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Ashtanga vinyasa yoga

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This article is about a style of yoga consisting of six series founded by K. Pattabhi Jois. For the eightfold yoga path, a system first described in Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, see Rāja (Ashtanga) Yoga.
Ashtanga yoga
FounderK. Pattabhi Jois
Establishedlate 20th century
Derivative formsVinyasa yoga; Flow yoga - employs connecting asanas without use of specific series'
Practice emphases
Employs Vinyasa, or connecting asanas.
Related schools
K. Pattabhi Jois teaching Ashtanga yoga with Larry Schultz, mid 1980s.

Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, usually referred to simply as Ashtanga yoga, is a style of yoga codified[1][2] and popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois and is often promoted as a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga.[3] Pattabhi Jois began his yoga studies in 1927 at the age of 12, and by 1948 had established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute for teaching the specific yoga practice known as Ashtanga (Sanskrit for "eight-limbed") Yoga.[4] Ashtanga Yoga is named after the eight limbs of yoga mentioned in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[5]

"Power yoga" and "vinyasa yoga" are generic terms that may refer to any type of vigorous yoga exercise derived from Ashtanga yoga.[6]

Principles

Breath

In Pattabhi Jois' book "Yoga Mala" he recommends staying 5-8 breaths in a posture, or, staying for as long as possible in a posture.[7] Breathing instructions given are to do rechaka and puraka, (exhale and inhale) as much as possible.[7]"It is sufficient, however, to breathe in and out five to eight times in each posture." [7]

In an interview regarding the length of the breath, P.Jois said " Inhale 10 seconds or 15 seconds then exhalation also 10 seconds or 15 seconds".[8] He goes on to clarify "Your strength is 10 breathing is doing possible, you do 10 breathing, 15 breathing you possible, you do 15 breathing. One hundred possible, 100 you do. 5 you do, 5 is possible, 5 you do." [8]

Additionally, his son, Manju Jois recommends taking more breaths in difficult postures[9]

P.Jois recommends breathing fully and deeply with the mouth closed. He does not specifically refer to Ujjayi Breathing.[7] However, Manju Jois, P.Jois' son does. Manju Jois also refers to breathing called "‘dirgha rechaka puraka’, meaning long, deep,slow exhales and inhales. It should be dirgha...long, and like music. The sound is very important. You have to do the ujjayi pranayama." [9]

In late 2011, Sharath Jois, P.Jois' grandson declared his feelings on the issue, stating that ujjayi breathing was not done in the asana practice, but also stated that the breathing should be deep breathing with sound.[10] 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 prāṇāyāma. This is just normal breath with free flow".[11]

In 2014 published on YouTube, Manju Jois dodges the question "What is the difference between ujjayi breathing and free breathing?" by saying that the breathing in Ashtanga should be long and deep with the sound like the ocean. He also states that if you don't make sound, that is okay too. However he makes no distinction between the two terms and provides no explaination [12]

As far as other types of pranayama practice in Ashtanga, the consensus seems to be that it should be practiced after the asanas have been mastered. P.Jois originally taught pranayama to those practicing the second series, and later changed his mind, teaching pranayama after the third series.[13][14][15]

Jois' grandson Sharath recently produced a series of videos teaching alternate nostril breathing to beginner.[16]

Connection between breath and bandhas

Jois' grandson Sharath says "Without bandhas, breathing will not be correct, and the asanas will give no benefit."[17]

Drishti

Dristhi is where you focus your eyes while in the asana. In the ashtanga yoga method, there is a prescribed point of focus for every asana. There are nine dristhis: the nose, between the eyebrows, navel, thumb, hands, feet, up, right side and left side.[17]

Vinyasa

In the words of P.Jois "Vinyasa means "breathing system." Without vinyasa, don't do asana. When vinyasa is perfect, the mind is under control."[18]

Vinyasa means breathing with movement. For each movement, there is one breath. All asanas are assigned a certain number of vinyasas.[17]

