Theatre, Dance and Performance Training

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‘I don't attack it, but it's not for actors’: the use of
yoga by Jerzy Grotowski

Maria Kapsali

To cite this article: Maria Kapsali (2010) ‘I don't attack it, but it's not for actors’: the use
of yoga by Jerzy Grotowski, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 1:2, 185-198, DOI:
10.1080/19443927.2010.505002

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 Theatre, Dance and Performance Training,
Vol. 1(2), 2010, 185–198

‘I don’t attack it, but it’s not for actors’:

the use of yoga by Jerzy Grotowski
Maria Kapsali
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Grotowski’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 examines the caution he voiced in regard to yoga’s incompatibility with acting.

Keywords: Grotowski, actor training, yoga, Modern Yoga

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 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 discipline. Moreover, as Schechner (1997, p. 471)
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’. 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 comes 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,

Theatre, Dance and Performance Training ISSN 1944-3927 print/ISSN 1944-3919 online
Ó 2010 Taylor & Francis http://www.informaworld.com
DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2010.505002
 186 M. Kapsali

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
which ends all actions . . . I don’t attack it, but it is not for actors. (Grotowski
1991, p. 208)

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

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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
(2001, p. 27), for example, states that ‘yoga certainly promotes suppleness
and flexibility, but if done exclusively can inhibit rather than release actors’.
Grotowski’s comment is cited as a proof of her thesis (ibid.). Equally, Robert
Benedetti’s (1972, p. 88) 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’.
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. This
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 The Laboratory Theatre), and Rena
Mirecka (1934–) one of the first actors who joined the company in 1959 and
1. For more information on remained until its disbandment.
this see Slowiac and
Cuesta (2007) as well as
the autobiographical
documentary With Jerzy The presence of yoga
Grotowski (1980).
Zbigniew Osinski (2008)
also examines As I have already suggested, yoga played a considerable role both in
Grotowski’s contact with
India, but the volume is
Grotowski’s life and work. His first encounter with yoga at a young age, his
written in Polish. early wish to study Sanskrit, and his repeated trips to India, mark a life and
artistic journey that was significantly influenced by the discipline.1 In
particular relation to his theatrical work, the presence of yoga can be traced
from the beginning of his career. Barba (1999), in his book Land of Ashes and
 Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 187

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 (1999, p. 9), ‘established between us a bond of
thought and a common language’. During the same period, Grotowski also
referred 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 one
thing, India or rather Hinduism’, a belief which was confirmed by Grotowski
as late as 1992.
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 Theatre Laboratory, but it can and should be assessed
in relation to Grotowski’s overall preoccupation with the discipline.
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Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that yoga during the last 150
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 practised. 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 (2004) 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 United States, between 1893 and 1896, Vivekananda
managed marginally but properly to install yoga in the American culture (De
Michelis 2004, pp. 110–111). From then on, MY, combining a refashioned
Hindu dogma with popular ideas on Western spiritualism, was 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
 188 M. Kapsali

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
emphasises 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 200 asanas that were skilfully 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 (2004, p.
198), 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’. 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
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advancement. Based on the above, ethnographer Sarah Strauss (2005, p. 9)

traces in the dissemination and popularisation of MY the creation of a
distinctive ‘transnational cultural product’, which bears significant marks of
modernity; the actualisation of self, the importance placed on health and the
body, the non-religious spiritual character. 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
2. For a detailed discussion relatively recent, culturally-specific developments.2 In this context, De
on this subject see Alter Michelis (2004, pp. 9–11) talks about ‘esoteric myopia’, an ill that has affected
(2004), De Michelis
(2004), Strauss (2005), a variety of intellectuals whose work, well into the twentieth century, failed
and Albanese (2007). to take into account the constant reshaping of the discipline.
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 (1997, pp. 251–253) own account, his ‘secret

