‘[b]eware of yoga … which in

its passivity and self-relatedness may lead one away from theatre’. He adds,

nevertheless, that ‘hatha yoga as a purely physical discipline is valuable’ (1972,

p. 88).

However, as I am going to demonstrate, a critical examination of the way

Grotowski used yoga not only reveals a life-long interest, but also exposes

certain attitudes towards the discipline that underlie this statement. My article

has two complementary aims; the first is to discuss the director’s primary

sources of yoga through the lens of current scholarship on the subject of

Modern Yoga. The second aim is to closely and critically examine Grotowski’s

statement on yoga in relation to the sources of his original contact with yoga as

well as the way yoga positions were used in the training of the Theatre

Laboratory. I will draw from currently available material as well as interviews I

conducted in 2009 with two of Grotowski’s close collaborators; Ludwig Flaszen

(1930-), co-founder and literary director of the Theatre of Thirteen Rows (later

3
The Laboratory Theatre), and Rena Mirecka (1934-) one of the first actors who

joined the company in 1959 and remained until its disbandment.

The presence of Yoga

As I have already suggested, yoga played a considerable role both in

Grotowski’s life and work. His first encounter with yoga at a young age, his early

wish to study Sanskrit, and his repeated trips to India, mark a life and artistic

journey that was significantly influenced by the discipline1. In particular relation

to his theatrical work the presence of yoga can be traced from the beginning of

his career. Barba in his book Land of Ashes and Diamonds offers a detailed

documentation of his apprenticeship with Grotowski in Opole (1962-1964) and

stresses the importance of Hindu thought both for Grotowski as well as for the

relationship between the two men; India, writes Barba ‘established between us

a bond of thought and a common language’ (1999, p. 9). During the same

period, Grotowski also referred to his theatre company as an ashram, and

indeed Barba notes that Grotowski ‘speaks of theatre as a kind of yoga’ (1999,

p. 120). In fact, Barba was convinced that Grotowski ‘was only interested in one

thing, India or rather Hinduism’, a belief which was confirmed by Grotowski as

late as 1992 (1999, p. 54).

Based on the above, one could suggest that the way Grotowski employed yoga

in his theatrical practice was influenced by his understanding of the discipline

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 the training regime of the

1
For more information on this see Slowiac and Cuesta, 2007 as well as the autobiographical
documentary With Jerzy Grotowski. Zbigniew Osinski (2008) also examines Grotowski’s contact
with India, but the volume is written in Polish.
4
Theatre Laboratory, but it can and should be assessed in relation to Grotowski’s

overall preoccupation with the discipline. Furthermore, it is important to bear in

mind that yoga during the last one hundred and fifty years has gone through

developments that drastically changed both the profile of the discipline’s

propagators and practitioners as well the way(s) in which the discipline is

viewed, disseminated and practiced. In order, therefore, to provide a solid

background against which Grotowski’s approach can be examined I will now

turn to the developments that the discipline underwent during the nineteenth

and twentieth centuries.

Modern Yoga

Historian Elizabeth De Michelis makes an important distinction between pre-

modern forms of yoga and nineteenth-century re-formulations of the discipline,

which have produced what she terms Modern Yoga. Within a classical Hindu

framework, yoga comprises one of the six systems of philosophical thought

(darsanas), and underlies the dogma and devotional practices of orthodox

Hinduism. In particular, yoga is considered to be both a technique as well as a

state of transcendence, in which the devotee is unified with the Supreme Being

(Brahman). However, from the mid 1800s onwards yoga became refashioned

by a number of Indian as well as European thinkers to such an extent that De

Michelis identifies the rebirth of a discipline, which due to its contemporaneous

slant, she terms Modern Yoga (from now on MY). A key role in this process has

been played by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), and it would not be an

exaggeration to say that during his visit to the States, between 1893 and 1896,

Vivekananda managed to marginally but properly install yoga in the American

culture (De Michelis, 2004, p. 110-1). From then on, MY, combining a

refashioned Hindu dogma with popular ideas on Western spiritualism was

5
reinforced and disseminated by a number of publications, retreats, and the

advent of ‘holy’ men to the West who followed Vivekananda’s example.

