Ashtanga Yoga Revealed
Replacing Myths with Reality
Even if you’ve never tried Ashtanga Yoga, you probably think you know what it is, right? It’s that Power Yoga practice, where you need to be an athlete to do it. The whole point is to move from one pose to the next as quickly as possible (and they’re all really, really hard poses). You’re burning calories and working up a sweat. This is the Yoga to take if you want to get into shape. It’s not about that meditative-type stuff.
If that’s what you think, you are pretty far from the truth. A small fraction of the above paragraph is true – you do get pretty sweaty practicing Ashtanga Yoga and actually, yes, you will become very physically fit if you practice it regularly (keep in mind that real Ashtanga Yoga enthusiasts practice six days a week). But it’s also all about focus and meditation, along with breathing. And it isn’t Power Yoga – especially when you consider how carelessly the term „Power Yoga“ is thrown around these days.
If you want to get really literal about it, Ashtanga is Yoga. The word „Ashtanga“ is Sanskrit for eight limbs, which brings us right back to the Eightfold Path that Patanjali spoke of in the Yoga Sutras. According to K. Pattabhi Jois, the guru who introduced this style of Yoga to the twentieth century, what we know now as Ashtanga is what Patanjali originally meant as the physical aspect of Yoga. Ideally, those who study Ashtanga Yoga will explore all the limbs of Yoga, but Jois’s approach begins with Asana. Those who make it through all six of Ashtanga’s series of postures are in for a wild physical and psychological ride. And, along the way, they will gain an intense understanding of what those eight limbs really mean.
Ashtanga’s Origins
But how and when exactly did Ashtanga Yoga originate? The text from which Jois drew his information could be as recent as 500 years old, or it could have been written 1,500 years ago. There may have been an oral tradition before that. And what is this ancient text? A stack of palm leaves called the Yoga Korunta, which was sitting in the recesses of a university library in Calcutta. Sometime during the early 1930s, Yoga master Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and his student, Jois – who was not yet 20 – were doing research and they came upon the Yoga Korunta. The two Yoga scholars put together what we know as Ashtanga from this text. Krishnamacharya urged Jois to devote himself to Ashtanga, so from his home base in Mysore, India, he perfected and taught the practice.
For many decades Ashtanga was only practiced in India. Then the counterculture of the 1960s opened up a lot of Westerners’ minds. In the early 1970s, two young searchers, David Williams and Norman Allen, traveled to India, where they encountered Jois’s son Manju. Manju was demonstrating the Primary Ashtanga series, and Williams and Allen wanted desperately to learn it. Unfortunately, Jois wasn’t interested in teaching foreigners. Allen went to Mysore anyhow and camped out on Jois’s doorstep until he changed his mind. After renewing his visa, Williams returned to India with Nancy Gilgoff and they, too, studied with Jois. Williams came back to the U.S. and established a center in Encinitas (he’s presently based in Maui), and in 1975 Jois came to America for the first time. Ashtanga grew from there. Other practitioners such as Richard Freeman and David Swenson, came up through the ranks early on and there have been many, many others since then – although Beryl Bender Birch and Bryan Kest teach something other than strict Ashtanga Yoga, they too were very serious Ashtanga practitioners. When Yoga’s popularity really began to accelerate in the 1990s, interest in Ashtanga also grew. Jois, who turned 86 in 2001, still comes to America to offer his blunt and very hands-on teaching.
The Ashtanga Practice
The heart of Ashtanga practice is the six series of linked postures which last anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours. Most people only get as far as the first two series, the Primary Series, or Yoga Chikitsa and the Intermediate Series, or Nadi Shodana. Yoga Chikitsa is the foundation and meant to detoxify the body. Many Forward Bends are included. Nadi Shodana cleanses the energy channels, and back bends are involved. The four advanced series were originally only two, but they were eventually divided up into four because of their inherent difficulty. Collectively these are known as Sthira Bhaga and those who accomplish them have an extraordinary amount of strength, flexibility – and humility (Norman Allen, who leads a much simpler life than most of his fellow Ashtanga leaders, has accomplished all six series). Keep in mind you aren’t just flailing about in these postures – they’re all controlled, and they’re held for five breaths. Linking the breath to the moves is what Vinyasa (flowing posture) is all about. Ashtanga is sometimes called Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (and occasionally you’ll also see its alternate spelling, Astanga).
Pranayama, or breathing, is one of two additional aspects which are crucial to Ashtanga. The specific pranayama performed is Ujjayi, in which the breath is inhaled and exhaled through the back of the throat, making an echo-like sound (some call it the „Darth Vader“ breath). The other important practice involves the bandhas, or locks – tensing up certain points of the body to control and enhance energy flow. The two locks most often used are the Mula Bandha, or root lock, located around the perineum (between the sex organs and the anal orifice). The second lock is Uddiyana Bandha, or Upward Lock, in which the lower part of the belly, below the navel, tightens. Uddiyana Bandha happens almost automatically when practicing Mula Bandha, which should be held all through Ashtanga practice… plus the Ujjayi breathing, of course. Obviously, Ashtanga will teach you concentration! There’s also a third lock, the less-discussed chin lock or Jalandhara Bandha.
An Ashtanga Yoga class begins by chanting a Sanskrit prayer. Sun Salutations are practiced to warm up the body (and usually Ashtanga is practiced in a warm room – although it’s not as hot as a Bikram Yoga class). Then comes the series of poses for whichever level of Ashtanga is being taught. Every Ashtanga class ends the same way – with a cool-down consisting of Shoulderstand, Headstand, Bound Lotus and a good, long Shavasana. A class that does not include all these elements is not Ashtanga Yoga in the strict sense of the term. Serious enthusiasts practice six days a week. Saturday is the classic Ashtanga day of rest, and practice is also avoided when there is either a new moon or a full moon.
Because Ashtanga Yoga is so strenuous, it is possible to wind up with some pretty nasty injuries. There have been stories of over-eager instructors hurting their students while adjusting them. But the truth is that most injuries that happen during Ashtanga Yoga are the fault of the student himself. The students that Ashtanga draws in are often go-getters who tend to be ambitious. Sometimes they push themselves far harder than they should, and that’s when they get hurt. That is why humility and patience are so important in Ashtanga practice. And while Ashtanga doesn’t have the precision of Iyengar practice, it is very important to get the technique down – the combination of breathing, locks and Asana. The proper technique, combined with the proper attitude, will keep injury at bay.
The best aspect of Ashtanga is its ability to teach you about yourself. It is not an easy Yoga style, and it will bring out all your frustrations, delusions of grandeur and petty emotions. The only real way to progress is not by becoming more strong and flexible, but by conquering these negative ego traits first. If you master your ego, the strength and flexibility will follow. Always remember – you outer world is only a reflection of what is going on inside you!
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