vocation’ 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

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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). Ludwig Flaszen
(telephone interview with
the author 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 (Grotowski: Theatre
and Beyond, 2009).
Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 189
1999, p. 54). A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton (1970) 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’ (Grotowski, 1997 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 (Brunton 1970, 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 16, 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 catechise his followers (ibid., pp. 281–
290). Brunton’s personal account of Ramana emphasises 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., pp. 145–146).
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 Grotowski.3 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 (R. Mirecka, interview with author,
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 Brunton.4 Furthermore, it can be argued
that the book fuelled Grotowski’s fascination with Hinduism. Apart from
 190
5. Grotowski had also
organised a series of talks
on Indian philosophy that
took place in Krakow in
1957.
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6. 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.
M. Kapsali
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 (1999, p. 49) 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. Barba
(1999, p. 123) also refers to Romain Rolland’s (2000) The Life of Ramakrishna,
a book which Grotowski read in 1956.
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 nineteenth century. In his
introduction Rolland (2000, p. xvii) betrays an attitude similar to Brunton’s,
regarding the land of India as ‘sacred’ 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 manner (see De Michelis 2004, p. 100). 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 (Rolland 2000, 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 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
(2004, p. 100), who supports that Ramakrishna ‘was virtually untouched by
modern influences’ 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 practise the
more devotional forms of the discipline6 (ibid., 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 (2000,
p. 114) confirms.
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
 Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 191

that the assumed relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda was

duplicated in Grotowski’s 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 to
Barba as ‘Vivekananda’.

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 (telephone interview 2009) ‘searched for practices outside his
own spiritual tradition’. Grotowski met Tokarz in Krakow in 1950 and
Flaszen attests that Tokarz showed Grotowski the practice of asanas (ibid.).
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
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though can only be guessed at. Apart from the medieval text of Hatha Yoga
Pradipika 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 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
7. Theo Bernard’s book still nascent.7 Taking the above into account, it would be safe to assume
Hatha Yoga: The Report of that Tokarz’s and subsequently Grotowski’s knowledge of yoga was
a Personal Experience
published in 1944 is an predominantly based on books and the scant information on the practice
exception to the of asanas.8
dominant scholarly
oriented approaches to As the above examination shows, Grotowski’s contact with the discipline
yoga of the time. The during his young adult life was through written works either of classical
book offers illustrations
of the author practising
scholarship, which inevitably placed yoga in a pre-modern context, or
yoga poses, and conveys a modern scholarship which was oblivious to or even dismissive towards
practical but mystified contemporaneous developments. A critical review of Rolland’s and Brunton’s
account of yoga practice
(for a detailed discussion books makes clear that they were both permeated by an a-historical attitude
see Albanese 2007, pp. towards the discipline, betrayed a deeply embedded orientalist worldview
364–368). There is no
evidence that Grotowski
that identified India as the land of universal spirituality, and made no
knew about this book at reference to the developments that yoga was undergoing at the very time
the time. these books were written. Finally, it should be noted that the character and
8. During his trips to India, content of these volumes reflects a deeper schism in the study and
there is no evidence to
suggest that Grotowski understanding of yoga: yoga as an ancient, almost primordial philosophy and
received training in the practice and yoga as a ‘social product of the ‘‘the wonder that is the world’’’
asanas from a yoga
teacher.
(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 (1991, p. 208) 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:
 192 M. Kapsali

thought, breathing and ejaculation’. Grotowski’s description gives the

impression of an ascetic, highly internalised discipline, which interestingly
enough echoes the writings of Mircea Eliade, another writer that Grotowski
consumed (Barba 1999, p. 50). In Yoga, Immortality and Freedom, Eliade (1973,
p. 95) 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’. Quite characteristically, Alter (2004, p. 7) calls the book ‘a
work of definitive, late-orientalist scholarship’. The above perspective would
perhaps settle the matter and offer a simple enough narrative. Grotowski’s
sources during the 1950s–early 1960s 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,
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however, are a bit more complicated, since Grotowski’s (1991, p. 208) 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.

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 practised 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 was through Grotowski’s own knowledge and the scattered
references in the available bibliography. However, after the mid-1960s the
Theatre Laboratory acquired a much stronger link to the asanas. According
to Rena Mirecka (interview with author 2009) 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. 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 dissemi-
nated worldwide through the publication of Light on Yoga (1991). 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 (2004, p. 198) calls ‘a DIY’ character and thus
offers clear and systematic guidance for the practice of the postures ‘in the
comfort of one’s own home’ (ibid., p. 217).

