I’ve allowed some months to pass since my last post on Ashtanga, as I have gone deeper into my practice and contemplated more on what drives me to continue. The first reason I keep this as a major part of my life and the first impact the new practitioner is likely to feel is physical purification. This is best understood through experience – and I encourage all to try this practice for a month with an experienced teacher – but I will try to explain in words in the hope that I pique someone’s interest in exploring further. 1 This can actually be a problem for people with a body…
“If you want to be near God, turn your mind toward God, and practice Yoga.” – Sri K. Pattabhi Jois1 In my last post on yoga, I discussed the beginning of my yoga journey and some of what keeps me on that path today. Today I will delve into the specific system I follow, Ashtanga. As R. Sharath Jois says, “there is only one Yoga”2, and it is as old as the universe. But there are many lineages, and Ashtanga is one such that has been passed down since antiquity. It is a physical and philosophical system for attaining the one Yoga – the knowledge of consciousness. Ashtanga means “eight…
“We’re not trying to get anywhere – we’re just trying to be where we’re at.” – Bryan Kest I began on the path of yoga around age 15 when my tennis coach introduced me to Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga Series (on VHS at the time). I remember trying it for the first time and barely getting half way through it – this was some hard stretching! I did Power 2 as a supplemental workout off and on for several years before giving it up largely (along with music) when I started working full-time in finance. In the lead-up to the quarter-life crisis that culminated in my quitting that lucrative…