According to Sharath "The purpose of vinyasa is for internal cleansing. Breathing and moving together while performing asanas makes the blood hot, or as Pattabhi Jois says, boils the blood. Thick blood is dirty and causes disease in the body. The heat created from yoga cleans the blood and makes it thin, so that it may circulate freely.[19]

Sharath also claims that the heated blood removing toxins, impurities and disease from the organs through sweat produced during the practice. He claims that "it is only through sweat that disease leaves the body and purification occurs." [19]

Daily Practice

Students are encouraged to practice 6 days a week, preferably in the morning, and to take rest on Saturdays as well as the days of the full and new moon. Women are also instructed to rest during menstruation, refraining from any yoga practice.[19]

Mysore Style

The term Mysore-style comes from the city Mysore, in Karnataka,India, where P.Jois & T.Krishnamcharya taught. Students are expected to memorize a sequence and practice in the same room as others without being led by the teacher. The role of the teacher is to guide as well as provide adjustments or assists in postures. Twice per week Mysore-style classes are substituted for led classes, wher the teacher takes a group through the same series at the same time.[20]

Sequences & Series

Usually an Ashtanga practice begins with 5 Surya Namaskar A and 5 B, followed by a standing sequence.[21] Following this the pracitioner begins one of 6 series, followed by what is called the closing sequence.[21] The 6 series are:

  1. The Primary series (Yoga Chikitsa: Yoga for Health or Yoga Therapy),
  2. Intermediate series (Nadi Shodhana: The Nerve Purifier) (also called second series),
  3. The Advanced Series (Sthira Bhaga: Centering of Strength):
  1. Advanced A (also called third series),
  2. Advanced B (also called fourth series),
  3. Advanced C (also called fifth series) and
  4. D (Sthira Bhagah) (also called sixth series).[21]

[22]

Nancy Gilgoff reports that originally there were four series on the Ashtanga syllabus: Primary, Intermediate, Advanced A, and Advanced B. A fifth series of sorts was the "Rishi series," which Guruji said could be done once a practitioner had "mastered" these four.[23] Anthony Gary Lopedota also confirms this.[24]

Method of Instruction

According to Sharath Jois, one must master poses before being given permission to attempt any others that follow. However, P.Jois' son Manju Jois disagrees. [9][25] We also know from Manju's accounts of his father's instruction that P.Jois also allowed students to practice in a non linear format occasionally.[26]

Tradition

There is a lot of debate over the term "traditional" as applied to Ashtanga Yoga. We know from P.Jois students that he modified the sequence to suit the practitioner.[27] Some of the differences include the addition or subtraction of postures in the sequences [18][21] changes to the vinyasa (full & half vinyasa)[13][28][29] and specific practice prescriptions to specific people.[27][30]

Nancy Gilgoff describes many differences in the way she was taught ashtanga to the way it is taught now. She notes that P.Jois originally left out 7 postures in the standing sequence, but later assigned Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana and Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana before the Intermediate Series was given.[23] She notes that Utkatasana and Virabhadrasana A & B , Parivritta Trikonasana and Parivritta Parsvakonasana, were not in the series at this point.[23]

She also notes that he and did not give her vinyasas between sides or between variations of a pose (eg.Janu Sirsasana A, B, and C were done together then a vinyasa.[23] Likewise Baddha Konasana, Upavishta Konasana, and Supta Konasana were also grouped together without vinyasas between them, as were Ubhaya Padangusthasana and Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana, with no vinyasa between.[23]

According to Nancy, P.Jois prescribed practice twice a day, primary and intermediate, with no vinyasas between sides in Krounchasana, Bharadvajasana, Ardha Matsyendrasana, Eka Pada Sirsasana, Parighasana, and Gomukhasana in the intermediate series.[23] Shalabhasana to Parsva Dhanurasana were done in a group, with a vinyasa only at the end.[23] Ushtrasana through Kapotasana also were done all together. The same went for Eka Pada Sirsasana through Yoganidrasana.[23] The closing sequence only included Mudrasana, Padmasana, and Tolasana until the completion of the Intermediate sequence, when the remainder of the closing sequence was assigned.[23] Urdhva Dhanurasana and “drop-backs” were taught after Intermediate Series.[23]

