Ashtanga yoga gets its name from an ancient text called “The Yoga Sutras” written by Patanjali approximately 2000 years ago. “Ashtanga” or “eight limbs” refers to the path one is to take in order to reach the enlightened state of Samadhi.
In order to make yoga available to more than just renunciates and ascetics, the seer Vamana Rishi, and then the more contemporary yoga master Krishnamacharya combined multiple limbs of the eight limb system in order to create a dynamic yet accessible practice. This practice, referred to as Ashtanga Vinyasa, unites a series of physical postures with regulated breathing and gazing points. The pose sequence itself is the product of great minds who understood intimately the purpose and potency of each posture and, therefore, the power of placing them where they did in the overall sequence.
In order to make yoga available to more than just renunciates and ascetics, the seer Vamana Rishi, and then the more contemporary yoga master Krishnamacharya combined multiple limbs of the eight limb system in order to create a dynamic yet accessible practice. This practice, referred to as Ashtanga Vinyasa, unites a series of physical postures with regulated breathing and gazing points. The pose sequence itself is the product of great minds who understood intimately the purpose and potency of each posture and, therefore, the power of placing them where they did in the overall sequence.
Krishnamacharya codified the Ashtanga Vinyasa system back in the 1930s in an Indian city called Mysore. The way he passed this system on to his students has come to be called the “Mysore-style”. Within a Mysore-class setting, students learn the sequence of Ashtanga poses one at a time. As a student progresses in strength, stamina, flexibility, and concentration additional poses are added to their practice. A new student begins with the postures of “primary series” and could potentially in time progress through all six series of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. In this method students are met by teachers as individuals, and the practice is carefully passed along at the student’s own pace. Due to this personalized attention it is like each student is having a private lesson, but in a group setting. Mysore classes are for everyone, regardless of age or physical ability. You just need devotion, curiosity to learn, and the dedication to show up with no expectations.
One student in particular, Sri K.Pattabhi Jois, carried on this special practice.
The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore is now run by Jois’s grandson, R. Sharath Jois.
One student in particular, Sri K.Pattabhi Jois, carried on this special practice.
The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore is now run by Jois’s grandson, R. Sharath Jois.
Ashtanga Moon Days
Both full and new moon days are observed as yoga holidays in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition.
What is the reasoning behind this?
Like all things of a watery nature (human beings are about 70% water), we are affected by the phases of the moon. The phases of the moon are determined by the moon’s relative position to the sun. Full moons occur when they are in opposition and new moons when they are in conjunction. Both sun and moon exert a gravitational pull on the earth. Their relative positions create different energetic experiences that can be compared to the breath cycle. The full moon energy corresponds to the end of inhalation when the force of prana is greatest. This is an expansive, upward moving force that makes us feel energetic and emotional, but not well grounded. The Upanishads state that the main prana lives in the head. During the full moon we tend to be more headstrong.
The new moon energy corresponds to the end of exhalation when the force of apana is greatest. Apana is a contracting, downward moving force that makes us feel calm and grounded, but dense and disinclined towards physical exertion.
The Farmers Almanac recommends planting seeds at the new moon when the rooting force is strongest and transplanting at the full moon when the flowering force is strongest. Practicing Ashtanga Yoga over time makes us more attuned to natural cycles. Observing moon days is one way to recognize and honor the rhythms of nature so we can live in greater harmony with it.
What is the reasoning behind this?
Like all things of a watery nature (human beings are about 70% water), we are affected by the phases of the moon. The phases of the moon are determined by the moon’s relative position to the sun. Full moons occur when they are in opposition and new moons when they are in conjunction. Both sun and moon exert a gravitational pull on the earth. Their relative positions create different energetic experiences that can be compared to the breath cycle. The full moon energy corresponds to the end of inhalation when the force of prana is greatest. This is an expansive, upward moving force that makes us feel energetic and emotional, but not well grounded. The Upanishads state that the main prana lives in the head. During the full moon we tend to be more headstrong.
The new moon energy corresponds to the end of exhalation when the force of apana is greatest. Apana is a contracting, downward moving force that makes us feel calm and grounded, but dense and disinclined towards physical exertion.
The Farmers Almanac recommends planting seeds at the new moon when the rooting force is strongest and transplanting at the full moon when the flowering force is strongest. Practicing Ashtanga Yoga over time makes us more attuned to natural cycles. Observing moon days is one way to recognize and honor the rhythms of nature so we can live in greater harmony with it.
