Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga
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Ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with Patanjali's aṣṭāṅgayoga, the eight limbs of yoga) is a style of yoga as exercise popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois during the twentieth century, often promoted as a dynamic form of medieval hatha yoga.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jois claimed to have learnt the system from his teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. The style is energetic, synchronising breath with movements. The individual poses (asanas) are linked by flowing movements called vinyasas.<ref name="YJ Ashtanga Yoga">Template:Cite web</ref>
Jois established his Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in 1948.<ref name="HuffPost Lewis 2009">Template:Cite news</ref> The current style of teaching is called "Mysore style", after the city in India where the practice was originally taught.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ashtanga yoga has given rise to various spinoff styles of power yoga.
Approach
Traditionally, Ashtanga yoga students memorised a sequence of asanas and practised it together without being led by a teacher. Teacher-led classes were introduced in K. Pattabhi Jois's later years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="YJ Style Profile: Ashtanga yoga">Template:Cite web</ref> Such classes are typically taught twice per week in place of Mysore style classes. Teachers guide the practice, adjusting and assisting with postures and leading the group of students through a series of postures all at the same time.
Sequences and series
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An Ashtanga yoga practice typically begins with five repetitions of surya namaskara A and B respectively, followed by a standing sequence.<ref name="Swenson Practice Manual" >Template:Cite book Template:Page needed</ref> The practitioner then progresses through one of six series of postures, followed by a standard closing sequence.<ref name="Swenson Practice Manual"/>
The six series are:
- The primary series: Yoga chikitsa, yoga for health or yoga therapy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The intermediate series: Nadishodhana, the nerve purifier (also called the "second series")
- The Advanced series: Sthira bhaga, centering of strength
- Advanced A, or third series
- Advanced B, or fourth series
- Advanced C, or fifth series
- Advanced D, or sixth series<ref name="Swenson Practice Manual" /><ref name="ashtanga yoga info">Template:Cite web</ref>
There were originally four series on the ashtanga vinyasa syllabus: primary, intermediate, advanced A, and advanced B. A fifth series was the "Rishi series", which Pattabhi Jois said could be performed once a practitioner had mastered the preceding four series.<ref name="ashtangamaui.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Method of instruction
According to Pattabhi Jois's grandson R. Sharath Jois, practitioners should master each pose separately before attempting the others that follow.Template:Sfn However, Pattabhi Jois's son Manju Jois disagreed; in his view, students were occasionally allowed to practice the postures in a non-linear format.<ref name="static1.1.sqspcdn.com"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, a new generation of ashtanga vinyasa yoga teachers have embraced Sharath's rules, teaching in a linear style without variations. Practice typically takes place in a strict, Mysore-style environment under the guidance of a Sharath-approved teacher. Workshops, detailed alignment instructions and strength-building exercises should not form part of the method, neither for the practitioner nor for the teacher.Template:Sfn However, most teachers who claim to have been taught by Sharath do in practice employ the above methods, exercises and postures in their teaching.Template:Sfn
Principles
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga emphasizes certain key components, namely tristhana ("three places of action or attention", or the more physical aspects of poses) and vinyasa (which Sharath Jois defines as a system of breathing and movement).<ref name="Sharath Jois 2018">Template:Cite web</ref>
Tristhana
Tristhana means the three places of attention or action: breathing system (pranayama), posture (asana), and looking place (drishti). These are considered core concepts for ashtanga yoga practice, encompassing the three levels of purification: the body, nervous system, and the mind. They are supposed to be performed in conjunction with each other.<ref name="Sharath Jois 2018"/>
Each asana in ashtanga yoga is part of a set sequence, as described above. The stated purpose of the asanas is to increase the strength and flexibility of the body.<ref name="Sharath Jois 2018"/> Officially, the style is accompanied by very little alignment instruction.<ref name="ReferenceC">Yoga Breathing for Stress Relief with Sharath Jois</ref> Breathing is ideally even and steady, in terms of the length of the inhalations and exhalations.<ref name="Sharath Jois 2018"/>
Drishti is the point where one focuses the eyes while practicing asana. In the ashtanga yoga method, there is a prescribed point of focus for every asana. There are nine drishtis: the nose, between the eyebrows, navel, thumb, hands, feet, up, right side and left side.<ref name="kpjayi.org">Template:Cite web</ref>
Vinyasa
Vinyasas are flowing sequences of movements that connect each asana to the next.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Maehle 2007">Template:Cite book</ref> Additionally, modern vinyasa yoga coordinates the breath with the vinyasa transition movements between the asanas.<ref name="Vinyasa Yoga Sequences">Template:Cite web</ref>
According to Sharath Jois, the purpose of vinyasas is to purify the blood, which is supposedly otherwise heated and contaminated by the practice of asanas.<ref name="kpjayi.org"/>
Breath
Although ashtanga yoga keeps a general principle of steady and even inhalations and exhalations, the particulars of pranayama during the asana practice are debated.