What's more, the Intermediate series included Vrishchikasana after Karandavasana, and the series ended with Gomukhasana.[23] He added Supta Urdhva Pada Vajrasana as well as the seven headstands when David Williams asked for more.[23]

We can also see the differences in the postures of the primary sequence as well as other things by comparing P. Jois book "Yoga Mala" to the present day yoga taught by his son Manju Jois, his grandson Sharath Jois, and his two daughters Sharmilla and Saraswathi.

Sources

Pattabhi Jois claimed to have learned the system of Ashtanga from Krishnamacharya, who learned it from a text called Yoga Kurunta .[31] Jois insists that the text describes in all āsana s and vinyāsas of the sequences of the Ashtanga system (interview, Pattabhi Jois, September 25, 2005).[32]

However, the Yoga Kurunta text is said to have been eaten by ants,so it is impossible to verify his assertions.[32]

Additionaly, it is unusual that the text is not mentioned as a source in either of Krishnamacharya’s books Yoga Makaranda (1934) and Yogāsanagalu (c. 1941).[32]

According to P.Jois son, Manju Jois, the sequences of Ashtanga yoga were created by Krishnmacharya [33] There is some evidence to support this in his book Yoga Makaranta, which list nearly all postures of P.Jois Primary Series and several postures from the intermediate and advanced series, described with reference to vinyasa.[34]

Eight Limbs of Ashtanga

P.Jois never made a distinction between his sequences of asana and the the 8 limbed Ashtanga Yoga associated with Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras. It was his belief that asana, the first limb, must be practiced first, and only after could one master the other 7 limbs.[18][19]

The sage Patanjali outlined eight aspects—or "limbs"— of spiritual yogic practice in his Yoga Sutras:[35]

Sanskrit English
Yama moral codes
Niyama self-purification and study
Asana posture
Pranayama breath control
Pratyahara withdrawing of the mind from the senses
Dharana concentration
Dhyana deep meditation
Samadhi Union with the object of meditation[36]

Bandhas

Bandhas are one of the three key principles in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, alongside breath and drishti. There are three bandhas which are considered our internal body locks.

Both P.Jois and Sharath Jois recommend practicing Mula and Uddiyana bandha even when not practicing asana. P.Jois has this to say: You complete exhale, take mulabandha, after inhale starting that time you take uddiyana bandha. Both bandhas is very important....after practice do not release them... You take practice,always, walking, talking, sleeping, walk is going time, always you control Mulabandha.[37]

Drishtis

Dristhi is where you focus your eyes while in the asana. In the ashtanga yoga method, there is a prescribed point of focus for every asana (see below). There are nine dristhis: the nose, between the eyebrows, navel, thumb, hands, feet, up, right side and left side.[17]

Mantras

The Ashtanga practice is traditionally started with the following Sanskrit mantra:

vande gurūṇāṁ caraṇāravinde saṁdarśitasvātmasukhāvabodhe

niḥ śreyase jāṅ̇galikāyamāne saṁsāra hālāhala mohaśāntyai

ābāhu puruṣākāraṁ śaṅ̇khacakrāsi dhāriṇam

sahasra śirasaṁ śvetam praṇamāmi patañjalim

which is roughly translated into English as:

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:

svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṁ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥ

gobrāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityaṁ lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu

which is roughly translated into English as:

May prosperity be glorified,
may rulers (administrators) rule the world with law and justice,
may divinity and erudition be protected.
May all beings be happy and prosperous.

A more literal translation:

May it be well with the people.
Let Earth's rulers protect the Earth with the path of law and justice.
May good fortune always befall cows and Brahmins.
May all the worlds be happy and comfortable.