In addition to these occurrences, the Western desire for solid practices that

could render spiritual attainment within reach (De Michelis, 2004, p. 117) as well

as India’s social and national struggle (Alter, 2004) brought into the foreground

two particular aspects of yoga, namely the practice of yoga poses (asanas) and

the breathing exercises (pranayama). De Michelis traces such developments to

the creation of Modern Postural Yoga (from now on MPY), which, as the name

suggests, encapsulates the ideology of MY while it emphasizes the practice of

the yoga positions or asanas. One of the main figures that developed and

disseminated the practice of asanas, and became arguably 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

two hundred asanas that were skillfully demonstrated by the author in black and

white photographs, and comprehensively accompanied by step-by-step

instructions, as well as an annotated list of their potential health benefits. The

book, according to De Michelis, became a best seller, and based on its

unprecedented character and success she calls it the ‘standard reference work

on asana practice in MY circles all over the world’ (2004, p. 198). Faithful to its

modern context, Iyengar’s teaching, downplayed yoga’s religious and Hindu-

specific background, yet still viewed the practice of the asanas as a part of the

individual’s spiritual and mental advancement. Based on the above,

ethnographer Sarah Strauss (2005) traces in the dissemination and

popularization of MY the creation of a distinctive ‘transnational cultural product’

(p. 9), which bears significant marks of modernity; the actualization of self, the

importance placed on health and the body, the non-religious spiritual character.

6
More importantly, the main point that contemporary yoga analysts go to great

pains to support is that the aforementioned changes make it impossible to view

yoga outside a historical and socio-political framework. Practices and ideologies

that are often presented as ‘ancient’ and ‘universal’ are in fact disguised

renditions of relatively recent, culturally-specific developments2. In this context,

De Michelis talks about ‘esoteric myopia’, an ill that has affected a variety of

intellectuals whose work, well into the twentieth century, failed to take into

account the constant reshaping of the discipline (2004, p. 9-11).

The different ideological and political strands that underlie MY as well as the

number of schools and approaches that are housed under this umbrella term,

offer a new perspective through which Grotowski’s initial yoga encounters can

be examined. It is not simply a matter of discussing Grotowski’s primary sources

–which are already known and available- through a historically informed lens.

My argument is that the assumptions that underlie these sources are in fact

present in Grotowski’s vision and operative in his actor training. For these

reasons, it is of great importance to re-examine where Grotowski found out

about yoga and ask which kind of yoga he used. The next section will consider

two books on yoga that Grotowski read at a young age as well as his contact

with the practical aspect of the discipline.

Grotowski’s Sources of Yoga: Printed Material

A Search in Secret India

According to Grotowski’s own account, his ‘secret vocation’ for India was

spurred by his mother Emilia who was a ‘Hinduist’, and by a book she gave to

2
For a detailed discussion on this subject see Alter 2004, De Michelis 2004, Albanese 2007,
and Strauss 2005.

7
him when he was nine years old (in Wolford and Schechner, 1997, p. 251-3)

and (Barba, 1999, p. 54). A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton was an

autobiographical memoir of the author’s journey to the subcontinent published in

1934. To say that the book made a strong impression on Grotowski would be an

understatement, since his ‘first reaction… [to] the report of Brunton was a fever’

(ibid. p. 252).

Paul Brunton (1898-1981), a British journalist frustrated by modern life set out to

India to seek answers for his philosophical questions, which as he testified were

not satisfied by Western thought (1970[1934], p. 142). During his trip he

encountered Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), who is the most emphatic subject

of Brunton’s account. According to the author, Ramana, following a strong

spiritual experience at the age of sixteen decided to leave the secular world

behind and retreated to a South Indian Tamil district near the hill of Arunachala.

After spending a few years in complete silence and seclusion a group of

followers began to gather around the by-then-considered holy man. Ramana

started speaking again but he never relied on verbal language to transmit his

teachings. In fact, there was no message or teaching as such; since he never

followed any particular school of thought, he did not attempt to indoctrinate or

catechize his followers (ibid., p. 281-90). Brunton’s personal account of

Ramana emphasizes the impact of the latter’s silence which emerged as his

most prominent lesson, and according to Brunton, it had the power to still the

mind of the people in his vicinity. At Brunton’s persistent questions regarding the

road that one should follow in order to develop spiritually, Ramana pointed out

the importance of one’s self-penetration and self-knowledge (ibid., p.145-6).

