Practicing at the Ashtanga Yoga "Mothership"...but, first, some background

This was originally supposed to be one blog post about what it has been like to practice at the main Ashtanga shala/school (the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute), but then I realized that not everyone reading my blog is familiar with the Ashtanga Yoga lineage or with how it is practiced.  So this first part is a brief introduction to all of those things.  For everyone who is already familiar with Ashtanga Yoga, feel free to skip this…or read it anyways and feel free to correct or clarify anything that I write ;-)

So, the guru of Ashtanga Yoga was Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (a.k.a “Guruji").  He learned the Ashtanga Yoga method from his guru Krishnamacharya (who was also the teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar, the heads of two other primary modern yoga systems; as such, Krishnamacharya is often referred to as the grandfather of the modern yoga movement).  Guruji first started teaching the Ashtanga Yoga method to westerners in the mid 1960's and early 1970's, but I believe that it wasn't until the 1990's that it really started to gain momentum, with many Westerners traveling to India to study directly with him.  There also just weren’t many peopl­­e teaching Ashtanga Yoga yet, so the only way to learn more of it was to travel to Mysore and study directly with Guruji.  As Guruji was the only guru of Ashtanga Yoga, he was also the only one who could officially authorize/certify anyone to teach it.  Of course one could do a regular yoga teacher training and then just teach the sequence, but Ashtanga Yoga is a method/tradition of yoga based on lineage—our teachers learned the method directly from Guruji (or from some of his first students), Guruji learned it from Krishnamacharya, Krishnamacharya from his teacher and so on and so forth.  So, when you receive an authorization/certification to teach it, there is more that you are receiving than just a piece of paper.  By receiving authorization/certification directly from the Jois family, you are receiving a blessing to teach this method, and are being entrusted with preserving the integrity of a lineage/tradition and with being a part of its continued growth.  Pattabhi Jois passed away in 2009 (I know, the KPJAYI website, says 2007, it's 2009) and left his grandson, Sharath, as the head of the lineage/director of the institute.  I say “head” and “director” because, as Sharath himself will tell you, he is not a guru; his grandfather was/is the guru of Ashtanga Yoga.  Sharath’s mother, Saraswati also teaches in Mysore.  She and Sharath used to assist Guruji when he was alive, and then she continued to assist Sharath until she started teaching her own classes at a second shala, just up the road from the main shala.  She used to go and assist Sharath after her classes were finished, but I think that both shalas have become so busy that she no longer assists Sharath (or at least she is not during my trip here--by the way, she is in her early 70s!  How cool is that?!).   

The system and practice of Ashtanga Yoga itself is quite unique.  It is a system of 6 series of specific sequences of asanas/poses (the 1st/Primary, 2nd/Intermediate, 3rd/Advanced A, 4th/Advanced B, 5th and 6th) with each asana being linked to another through a vinyasa, meaning each pose is connected to the next via the breath in a specific way.  Each pose also has a specific number of breaths that you take while in each posture.  So, with the focus being on keeping a smooth and steady breath, and with the movements all being linked together by the breath, when you practice the poses, the sequence becomes a kind of moving meditation.  Each sequence is also designed to achieve and work on different aspects of the body and mind.  Many other modern yoga classes follow this idea, of linking one pose to then next through the breath and of working around a theme or peak pose (shoulder opening, arm balances, back bending, etc), but in the Ashtanga system, the poses and sequence that you practice do not change (except for when you learn new poses or have to modify because of an injury or something else that affects your ability to do your regular practice). 

In the traditional method (called “Mysore style,” as this is how Guruji originally taught it in the city of Mysore in India) the student will learn the Ashtanga Yoga series from a teacher on a one-on-one basis.  Everyone starts with the Primary (1^st) series.  It does not matter if you have been practicing another style of yoga for 10 years or if you are capable of balancing in a handstand on one hand in the middle of the room—if you are new to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, then you start with the Primary Series.  When the teacher sees that the student understands and remembers the postures and sequence, and feels that he/she is ready for more, then the teacher “gives” the student the next pose in the series (or two, depending on the student and what the poses are).  All of the students practice together during a certain time window (usually 6:00am-8:30am during the weekdays, a little later on Sundays) but each person is moving at their own pace and doing the practice up to whatever point/pose the teacher has taught them.  The teacher is not leading everyone through a sequence at the same time—except for when the class is specifically being taught as “led,” usually on Fridays.  During those led classes, the focus shifts from the students’ individual practices and from doing the postures to their fullest expression, to staying with and learning the correct counts and vinyasas of the series.  Ashtanga is traditionally taught in silence (no music here) so that you can really hear and focus on your breath.  Practicing in silence also gives you ample time to see exactly how your mind and emotions react to things and provides you with a unique opportunity to begin to control/change your reactions to things ;-).  The teacher is present in the room to, of course, teach new poses to students when it is time, but also to help students with whatever they are currently working on.  The teaching in Ashtanga is not usually done through a lot of talking, but more through physical adjustments (See pictures of practice in a Mysore room here).  I think this is largely because Guruji did not speak much English, so he literally moved students into the correct asana positions.  But this also helps keep the room relatively silent so that the students’ focus can be drawn inward.  Also, as I have learned, sometimes words are not really adequate for trying to describe how to move the body.

All of this is very different from the way that most yoga classes are held these days.  It is unique because the student quickly becomes a bit like their own teacher and, by doing the practice from memory and at their own pace, he/she becomes more responsible for their practice than they might in a regular yoga class.  It is also unique because it really builds a strong relationship between student and teacher, as the teacher is the one who decides when the student is ready to learn a new posture, and, with the practice being done in this specific way (a self-practice in a group setting), it gives the teacher a good opportunity to really see each student—to work with them individually (instead of having to try and keep the rest of the class going while trying to help a student with something) and to really see where each students’ strengths are and where they need to work more (or not work more in some cases).

Ok, I think that will give you a pretty good basic understanding so that you can better follow along when I talk about my practice here on the blog, if not, I'll describe it as I go ;-)