Confusion with Power Yoga

Power Yoga is a style of yoga created by Beryl Bender Birch, in the late 80's.[38][39] Byron Baptiste,a Bikram enthusiast, put his own spin on the Power Yoga style, and branded it.

Neither Byron Baptiste's Power Yoga or Beryl Bender Birch's Power Yoga are synonymous with Ashtanga Yoga. In 1995, P.Jois wrote a letter to Yoga Journal magazine expressing his disappoint at the association between his Ashtanga Yoga, and the newly coined style Power Yoga, referring to it as "ignorant bodybuilding".[40] Yoga Journal Magazine: (scriptures).[40]

Media and 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."[41] Tim Miller, one of Jois's students, indicates that "the adjustments were fairly ferocious."[42] Injuries related to Jois's Ashtanga Yoga have been the subject of discussion in a Huffington Post article [43] and a Vanity Fair article.[42] The high risk of injury from teachers can possibly be attributed to an over-zealous and under-experienced approach. "The more accomplished teachers—whose knowledge and personalities allow them to approach their students’ bodies with a degree of insight and sensitivity—often successfully embody the challenging but often eventually nurturing atmosphere at AYRI. Others, often seemingly intent on succeeding in getting students into poses, leaving a trail of injured bodies in their wake."[44]

In The Science of Yoga, William Broad's findings on yoga injuries include a case where a patient was diagnosed with a bulge in one of the vertebral discs causing numbness and pain as a result of "her competitive edge" while practising Ashtanga Yoga. The patient said "I am a super-athlete, and thought I could do anything... But I took it too quickly. I still needed to take baby steps."[45] In 2008, yoga researchers in Europe published a survey, that lacked a control group therefore limiting internal validity, of practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga indicating that 62 percent of the respondents had suffered at least one injury that lasted longer than one month.[46][47]

However the mass media has reported injuries in other styles of yoga equally as often as in Ashtanga Yoga. For example, Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga and Iyengar Yoga have received equally bad press.[48][49][46][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]

The long holds in headstand and shoulderstand, considered essential postures to an Iyengar practice, have been reported as being linked to serious injury in numerous sources.[46][58][59][60] William J Broad, author of the book "The Science of Yoga, Risks and Rewards" had this to say: "One of the saddest and most thoughtful letters came from an elderly man who studied with Iyengar in India for 16 years. His list of personal injuries included torn ligaments, damaged vertebrae, slipped disks, deformed knees and ruptured blood vessels in his brain."[61]

See also

References

Sources

  • Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois. "Ashtanga Yoga". Ashtanga Yoga Research Center. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2007.

