Here are a couple of blog posts written by Ashtangis about their experiences of attending a week of led primary classes with Sharath Jois in London August 2011. If you find any others please let me know: guy at ashtangabrighton.com
The Journey Of My Practice – a post for every day of Sharath’s visit
On the Sunday morning, the first day of the week, Sharath gave a Q&A session after practice. These are our notes from some of the more memorable bits:
Yoga is for relieving the suffering caused by the 6 poisons which surround each of our hearts. The 6 poisons are: Kama (lust); Krodha (anger); Moha (delusion); Lobha (greed); Matsarya (envy); Mada (sloth).
It’s recommended to practice 6 days a week but practising 4 days is better than 2 days which is better than not at all. But 6 days is recommended. If you make it part of your life then it won’t be something you feel you have to do, it’s simply something you do every day, like brushing your teeth. He said the asana practice is the foundation of your spiritual practice and the purpose is to make your body healthy. It’s very difficult to be spiritual if you’re not healthy in your body first.
Teaching yoga has become very difficult in the West as it’s become like $15 per posture, i.e. if you give your students more postures they’ll come back, but if you don’t they won’t. So some teachers just want to give students more and more postures. But he said it’s not about looking for more advanced postures, in fact it’s not about the asana at all. Whatever you’re doing is your practice. If you’re bringing up children they’re part of you so your children become your yoga.
“Yoga is within me. Wherever I am yoga happens.” (This was a defining moment for both of us and even though he said it as an almost throwaway comment, it really struck a chord.)
He said our practice will support many other things in our lives. We have to make many adjustments in our lives, e.g. when we have children. But we shouldn’t stop practising yoga.
He said Yoga is getting very fancy. People want to be very expressive and put their arms up like this (raised his arms in a very elaborate manner). He said it doesn’t matter how you put your arms up, just put them up!
When asked how long to leave it before practising again after having a baby and whether you should only do primary he said you should do whatever feels right, whenever you feel ready, even if this is 1 or 2 years. If you’re pregnant you can practice up to 8 months into your pregnancy, but no twists. After childbirth you should take at least a 3 month break. If you’ve had a ceasarian you should wait at least 6 months and be very careful.
He told a story of when he injured his shoulder when he was younger and he could feel something tearing inside. That afternoon he went to Guruji to tell him he couldn’t practice the next day but Guruji told him he’d volunteered him to give a demonstration. Sharath protested and said he couldn’t even breathe properly but Guruji told him to just do it. So the next day Sharath gave the demonstration which was very painful but once it had fully healed he actually had more flexibility and felt stronger so he could see the benefits of just getting on with the practice.
At the end of the last session he reminded us to keep practising and that places like London need Yoga. He said if we continue to practice with dedication and faith then knowledge will come easily to us.
Om shanti!
I’m giving away 108 Guruji badges made in 6 different colours. If you practice in the mornings at the BNHC or at the Sunday self practice group you may already have one! When I give them away people ask me what they’re for. I don’t know. A friend has a badge making machine and it just seemed like a nice idea.
With the imminent (er, slightly delayed, Amazon!) UK release of Guruji by Guy Donahaye and Eddie Stern it seems fitting to write a post on essential Ashtangi reading. There are loads of books about Ashtanga yoga. For example you may want to know: ‘The correct vinyasa count for Surya Namaskar B’ or ‘who or what is Kurmasana?’ to ‘What does the opening Mantra mean?’. Here is my definitive list (so far). If I’ve left any out I’d love to hear from you.
In my opinion there are only two short books that I regard as essential reading for Ashtangis (These were first suggested to me by Shari Berman and after reading both books I wholeheartedly agree).
Yoga Mala is Guruji’s book on Ashtanga Yoga originally published in the Kannada language in India back in 1962. It’s written from the source of Ashtanga Yoga and includes essential information on Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga (8 limbed path). It details the correct vinyasa count and health benefits of each posture in the primary series. It’s interesting to note that there is no sign of Urdhva Dhanurasana at the end of primary series. This must have been included in the practice later.
Yoga Mala is not naturally pallatable to the modern Western reader – for example sexual intercourse for yogis should only be engaged in when the air is moving through chandra nadi. So when one feels air travelling more clearly through the left nostril. There is however a yogic framework for living that the book adheres to and that the Ashtanga practice is very much a part of. This is one of the reasons I think it makes for essential reading. There is more going on than what happens on the mat!
Yoga Mala only covers the primary series which is partly why Lino Miele’s book is such a useful addition. It covers both primary and intermediate series. The great feature of Lino’s hardback is the format of how the vinyasa count and dristi are all so clearly laid out for each asana. It’s super clear – including inhalation, exhalation, sanskrit count for each vinyasa, drsti and number of breaths held in the asana. There is also a really good section on the 5 vayus, pranayama and the chakras. It also includes the closing mangala mantra with translation. (John Scott’s book also includes both opening and closing mantras.)
Gregor Maehle has also written two great books on Ashtanga Yoga. They’re packed with lots of detail – both anatomical and philosophical. The first book also includes a modern commentary on the Yoga Sutras. Mr Maehle keeps the practice firmly rooted in it’s philosophical tradition and context which I really appreciate.
This is an interesting category and although most books on Ashtanga Yoga contain pictures on Asana and instructions on drsti, bandhas, they aren’t designed to have open while you practice. (I’ve never done this myself but I understand that home practitioners would do this while learning the sequence.)
Both books are ring bound so you can open them up and have them on the mat next to you. Matthew Sweeney’s book is definitely far more in depth and comprehensive than David’s. The only downside is that in order to incorporate 4 Ashtanga series the pictures are much smaller than in David’s book. But it’s a small trade off to make. You really get a sense of the scale of the practice from Mr Sweeney’s book. He also has an engagingly direct writing style that I enjoyed.
I still think that every Ashtanga practitioner should read Yoga Mala. But it’s not entirely accessible to practitioners who are new to yogic concepts and language. In this category I’d included David Swenson’s practice manual (it has good modifications – I’ll write a post on this topic too one day!
John Scott’s book was my first purchase with his primary series DVD and it’s a great introductory guide, with lots of colour photography, it’s also well laid out and very useful. There’s a great section on advanced back bending (or assisted drop backs). His DVD is positively inspiring or depressing depending on your mood.
Finally I’ve included Tara Fraser’s book because while she’s not an Ashtangi she explores the Ashtanga practice in a very approachable clear way. Again the layout is good with lots of tips and variations for beginners.
If you’ve made it this far then you deserve a cup of tea before you hit Amazon and start expanding your library!
This Sunday Sarah will be leading 108 sun salutations in honour of the life and work of Ashtanga Guru Shri K Pattabhi Jois who died this week a year ago. We’ll be starting at 8:30am at the BNHC. Please join us for this special occasion which should take around an hour.
The number 108 is considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism & Sikhism. A mala normally has 108 beads for reciting mantras. Guruji’s book is called YogaMala. For more on the number 108 check out Wikipedia.
