From the Arcives: July 19, 2016 What is Ashtanga?

What is Ashtanga? 

Have you ever practiced Ashtanga Yoga? No? Have you ever practiced vinyasa, flow, or power? These methods are all very closely related. What exactly is the relationship among these yoga asana modalities? Let’s take a look … but to do so we have to go back, way back, back in time and to a place called India. Heard of it? 

In 1888 a man named Sri T. Krishnamacharya was born. Read more about him on krishnamacharya.net We now refer to him as the father of modern yoga and he was responsible for the revival of yoga asana practice as we know it today. Legend tells that he learned the method from ancient papyrus scrolls of unknown age provided by his teacher, Ramamohan Brahmachari, in a cave in the Himalayas. Intriguing, isn’t it? The method he taught was Vinyasa Yoga. Vinyasa refers to the interconnection of breath and movement and dynamic sequencing where each asana or posture is linked by specific transitions, creating a constant flow where from the first breath and movement to the last there is steadiness and continuity, allowing for elements of moving meditation and pranayama practice. It was a method of therapy and healing and a way to integrate the physical body into spiritual practices of the modern (at that time) yogi. His many students spread out into the world teaching methods based on their personal experiences as students and as teachers. We won’t go into all of those divergent methods - that’s a topic for a much longer article - but I will drop some names right here: B.K.S. Iyengar, Sri Desikachar, Indra Devi (a woman!), B.N.S. Iyengar, and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. 

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois took over Krishnamacharya’s teachings in Mysore, India when the master moved away (and continued to teach, by the way). The method that Jois inherited from his teacher and then further developed came to be known as Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga is set sequences of postures, the same poses done in the same order, every time. The organization is progressive so that each asana prepares the body, nervous system, mind, and personality for what follows. It is very structured and intentional and has been practiced very much the same way - with some changes dictated by experience and time and thousands of students - since the early 20th century. So, like … a hundred years or so. Ashtanga is traditionally practiced in the Mysore method (named after the city in India that is the heart and home of the lineage). Mysore is a self-practice approach in which each student moves through the Ashtanga sequence as they have been taught, in their own time, to their own breath. The teacher is available to provide guidance, instruct, and introduce new postures as is appropriate for each student’s individual journey.

It is only since the 1970’s and 80’s that Ashtanga began to spread in the west and specifically America. In the 90’s, some students of Ashtanga began to imagine other approaches to yoga asana and the Vinyasa method. Particularly they wanted to alter the sequencing, be more creative and free from the structure that was Ashtanga. These new methods came to be known by the more general term Vinyasa as they maintained the dynamic linking nature of movement, and focus on breath, but could not be called Ashtanga as they did not maintain the set sequence. The term “Vinyasa” became westernized into “Flow” meaning basically the same thing in a non-sanskrit kinda way. Other students of Ashtanga focused on the dynamic, athleticism of the Ashtanga practice and chose to organize their sequences in a way that prioritized power and endurance, hence “Power” yoga was born. Others blended what they knew from Ashtanga with other lineages entirely, like Sivananda (again, a topic for another time) which is how Jivamukti was born, among others. 

Even today students of the “traditional” methods, those with a strong lineage and tradition of parampara (receiving transference of knowledge directly from a master teacher), are creating their own approach to this ancient practice of self discovery and transformation. At its purest, yoga is a spiritual practice that leads us to awareness and experience of our true nature as divine beings. But whatever your reason for choosing to get on your mat, yoga has benefit for that as well. And whether you choose power, flow, Vinyasa, Iyengar, or Ashtanga, you can offer thanks to the father, Krishnamacharya.