8
Notwithstanding the impression that the book made on Grotowski, it should 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 in which Brunton was

interested; ‘[t]hat the West has little to learn from present-day India, I shall not

trouble to deny, but that we have much to learn from Indian sages of the past

and from the few who live to-day, I unhesitatingly assert’ (ibid., p. 17). As it

becomes obvious, Brunton was concerned with this ‘other’ India and quite

indifferent to the socio-political developments of the time. And indeed Ramana

Maharishi did not present a typical example of such developments. As I have

already mentioned, outside the latter’s hermitage, social and political conditions

placed yoga at the service of the struggle for independence, and the discipline

was now seen as a method to produce politically, financially, mentally and

physically emancipated householders rather than isolated ascetics.

Despite its shortcomings though, it seems that Brunton’s book had a residual

impact on Grotowski; the book is mentioned in several cases, and most

significantly Grotowski refers to it in the 1980 autobiographical film, With Jerzy

Grotowski3. It should also be noted that Grotowski not only travelled to

Ramana’s hermitage in Arunachala but requested to have his ashes scattered

there. Equally, elements of Ramana’s thoughts and practices can be identified

in Grotowski’s art. His insistence on silence during the rehearsals of the Theatre

Laboratory (Mirecka 2009), his belief in an inner, more truthful self, and his

quest to enable actor and spectator alike to move towards it, bears significant

resemblance to Ramana’s thought, as relayed by Brunton4. Furthermore, it can

be argued that the book fuelled Grotowski’s fascination with Hinduism. Apart

3
Brunton’s book and its influence on Grotowski is mentioned in several books and articles; see
for example Barba, 1999, and Slowiac and Cuesta, 2007. Flaszen (2009) also referred to the
same book as one of Grotowski’s decisive influences.
4
The importance Grotowski placed on rehearsing in silence was mentioned by Mirecka during a
talk at the British Grotowski Conference at Kent University and not in the interview I held with her.
9
from seriously considering dedicating himself to Sanskrit studies, during his time

as a drama student Grotowski must have read extensively both volumes of

classical Indian scholarship as well as contemporaneous books on the subject 5.

According to Barba’s account from his years in Opole, Grotowski appears well

versed in a number of subjects on classical Hinduism, such as the various

darsanas and Patanjali’s text on yoga (1999, p. 49). Barba also refers to

Romain Rolland’s The Life of Ramakrishna, a book which Grotowski read in

1956 (1999, p. 123).

The Life of Ramakrishna

Romain Rolland’s The Life of Ramakrishna comprises a biographical account of

Ramakrishna (1836-1886), an Indian mystic who became particular popular with

the Bengali intelligentsia during the 19th century. In his introduction Rolland

betrays an attitude similar to Brunton’s, regarding the land of India as ‘sacred’

(2000 [1934]: xvii) and invoking the ‘thousand years’ experience of thought’

possessed by the ‘men of Asia’ (ibid., p. xiii). Furthermore, the book reflects

popular tendencies to mask Hinduist dogma under a Christian cloak, and as a

result, Ramakrishna’s life is relayed in an overtly biblical manner6. The first

chapter is titled ‘The Gospel of Childhood’, and claims that Ramakrishna’s birth

was preceded by a vision that visited both his mother and father, and that his

conception was immaculate (ibid., p. 6). Ramakrishna’s spiritual sensitivity

became apparent from the first years of his life, when at the age of six he was

first ‘seized in ecstasy’ (ibid.). Similar experiences accompanied Ramakrishna

throughout his life and Rolland promptly advises his audience to refrain from

‘disrespectful thoughts’ regarding Ramakrishna’s ecstatic states, since they

5
Grotowski had also organized a series of talks on Indian philosophy that took place in Krakow
in 1957.
6
See De Michelis 2004, p. 100.
10
were of a rare religious and spiritual nature (ibid., p. 32). In a similar tone

Rolland recounts the relationship between Ramakrishna and one of his students

Swami Vivekananda, who is referred to as part of ‘the great army of the Spirit’

(ibid., p. xiv).

