Hi !
The Ashtanga Brighton world seems to have quietened down a bit since last month. We did of course have Bhavani Maki over from Hawaii and there'll be a review of her workshop in next month's issue. In the meantime we're still catching up from the spate of activity during August and September and you can read reviews of Sharath's and Nancy Gilgoff's workshops below.
Nick has now settled in at the shala and will be taking a led primary class at 9.00am on Sunday 15th November at the BNHC. This will be in the smaller studio, which only has space for 15 so it'll be on a first come first served basis. The class will be followed by a Q&A session focussed on the traditional method and this will be open to everyone, so if there's no space at the class you can still come back for the Q&A session afterwards. Get your questions ready!
We hope you find the newsletter an interesting read. It's a group effort and we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Email us at news@ashtangabrighton.com
Happy reading!
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In This Issue:
Forthcoming Workshops- Workshop Reviews
- Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
- The Closing Mantra
- Jargon Corner - Dristi
- Coming Soon!
Forthcoming Workshops
Ashtanga Yoga Intensive with David Swenson, Edinburgh, Nov 13th-15th. Click here for more info.- Jivamukti yoga workshops with Sharon Gannon and David Life in London, Nov 13th-15th. Click here for more info.
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga 1-day intensive with Michael Gannon, East Grinstead, Nov 14th. Click here for more info.
- AcroYoga with Jaqui Wan at BNHC, Brighton, Nov 14th-15th. Click here for more info.
- An Exploration of Surya Namaskar with Russell Case, London, Dec 4th. Click here for more info.
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Workshop with Russell Case, Oxford, Dec 11th-13th. Click here for more info.
- Morning Mysore classes with Russell Case, The Yoga Garden, Oxford, Dec 10th/14th/15th/17th/18th. Click here for directions.
Workshop Reviews
We're still catching up from the summer workshops in this issue, but next month we'll report back on Bhavani Maki's masterclasses in Brighton and hopefully Lino Miele's workshop in Bath.
Sharath in London
(23rd - 28th Aug)
For many people outside the ashtanga world, it wouldn’t make sense to go to a workshop with over 150 other students where you’re not going to get any individual help. In fact my sister, who’s just recently begun a regular practice, cancelled her booking when I told her what it would be like: Sharath would just count through the practice giving few adjustments and no verbal instruction beyond the basic ‘ekam inhale, dve exhale’. So it’s hard to explain what made the week so special and valuable. I think it’s partly the atmosphere created by the students – some of whom came a long way to see Sharath. Even little things like the anticipation in the room when Sharath walked in, the hush before the first ‘om’, helped boost my focus and energy.
I also enjoyed the precision and consistency of Sharath’s counting, which brought more clarity and quietness to my practice. In a way, these sessions felt like stripping the practice back to the essentials. All you had to do was follow the gentle, repetitive ‘ekam inhale, dve exhale’, which reminded me how this practice is really just about breathing in and breathing out. Sharath cut no corners either, making me realise how my counting speeds up during tougher asanas. After five repetitions of navasana, counted to Sharath’s full, slow count, the whole room was shaking. And utplutihi became a joke each day, with Sharath mischievously dragging out the count until the strongest amongst us collapsed – a great lesson for the ego.
- Louise Jolly
Nancy Gilgoff in Berlin:
Adjustment Clinic
(27th - 31st Aug)
Nancy Gilgoff ran her annual adjustment clinic at Ashtanga Yoga Berlin from 27-31 August. Nancy was one of Guruji’s first female western students, visiting Mysore for the first time in 1975. Her style was warm, friendly and personal, openly sharing her experiences from her regular trips to Mysore and giving a rare insight into being taught firsthand by Guruji. These stories really brought the five days to life. Every morning there was a Mysore class (assisted by Shari Berman) and in the afternoon there was a chance to talk and ask questions on pretty much anything related to Ashtanga and learn how to give basic adjustments in the primary series.
For me it was a great opportunity to work intensively with Nancy, get a feel for how adjustments deepen my own practice and experience the asanas from a different perspective. Not to mention the chance to be back in Berlin! Nancy is committed to teaching students who are dedicated to Ashtanga and reinforced the importance of daily practice. She demonstrated complete faith in the healing nature of Ashtanga through stories about her own personal experience as a life-long practitioner. An inspiring five days.
For more information on Nancy visit www.ashtangamaui.com
- Laura Cornish
Nancy Gilgoff in Berlin:
Two Weeks of Self-practice
(7th - 17th Sep)
As one of the first Westerners to study with Guruji in the 1970s, Nancy Gilgoff represents a different approach from the way ashtanga is usually taught now. She teaches as Guruji taught her, which involved showing her the entire primary and intermediate series from scratch in her first three months of practice. Now things are different. Following Sharath, many teachers believe intermediate should only be attempted after students can drop back and stand up by themselves in backbends, a real challenge which keeps a lot of people in primary for years. Nancy believes that this not only leads to injuries, but creates an unnecessary level of ‘mystique’ around intermediate series.
With us, her focus was to break this down by giving students as many intermediate positions as they wanted – encouraging people to experiment and do what they can with the body they’ve got. I love her view that ashtanga is not about perfection: it’s about keeping the breath, flow, bandhas and heat going. On the other hand, the classes did get a bit crazy with Nancy being pulled in different directions as everyone clamoured for help. Her approach comes from a time when there were just three or four Western students practising at Mysore, so that Guruji was able to give a high level of attention to everyone. It’s harder for this teaching style to work today when class sizes are so much bigger.
For more information on Nancy visit www.ashtangamaui.com
- Louise Jolly
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are considered one of the most influential texts on yogic philosophy. In each issue we'll reveal a sutra for your reflection.
This month's sutra: 2:18
Everything that exists combines the qualities of clarity, activity and inertia (the gunas) and operates through the elements and the senses. Its purpose is to provide experience for the Self (purusa) and to provide the opportunity of liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Translation provided by Hilary Macrae
Hilary has taught yoga and trained yoga teachers for many years in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya and his son Desikachar.
She has an MA in Sanskrit Literature and teaches the philosophy of yoga and Vedic chant. She can be contacted for individual lessons on 01273 710505 or by email.
This newsletter is lovingly prepared by ashtangis for ashtangis. But we need your help! If you have any information about forthcoming workshops, a review or article you have written or anything you would like to see in the next issue, please