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9. It is also worth noting that
the same pedagogy is
followed in current
classes on Iyengar Yoga.
Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 193
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 Cieslak
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’ (Odin Theatre 1972,
0:49:46). Cieslak 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 Cieslak 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 (Iyengar 1991, pp. 143–157, Odin Theatre 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, pp. 167–169, 185, Odin
Theatre 1972, 0:54:21–51). Apart from the inversions, Cieslak also
demonstrates a balancing position (Odin Theatre 1972, 0:58:50–58), as well
as a backward bend (Odin Theatre 1972, 0:53:30), both of which feature in
Light on Yoga, (1991, p. 275 and pp. 94–95).
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, Cieslak 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 done9. It appears, therefore, that apart from using material from
Iyengar’s book, Cieslak 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 practised in the Theatre Laboratory. Furthermore, I would
argue that Iyengar’s work not only provided a source of training material
Figure 1a–c From Training at Teatr Laboratorium in Wroclaw, a film by Torgeir Wethal Ó Odin
Teatret Archives.
 194 M. Kapsali

but it comprised the base on which such material could be adapted and
modified towards theatrical purposes.
As Grotowski (1991, p. 208) 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 physical elements [of the yoga practice] into
elements of human contact’. 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, Cieslak executes and
teaches additional variations on the two inversions. After headstand and
shoulderstand are demonstrated and practised, Cieslak executes the same
poses but places the head, the arms or the legs slightly differently. 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
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Yoga, already feature a number of variations and thus make possible further
10. It is also important to experimentation.10 Finally, as the last part of the training session shows, the
mention that Iyengar most important aspect of Cieslak’s modifications is that they made easier
Yoga, as it is currently
practised, features a the transition from one pose to the next and thus enabled continuous
number of variations movement between the poses.
that were developed
after the book’s After teaching the poses and their variations to the two Odin actors,
publication and as such Cieslak demonstrates an improvisation, where he moves from one pose
do not appear in Light on
Yoga.
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 from one pose to the next without
premeditation. After this initial improvisation, Cieslak 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 (Odin Theatre 1972, 1:14:20–
1:15:00), ‘for’ each other (ibid., 1:17:13–1:19:10) and finally ‘as two small
cats who play together’ (ibid., 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 de-emphasised 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 (telephone interview 2009)
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.’
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 materialised 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
thematised 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
 Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 195

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. However, the way 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 use and comprise what is nowadays regarded
as ‘Grotowski training’. Lisa Wolford (2000, p. 201), for example, in her
account of training with Grotowski in the Objective Drama programme
(1989–1992), 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
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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 in
Pontendera in 1992 (ibid., p. 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 carry orientalist overtones (‘we began by doing yoga toward
absolute concentration’, yoga produced a concentration that was ‘intro-
verted’ 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
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 suppose that
the yoga denounced by Grotowski in relation to the actor’s craft was the
yoga of the ‘secret India’, since not only was it introverted, as Grotowski
correctly observes, but it 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
 196
11. It is worth mentioning
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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 1970s; Mirecka
interview 2009).
12. 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).
13. 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 and
Schechner (1997, p.
310).
14. This disjuncture is also
apparent in both Callery’s
(2001) as well as
Benedetti’s (1972)
previously cited opinion,
who although they
caution against the
discipline, acknowledge
the potential of the poses
for the actor’s work.
M. Kapsali
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 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 there11 Grotowski visited
Ramakrishna’s shrine, Maharishi’s place of hermitage, and Aurobindo’s
ashram.12 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 practitioners.13 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’
(Milling and Ley 2000, p. 137; emphasis added). They further identify a
‘fetishization of the work of these practitioners as ‘‘pure’’‘ and suggest that
Grotowski was reluctant to view them in relation to their ‘own history and
the contingencies of cultural development’ (ibid.). In the same vein,
Schechner (1997, pp. 490–491) points out that Grotowski ‘assumes that
the ancient practices are superior to the modern’, and most pertinently
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?’
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’.14
 Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 197

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
15. See Hulton (2006) and Dorinda Hulton and Phillip Zarrilli.15 Finally, it should be acknowledged that
Zarrilli (2009) in Exeter the layers that underlie Grotowski’s contact with yoga belong to a wider
Digital Archive 12,
University of Exeter. network of cultural assumptions and scholarly biases that afflicted not only
Downloaded by [Universite Laval] at 23:57 10 April 2016

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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