A more sober account of Ramakrishna’s life is offered by De Michelis, who

supports that Ramakrishna ‘was virtually untouched by modern influences’

(2004, p. 100) and his teachings were deeply rooted in theistic Sanskrit texts

(ibid., p. 129). Furthermore, according to De Michelis, Ramakrishna

discouraged ‘those who identify themselves with the body’ to pursue a

transcendental experience through yoga, and advised them to practice the more

devotional forms of the discipline7 (2004, p. 142). Despite’s his ascetic outlook,

Ramakrishna acquired a prominent place in the Indian pantheon, due to

Vivekananda and the latter’s -already mentioned- leading role in shaping and

disseminating MY. Ramakrishna was portrayed as Vivekananda’s spiritual

master, although Vivekananda greatly distorted the latter’s teaching and their

relationship was far from the straightforward guru-disciple connection to which

Vivekananda alluded (ibid., p. 50) and Rolland confirms (2000[1934], p.114).

It is not possible to know Grotowski’s reaction to the book and whether he had a

more critical perspective on Rolland’s comments, but Ramakrishna’s personality

must have made a lasting impression on him, as Grotowski visited

Ramakrishna’s shrine during one of his trips to India. It is also quite indicative

that the assumed relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda was

duplicated in Grotowski’s friendship with Barba; in their private correspondence,

7
This is a point where Rolland’s portrait of Ramakrishna agrees with recent studies. He actually
cites an incident where Ramakrishna severely scolded Vivekananda when the latter asked for
instructions in order to achieve Samadhi, the final stage of yoga where an altered state of
consciousness is thought to be achieved.
11
part of which is included in Land of Ashes and Diamonds, Barba called

Grotowski ‘Ramakrishna’, and accordingly Grotowski referred to Barba as

‘Vivekananda’ (Barba, 1999).

Grotowski’s Sources of yoga: Practice of Yoga Postures

An account of Grotowski’s yoga-related influences would be wanting without a

reference to Tokarz Francis (1897- 1973), a Catholic priest who according to

Flaszen ‘searched for practices outside his own spiritual tradition’ (2009).

Grotowski met Tokarz in Krakow in 1950 and Flaszen attests that Tokarz

showed Grotowski the practice of asanas (2009). As Grotowski was struggling

with a kidney disease, he started to practice yoga on a daily basis (ibid.). The

source and nature of Tokarz’ knowledge though can only be guessed at. Apart

from the medieval text of Hatha Yoga Pradipika that 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 the asanas (Sjoman, 1999, p. 35). Equally,

during the 1950s Western scholarship, still carrying a strong orientalist legacy,

was preoccupied with yoga as a system of thought. As a result, the

phenomenon of MPY in the West was still nascent8. Taking the above into

account, it would be safe to assume that Tokarz’s and subsequently Grotowski’s

knowledge of yoga was predominantly based on books and the scant

information on the practice of asanas9.

As the above examination exposes, Grotowski’s contact with the discipline

during his young adult life was through written works either of classical
8
Theo Bernard’s book Hatha Yoga: The report of a Personal Experience published in 1944 is an
exception to the dominant scholarly oriented approaches to yoga of the time. Τhe book offers
illustrations of the author practicing yoga poses, and conveys a practical but mystified account
of yoga practice (for a detailed discussion see Albanese 2007, p. 364-8). There is no evidence
that Grotowski knew about this book at the time.
9
During his trips to India, there is no evidence to suggest that Grotowski received training in the
asanas from a yoga teacher.
12
scholarship, which inevitably placed yoga in a pre-modern context, or modern

scholarship which were oblivious to or even dismissive towards

contemporaneous developments. A critical review of Rolland’s and Brunton’s

books makes clear that they were both permeated by an a-historical attitude

towards the discipline, betrayed a deeply embedded orientalist worldview that

identified India as the land of universal spirituality, and made no reference to the

developments that yoga was undergoing at the very time these books were

written. Finally, it should be noted that the character and content of these

volumes reflects a deeper schism in the study and understanding of yoga: yoga

as an ancient, almost primordial philosophy and practice 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.

