Ashtanga yoga is an ancient daily meditation that links breath and movement sequentially. It is an embodied tradition, meaning its knowledge has been handed down from teacher to student through the ages. Ashtanga Yoga was taught by Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta. This text was imparted to Sri T. Krishnamacharya in the early 1900′s by his guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari, and was later passed down to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the guru of Ashtanga yoga, during the duration of his studies with Krishnamacharya, beginning in 1927. This ritualized movement produces an internal heat which purifies the body, nervous system, and mind and awakens dormant energies.
Central to Ashtanga Yoga is the Tristhāna, or the Three Places of Attention: the posture (āsana), breathing system (ujjāyī prāṇāyāma), and looking place (dṛṣṭi). They are always performed in conjunction to one another, and cover three levels of purification: the body, the nervous system, and the mind. By maintaining this discipline with sincerity, regularity and devotion, one acquires steadiness of body and mind.
The word Ashtanga means eight limbs, all of which are needed to quiet the mind, through the strengthening and cleansing of the physiological and energetic body. We start with the third "limb" of postures, working with what is tangible (the body), which paves the way to exploration and practice of the other seven. The eight limbs are: Yamas (morality), Niyamas (personal retraints/observances), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (narrowing of focus), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi, or Self-Realization. Each limb supports the next, and naturally leads the way out of suffering and toward freedom and happiness by slowly dissolving the boundaries between self and the world.
The term "Mysore style" is derived from a city in Southern India where Pattabhi Jois taught for over 70 years. Mysore style refers to how the practice is taught and is the safest way to learn it. In this traditional way of transmission, each student is able to learn at his or her own pace in the support of a group environment. Each practitioner receives individual guidance and soft-spoken instruction when necessary in a quiet meditative setting. Mysore classes therefore allow the student to learn yoga at a pace specifically tailored for his or her specific needs, abilities, and level of strength, endurance, and flexibility.
Central to Ashtanga Yoga is the Tristhāna, or the Three Places of Attention: the posture (āsana), breathing system (ujjāyī prāṇāyāma), and looking place (dṛṣṭi). They are always performed in conjunction to one another, and cover three levels of purification: the body, the nervous system, and the mind. By maintaining this discipline with sincerity, regularity and devotion, one acquires steadiness of body and mind.
The word Ashtanga means eight limbs, all of which are needed to quiet the mind, through the strengthening and cleansing of the physiological and energetic body. We start with the third "limb" of postures, working with what is tangible (the body), which paves the way to exploration and practice of the other seven. The eight limbs are: Yamas (morality), Niyamas (personal retraints/observances), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (narrowing of focus), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi, or Self-Realization. Each limb supports the next, and naturally leads the way out of suffering and toward freedom and happiness by slowly dissolving the boundaries between self and the world.
The term "Mysore style" is derived from a city in Southern India where Pattabhi Jois taught for over 70 years. Mysore style refers to how the practice is taught and is the safest way to learn it. In this traditional way of transmission, each student is able to learn at his or her own pace in the support of a group environment. Each practitioner receives individual guidance and soft-spoken instruction when necessary in a quiet meditative setting. Mysore classes therefore allow the student to learn yoga at a pace specifically tailored for his or her specific needs, abilities, and level of strength, endurance, and flexibility.
"Yoga is not physical—very wrong! Hatha yoga can, of course, be used as external exercise only, but that is not its real benefit. Yoga can go very deep and touch the soul of man. When it is performed in the right way, over a long period of time, the nervous system is purified, and so is the mind. Behind the strength of the body, there is an energy that is spirituality, and that is what keeps us alive. To gain access to the spiritual, you need to understand the physical. The body is our temple and inside that temple is atman, and that is God."
-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois