Astanga according to The Yoga man Patanjali, is the eight parts that need to be followed to reach yoga. Asana or the hatha yoga is just one small component of the entire picture. For whatever reason, Pattabhi Jois (PJ) has redefined the word astanga to mean his vigorous athletic style of Yoga. So, I get into this confusion with all astanga yogis (ayogis), the pretty pale young things, who I come across in Mysore.

I was always aware that this word has been misused. Then it slowly dawns on me that another important word in Yoga has also been redefined. Either by PJ himself or his followers. I keep hearing conversations like, “I practice hatha yoga, not astanga” or the other way around. I ask the ayogis what is the difference. They tell me astanga is where one moves from one asana to the other with a vinyasa thrown in. Hatha is where one stays in a pose longer. Ok, Patanjali would be quite unhappy to hear the ayogis speak like this. Any physical yoga practice is hatha yoga, as far as I know. Flow, astanga, power, bikram, sivananda, Krishnamacharya KYM style, you name it. All of them are hatha yoga. So, astanga is nothing but a “style” of hatha yoga.

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Can a yoga teacher be fat? I could not help thinking about this, when a fat teacher, sort of obese, taught a class at a yoga ashram in India. He was supposedly the guru and the face of the ashram. The class was okay, but I was not used to this style. He was mostly seated on a chair and he walked around once or twice. Before he taught this class, I was told many times that this guru was going to teach on this particular day and the energy of the class was going to explode. We were primed up to this class. I felt no explosion of any sorts.

I wouldn’t ask for my money back for the class, that’s just about how much I liked the class. I like my teachers lean and inspiring. That way, I know they are practicing their yoga, they are grounded and in touch with yoga and are not just talk. Isn’t the body a telltale of one’s yoga practice? (more…)

Pattabhi Jois died in Mysore yesterday at age 94. He was one of the most famous students of Sri T Krishnamacharya. I have read about him in some of the books from KYM.

When he was 12 years old, he attended a yoga demonstration at his middle school in Hassan. He was amazed by the asanas and by the strong, graceful yogi jumping from pose to pose. The next day, he went to meet the yogi who had given the demonstration, a man by the name of T Krishnamacharya. Bravely, for a boy of only twelve, he requested to be instructed in yoga. For the next two years, Pattabhi Jois learnt yoga from T Krishnamacharya. He continued his studies with his guru again after a break.

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