In his book Yoga Mala, Pattabhi Jois recommends remaining in each posture for five to eight breaths, or else staying in each posture for as long as possible.Template:Sfn Breathing instructions given are to do rechaka and puraka (to exhale and inhale) as much as possible.Template:Sfn "It is sufficient, however, to breathe in and out five to eight times in each posture."Template:Sfn In an interview regarding the length of the breath, Pattabhi Jois instructs practitioners to inhale for ten to fifteen seconds, and to exhale for ten to fifteen seconds.<ref name="aysnyc.org">Template:Cite web</ref> He goes on to clarify: "[if] your breath strength is possibly ten-second inhalations and exhalations, you do ten; fifteen seconds possible, you do fifteen. One hundred possible, you perform one hundred. Five is possible, you do five".<ref name="aysnyc.org"/> His son Manju Jois also recommends taking more breaths in difficult postures.<ref name="static1.1.sqspcdn.com">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Various influential figures have discussed the specific process of breathing in ashtanga vinyasa yoga. Pattabhi Jois recommended breathing fully and deeply with the mouth closed, although he did not specifically term this as ujjayi breathing.Template:Sfn However, Manju Jois does, referring to a breathing style called dirgha rechaka puraka, meaning long, deep, slow exhalations and inhalations. "It should be dirgha... long, and like music. The sound is very important. You have to do the ujjayi pranayama".<ref name="static1.1.sqspcdn.com"/> In late 2011, Sharath Jois stated that ujjayi breathing as such was not to be performed in the asana practice, but that asanas should be accompanied merely by deep breathing with sound.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He reiterated this notion in a conference in 2013, stating: "You do normal breath, inhalation and exhalation with sound. Ujjayi breath is a type of pranayama. This is just normal breath with free flow".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As far as other types of pranayama are concerned, the consensus is that they should be practised after the asanas have been mastered. Pattabhi Jois originally taught pranayama to those practicing the second series and later changed his mind, teaching pranayama after the third series.<ref name="ashtanga.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sharath Jois later produced a series of videos teaching alternate nostril breathing to beginners. This pranayama practice was never taught to beginners by his grandfather and it is one of the many changes Sharath has made to the ashtanga yoga method of instruction.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
Bandhas
Bandhas are one of the three key elements of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, alongside breath and drishti. There are three principal bandhas which are considered internal body locks:
- Mula bandha or root lock at the pelvic floor (drawing in the perineum)
- Uddiyana bandha, drawing back the abdomen approximately two inches below the navel
- Jalandhara bandha, throat lock (achieved by lowering the chin slightly while raising the sternum).
