Ashtanga Yoga

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

J Yoga

If you’re looking for a type of yoga that’s athletic, physically demanding and that can be practiced at home, then Ashtanga Yoga may be the right choice for you.

Ashtanga Yoga is a style of yoga that is very athletic. With Ashtanga Yoga there are a series of poses or postures you perform, moving from one to the next without pause. In fact, you sometimes jump from one pose to the next or perform pushups between poses. The poses become more difficult as you progress in training. This is an intense form of yoga, and as such, Ashtanga Yoga is often favored by the young and flexible.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga means “eight-limbed yoga. Ashtanga Yoga was made popular by K. Pattabhi Jois. Ashtanga Yoga is a Vinyasa style practice that follows a set series of poses.

Once you’ve mastered the poses and transitions of Ashtanga Yoga under the watchful eye of an instructor, you can move through the poses at your own pace, even at home. It’s thought that Ashtanga Yoga was developed especially to appeal to younger people, who are stronger and more flexible, but who were less interested in holding yoga poses for longer periods of time for introspection. Consequently, the poses used in Ashtanga yoga are challenging and none are held for longer than five breaths.

Ashtanga Yoga Poses

The series of Ashtanga Yoga poses begins with the sun salutation, moves through seated poses, then standing poses, moves into the more challenging twisted poses and finally head stands. While you’re doing this, you must synchronize your breathing as well. This produces “internal heat,” which causes sweating and the release of toxins from your organs and muscles. Ashtanga yoga improves circulation and can increase your strength and flexibility, as well as providing relaxation and a sense of calm.

For those who practice the full discipline of Ashtanga yoga, there are rules to be followed that involve the practitioner’s lifestyle, including their eating habits, sleeping habits, sexual practices, spiritual life and even the types of medical care they receive. However, most practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga choose not to follow these strict guidelines, instead focusing on the physical elements only.

To learn Ashtanga yoga, you need to learn from a qualified instructor. Such an instructor who has been trained in the traditional manner is called a guru or yogi. Learning the Ashtanga yoga sequence with one if these guides is extremely important, as there is a serious potential for injury.

Three levels of difficulty of Ashtanga Yoga:

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced Ashtanga Yoga levels

Once you’re an accomplished practitioner, you can practice Ashtanga yoga at home. To do this, you’ll need a space that’s well ventilated, large enough and has a full length mirror so that you can easily check your body position.

Ashtanga Yoga Styles

This style of yoga places a great deal of emphasis on proper body position. This is why your training should begin with an instructor who can help you learn the postures exactly and help correct any mistakes before they become ingrained. Even in class, however, you’ll be encouraged to move at your own pace once you know the sequence of poses. This type of supervised self-practice is known as the Mysore style, which allows practitioners to respond to the unique demands of their bodies during the Ashtanga practice.