Grotowski’s Repudiation of Yoga

If one thus bears in mind Maharishi’s reclusion and silence, and Rolland’s

hagiographic account of Ramakrishna, it is hardly surprising that Grotowski

reached the conclusion that yoga is not fit for actors. Indeed, in the statement

under examination, Grotowski regards the result of ‘an introverted concentration

that kills all expression’ produced by yoga as typical of the discipline since ‘the

goal of yoga is to stop three processes: thought, breathing and ejaculation’

(1991 [1968], p. 208). Grotowski’s description gives the impression of an

ascetic, highly internalized discipline, which interestingly enough echoes the

writings of Mircea Eliade, another writer that Grotowski consumed (Barba, 1999:

50). In Yoga, Immortality and Freedom, Eliade makes clear that ‘the method of

yoga comprises a number of different techniques, which all have one

characteristic in common: they are antisocial and antihuman’ (1973 [1936], p.

13
95). Quite characteristically, Alter calls the book ‘a work of definitive, late-

orientalist scholarship’ (2004, p. 7). The above perspective would perhaps settle

the matter and offer a simple enough narrative. Grotowski’s sources during the

1950s - early ‘60s were inspirational but historically inaccurate and misleading.

Alternative accounts were unavailable not only because of the regime in

communist Poland, but also because a challenge to such books had not yet

appeared. Grotowski, therefore, came into contact with a concept of the

discipline that did not do justice to its modern characteristics and its refashioned

character, and as a result his application was doomed to reproduce a commonly

held essentialist attitude. Things, however, are a bit more complicated, since

Grotowski’s use of yoga has an additional facet and his statement in Towards a

Poor Theatre a second 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 one’s body, a natural adaptation to space. So why
get rid of them? Just change all their currents. (1991[968], p.
208)

From the above it becomes clear that an element of yoga was retained in the

training, specifically the practice of the yoga poses, and that this element was

modified. The next section will thus discuss the use of yoga in the Theatre

Laboratory as well as the ensuing modifications.

Yoga Training in the Theatre Laboratory

Although the presence of yoga poses in the performance of Sakuntala in 1960

clearly demonstrates that yoga had been practiced since the inception of the

group, the source of such practice is not known. As access to resources on

yoga was limited, it is quite likely that the group’s initial contact with the poses

14
was through Grotowski’s own knowledge and the scattered references in the

available bibliography. However, after the mid-sixties the Theatre Laboratory

acquired a much stronger link to the asanas. According to Rena Mirecka

Grotowski gave to Cieslak a book by B.K.S. Iyengar, and asked him to study the

asanas and teach them to the rest of the group (2009). As I have already

mentioned, Iyengar’s approach was marked by an unprecedented virtuosity in

the execution of the asanas and was followed by a comprehensive training

system which became worldwide disseminated through the publication of Light

on Yoga. In relation to the training regime of the Polish troupe as well as the

likely absence of a yoga trainer, it is important to stress that the content and

form of the book features what De Michelis calls ‘a DIY’ character (ibid., p. 198)

and thus offers clear and systematic guidance for the practice of the postures ‘in

the comfort of one’s own home’ (ibid., p. 217).

Apart from Mirecka’s testimony, the influence of Iyengar Yoga on the training of

the Theatre Laboratory can be also traced within a session recorded on film in

1971 in Wroclaw, which features Ryszard Cieslac instructing and training with

two actors of the Odin Theatre. In the second part of the video we are

introduced to Physical Exercises, some of which, the commentator informs us,

‘are based on hatha yoga’ (1972, 0:49:46). Cieslac demonstrates a set of yoga

poses, predominantly inversions and balances, which bear an unmistakable

resemblance to the photographs that feature in Iyengar’s book. The way

Cieslac goes in and out of headstand as well as the variations of the positions of

the arms can all be seen in Light on Yoga (1991 [1966], p. 143-157) and (1972,

0:51:00- 0:59:30). Equally, the execution of shoulderstand and the variation of

the position of the legs can be traced in the same book (1991 [1966], p. 167-9,

185) and (1972, 0:54:21-51). Apart from the inversions, Cieslac also

15
demonstrates a balancing position (1972, 0:58:50-8), as well as a backward

bend (1972, 0:53:30), both of which feature in Light on Yoga, (1991 [1966], p.

