An Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga: an introduction to Ashtanga Yoga

With so many different Yoga styles available, choosing the one that suits you can feel overwhelming.

My favourite Yoga class at the 2018 Elysia Yoga Convention was, without question, the session led by Tania Kemou.

Tania’s class at the Elysia Yoga Convention was an introduction to Ashtanga. The afternoon was beautiful, with picture-perfect beaches and ideal weather, yet something told me it was worth returning to the Aegialis Hotel. I did not want to miss the class.

I completed my first Yoga teacher-training course with YogaLondon, and at that point I had not really considered the differences between the various Yoga styles.

YogaLondon https://yogalondon.net teaches a course based on Ashtanga Vinyasa.

Ashtanga Yoga

Think of Ashtanga Yoga as a highly structured, vinyasa-style practice. There are five Ashtanga asana series, and students are expected to master each posture in the first series before progressing to the second.

Ashtanga Yoga reached the West through the students of Sri Pattabi Jois. Although Sri Pattabi Jois died in 2009, his yoga centre in Mysore, India, continues to operate.

The first series opens with ten sun salutations-five A and five B-before moving into standing postures performed on both sides. It concludes with a sequence of seated poses and inversions, with the teacher connecting the postures through a vinyasa sequence.

The practice was also widely popularised by David Swenson.

This is a demanding practice, suggested to be followed 6 days per week.

To be honest, given my reluctance to do headstands, I would probably still be working on the primary series.

Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa Yoga is a Yoga style that developed from the original Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga method of Sri Pattabi Jois. It is often viewed and described as a more modern or westernised form of Yoga.

Ashtanga translates as the eight limbs, or branches, of yoga referred to in the Yoga sutras of Patanjali. Physical Yoga postures, or asanas, represent just one of those eight branches, while breath, or pranayama, is another. You are encouraged to bring all eight limbs into your Yoga practice.

“The term Ashtanga Vinyasa refers to a style of physical yoga, codified in the 20th century by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois who is considered the founder of this style. The addition of the term vinyasa differentiates it from Ashtanga yoga as the eightfold path.” as quoted by Tania Kemou.

Vinyasa offers much greater variety in sequencing, allowing the teacher to interpret and create a different series of asanas. As a result, classes usually feature distinct themes and ‘peak’ postures that are layered into the practice.

What I loved about this Ashtanga Yoga class with Tania

There is a common misconception in Yoga that repeating a posture 100 times is the way to master it. There is some truth in that idea, but why keep suffering in the process?

I do not practise Ashtanga Yoga regularly. However, as I teach Hatha and Vinyasa classes, many of the asanas are familiar.

When I first began practising Yoga, many of the twists, binds and inversions that are typical of an Ashtanga series felt almost impossible.

Still, there I was, on a magical Greek island, moving into Janu Sirsana (head-to-toe) variations and binds that would have seemed nearly impossible two years earlier.

What we learn on the mat we can take into our daily lives. *If it isn’t working, don’t force it.** Sometimes simply let it be. When you come back to it, you have most likely changed and adapted in ways you didn’t recognise.*

Tania teaches with a calm and kind manner. Her adjustments are gentle yet strong, providing the final touches that can deepen your experience of an asana. She has a quiet, capable confidence that makes you feel comfortable attempting inversions and asanas you would not usually enjoy.

Her enthusiasm for Yoga, and for Ashtanga in particular, is clear from the very beginning.

It is both humbling and impressive when a Yoga teacher is proficient in more than one language.

Tania is based in Athens and runs regular retreats across Europe. Visit her website for further information.

https://www.take-yoga.com/contact/

My advice regarding different Yoga styles

Seek out teachers you trust and enjoy, and try as many styles as you can. Even if you do not enjoy a style at first, return to it occasionally.

You might just suprise yourself!