Parivrtta Trikonasana

Parivrtta Trikonasana was never mentioned by K. P. Jois in his book: “Yoga Mala”, even one of the newest editions. It makes you wonder the importance of the pose and why it made it into the sequence we know today. Was it added to suit the western needs? abilities? egos? I guess we will never really know the real answer. Research shows so many reasons and opinions to why things were added or removed from the sequence.

Like Uttihita Trikonasana, it has five vinyasas, of which the 2nd and 4th are the states of the asana. Does the twist offer more in terms of benefit to the digestive system? Even if it does, K.P. Jois felt it neccessary to leave out of his book. Then the questions arises, should it be left out of your sequence?

Utthita Trikonasana

This asana has five vinyasas, of which the 2nd and 4th are the states of asana. The pose should be held for 5-8 breaths, unless attempting to aid an ailment connected with the pose, in which it can be held for 50-80 breaths.

Benefits- it dissolves the bad fat at the waist, it expands the narrow portion of the breathing channel and it helps to strengthen the backbone.

Namaste.

Padahastasana

This pose has three vinyasas, of which the second is the state of the asana. Hold for 5-8 breaths or 50-80 breaths if helping an ailment connected with the pose.

Benefits- it purifies the anal canal, kidneys and lower abdomen.

Namaste.

Padangusthasana

Padangusthasana has three vinyasas, of which the second is the state of the asana. It is sufficient to breathe five to eight times, but to remedy an ailment you might breathe 50-80 times.

Benefits- this asana dissolves the fat of the lower abdomen and purifies the nerve plexus in the anal region, as well as the rectum.

Namaste.

Surya namaskara

Surya Namaskara A has 9 vinyasas and Surya Namaskara B has 17 vinyasas. For this practice, meditation is important, as are the drishti. For the odd numbered vinyasas it is broomadhya drishti and for even vinyasas it is nasagra drishti. Also, for even numbered vinyasas, rechaka should be performed and for odd vinyasas, puraka is performed.

For Surya Namaskara B, the vinyasa method is the same as above, but the following vinyasas take a different asana: 1st, 7th, 11th and 17th vinyasas.

For A the 6th vinyasa is held for 5 breaths and in B the 14th vinyasa is held for 5.

Now the big question- how many rounds of each? I’ve come across 5xA and 5xB, 5xA and 3xB, 3xA and 3xB … I’m sure there are more variations out there if I search, but personally I prefer 5 and 3.

Namaste.

Workshop booked

I did a little bit more research today about how the system was originally taught and the only conclusion I can come to is that Guruji adapted it to suit an individual’s needs, after all, he was a yoga therapist. There are so many little changes through time, so maybe I should refer back to Yoga Mala and refresh myself with all the vinyasas again. You can’t get any more authentic than that and that’s what I need at the moment.

Time to sharpen up primary with Yoga Mala and Sharath’s led CD now that I’ve booked my first ashtanga workshop of 2012 – Manju Jois in Dublin this July.

Look out for primary info over the next few weeks as I remind myself of the system – focus will be vinyasas.

Namaste.

I can’t do that …

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"I can't do that, that's far too tough."

That's what I usually hear when I chat to someone about my practice, even those people who class themselves as dedicated yoga enthusiasts. The odd thing is that they all seem to know someone who got injured by trying Ashtanga – really?

In today's world everything is done in a rush, everyone wants to be able to be better than the next individual and what happens when things don't go their way? The excuses come one after another. They see yoga as a quick fix, instead of a lifestyle choice.

Many individuals are intimidated by the Ashtanga system, but why should they be? If done correctly, I personally don't know of a better yoga practice.

When Guruji introduced the system to the western world during the mid 20th century, how the sequence was taught to an individual was structured and clearly thought out. Today, too many people want to learn all the poses at the same time – no wonder they get injured. What ever happened to patience?

Having read Yoga Mala again and many blogposts on the subject of how Guruji taught them the system, I am tempted to post up the sequence (Mysore style) in order of how it was introduced originally to the western students. I'm hoping it will educate myself more about the practice, as well as anyone out there who might be starting out.

I'll sleep on it tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

Namaste.

Literature

Just a small collection of what I have gathered up over the past few years, mostly Ashtanga.

All my early purchases were about finding out the sequence and the options (I was awful at the start), but now it’s moving on to the history, the culture and how the system was taught originally, but based on all the comments on www.grimmly2007.blogspot.com recently, I think the search could be a long one. Has Ashtanga gradually changed into a western practice? Surely not.

Namaste.

Home ashtangi

I guess it’s official, yoga is slowly taking over – it must be if I’m starting a blog about it.

The funny thing is that when I first tried Ashtanga Yoga a few years back, it was to try and sort out all my fitness injury issues, but it has become much more – I read the books , I read the blogs, I watch the DVDs, I search YouTube and I listen to the CDs. Am I a yoga addict?

I think I am what some people call a home ashtangi, or a self- taught student or maybe an idiot in other people’s eyes for not having a teacher. Should that matter though? After all, I try to follow the Ashtanga lineage as best as I can, which is sometimes tricky, considering the changes that seem to happen every decade. That doesn’t matter though, the fact is I love the Ashtanga system and want to explore it’s roots and tradition deeper, both for my own practice and anyone else out there who can be bothered to read my blog.

Namaste.