275) and (1991 [1966], p. 94-5).

Apart from the similarities between the training session and Iyengar’s book in

terms of form, it is also worth noting that there are similarities in terms of the

teaching method. In his effort to teach the poses to the two participants, Cieslac

initially demonstrates the pose, and then indicates the body part which is viewed

as the ‘correct’ point from which the movement in and out the position should

originate. In positions that have a greater degree of difficulty he breaks the pose

down in steps, which feature one action at a time. In the same manner, the

poses in Light on Yoga are first pictured in photographs and then are followed

by a set of instructions that divides the pose in different stages and indicates the

way the pose should be done10. It appears, therefore, that apart from using

material from Iyengar’s book, Cieslac also adopted an analytical and

orthoperformative approach towards the practice and teaching of the asanas.

Taking into account that prior to the publication of Light on Yoga, there was

neither an illustrated and annotated book on asanas nor a published

pedagogical approach towards their practice, it can be concluded that Light on

Yoga offered significant amount as well as type of information according to

which yoga was practiced in the Theatre Laboratory. Furthermore, I would

argue that Iyengar’s work not only provided a source of training material but it

comprised the base on which such material could be adapted and modified

towards theatrical purposes.

As Grotowski relates in his statement, he did not simply maintain the yoga

postures in the training, but ‘changed the currents’ with the aim to ‘transform the
10
It is also worth noting that the same pedagogy is followed in current classes on Iyengar Yoga.
16
physical elements [of the yoga practice] into elements of human contact’ (1991

[1968], p. 208). The developments that were incurred by Grotowski and his

actors to the practice of the asanas can be seen in the 1972-session. First of all,

apart from the poses and the aforementioned variations that can be traced

directly to Light on Yoga, Cieslac executes and teaches additional variations on

the two inversions. After headstand and shoulderstand are demonstrated and

practiced, Cieslac executes the same poses but places the head, the arms or

the legs slightly different. As a result the way he goes in and out of the pose

also changes. It is clear however, that these variations are grafted on the shape

of the main asanas, and they are taught after the demonstration and practice of

each ‘classical’ pose. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the asanas, as

presented in Light on Yoga, already feature a number of variations and thus

make possible further experimentation11. Finally, as the last part of the training

session shows, the most important aspect of Cieslac’s modifications, is that they

made easier the transition from one pose to the next and thus enabled

continuous movement between the poses.

After teaching the poses and their variations to the two Odin actors, Cieslac

demonstrates an improvisation, where he moves from one pose to the next in

uninterrupted movement and without a predetermined order. He then asks the

actors to go through the poses in the same manner, and develop an organic

flow form one pose to the next without premeditation. After this initial

improvisation, Cieslac asks them to work in a pair and go through the poses

while relating to one another in different ways, such as ‘against’ each other

(1972, 1:14:20 - 1:15:00), ‘for’ each other (1972, 1:17:13 - 1:19:10) and finally

11
It is also important to mention that Iyengar Yoga, as it is currently practiced, features a
number of variations that were developed after the book’s publication and as such do not
appear in Light on Yoga.

17
‘as two small cats who play together’ (1972, 1: 19: 15 - 1: 22: 15). The training

session as well as Grotowski’s remark makes clear that the nature of the yoga

practice was changed in a manner that deemphasized one’s attention on the

execution of the poses, and instead placed it on the surrounding space and the

rest of the group. As Flaszen remarks ‘Grotowski with his actors practiced yoga

which was directed outwards. This was the crux of his discovery. […] They

practiced with a partner, with the sound, with the wall, the contact with the

environment, a very precise uninterrupted contact’ (2009).

In particular relation to the ‘change of the currents’ and the focus of one’s

attention outwards it should be noted that an external orientation is to a degree

inherent in the practice of asanas as materialized in Iyengar Yoga. Since the

emphasis is on the execution of the postures, and this execution is necessarily

situated in and subjected to the contingencies of space and gravity, the body is

constantly related to space and the space is thematized by the body. As a

result, even without ‘changing the currents’ the character of the asana practice

is consequently more outward-facing than breathing or meditational techniques.