Both Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois recommend practising mula and uddiyana bandha even when not practicing asanas. Pattabhi Jois explains: (translated quote) "You completely exhale, apply mula bandha and after inhaling you apply uddiyana bandha. Both bandhas are very important... After bandha practice, take [your attention] to the location where they are applied and maintain that attention at all times, while walking, talking, sleeping and when walk is finished. Always you control mula bandha".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sharath Jois says: "Without bandhas, breathing will not be correct, and the asanas will give no benefit".<ref name="kpjayi.org"/>
Opening chant
Ashtanga practice is traditionally started with the following Sanskrit invocation to Patanjali:<ref name=SharathPrayer>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Sanskrit | Translation |
|---|---|
| vande gurūṇāṁ caraṇāravinde saṁdarśita-svātma-sukhāvabodhe niḥśreyase jāṅ̇galikāyamāne saṁsāra-hālāhala-mohaśāntyai ābāhu puruṣākāraṁ śaṅ̇kha-cakrāsi-dhāriṇam sahasra-śirasaṁ śvetam praṇamāmi patañjalim |
I bow to the lotus feet of the gurus, The awakening happiness of one's own-self revealed, Beyond better, acting like the jungle physician, Pacifying delusion, the poison of Samsara. Taking the form of a man to the shoulders, Holding a conch, a discus, and a sword, One thousand heads white, To Patanjali, I salute. |
and closes with the "mangala mantra" (Lokaksema):<ref name=SharathPrayer/>
| Sanskrit | Translation |
|---|---|
| Om
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṁ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥ Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ |
May all be well with mankind, May the leaders of the Earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path. May there be goodness for those who know the Earth to be sacred. May all the worlds be happy. |
History
Pattabhi Jois claimed to have learned the system of ashtanga from Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who in turn claimed to have learned it from a supposed text called Yoga Kurunta by the otherwise unknown author Vamama Rishi.<ref>Eddie Sterne, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students</ref> This text was imparted to Krishnamacharya in the early 1900s by his Guru, Yogeshwara Ramamohana Brahmachari. Jois insists that the text described all of the asanas and vinyasas of the sequences of the ashtanga system. However, the text is said to have been eaten by ants so it is impossible to verify his assertions. Additionally, it is unusual that the text is not mentioned as a source in either of the books by Krishnamacharya, Yoga Makaranda (1934) and Yogāsanagalu (c. 1941).<ref name="Singleton 2010 Mysore Chapter">Template:Harvnb</ref>
According to Manju Jois, the sequences of ashtanga yoga were created by Krishnamcharya.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is some evidence to support this in Yoga Makaranda, which lists nearly all the postures of the Pattabhi Jois primary series and several postures from the intermediate and advanced series, described with reference to vinyasa.<ref>Krishnamacharya, T. Yoga Makaranda, 1934</ref>
There is evidence that the ashtanga yoga series incorporates exercises used by Indian wrestlers and British gymnasts.<ref name="yogajournal">Template:Cite web</ref> Recent academic research details documentary evidence that physical journals in the early 20th century were full of the postural shapes that were very similar to Krishnamacharya's asana system.<ref name="Singleton 2010 Mysore Chapter"/> In particular, the flowing surya namaskara, which later became the basis of Krishnamacharya's Mysore style, was in the 1930s considered as exercise and not part of yoga; the two styles were at that time taught separately, in adjacent halls of the Mysore palace.<ref name="Singleton 2010 Mysore Chapter"/>
Etymology
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Jois elided any distinction between his sequences of asanas and the eight-limbed ashtanga yoga (Sanskrit अष्टांग asht-anga, "eight limbs") of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The eight limbs of Patanjali's scheme are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.<ref>Scott, John. Ashtanga Yoga: The Definitive Step-by-Step Guide to Dynamic Yoga. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000. pp. 14–17.</ref> It was Jois's belief that asana, the third limb, must be practiced first, and only after that could one master the other seven limbs.<ref name="KPJAYI 2018">Template:Cite web</ref> However, the name ashtanga in Jois's usage may, as yoga scholar Mark Singleton suggests, derive from the old name of surya namaskar in the system of dand gymnastic exercises, which was named ashtang dand after one of the original postures in the sequence, ashtanga namaskara (now replaced by chaturanga dandasana), in which eight body parts all touch the ground, rather than Patanjali's yoga.<ref name="Singleton 2010 Mysore Chapter"/>
