Yoga Workshops Cannot Replace Commitment & Dedicated Practice
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness. Technique without application is useless. Yoga workshops are useful for gaining technique but without applying the technique on a daily basis, change will not happen. Instead of spending $200 on workshop after workshop after workshop, try spending $200 on a studio package that will allow you to practice every day with a teacher that will help you to apply the techniques from the previous workshop. Sharath, the lineage holder of Ashtanga, says that having to many teachers equals crazy making. To many yoga workshops without a firm…
- Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Pose How To, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Why Is It Important to Follow The Ashtanga Sequence?
Ashtanga yoga requires that practitioners follow a sequence of poses that can be modified based on different bodies and issues. However, even the modifications don’t stray too far from the original pose. Something that I hear often is, “beginners do that pose in vinyasa yoga, but in Ashtanga it is in the Adavanced series. Why?” “Or, I am really good at that pose, why do I have to wait?” Reasons for following the Ashtanga sequence Discipline The ability to follow the sequence shows discipline which is important on the yogic path. The purpose of yoga is liberation from the five vrittis (mental fluctuations) that keep peace away which are right knowledge (lack…
Will Students Transition To Spirituality From A Physical Practice?
There is this really lovely notion, among teachers who teach strong physical practices, that students, over time, will eventually turn inward. I wish that were true. In my 12 years of practice, I have met many people who started out as ego maniacs that are still ego maniacs today. If someone does not feel or know that they have a problem, then there is no problem to be solved. If you do not know that something exists, why would you search for it? Many people do embark on a spiritual practice after years of just doing physical work but something within them really wanted to experience this transformation. If that…
Iyengar Was Taught Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga at Home posted some interesting videos today of B.K. S Iyengar. In one of these videos, B. K. S Iyengar says that he was taught Ashtanga Yoga in the same style as Pattabhi Jois but that Iyengar himself chose to evolve the practice and come up with the current Iyengar Yoga style. Iyengar goes on to say that he came up with rules of alignment. It was not a part of what he was originally taught. There is a possibility that even though Krishnamacharya taught all 8 limbs of yoga and obviously did slow things down and focus more on pranayama with other clients, that both Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar…
Ashtanga Book Recommendations For all Levels
Novice Concise easy to understand information for people new to Ashtanga Power Yoga by Beryl Bender Birch Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manuel by David Swenson Intermediate Information for people have a foundation in Ashtanga who want to deepen their asana practice and understand technique, vinyasa and the history of Ashtanga better Ashtanga Yoga: Practice & philosophy by Gregor Maehle Ashtanga Yoga Anusthana by R. Sharath Jois Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series by Gregor Maehle Ashtanga Yoga by Lino Miele and Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga As It Is by Matthew Sweeney Yoga Mala by Sri K Pattabhi Jois Guruji by Guy Donahaye and Eddie Stern Yoga: The Art of Adjusting by…
Ask The APP: Difference Between Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga?
Ashtanga is the original vinyasa yoga. Vinyasa means “to place in a special way”. Nyasa means “to place”and Vi “in a special way. Many people, however, like to translate it as, “flow”. All Power and Vinyasa yogas have their roots in Ashtanga. For the purpose of this article, we will assume that the question was regarding Power Vinyasa that is popular in many studios across the world. I am also going to mainly use the traditional Mysore style framework for comparison. Similarities They both flow intelligently from pose to pose The structure is similar-they both contain a warm up, standing poses, floor poses, backbends, inversions, closing poses and svasana The…
Ashtanga Has Always Been Adaptive Yoga
Ashtanga has always been about the individual. It is traditionally taught Mysore style. In Mysore style, the student is taught pose by pose according to their abilities. An Ashtanga teacher, who has the ability to really see their students, can teach the principals to anyone. I remember years back when one of my fellow yoga teachers asked me to teach to a group of recovering addicts and I balked at it. I asked her, “what am I supposed to do with them?” She thought it was funny because it was simple to her. You teach them yoga. I didn’t’ get it then but now I do. I, like many others had embraced a…
Pattabhi Jois and Being Present
The video above is a great example of what it means to be present. Notice how Tim Feldman said that Pattabhi Jois had “no residue”. He experienced each emotion and then let it go. He was present with each student and gave them what was needed. Many people feel that being present means that you walk around with a smile on your face all day and you only speak pretty words but that is not the case. When you are present you gain mastery over the USE of your emotions and intellect. They don’t control you, you control them. To use an example, what if your computer turned itself on…
Throw Back Tuesday Interview with Manju Jois
This is an amazing interview from theaspiringyogi. See the whole interview there. KPJ: Describe your usual yoga practice/routine? MJ: I practice yoga in the morning every day except Saturday. My routine is to get up at 4am, have a shower and practice for 1 hour, picking a few postures from the primary and intermediate series, then four or five postures from the advanced series. The asana practice is followed by chanting for ½ an hour. KPJ: You have been teaching for 47 years. What changes have you noticed over that time, either in your own approach to teaching, or more generally in terms of Ashtanga yoga? MJ: I teach in…
Was Pattabhi Jois a Proponent of Seated Meditation & Should You Let Go of Asana For Meditation?
By Shanna Small After David Garrigues’s blog post, What About the Other Seven Limbs, the internet has been discussing if seated meditation is apart of Ashtanga and if we should eventually give up our physical practice for something more meditative. Here is my two cents. Just because a yoga teacher does not discuss yoga philosophy in their classes does not mean they don’t believe in it. I will use myself as an example. I am heavy into spirituality and yogic philosophy, but 99% of what I teach is asana. Why? Because the students came for the asana and it is the most effective way to open their minds to the…
Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All
