Ashtanga
Ashtanga Yoga, for our purposes here, refers to the practice
of a series of flowing movements that are linked to the
breath.
Sri Pattabhi Jois and "The Mysore Connection"
My practice is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Mysore style, and I
love it. I have tried other types of yoga asana but
for some reason my body, therefore my mind, feels better with
this system. Whilst I love the practice, emphasis on I, it
is also my belief that yoga, asana in particular,
isn't the be all/end all. It is actually a starting point.
Somewhere to connect in, look in and experience, see what's
going on. It's as well to remember that there comes a time
when we'll all have to leave that mat behind...
Ashtanga Yoga, or Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is both Ashtanga Yoga
and not Ashtanga Yoga at the same time. Over the past 30 years,
classical Ashtanga Yoga, eight limbed yoga as it called in
the yoga sutras, has been undergoing a quiet, but profound,
revolution in a small city in South India called Mysore. The
result has been a powerful and dramatic system of yoga that
focuses on movement.
Like many yoga students, for quite a long time I had little
or no idea of the background of my practice. I heard about
this technique that made you really flexible and could, I was
promised, make you feel great, although it took quite a while
before that particular point could be appreciated. I had been
practicing for a year or so before I ever heard mention of
the name of Pattabhi Jois.
I was educated about the origins of Ashtanga Yoga one year
in India. I was on a train going south when I struck up a conversation
with a rather serious looking fellow on the bunk next to me.
We sat in together rocking side to side to the motion of the
train. We soon discovered a mutual interest, yoga.
"I practice Ashtanga yoga," I announced, feeling pleased with
myself.
"Really, that's interesting. Which style?"
"Ashtanga."
"Yes, that's nice. Which style?"
"Ashtanga, you know, Ashtanga yoga."
"Er. Yes. Ashtanga Yoga, but which particular branch do you
follow?" he started annunciating syllables rather carefully
whilst watching my eyes carefully. Perhaps he thought I was
stoned. Or stupid.
"Yeah. You know, Ashtanga Yoga, taught by that guy, what's
he called...erhm, Jattabhi Pois?"
"Ah. You mean Ashtanga Vinyasa in the style of Pattabhi
Jois..."
Not only had he been practicing rather longer than I, but
he also had a thorough knowledge of yogic philosophy, without
doubt gleaned from years of having his noses buried in complicated
Sanskrit texts (there's always a moral to stories where I feels
pleased about I).
Seizing his opportunity to play pandit, he launched off into
a lengthy and complicated explanation of some of the differences
in yogic philosophy, who practiced what, when and why. Like
so many others, I guess, I had taken on the practice from a
Western teacher and hardly ever bothered to explore its origins.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, I discovered, was the baby of a great
and worthy yoga teacher who lived in Mysore, South India. His
name was Pattabhi Jois later to become Guruji, undisputed king
of Ashtanga Yoga.
In the hands of Pattabhi Jois, classical Ashtanga Yoga took
on a whole new flavour. Pattabhi Jois took elements of classical
Yoga and went about altering and modifying them to suit his
own needs. Gone were the slow, contemplative practices of classical
yoga. In came a series of flowing, dynamic, challenging and
well, rather sweaty moves. The emphasis was now on completing
a series of intricate postures linked to the breath and bandhas ,
complicated internal locks. Correct practice of the series
generates much heat. The postures, breath, locks and heat all
have a profound opening and cleansing effect that removes impurities
and balances the being. Not to mention a strong toning effect
on the muscles.
Ashtanga Yoga, the classical enlightenment system for improving
body, mind and spirit thus became Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa, Mysore
style. It was classical yoga but not. The heavy emphasis on
physical movement and posture caught the imagination of thousands,
particularly in Europe and America. The fastfood nations, where
gratification comes easy, were delighted. Who needs all that
navel gazing and complicated inner searching anyway? Here was
a form of yoga they could relate to: hard, fast, no pain no
gain: Power Yoga! Get fit quick and flaunt the body beautiful,
baby. Madonna's infamous stage shows suddenly started sporting
curves in all the right places. Fuelled by a media frenzy,
it wasn't long before the "Mysore Connection" started to become the yoga.
Kids and grannies came in their masses to seek out Guruji and
learn the moves. A small residential area in Mysore city boomed
as new businesses rapidly sprouted to accommodate the thousands
of incoming 'yogis.' Bananna pancakes and brown bread became
the city's staple. Guruji moved house and got rich. Incredibly
rich.
Now, it's not Guruji's problem that his system got lopsided
in the hands of the infidels. I know his direct teaching
presents a much rounder picture of yoga. But is this what is
reflected in the practice of so many would be Ashtanga devotees
in the West? Many ashtangis I meet here are extremely lean,
muscular yoga machines and very beautiful. But many have little
or no awareness, not of themselves nor the systems they are
operating in and on. Many of them don't even care, self obsession
having a tendency to eclipse self aware.
And it's not just a wobbler in the Ashtanga system, In the
1990's, Yoga in general became the next fashion accessory,
just another thing to be worn. Yoga began to meld into the
system that was greedily adopting it. Not surprising then that
Yoga should start to take on the foster parent's personality.
Yoga started showing symptoms of a deeper cultural malaise
that seems to be seeping across the globe, Consumeritis - a
virus like phenomenon linked inextricably to the modern human
being, expanding, multiplying, exhausting available resources,
creating toxic waste, moving on, expanding, no regard for anything
apart from the propagation of it's own ends...
The point is: making everything into a product to be consumed
is ok. Focusing on the external at the expense of everything
internal is ok. Looking ever outwards and ignoring the obvious
signals of decline is ok. Being totally lost in illusion and
controlled by all the systems we impose on each other is ok.
Until it's not.
This is not a criticism of yoga nor yogis. Actually, everything
has it's place in this crazy world, believe it or not. At the
end of the day, we all have to find our way through this in
our own way. We make a bed, lie in it and either have restful
sleep or not. In this way there are never ending combinations
of flavours that can be put together and tasted. It's up to
you to perceive if this flavour is your flavour.
So how about trying something that's a little bit more than
just yoga in a box? How about getting a little more, well,
yogified? Expanding the practice of yoga off the mat into daily
life? It's really all about building awareness.
There are many amazing practices associated with yoga. That's
besides the ones most of us know as yoga. Clever little techniques
that were designed to expand awareness, increase energetic
resonance and facilitate greater Self knowledge. The great
thing is that they have been tested for you too, over thousands
of years. Some of these practices are more subtle and some
are more gross.
How about trying to live a bit like a yogi? How about trying
some of the other yogic techniques that are aimed at expanding
this practice and building a greater awareness? How about spending
a bit of time out of the office in nature. Feel the earth,
breathe the air? Maybe, just maybe, there might be a purpose
in spending a bit more time practicing off the mat. In the
Himalaya we might even talk a little bit about that.