Tradition
There has been much debate over the term "traditional" as applied to ashtanga yoga. The founder's students noted that Jois freely modified the sequence to suit the practitioner.<ref name="theconfluencecountdown.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the differences include the addition or subtraction of postures in the sequences,<ref name="Swenson Practice Manual" /> changes to the vinyasa (full and half vinyasa),<ref name="ashtanga.com" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Lino Miele, Astanga Yoga Book - The Yoga of Breath</ref> and specific practice prescriptions to specific people.<ref name="theconfluencecountdown.com" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Several changes to the practice have been made since its inception. Nancy Gilgoff, an early student, describes many differences in the way she was taught ashtanga to the way it is taught now.<ref name="ashtangamaui.com" /> According to her experiences, some of the differences include: Pattabhi Jois originally left out seven postures in the standing sequence, but later assigned utthita hasta padangusthasana and ardha baddha padmottanasana before the intermediate series was given; utkatasana, virabhadrasana A and B, parivritta trikonasana, and parivritta parsvakonasana were not in the series at this point; and Jois did not give a vinyasa between the same poses on the different sides of the body or between variations on a pose (e.g., janu sirsasana A, B, and C were done together, followed by a vinyasa. Likewise baddha konasana, upavishta konasana and supta konasana were also grouped together without a vinyasa between them, as were ubhaya padangusthasana and urdhva mukha paschimottanasana.<ref name="ashtangamaui.com" />
According to Gilgoff, Pattabhi Jois prescribed practising twice a day, primary and intermediate series, with no vinyasa between sides in krounchasana, bharadvajasana, ardha matsyendrasana, eka pada sirsasana, parighasana, and gomukhasana in the intermediate series. Shalabhasana to parsva dhanurasana were done in a group, with a vinyasa only performed at the end. Ushtrasana through kapotasana also were done altogether. The same went for eka pada sirsasana through yoganidrasana. The closing sequence included only mudrasana, padmasana, and tolasana, until the completion of the intermediate series when the remainder of the closing sequence was assigned. Urdhva dhanurasana and "drop-backs" were taught after the intermediate series. Gilgoff states that the original intermediate series included vrishchikasana after karandavasana and ended with gomukhasana. She also notes that Pattabhi Jois added supta urdhva pada vajrasana as well as the seven headstands when another yogi asked for more; these eight postures were not part of the intermediate series prior to this.<ref name="ashtangamaui.com" />
Power yoga spinoffs
Power yoga began in the 1990s via a "nearly simultaneous invention" by two students of K. Pattabhi Jois and similar forms led by other yoga teachers.<ref name="Pizer 2019">Template:Cite web</ref>
Beryl Bender Birch created what Yoga Journal calls "the original power yoga"<ref name="YJ def">Template:Cite web</ref> in 1995.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Bryan Kest, who studied ashtanga yoga under K. Pattabhi Jois, and Baron Baptiste, a Bikram yoga enthusiast, separately put their own spins on the style and provided its branding. Neither Baptiste's power yoga nor Kest's power yoga are synonymous with ashtanga yoga. In 1995, Pattabhi Jois wrote a letter to Yoga Journal expressing his disappointment at the association between his ashtanga yoga and the newly-coined power yoga, referring to it as "ignorant bodybuilding".<ref name="Ashtanga Yoga Library">Template:Cite web</ref>
Risk of injury
In an article published by The Economist, it was reported that "a good number of Mr Jois's students seemed constantly to be limping around with injured knees or backs because they had received his "adjustments", yanking them into Lotus, the splits, or a backbend".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tim Miller, one of Jois's students, indicates that "the adjustments were fairly ferocious".<ref name="vanityfair">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Injuries related to Jois's ashtanga yoga have been the subject of discussion in a Huffington Post article.<ref name="huffington">Template:Citation</ref>
In 2008, yoga researchers in Europe published a survey of practitioners of ashtanga yoga that indicated that 62 percent of respondents had suffered at least one injury that lasted longer than one month. However, the survey lacked a control group (of similar people not subject to the treatment, such as people who had practised a different form of yoga), which limited its validity.<ref name="Broad 2012 133–134">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
References
Sources
Further reading
External links
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