Saturday, February 17, 2007

Ashtanga Yoga experience


I spent the final week of my experience in India working on my yoga "practice." I took an (overpriced) course at the Purple Valley Yoga Center with one of the foremost experts in Ashtanga. Nancy Gilhoff began practicing Ashtanga Yoga over 30 years with K.Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. As a result of her close association with Pattabhi Jois, Nancy is able to teach with the style and touch that was transmitted directly from "Guruji." Nancy is also a student of Baba Hari Das and various Iyengar teachers. She is the director of the House of Yoga and Zen on Maui. She travels to Europe doing workshops in various locations and around the US with the intention of sharing her experience of yoga with others. Her studies have led her to the dharma teachings of the Dalai Lama and the expression of love and compassion for all beings.

After more than 30 years of Ashtanga practise, Nancy is more convinced than ever that this style of yoga as taught to her by Sri K.Pattabhi Jois works best when it is followed strictly to the original form and she continues to teach as he taught her. During my yoga course, we closely followed the "Mysore" tradition. Mysore class is a traditional format for teaching. Mysore is a town in South India where Ashtanga Yoga is taught. In this class the teacher works with each person individually and everyone is allowed to do their own individual practice. This approach teaches students to memorize the sequences very quickly. Also there is no need to try to keep up with the class. It may sound a little daunting to beginners, but this is actually a very comfortable way to learn. You will receive a lot of individual attention at first and then you can look at diagrams and practice the postures carefully under the watchful eye of an experienced teacher. For those who already know the sequences these classes offer a great freedom to move at your own pace.

For the most part, I practiced the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga. Primary is a hot, sweaty class. Here you begin to breath with great precision and learn to practice without missing a single breath. Aspects of strength, endurance, concentration and deep structural alignment are introduced. This is the classical primary sequence taught in many places around the world. During my course, Nancy had some classes/ discussions on practice utilizing the breath, use of bandhas, and the intention of the practioner. We also learned about ways to prevent injury during practise, the loving kindness meditation, breathing practise and examining the role of intention as a spiritual tool.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Recommended Yoga article


This article does a really great job at summing up another approach to Yoga. The Ashtanga yoga experience is QUITE different from the Sivananda experience.

My final week here in India is in Goa at the Purple Valley Yoga Center. More details to come soon, but definitely read this article!:

http://www.rebeccamead.com/2000_08_14_art_yoga.htm