Apart from this, it should also be taken into account that both MY and MPY were

based on and derived from a desire to use yoga as a means to satisfy this-

worldly concerns rather than other-worldly transcendence. As I have discussed,

MY was designed to serve the individual in one’s social environment. As a

result, the historical contingencies as well as the physical orientation of the

practice offered intrinsic structures that made the application of the discipline

possible. The way, however, Grotowski talks about the group’s initial

experimentation with yoga as well as the group’s subsequent yoga-based

regime conceals tendencies that are embedded in the practice and enabled his

application in the first place. Most importantly, it has to be mentioned that the

yoga-based activities that features in the Wroclaw sessions have remained in

18
use and comprise what is nowadays regarded as ‘Grotowski training’. Lisa

Wolford, for example in her account of training with Grotowski in the Objective

Drama programme (1989-1992) gives a similar description to the 1972-

sesssion:

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
(2000, p. 201).

Equally she identifies the same exercises in a training session she observed in

Pontendera in 1992 (ibid.: 202). Having exposed Grotowski’s key primary

sources, the type of yoga that was used in the Theatre Laboratory as well as the

way in which it was modified, I will now return to Grotowski’s statement in

Towards a Poor Theatre and re- examine it through these sources.

A critical examination of Grotowski’s statement

As I have already mentioned, the language in which Grotowski describes yoga

and the subsequent results it produced in the first part of the statement carries

orientalist overtones (‘we began by doing yoga toward absolute concentration’,

yoga produced a concentration that was ‘introverted’ and ‘destroy[ed] all

expression’). The practice of the physical postures, on the other hand, which

Grotowski singles out later in the statement derives from MY and MPY, and can

be directly traced neither to the literature nor the concepts that inform the first

part. It becomes apparent, therefore, that Grotowski’s statement draws from two

distinct discourses, i.e. the orientalist discourse in which yoga was viewed as an
19
ancient technique of spiritual transcendence and the MY discourse in which

yoga is viewed as method for health-enhancement and self-development.

Based on this, it would be quite accurate to support that the yoga denounced by

Grotowski in relation to the actor’s craft was the yoga of the ‘secret India’, since

not only it was introverted, as Grotowski correctly observes, but also did not

offer any model that could be practically explored and applied. Ramana had no

teaching as such, whereas Ramakrishna encouraged only the forms of

devotional yoga for those associated with the body. By contrast the yoga that

Grotowski did use and render relevant to the performer was the yoga of

‘Modern’ India. Nonetheless, Grotowski’s statement smoothes out any

distinction between the two discourses and, in fact, it seems that he considers

the use of the poses as developed in a modern context to be a non-legitimate

form of yoga.

In his statement, Grotowski first declares yoga to be inappropriate for actors 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 use of the yoga

positions, it ensues that the practice of yoga positions is not ‘yoga’. Moreover,

his reference to the yoga poses has a casual character and their practice is

justified due to their physiological benefits (flexibility in the spine, space

awareness). The employment of MY therefore, although it formed a significant

part of the training, is presented as ‘yoga positions with changed currents’, and

as such is not regarded as part of the discipline. As a result, Grotowski’s

statement seems to rest on a preconception in regard to what does and what

does not count as yoga. Furthermore, it points at a disjunction between the

foundations that formed Grotowski’s attraction to and cultural understanding of

yoga and the source that influenced his practical application of the discipline. It

20
is not simply that Grotowski came into contact with a number of yoga

practitioners each resulting in various degrees and kinds of influence. Quite

troublingly, it seems that Grotowski was fascinated by a kind of yoga he could

not apply and applied a kind of yoga that did not fascinate him.

