Ashtanga

Ashtanga yoga as it’s come to be known was taught by Krishnamcharya to a young Pattahbi Jois who’s shown in the video below as an older man. I started watching this video because I’m not particularly familiar with Ashtanga and find that I’m wanting more of a flow to my teaching sequences in class.

Ashtanga was the original flow series. As I understand it all of power yoga, power flow and such sprouted from this series. Visually I’ve always noticed that Ashtanga adepts are very long and thin. The series can be adapted to fit any health level but I remind myself that it was created, developed and first taught to a Very healthy 13 year old boy, namely Pattabhi Jois.

Typically in classes I’m using Iyengar alignment with a little sun salutation then we branch out into whatever I’m feeling that day. My private practice is similar except I go slowly and feel my way through every pose like I’m meditating. This contrasts well for me personally due to my Bikram practice but with students being led I prefer to keep them moving a bit more from pose to pose.

One can become lost in the names of modern yoga teachers and their practices. In the end remember it’s important to sample different styles and do what works for you. With hatha yoga that’s not harming yourself and continuing your exploration. Around the 40 minute mark of this film they start doing poses that I’m not currently comfortable doing much less teaching. Even I must remind myself that this is a life long practice, not something done overnight.