Further reading

  1. ^ Broad, William (2012). The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards. New York, USA: Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 99. ISBN 9781451641424.
  2. ^ "Practice and All Is Coming". Yoga Journal. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Ashtanga Yoga Background". Ashtanga.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Jois, Sri K. Pattabhi. Yoga Mala. New York: North Point Press, 2002.
  5. ^ Fromberg, Eden (12 January 2012). "Yogi Glenn Black Responds to New York Times Article on Yoga". The Huffington Post.
  6. ^ Roberts, Sherry. "Yoga Styles". Yoga Movement. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d pg 108, Yoga Mala
  8. ^ a b http://aysnyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=100&Itemid=162
  9. ^ a b c http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/477116/5091764/1261014095430/Manju_Jois.pdf?token=%2BVAJGlnrwmABlUKlnr5OWV8el1E%3D
  10. ^ http://yogarose.net/2012/08/13/the-long-and-the-short-of-it-on-the-ashtanga-breath-which-for-the-record-is-not-ujjayi/
  11. ^ http://joisyoga.com/2013/06/16/conference-notes-with-sharath-jois-kpjayi-march-2013/
  12. ^ Manju Mini Interview 2014 on youtube
  13. ^ a b http://www.ashtanga.com/html/article_miller_tim.html
  14. ^ http://www.ashtanga-yoga-victoria.com/k-pattabhi-jois.html
  15. ^ http://aysnyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=184
  16. ^ Yoga Breathing for Stress Relief with Sharath Jois
  17. ^ a b c d http://kpjayi.org/the-practice
  18. ^ a b c Yoga Mala
  19. ^ a b c d http://kpjayi.org/the-institute/teachers
  20. ^ Mysore Style
  21. ^ a b c d David Swenson, "The Practice Manual"
  22. ^ http://www.ashtangayoga.info/
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l http://www.ashtangamaui.com/articles-by-nancy/
  24. ^ http://ashtangayogatherapy.com/bio
  25. ^ http://loveyogaanatomy.com/manju-jois-mini-interview/
  26. ^ http://aysnyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=161
  27. ^ a b http://theconfluencecountdown.com/2012/01/05/who-has-done-all-of-the-ashtanga-series-does-it-matter/
  28. ^ http://ashtangayogashala.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=98&Itemid=162
  29. ^ Lino Miele, Astanga Yoga Book - The Yoga of Breath
  30. ^ http://yogamindmedicine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reflections-on-guruji-portrait.html#more
  31. ^ Eddie Sterne, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students
  32. ^ a b c Yoga Body
  33. ^ http://ashtangayogashala.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=184
  34. ^ Yoga Makaranta by T. Krishnamacharya
  35. ^ Scott, John. Ashtanga Yoga: The Definitive Step-by-Step Guide to Dynamic Yoga. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000. Pp. 14-17.
  36. ^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 71.
  37. ^ http://www.ashtangayogashala.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=116&Itemid=162
  38. ^ "Yoga body: the origins of modern posture practice" by Oleh Mark Singleton,Page 176
  39. ^ Birch, Beryl Bender (17 January 1995). "Power yoga: The total strength and flexibility workout". ISBN 978-0-02-058351-6. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  40. ^ a b "A letter from Sri.K. Pattabhi Jois to Yoga Journal, Nov. 1995". Ashtanga Yoga Library. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference Economist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ a b McLean, Bethany (April 2012), "Yoga-for-Trophy-Wives Fitness Fad That's Alienating Discipline Devotees", Vanity Fair, archived from the original on 12 January 2013
  43. ^ Cahn, Lauren (3 August 2009), "Five Words That Do Not Belong In Yoga", Huffington Post, archived from the original on 28 August 2012
  44. ^ Singleton, Mark; Byrne, Jean, eds. (2008). Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives (Kindle Edition ed.). New York, USA: Routledge. p. 154. ISBN 0415452589. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  45. ^ Broad, William (2012). The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards. New York, USA: Simon & Schuster, Inc. p. 123. ISBN 9781451641424.
  46. ^ a b c Broad, William (2012). The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards. New York, USA: Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9781451641424.
  47. ^ Mikkonen, Jani; Pederson, Palle; McCarthy, Peter William (2008). "A Survey of Musculoskeletal Injury among Ashtanga Yoga Practitioners". International Journal of Yoga Therapy (18): 59–64.
  48. ^ http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/02/dangers-of-hot-yoga/index.htm
  49. ^ <ref.http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/bikram-yoga
  50. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-woman-suing-hot-yoga-studio-for-hip-injury-1.1281927
  51. ^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/thinking-of-trying-hot-yoga-read-this-first/article583705/
  52. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-bikram-backlash-6154036.html
  53. ^ http://newsarchive.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news-198217.html
  54. ^ http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/hot-yoga-injuries
  55. ^ http://www.alternativemedicine.com/balance/mind-body-connection/om-ouch
  56. ^ http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2013/05/hot_yoga_is_gaining_popularity.html
  57. ^ http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/no-hot-yoga-for-me-thanks/
  58. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html
  59. ^ http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/bikram-yoga
  60. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eden-g-fromberg-do/yoga_b_1202465.html
  61. ^ http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/the-healing-power-of-yoga-controversy/
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