Grotowski’s attraction to a ‘pure’ and ‘primordial’ form of practice is also

supported by the profile of the yoga practitioners that Grotowski sought in his

journeys to India. During his trips there12 Grotowski visited Ramakrishna’s

shrine, Maharishi’s place of hermitage, and Aurobindo’s ashram13. Furthermore,

during his first trip in 1969, Grotowski came into contact with the practice of

Bauls, a Bengali devotional form of singing, which was maintained and led to

the participation of a Baul singer in the last gathering of the Theatre of the

Sources. Bearing in mind Grotowski’s attitude towards yoga, it is not surprising

that all of the aforementioned figures display a significant ascetic orientation,

and their outlook and lifestyle bear resemblances to the image of the archetypal

yogi.

A similar tendency has been identified by Milling and Ley in relation to

Grotowski’s interest in other disciplines and their practitioners14. They

particularly refer to an ‘ideology that in the very choice of participants constructs

these traditions of ritual as closer to the “origin” and the primal’ (2000, p. 137,

emphasis added). They further identify a ‘fetishization of the work of these

practitioners as “pure”’ and support that Grotowski was reluctant to view them in

12
It is worth mentioning that Grotowski’s trips to India, all after 1966, do not feature any –
recorded- visit to Iyengar’s base in Pune (Mirecka for example sought tuition there in the late
seventies, Mirecka, 2009).
13
It is also quite telling that Grotowski in a letter to Barba in 1965 likens the residence of the
Theatre of the 13 Rows in Opole to Ramana’s hermitage in Arunachala, whereas he draws
parallels between the subsequent relocation of the Theatre Laboratory to Wroclaw (a bigger
city) with Aurobindo’s ashram in Pondicherry, which is a bustling urban centre (Barba, 1999, p.
136).
14
Grotowski’s interest in and influence by a number of practices is well-known and discussed;
for more information see I Wyan Lendra in Wolford & Schechner 1997, p. 310.
21
 relation to their ‘own history and the contingencies of cultural development’

(ibid.). In the same vein, Schechner points out that Grotowski ‘assumes that the

ancient practices are superior to the modern’, and most poignantly he continues

‘this formation does not satisfy me. I cannot recognize wisdom that exists before

or behind cultures and genres, in the “original” times, in the “old practices”. Why

for Grotowski, does old equal good?’ (1997, p. 490-1). Schechner’s point

appears to encapsulate Grotowski’s understanding of, as well as his statement

on, yoga. Indeed, it seems that according to Grotowski’s worldview the practice

of MY paled in front of the archetypal yogi and the ‘new’ form of practice was

condemned to be inferior to the ‘old’.15

Conclusion

An examination of Grotowski’s statement on the presence of yoga in the work of

the Theatre Laboratory not only points out the inconsistencies that pervade 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 Grotowski’s key primary sources,

makes clear that Grotowski’s use and subsequent renunciation of the discipline

for theatrical purposes was permeated by a number of assumptions as to what

the discipline is and the results it should produce. An uncritical repetition of

Grotowski’s ‘verdict’ is first of all inaccurate, since Grotowski did use yoga, albeit

not the yoga he had in mind. If anything therefore, Grotowski’s example should

be seen in relation to current applications of the discipline, as for example those

advanced by Phillip Zarrilli, and Dorinda Hulton16. Finally, it should be

acknowledged that the layers that underlie Grotowski’s contact with yoga belong

15
This disjuncture is also apparent in both Callery’s as well as Benedetti’s previously cited
opinion, who although they caution against the discipline, acknowledge the potential of the
poses for the actor’s work.
16
See Zarrilli, 2009, and Hulton, 2006, Exeter Digital Archive 12, University of
Exeter

22
to a wider network of cultural assumptions and scholarly biases that afflicted not

only Grotowski’s vision but the work of a number of scholars. Grotowski’s case,

therefore, makes it imperative that the discussion and application of yoga take

into account both the complexity of historical and cultural premises as well as the

liveness of a constantly evolving form of practice.

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Alter, J. S., 2004. Yoga in Modern India: The Body between Science and
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Benedetti, Robert, 1972. ‘Notes to an Actor’. In: Actor Training I, Richard, B.

Brown, ed. The institute for Research in Acting, p. 70-89.

Brunton, Paul, 1970 [1934]. A Search in Secret India. London: Rider and
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Mirecka, Rena, 2009. Interview with author, Kent.

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Schechner, Richard, 1997. ‘Exoduction’. In: Liza Wolford and Richard
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Film

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