When should I start intermediate series is a question that often comes up pretty early in Ashtanga practice. The second series was originally taught to those early teachers in Mysore almost immediately. Or in continuation with their learning of the primary series. Primary and Intermediate we originally one series So, there was never originally such …
Almost every day in the shala in Mysore you will hear Sharath say ‘free breathing’, it’s not ujayi breath that we’re asked to practice during yoga-asana or physical performance of posture.
With lockdown looming, I remember that last week in the London studio where I had taught for over ten years. As most of the shops and facilities were shutting around us, a few of us continued to come into class, not wishing yet to give into the inevitable. Moreover, the complete unknown we faced. For, …
“Is Ashtanga Yoga Hard?” I am asked this question often and it’s asked a most common internet search. Well, as always, it depends on what we mean by hard. For, all styles of yoga are simply a tool to build awareness in the end. The question then, is how we approach this tool in order …
The trouble is, from every angle in the modern-world these days we are given to believe that more is, indeed, always, more. We have been encouraged to think that value in life can only be found as to degree. Whether this is in the amount we can accumulate or the visible amount we can seem …
Quality Over Quantity in Practice – Less is More Read More »
Developing a home yoga practice can feel daunting but it does not need to be so. The Mysore style of Ashtanga self-practice can however, be a real challenge to some. Developing this style of home yoga practice demands a personal level of commitment quite unique in the modern yoga world. Normally, most classes gain their …
Every season has a quality; both metaphorically, to do with the changes in life, but also, literally, as embodied in the yearly cycle. Yoga is not about setting the rules, but learning how to act appropriately to them. For, in the Gunas- laws of nature, the practitioner is already provided with a ready made source of guidance…
When the body has become accustomed to a level of health through careful and persistent effort, at a certain point something else has to happen. If not, we simply fall into a rut; producing the same movements everyday in maintenance alone.
There’s a myth going on now that stretching and being flexible is an unquestionable goal. Somewhere along the line, the ability to touch your toes, or even put your leg behind your head, all got confused with our general health, fitness, even goodness.
In the early days of practice it’s enough to just do the asana. Then, when we’ve finally struggled into it, it can take all our effort just to bear the discomfort for the required number of breaths. That is at least how I approached yoga for my first year. Although it was a start, and, …
