Ashtanga Yoga

What are the origins of Ashtanga Yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga was invented by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois who was a student of Krishnamacharya (who has inspired the most common yoga styles we practice today). It is “a dynamic form of Hatha Yoga” (MacGregor 2013: 8).

What does “Ashtanga” mean?

Ashtanga can be translated by “eight limbs” which are according to the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali:
– yama (moral codes)
– niyama (self-purification and study)
– asana (pose)
– pranayama (breath control)
– pratyahara (sense control)
– dharana (concentration)
– dhyana (meditation)
– samadhi (total peace)
(cf. ibid.: 9)

What does a Ashtanga Yoga class look like?

There are six different so-called series. A series is a fixed routine of poses that is always practised in the same order. Already the Primary Series can be really challenging to most people and they “will spend their entire lives working on elements of this set of seventy-two poses.” (ibid.: 10)

The Primary Series always starts with Surya Namaskara (the sun salutations) to warm up physically and arrive at the yoga practice mentally (cf. ibid.: 11). The following poses of the Primary Series are meant to build up (inner) strength and flexibility (cf. ibid.).

Traditionally, Ashtanga Yoga is practised six days a week and you “follow your own breath and movement rather than the guidance of a teacher” (ibid.: 12). This frequency allows you to progress mentally and physically in your practice (cf. ibid.).

The ultimate goal of practising Ashtanga Yoga is inner peace (cf. ibid.: 14).

Source:
MacGregor, Kino (2013): The Power of Ashtanga Yoga, Boulder: Shambhala Publications.