So many poses in the Aṣtanga primary series, so little time to do. So, I practice my own Aṣtanga inspired home practice. I move the headstand before shoulder stand sequence and change a few others. At KYM, I was taught that shoulder stand is the counter pose for headstand and I understand how it works on the neck. I do mellow vinyasas with knees on floor as the practice goes beyond an hour. I cannot do too many chaturangas. Of course, PJ (Pattabhi Jois) wouldn’t approve if he saw me doing this sequence. But, I don’t approve of him either, having changed all the important Sanskrit yoga terminology. So, it is ok.

Now that my knee is slightly better, I try to practice Aṣtanga in the weekends. It takes more than 2 hours to get this done. How can anyone manage doing all this, every single day?

I am not sure what it is. Is it my vagabonding through India to study Yoga or is it Vancouver or is it my injured knee? Western “vinyasa” does not make sense at all to my body. This is the style I have practiced for so many years until I went to India. My teachers at my teacher training in San Francisco were primarily trained in this style, for they were direct disciples of the California Yoga queen Shiva Rea. I used to enjoy this style a lot. Not anymore. I am trying to figure out what happened.

I was at a “vinyasa” class last week. Music was Jazz. Sade and others were taking turns to provide the vocals.  The instructor told us to press on the golden egg between the root chakra and the genitals. Some more chakra talk continued. My golden rule of thumb had always been to avoid a class where the teacher talks about chakras. I normally draw the line at bandhas. Most instructors understand bandhas. Chakra talk is so DC (Deepak Chopra) and is what I classify as saccharine sweet. It is mostly mumbo jumbo to me. I understand chakras in the real yogic sense, but not in a yoga class where the instructor is trying to sound cool.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

I am at a Mysore class in Mysore. Astanga class taught the Mysore style is awesome. The teacher does not instruct the class as to what to do, there is no dialogue, no music. Everyone is on their own, practicing the standard astanga series. The teacher is there to help you understand the asana better and provide the right adjustments so you know how far you can go.

(more…)

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…)